Sunday, December 27, 2015

A Very Puzzling Christmas

I hope you are still enjoying your Christmas weekend! This year, Christmas was a bit challenging for me. It was just the 2 of us, so you'd think the day's events would be simple. Well, Jim had a wonderful Christmas day. Me? Not so much.

I decided to treat the DH to pancakes for breakfast. Right. The Bisquick was about 4 years old, and hadn't been used but once, 4 years ago. So I added some baking powder - just to fluff them up. Then I didn't have any milk, so I used 1/2 & 1/2, which of course, adds more fat. Next, I didn't notice that the griddle wasn't set hot enough until late in the game, so they turned out cooked, but were Bisquick color. I decided to blow my low-carb lifestyle and have some anyway. Well, the pancakes were AWFUL. Serves me right for blowing my carbs.

Then came playing with the presents. Santa brought each of us a puzzle. The DH's was called "Dad's Shed" - and old-timey workshop shed with hand tools and stuff you haven't seen since the 30's and 40's. The DH has some of both his father's and grandfather's tools, so he had a wonderful time putting it together and reminiscing. It had 500 pieces. Piece of cake.

Santa brought me a 1,000 piece puzzle called Grandma's Craft Room. But, I'm not sure what Grandma they were trying to depict. It had an old sewing machine and a new computer! The artist must have been an art school reject: 2 of the cats looked angry, and the other one looked like a dog! 

The worst part is that both the DH and I got completely compulsive about our respective puzzles! So much so, that I forgot to take any of my meds. One of them is a mind-helping drug, so without it, I got to feeling crazy by 10:00. But did I stop? No. I just kept going .. and going .. and going. Of course, I wound up with a raging headache. We forgot to eat lunch, so about 4:00, I took my meds and ate a lot of (low-carb) junk food that upset my stomach. Rats. Needless to say, I quit working on the puzzle and took some Tums. So much for Christmas day.

Thankfully, I got plenty of sleep that night and woke up the next day feeling great. The DH worked with me to finish my puzzle, and we had a wonderful time putting it together. We watched a good movie, too: The Monuments Men. 

News from the Studio

 
I got a good start on my customer, Joyce's king sized Trip Around the World quilt. She is a wonderful piecer, so it is behaving very well, and is a joy to work on. She picked a meandering leaf free-motion pattern, and a beautiful thread that's perfect for the quilt. 

 

Learning for the Week


Don't use 4 year old Bisquick for anything.


Have a wonderful week! Now let's go quilt something.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

'Tis the season - hug your sewing machine

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season! After several years with no Christmas decorations at all (due to various circumstances) this year we put up a little pre-lit tree. Think we have it all decorated yet? Of course not, but it's up along with our usual clothing gifts to each other from Land's End. Of course, Santa has something up his sleeve, especially for the DH. Hmmm, I see that the table looks a little cock-eyed...








News from the Studio


This week, I finished quilting a What Knots quilt for Robin. A member of the AHQ guild, she made this quilt in a workshop we had last May. Robin is a wonderful piecer and her quilts are a joy to work on. Nice job Robin!






   

Robin chose the Poplar pantograph. It is perfect for this quilt!





New Pantograph

 Poplar: This is lovely, and a very versatile design. I love it.












Now, I know you are busy with Christmas activities and obligations. Include some time with your sewing machine or longarm, too. If you just don't have time for that, this month, at least give your machine(s) a hug and let them know you haven't forgotten about them!

Have a beautiful week! Now let's go quilt something!