Quilting is a verb

I am feeling the need to blog, but also feeling like I have nothing to say. I have been feeling this way for quite some time, thus . . . not much new on this page. I am now prepared to slog my way through this and get something written whether I feel capable of it or not. So here goes.

Chris and I spent four days with my Mom this past week. It was good. She is just truckin’ along, doing her thing; whatever that is. Her eye has improved. My sister and I took her to Portland a couple weeks ago and the doctor cleared her for surgery. She has a consultation coming up on April 12, and hopefully can get the surgery scheduled relatively soon. It would be nice to get it out of the way before summer comes.

Mom and I tied quilts, five of them, which might have been a little ambitious. My sister, Karen, helped with three of the five and we got the job done. For those of you not familiar with quilting in general. Tying quilts is an old-fashioned way of finishing a quilt without actually hand or machine quilting it. We use yarn to tie a little knot about every six inches or so to hold the top, batt and back together. I much prefer this over quilting as you end up with a thicker, softer, cuddlier quilt. We also use flannel to back our quilts so they are extremely warm and snuggly.

We had a nice visit, but were very happy to get home. It is so fun to go visiting, but it always feels so very good to get home again. My own bed is a haven for a restful night’s sleep, and Malcolm, the cat, missed us terribly.

After I get the binding finished on the quilts I will post some pictures. I think Chris got some of Liam “helping,” so I will try to post some of those as well.

"String too short to use"

10) Busy. Busy. Busy.

9) I have been quilting like a woman possessed. I’m heading up to Mom’s the weekend of March 20th and I want to tie three quilts that weekend: a little boy quilt for Liam as he has outgrown all the cute little baby quilts he received before he was born (His feet hang out the end of all but two these days.); a new quilt for Chris and I’s bed as ours is very faded and worn; a quilt I agreed to help out my sister in-law, Elizabeth, with (She pieced the top, but then ran out of gas.) Needless to say, this has kept my sewing machine humming right along. Two of the three are ready, top and back, but the third one, ours, the one I call the Eternal Quilt, still needs borders sewn on the top and I need to put together a back for it which I haven’t even purchased yet. I will post pictures when finished.

8) In my spare time I have been creating table runners. A friend showed me a really neat quilt-as-you-go runner that turned out great. Then I made an octagonal one for a friend. Now I want to make more.

7) I am attempting to keep up on birthday and anniversary cards via snail mail this year. Invariably I get to about April or so and the train runs off the rails. My 2010 goal is to make it all the way to the end of the year. Wish me luck.

6) How is it that the smallest member of our household generates the most laundry?

5) Life turned upside down week before last. Chris was gone Presidents’ weekend and I spent the time doing taxes for us and some family and friends. He got back Monday evening, went to work Tuesday and didn’t feel good by Tuesday evening. He finally went to the hospital at about 10 p.m. and at about 1 a.m. they removed his appendix. It hadn’t burst, but was very inflamed. He spend two days in the hospital and then a few idle days at home. He went back to work last Tuesday and life has returned somewhat to normal. I am dreading the bills however.

4) Spring is here. Pace Picante Phil screwed up again. Never trust a rodent as a weatherman.

3) We spent some time last weekend pruning roses and lilacs and cutting back last year’s growth on some ornamental grasses. It felt so very good to be outside in the sun and not be bundled from head to toe. Liam played on the swing and slide so it was good for all of us.

2) Three out of seven isn’t too bad. If I were a batter I’d be a hero. Unfortunately, the three out of seven is the number of my clients with paperwork at the accountant’s for income tax purposes. Bleh. That leaves me four to go, two of which are most likely going to have to file for extensions because they have not exactly been forthcoming with information. Naturally they will drop the remainder of 2009 on me in the next few weeks and still expect to file by April 15. Ha. Ha. Ha. Then it becomes that whole "lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part" thing.

1) If you could be invisible for one hour, where would you go and what would you do?