WyCo Clerk's Association Party

Last night was the quarterly Clerk's Association Christmas party at my house. The association bought pizza & wings and everyone brought appetizers and desserts - I think we could have fed twice as many people. Before James Tammaro, State Archives, spoke about the next round of Local Goverment Efficiency Grants and minutes indexing, Santa joined us to distribute gifts in a relatively low key game of "Dirty Santa". I think fun was had by all and I know I had fun sharing my "new" house with everyone - Merry Christmas Girls!!!!

Clockwise from far right: Michelle from Eagle, Kristen and Amanda from Attica, Lisa from Gainesville and Carol from Sheldon.

Clockwise from far right: Sandy from Arcade, Jean from Genesee Falls, Jim Tammaro, Vicki, Marie Elena and Denise (Mom) from Castile and Wendy from Pike.

no pictures

There's actually lots going on here but no pictures...ultimately most of it is to get ready for a party at my house Monday for the Wyoming County Clerk's Association which is held quarterly in towns around the county. Mom is actually sponsoring this one at my house since she is Castile Clerk (and retiring in 3 weeks!) and I am Perry Clerk but we both live in Castile. Got that?

Amongst everything else I am also trying to work on Carolina Christmas - it's slow going on my part so far but can't wait to see how it turns out...

We finished painting the walls, putting in the red oak flooring and rehanging the inner door that needed to be flipped 180 degrees in the foyer. All that's left is the coat "rack" shelf but I don't have enough antique doorknobs yet. This house has only 3 closets - one for my bedroom, one in the bath and a "pantry" off the kitchen. That mean's there is no place to hang coats. We are going to install doorknobs under the shelf to hang coats. Not sure when we will get it done but I hope fairly soon since I am sick of throwing my coat on a chair.

Dad and I also finished building an ottoman. He built a box, I bought the foam, legs and upholstery fabric. There will be a picture of this as soon as the sun shines while I am home - it looks awesome, if I say so myself.

Christmas decorations are coming along. This is really the first year I have decorated for Christmas. There was never the need when I lived in Miami since I always came home and didn't want the cats to destroy a tree while I was gone. There was nothing much to decorate with last year. Now I have two trees - one with sewing decorations - and my santa collection plus the lights outside. I also raided mom's stash.

Oh gosh - almost forgot the other big news. Santa already delivered one of my gifts - a new driveway!!! Not a big deal for some but the previous owner must have never driven her car and the grass grew over the gravel so my car just created ruts. I can't wait for it to be finished.

So that was really long and boring cuz there are no pictures...soon, I promise...

Design Wall Monday - 11/30/09

This blooming 9-patch was actually started at least 2 years ago while I still lived in Miami. I wanted to work towards "finishing" something on the Thanksgiving holiday while I waited for Bonnie's mystery to start this weekend so the B9P was the ticket. I just have a few more middle rows to complete and the side rows are already sewn together. I'm not sure that I have anough of the final orange/black to do the binding and a border so it might just be bound as is. Mom thinks it needs a dark green border but that sooo blows the blooming part that I am not sure that I will...we'll worry about that when the center is done, right?

Pillowcases

I'm pretty sure my cousins don't read this blog so it's probably a safe bet to post their Christmas presents. The girls are obviously into horses so I'm sure they will enjoy these pillow cases. They are pressed and ready to be wrapped.
In the background - I finally found the directions online for Carolina Crossroads, Bonnie's first mystery quilt. It will be quite some time before I'm crazy enough to start it and I think the directions were taken off her website because they will be in her next book but it's nice to have them "just in case."

Turkeys

So...what do a bunch of rednecks do on a Saturday night 2 weeks before Thanksgiving? Well, of course, they go to a turkey raffle. What? You've never been to a Turkey Raffle? Oh the fun, the disappointment and, for some, the food and libations.

This particular Turkey Raffle is sponsored each year by SSFD. There is no entrance fee and you can come and go during the 3+ hour raffle. Food, pop and beer are available at reasonable prices but I also saw a table decked with a feast. I told you this was an EVENT, right?

I think about 60 tickets are sold (at a whopping 25 cents each) per bird to be raffled and the wheel is spun to find the winning number. There were also a few 50 cent raffles on bigger birds and hams as well as 50/50 raffles and another special raffle on a "box of booze." Yup we can live it up in the sticks :)

Dad and I each came home with a 10 lb turkey. Between food and raffles, my bird cost $11. Yeh, I know it's more than the current supermarket price but it benefitted the fire department that works closest with mine and it was fun. The sad part was our little lucky charm was home sick. He loves this raffle so you know he didn't feel good when he said he "better not go." Now if I just don't get sick all will be well. They all have different illnesses but my mother, brother and both nephews are all sick. Where's my hand cleanser???

Crazy

Yup, that's me and it has nothing to do with today being Friday the 13th. I'm actually in the process of "starting" THREE new quilts.

The first is going to take me a lifetime and I actually started cutting the fabrics some time ago. The Pattern is Omigosh! by Quakertown Quilts, Inc and after seeing one of the quilts in person at the LQS, the name fits. Most of the blocks are one inch strips made into 9 and 4 patches plus half-square triangles of slightly larger stips. Told you I was crazy, right!? My plan of attack is that whenever I trim scraps into strips, I have a box labled OMG and all the 1" stips go there. I've just started sewing 2 and 3 strips together and then subcutting them into 1 inch pieces. Someday when I have a better mix, I'll sew the subcuts into 9 and 4 patches.
The other quilt I started needs to be done in 429 days. I've decided to copy Tazzie and make a Turning 4-T quilt. It uses the Temperance T block - these were generally done in blue and white but with green one of my fav colors, my blocks will be green with a mix of neutral backgrounds. Not sure how many of these 9" blocks I will make because 10 blocks of 4Ts will be small but 40 blocks would be huge. This picture proves that this isn't my best work - the block isn't square. Uh, I'll have to find something to blame that on but in the meantime I promise the other blocks will come out better once I start assembly line stitching them with the various feet and gadgets that I think will help with this block. The geese are much easier thanks to a quickie method that makes 4 geese at once.

The third quilt about to be started is Carolina Christmas by Bonnie as noted below. I'm still leaning towards patriotic colors since I already have lots of blue and cream 2.5" strips cut.

I have so many UFO's already but sometimes you just have to be crazy enough to "just do it"!

Carolina Christmas

Do you hear the angels singing? I'm in heaven...

Bonnie of quiltville.com has announced that the next mystery quilt will be starting on Black Friday (commonly known as the day after Thanksgiving). Given the title, you can guess that Bonnie is using Christmas colors but I am thinking of using red, white/cream, blue and gold. Then again, who knows - I'll have to think about it.

Only 16 more days until we start...

Indian Summer...

...has finally arrived in Western NY. You're right, it has snowed twice already and the roads had to be sanded last week but Saturday and Sunday it was in the 60s and today's high is 69. Made good use of the weather yesterday - raked leaves (again), trimmed the shrubs, bedded the garden for the winter, pulled the brussel sprouts that didn't really do anything and trimmed the day lillies (again). Dad helped me with that so I helped him with his leaves. After 7 hours of labor (in a shortsleeve tshirt !!! ) I was done and went to bed at 9pm.

The Christmas Bazaar was Saturday. I did ok, thanks to a large purchase by a friend. Now I just need some place to sell my left overs. The two other Bazaars I had thought of have been replaced with other fundraisers. There is always the internet, Mary never got anything to the Cider Mill - maybe I could sell something there, Wendy has a family relative that could sell things...

Next project...1 month until the Wyoming County Clerk's Association has their first ever Christmas party at my house. I'm sure it will be fun but "we" need to construct/upolster an ottoman, finish remodel of foyer, create Xmas decorations and the dreaded "cleaning." How does one wash the new laminate floor? Can't use a mop and bucket...

Another table runner

Here's another table runner for the Christmas Bazaar. I free motion quilted my version of "McTavishing" in the center area - a nice fairly quick filler - and one of my machine's programmed stitches in the inner border. Truth be told I picked the border stitch a month ago since it clearly echoed the border fabric but then it just sat there while I decided on the rest of the quilting. Last night I pored over the designs from http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/ and looked through my quilting warm ups from previous projects and finally jumped on this design. The binding is nearly half done.

Seven days left how many more can I finish???

The Binding Continues

Harumph...no sign of the Price Fairy yet. Maybe she's just waiting until I have more table runners done before popping over...

I'm still working on quilting and binding table runners for the bazaar which is next weekend. I'd soooooo like to do some piecing - but other than 2 pillowcases Michele and I made last weekend for a charity project, I don't have the time or energy. The colors in this picture are a little dark - it really is a pretty fall strip and the purple on the back just adds a nice punch to it.

I think I must be the slowest binder. I don't care for whipstitched bindings - why do a quickie stitch like that when I've spent so much time on the rest of the quilt? I don't care for the machine sewn bindings I have seen either. I know several people have posted their techniques online but I didn't have time to perfect them before the bazaar. Maybe next year... In the meantime I will continue what is essentially an applique stitch while I listen to some good books or watch movies from the library. Yesterday's movie was 'Blind Dating' and this weekend was 'Bottle Shock' which was my fav of the two.

keep it or sell it?

This is my fav table runner so far for the Christmas Bazaar. The colors/fabrics are bright and likeable but my fav part is the quilting. I've really been debating whether to keep it for myself. Mom says why not but I already have two people interested in buying it. Of course, neither has asked the price so I guess I need to start pricing runners and ask them if they really want it. Otherwise I will finish one that is cheaper and more likely to sell. I have never been confident in pricing my art. Can't the Pricing Fairy just pop over this weekend and tell me what to do??!!

In the background you will see my little helper. Pepper rarely "sews" with me so I was thrilled when he spent several evenings on a roll of batting while I was working in my studio. If I keep the house chilly enough do you think he might continue to help?

The next picture is Tula. There's nothing better than a fresh bag of cat food - she wouldn't even let me get it into the bowl.

Creative Booty

Hmmm...that's gotcha thinking didn't it??!! Sunday I took a bus trip to the annual Creative Festival in Toronto. The show is a jumble of classes, free demos, fashion shows and SHOPPING on just about every craft you can think of.

Here is a glimpse of what I bought - fabric, hologram thread, patterns, a gorgeous turquise pendant and some other goodies like a fabric bow maker. Not pictured are the quilting stencils. While my free motion skills are steadily improving, stencils sometimes just move the process along faster, provide a jumping point for ideas or help learn muscle memory. Sorry, no cameras were allowed inside the CF. The Quilt of Belonging was there so I wish I had been able to take pictures inside...the Needle was just outside tho.It was a long day with a 3 hour drive each way and 6 hours of walking around the booths. Thankfully we watched movies on the bus, I brought binding to work on and we were treated to a nice view of Niagara Falls and a beautiful sunset on the way home.

Will I go next year? I don't need to but if Michele get's her passport we can go together!! hint hint hint

Wazzit Wednesday

Well....I thought that Wazzit Wednesday had a better ring than Wazzit Friday...that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

Did anyone guess what they were???

They are luggage tags. They also hold gift cards or insert cards that say "Do Not Disturb" or "Happy Birthday" and hang them on a door knob for a neato surprise. I'll have them at my Christmas Bazaar booth in just 17 days (but who's counting).

Wordless Friday

It's Snowing!!!

Today brings the first snow of the season. It's so fine I can't even get a picture but will get one ASAP. Mom is ignoring the flakes in the hopes that they will go away.

Hmmm...guess I better dig out a coat instead of my flannel shirt :)

Oh wait - I heard that next week it should be about 60. Huh?!

Surprise!

This past weekend my brother, SIL and I threw a surprise 40th Anniversary Party for my parents at the Castile Firehall. I think the biggest surprise was for the three of us 'cuz Mom and Dad didn't figure it out!

We had about 30 guests, excellent beef on weck and a cake decorated by my SIL, Kristie, to replicate the original. Kristie and I took turns sneaking into their house and office while Mom and Dad were on vacation to make copies from the wedding album and slide carousel and get the Christmas address list.


It was a fun evening for all, we FINALLY surprised Mom and Dad and the fire hall is finally clean. How long do you think that will last?

Wazzit Friday

So ... can you guess what it is? I think I gave a little too much of a visual clue but maybe not...

I'm working on projects for the Christmas Bazaar at the local church. 28 days and counting. I've completed several table runners with a lot more waiting to be quilted and bound, tissue pockets and the wazzits shown here. More pictures to come...

Cuties

This is Tyler - he's 4 and a half. He over-smiles when you want a picture but who could resist a little bundle of trouble that yells Sarahhhhhhhhhh as he runs towards you for a hug or secretly asks you to stay and play.






This is Ryan - he's one and a half, a bundle of energy but also Mr. Serious. He's all boy as he tries to imitate his big bro and ends up with scratches and bruises. Ry hasn't grown out of his mamma's boy phase yet but he is getting better at pointing towards me and saying 'Sa' when I come to visit.

Fire Prevention Week

Last November I joined the Castile Fire Department(CFD). It's kind of a family business: Dad is a first responder and was chief in the 70's, Mom is the Ladies Auxilliary, brother is the current fire chief/EMT-B, SIL is also an EMT-B. I completed my EMT-B course in May of this year. The firehall is only a block from my house so it's an easy jog over when the sirens wail us into service.

This week begins Fire Prevention Week, a national community service project to educate families on safe practices. This year CFD expanded their activities to try to involve more of the community. We demonstrated our new ice rescue equipment in a port-a-tank and used the same water for the kids to play with live hoses. There were two Jaws of Life demos on donated cars. Mercy Flight flew in for a tour of one of their birds and this also completed our landing zone training for the year. There was also a bounce house for the kids and a pig roast.


Just before the second Jaws demonstration the Rescue Captain offered to lend me his turnout gear so I could practice as well. It's unlikely that I would ever use the Jaws in a real accident as I would likely be needed in the ambulance but it was interesting to see what it is like as a fireman with all that heavy gear on, in addition to the heavy equipment. I always gave firemen kudos for the guts to run into burning buildings but now it's more important to thank a fireman for every job they do...I certainly can't handle it. Can you?

Don't forget to Fall Back AND change all smoke detector and CO2 monitor batteries on November 1st.

Orange Crush

Well...it doesn't have borders yet and it clearly needs ironing but I finally purchased a curtain rod and clips to hang quilts in the living room so here it is. Thanks Dad for helping hang the rod :)

Isn't it neat how the blue fabric matches the walls...even tho I started this quilt back when I lived in Miami and long before I dreamed of buying a house in NY or painting the walls "colorado springs" blue.