Ta da da done and milestone

 I am finishing the year with a finish and its a milestone and monumental in my little world.  This makes quilt # 300 in 30 years of quilting!!!  I took my first quilting class in 1987 and can't quit because there is too much fabric in the stash.  A few years ago I decided to only work from the fabrics on hand in my closet and what fun I have been having.  I only buy fabric now if I need something to finish a project.  It seems I have hardly put a dent in the stacks of fabric but I'm going to persevere.
Goals for the new year.........continue to work from the stash,  have lunch with the girls more frequently, eat less grain products and more vegetables,  and find the humor in everyday.
Happy New Year!!  --Ann--

reading list

1. From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon Italy WWII historical fiction
2. Four Swans by Winston Graham book 6
3. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum WW 2 Germany historical fiction 
4. The Secret by Kathryn Hughes  finding birth family 
5. The Angry Tide by Winston Graham book 7 of Poldark series
6. Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah for book club WW2 Russia very good story!!
7. The Good Wife Strikes Back by Elizabeth Buchan
8. Malice in Wonderland by Hilary Latimer knitting / yarn mystery
9. The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg  always delightful
10. The Towers of Tuscany by Carol M. Cram set in San Gimignano and Siena Italy
11. The Irish Cottage: Finding Elizabeth by Juliet Gauvin  light romance
12. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers book club gold rush in California
13. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate adoption story Tennessee Children’s Home Society 
14. The Future’s Not Ours to See by Jean Grainger sequel to Letters to Freedom
15. The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede 911 for book club 
16. Beartown by Fredrik Backman all about hockey and the psychology of playing and coaching and insight into human behavior and living in a small town and wow! I’m going to read this again someday. 
17. Montana Secret Santa by Debra Salonen Christmas romance 
18. The Moonglow Cafe by Deborah Garner light romance mystery
19. The Christmas Train by David Baldacci I liked to book better than the movie
20. Home for the Holidays by Debbie Macomber Two stories the second story is the basis of the movie Trading Christmas which I liked better than the book
21. Wheat Belly by William Davis MD  made me think twice about how much baking to do for Christmas.  Wheat and cereal grains have a high glycemic index which means our bodies turn it into sugar very quickly and ready to burn in calories it also means that anything not burned in calories is stored for later use in the form of fat.
22. The Girl With No Name by Diney Costeloe WWII story takes place in England.

Its been cold here below zero temps the best thing to do is stay inside and read or knit or quilt.  

Happy New Year!!  --Ann--

machine quilting

Some much needed time in the sewing room after what seems like weeks.  Before I could sew I had to clear the surfaces.  I put this quilt on the design wall to study and let the wrinkles fall out but first I had to remove all the stray threads from the design wall, it was thick with threads from the last 2 quilt tops.  I think lint rollers are the best invention for threads, 4 roller sheets later the wall is clean.  I didn't really want to pick all those threads off the back of the quilt but the lint roller would have done the trick.  Its nice to start the new year with a clean design wall.  I'm just doing my favorite meandering feather and concentric teardrop free motion design.
A little light snow today!  Its warm enough to snow! --Ann--

A sweater and socks

I finished my sweater before Christmas and again love the way the pattern fits third time is still the charm and will probably make the pattern again someday in another color. And then guess what I did? started more socks!  I've knit with this spool yarn before only it was on an actual cardboard spool with sides. The first time I bought this type of yarn the lady in the store suggested separating the two strands by winding it into separate balls.  That sounded messy with the yarn twisting and then winding one ball then winding the second.  The yarn was on a spool so stick a knitting needle through the cardboard or in this case insert a cardboard spool and then a stick and let it unwind by rolling.  No tangled mess.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We sure did and everyone has gone home.   Lots of food laughter and love.  --Ann--

In a stable

In a manger a child is born....................
To save us all..............
Merry Christmas
--Ann--

It came upon the midnight clear

That glorious song of old
From angles bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold!
Peace on the earth good will to men,  
From heaven's all gracious King!
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing. 

Come They Told Me

Pa rum pum pum pum........................
--Ann--

Joy to the World

Let heaven and nature sing.......................

O Christmas Tree

how evergreen your branches.................

Friday Knitting

Christmas socks are finished the red and gray socks are for my uncle, he bought the red yarn on a trip to Patagonia it is 100% merino yarn and because 100% merino does not stand up well to wear I used leftovers of a super wash blend for the toes and heels and I wasn't paying attention on a couple rows of the slip stitch heels and goofed it is so obvious to me in the photo. I used all the red yarn so had to do the ribbing cuffs with my scraps.  I hope they fit.  

Now I can concentrate on my sweater, I'm knitting the sleeves two at a time on a cable.  I have limited yarn they will either be 3/4 length or long depending on the yarn.  At least they will be the same length.  Aren't all the Christmas movies great for knitting time --Ann--

quilt top finish

Another quilt top done and I think I have strips cut for 2 more quilt tops. Let me sew, let me sew,  let me sew!  --Ann--

Dough Day

Yesterday was dough day I mixed up 5 recipes of cookie dough, mostly half recipes.  I don't make nearly as many varieties of cookies as I used to because I'm the only one who eats some of them and I don't need to do that.  I will bake at my leisure or the next time the wind blows strong out of the northwest.  Maybe tomorrow I will make biscotti.  --Ann--

finished blocks

  Fresh snow outside and very chilly temps made for cozy days in the sewing room last week.  There's nothing like the hum of a well oiled machine and Christmas music to make blocks fall into place.  More Christmas music this week will help with the tedious task of trimming all the blocks to exactly the same size.  --Ann--  Linking to Em's Scrapbag

further adventures of Sammi the robo vac

I finished decorating the house earlier this week and put all the boxes back in the closet then noticed all the artificial pine needles on the carpet so rather than drag the upright vacuum downstairs I took Sammi the robo vac.  I picked up all the little stuff from the floor like baskets and electrical cords then pushed the button and let Sammi get to work and I went to my sewing room.  Sammi was doing great then I got a message that said she was stuck.  I find her under a chair, when she cleans under chairs she makes a circle around the leg then makes a bigger circle and bumped the other leg so she stopped. I don't know why she couldn't reverse and get herself out but that's how she does it, circle each leg twice and then move on.  She got stuck 4 times in about 45 minutes then she went into the bedroom closet and said she was done and wanted to go to her charging dock.  The family room looked great with little tracks everywhere. She got lazy with the bedroom, did she think I wouldn't notice that she didn't clean the north side of the bed just because I can't see it from the door!?? I got the button pushing figured out once for house and twice for spot cleaning.  I sewed 7 more tri rec stars.  Now I need a drone that dusts!  --Ann--

adding the courthouse steps

It was a busy week last week.  Christmas decorations came out in spite of the unseasonably warm weather.  Sometimes you just have to enjoy the weather and go for a long walk because one of these days it will be cold and windy and probably snowy like later today and the rest of December.  I sewed a few courthouse steps to go between the tri rec stars.  I'm not a matchy matchy quilter so the dark strips will be a combination of green and red strips and if they happen to fall beside a red or green background star so be it.  I thought I would go with dark on three sides for the outside round of blocks for the impression of a border.   This week I should mix up cookies and sew a few more blocks.  Don't forget to enjoy the Christmas season.  --Ann--  Linking to Em's Scrapbag

tri rec stars and robo vac

 All the trip rec stars are cut and paired next to sew.  I like this low tech stuff, putting pieces on my design wall and moving them around then sewing.
I recently got one of those robotic vacuums that goes all by itself.  DD set it up for me while she was home because it needed an app and some other stuff that makes no sense to me.  Today I thought I would find out what it could do.  Oh I had to give it a name so I named it Sammi for my little shih tzu who had been gone for 7 years now.  There were never any crumbs on the floor when she was alive.  We will see if robo Sammi is as good as the original.  I pushed the button to start it up then I decided to  pick up and move chairs so it could do a thorough job,  I didn't get a couple things moved before it bumped into them so on its next sweep it went around the object that was no longer there and took a couple more sweeps before it got the job done.  It did the kitchen and part of the sun room then went into the living room it did part of the carpet then went back and finished the sun room then its battery was getting low so it wanted to go to its charger but I had put the chairs back so it couldn't find its way.  I finally carried it. Not unlike Sammi the dog.  She made 6 moves with us and each time the door opened opposite to the previous house so she would sit at the hinge side of the door waiting for it to open.  About the time she relearned the door thing we would move again and had to learn it all again.  I recharged it then took it to the bedroom pushed the button and walked out the door.  I found out it can be lazy.  It worked for a few minutes then said it was done so I moved it and pushed the button again, it worked for a few minutes and sent me a message that it was done again.  It didn't clean the whole room.   Its really only as smart as the operator.  If I had read all the instructions and watched the videos............I had it set to do a spot clean which is about a 5 x 7 foot area.  I needed to set it to house.  I'm sure I confused it because I was pushing the app on the phone which I had to carry around the house all day I was also pushing the button on the vacuum. Push once, push twice, hold down or slide and tap.  After moving the furniture I had to dust so much for me having fun while it worked.  I was impressed with the amount of dirt and dog hair it picked up and DS's dog was only in the house for a little while but she's a lab and they shed no matter what time of year it is. It can clean the rest of the house tomorrow with a fresh charge  since I know better how to make it work and I will go to my sewing room for some low tech fun.  --Ann--

tri rec stars

Just some doodling on paper to plan the next quilt.  I got so I could draw the star without lifting my pencil.  I have been cutting the star pieces and adding to the pile of 1 1/2 inch strips for courthouse step blocks.  I can be matchy matchy with color and value or I can be scrappy and random.  The star block parts will mostly match but the courthouse steps hmmmm we will see what happens.  --Ann--

Nine Patches and Log Cabins

Blocks all sewn together and a border added. Such fun to use so many fabrics from my stash and some have been there since I started quilting. Greens have changed over the years, its hard to find a bright "grass" green now that isn't in a kid print or even a green with some contrasting colors in the print, everything new is very monotone in two values of the same hue.
I always wait to baste quilt tops until I have three or four ready before I get the quilt frame out because I have to move furniture and set it on four chairs gathered from around the house.  Its a bit of a bother so I wait until I can baste a pile.  Finally some sunny days here amazing how blue sky can improve attitudes.  Linking to Em's Scrapbag  --Ann--

Friday Knitting

The guys were off hunting last weekend so I was left to my own devices, I didn't have to cook for anyone but me so that was minimal, I had complete control of the remote so I snuggled up and watched movies most of the weekend and knit and knit some more.  I plan to finish one of these pairs this weekend.  --Ann--

Log Cabin with 9 patches

All the blocks are sewn now to trim and do some rearranging, I see some prints that are too close together.  I think I'll take them off the wall in random order then trim and put them back in rows and see what happens.  --Ann--