Sister's Choice Quilts

Halloween 2018

Once more we gathered for my family's Annual Halloween Party over the weekend.  I think it's been more than 34 years that we have been doing this, but who's counting?  That is my little family portrait above.  It would be perfect for our Christmas cards, don't you think?  My husband is a Pharaoh, my daughter is Cleopatra, and I am (drum roll) Cleopatra's Mummy.  I look a little tired, but that is what being in a sarcophagus for 2000 years does to a person.

Eva was Ariel, the Little Mermaid.  She kept taking that wig off and putting it back on, so it wasn't sitting quite right in this picture.  She was feeling the magic though.

Here she is with her cousin Johnathan.  They only see each other a couple of times a year, so they were racing around having the best time.  Have you ever seen anything so cute?

Except maybe this little cave girl riding her dinosaur?  She is standing on her own legs inside the dinosaur body, and those are little fake legs that dangle down the sides of the beast.  I laughed every time I looked at her.

Here's my dad.  At 93, he came up with his own costume and rented it.  He is a barrister.  His wig was itchy so he took it off pretty quick and went to bed by 8:00, but he tolerated the rest of our antics as he does every year.  We have the party at his house, so he is pretty much captive.

So here are the prize winners:

This family came as the characters from the latest Incredibles movie.  They won for "Best Group", beating out the Egyptians in the first photo.

This hot dog won the prize for "Funniest".  He is the daddy of the little dinosaur riding cave girl.  I tell you that family gets into Halloween.

This is Miss Havisham, who won for "Most Effort".  She is my sister, mother of the hot dog guy and grandma to the dino riding toddler.  I told you they were into the spirit of things.  Her husband is sitting on the chair in the background.  He was one of two skeletons.  Let's call him Skeleton #1

Sitting on the sofa is the other skeleton, let's call him Skeleton #2, who to me, was indistinguishable from Skeleton #1.  However, Skeleton #2 won the prize for "Scariest".  Skeleton #1 was bald, so some discrimination may have taken place.

I mean, really, can you tell that one of those guys is scarier than the other?  Skeleton #1 can't believe it either.  Hope he can digest that Diet Coke.  It may go right through him.

This is my other sister, who won the grand prize for "Most Amazing" or "Most Mind Blowing" or something.  Her flamingo costume was so awesome, she deserved it.  She made that costume out of 15 pink feather boas she got for $1 apiece.  The flamingo head on her hand was made from a plastic toucan she found somewhere and painted pink and made into a hand puppet.  She is married to the prize winning skeleton by the way.  And mother/grandmother to the Incredibles family.  Seriously these people have a lock on the prizes I tell you.  My jealousy is only appeased by the fact that she had to go back after the party and vacuum the entire house of about five pounds of pink feathers she dropped all over the place.

This guy must have been a party crasher.  I am sure I do not recall him attending the party in the past.  He just sat on top of the fireplace dividing wall and didn't bother anybody.

Hope you enjoyed the little costume parade.  Happy Halloween to you all!

 

 

Bad Blogger

Sorry I have been such a bad blogger lately.  Life is just getting in my way I tell you.  Here are a few things we have been up to.

Eva and I made unicorn pumpkin cookies this weekend.  Now that is a concept isn't it?  We had the candy corn and while we were decorating the cookies, she got a brain wave that suggested the candy corn would make the perfect unicorn horn on our pumpkins.  I guess it works.

I mentioned in passing that I wished I could find a couple of lighted branches to stick in a fall floral arrangement, and the next thing I know, is my husband is presenting me four strands of lighted fall leaf garlands.  Well.  Thank you.  I think.  I am not sure how he jumped from lighted branches to four lighted leaf garlands, but more is more right?  So I have been trying to figure out where to put his contribution to our fall decor.  I have some pumpkins outside the front door, so that seemed like a good place for one of the garlands.  Three to go.

It's pretty lame, but I kind of threw the remaining three garlands out on the porch railing.  Actually, if we sit out there with our wine in the early evening, it is sort of festive and fun.

I have passed the half way mark with my scarf and am now decreasing stitches to form the triangle!

And this book, which I was honestly not enjoying much has finally picked up the pace and gotten good after 150 pages.  Not cool, but I have determined to stick with it.  Honestly, I don't know what happened to Kate Morton with this one.  There are too many characters, the story line is super confusing, and there is a ghost who is trying to tie it all together for the reader.  Not her best work.

Not much sewing, but I am probably going to get back to my red and white Christmas quilt any minute.  My husband has had a job offer that seems to be drawing him out of his retirement, so I will be my own boss in the upcoming months, as he will be living closer to San Francisco where the job is, and coming home just on weekends.  This is so funny.  He knows these people who are offering him the job.  The position comes up and they ask him to come in to interview for it on Thursday, and can he please start the next day?  All this before they interview him.  Ok, he's on board.

Hope your week is going well, and I hope to be posting more regularly!

So Blessed

Had to share this photo of my brother in law with his newborn grandson.  Have you ever seen such a sweet picture?  This is little Jacob, younger brother to Johnathan.  My new grand nephew.  Born just a few days ago.  Robert, my brother in law (the little guy's grandpa), just returned from a three week trip to Europe and  as soon as he returned home, rushed up to Washington State to meet this little fellow.  He looks like he feels the journey was worth it, doesn't he?  Jet lag?  I don't think Robert is feeling it.  Aw.  My heart is full.

This has been my view this week. Fabulous Lake Tahoe.  We are having such a lovely visit with our son, who is visiting from Ireland.  We just don't see enough of each other.    We plan to go visit him in Dublin this coming September, and he will come home to be with us at Christmas, but it just isn't enough.  We have been taking lots of photos and making lots of memories this week, so that is good.

Finished up my leftovers table topper from the Rachel Remembered project of a week or so ago.  I love the bright fresh spring colors.

Works on my narrow hall table.  Just a simple bowl of wooden lemons and some ceramic birds.  Pretty.

Hope you had a great first week of May!  See you on Monday!

 

Spring Doings

Just in time for Easter!  My little State Fair table topper got bound and placed on my dining table.  I love the spring color palette, and will be enjoying this one for many months to come.

My dining table did not see any Easter action this year.  We gathered at my dad's house, 18 of us, to have our traditional Easter Brunch.  Mimosas, salmon puffs, an amazing fruit salad, bacon, sausages, quiche, a mushroom breakfast casserole and my contribution Blueberry French Toast, which the family now calls "Blueberry Crack".  It is so good you can't stop eating it.  It was a feast, but especially nice for those of us who could, to gather together.

Thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post.  I am still in a quandary as to how to proceed with this Windmills quilt, but got a ton of suggestions that are very intriguing.  I will keep you posted!  

I have a busy week planned, with volunteering in Eva's classroom, getting my hair colored, meeting up with a friend for coffee--but some sewing will happen I promise.  I will leave you with this photo of Eva on our vacation last week.  We were at a posh shopping mall on El Paseo in Palm Desert, and Denny had just suggested that Jamba Juice might be good.

 

Ahhhhh

Just what was needed.  A break from 36 degree mornings and constant rain.  It is beautiful here in Palm Desert, and I wish we could stay two weeks rather than one!  Look how considerate the clouds are: they stay politely back behind the mountain range and don't interfere with the sunshine.

It can be cool here as well, especially in the morning and if one is clutching a freezing cold strawberry banana smoothie.

We have been getting plenty of pool time.  More than enough for this old nana.  I think Eva went down the waterslide 100 times the first day we were here.

She has also painted a birdhouse, made a Build a Bear, and made about 50 new friends.

What can I say?  The weather is great, there are loads of activities and we are spending time with our grand daughter!

Eva DIY Christmas Gifts

I can't even tell you the hours Eva and I spent making these little charms.  Two days at least.   I am not sure how we got the idea that we wanted to make little polymer clay charms, but YouTube videos by a sweet Australian girl named Creative Rachy factored into it big time.   

Eva  needed some gift ideas for her parents, uncle, step dad, step mom and step sister.  We started looking on Pinterest, which is a fantastic source of inspiration for just about any DIY project.  We discovered these little charms and were completely hooked.  I ordered the polymer clay, a brand called "Sculpey" and it arrived in two days courtesy of Amazon.  (You can buy a similar product at Joann or Michaels).  We watched endless Creative Rachy videos and chose a few designs we thought were suitable for the folks we needed presents for.

Basically, you form the little figures by hand out of a very stiff clay material, then bake it in your oven at a low temperature for a pretty long time (275 for at least an hour and a half).  You apply a glaze after baking to make a shiny surface, and Bob's your uncle.  We made a Christmas tree, a penguin, two kitty cat presents, two Westies, and Rudolph.

This was a great project for a six year old.  I manipulated the clay into balls or squares or whatever large base shape was required.  The clay is super stiff and hard, and would be difficult for a child to manipulate.  Eva was totally able to handle the tiny bits, as they were smaller and warmed up faster in her little hands for shaping.  She was able to do all the embellishing.  We inserted tiny eye hooks so that the charms could be hung on a little Christmas tree or strung on a ribbon or chain and worn as a necklace.

It was a super fun project, and she is as pleased as Punch to be able to gift such darling little charms to her favorite people.

I made a few of these little pouches and we had a perfect DIY Christmas gift that a kid mostly made and was super proud of.

 

Halloween Party 2017

Well, we did it again.  We held our family's 29th Annual Halloween Party this past Saturday.  Next year is the Big 30th, so we will have to be sure and go all out.  The costumes this year were pretty darn clever, as usual.  That is my sister Andrea as Esmerelda the Fortune Teller.  I'm not sure I would trust her, but it's only 25 cents.

This is my sister Kate as a seriously dangerous looking biker dude.  Dad looks quite alarmed.

There, Dad is much more at ease with me, a very friendly witch.

I loved this fantastical guy. My nephew Evan dressed up as a reference to a type of music he enjoys.

Are you scared yet?  This is my cousin Claudia.

And her husband, King Paul. Talk about an unlikely couple...

This happy looking family consists of Daddy Eric having a spa day (notice the champagne in his hand), Mommie Trisha as Cookie Monster, and Baby Gwen as a funny monkey.  They are just too cute.

You have to admit, our family gets into it.

This is the best kitty cat makeup I have ever seen.  My niece Lizz somehow fluffed up her eyebrows, which was awesome.  She just found out she is expecting, so maybe it has to do with hormones?

Can you guess what Maddi and Stephanie are?  Well, I was stumped too.  They are Google Maps, destinations A and B.

I didn't get this one either, because I am so out of it.  They all came as characters in the Super Mario game.

My brother in law Greg was such a good sport.  He broke his leg and still managed to attend in costume.

Best of all, the kids.  Eva was a little witch and Johnathan was a character from the latest Star Wars movie.  Poor kid could barely see or walk in the get up, so he only had it on for about five minutes.  They won prizes for Best Boy and Best Girl.  They were the only kids at the party besides Baby Gwen (who won Best Baby), so everyone was happy.

Hope your family Halloween is just as fine as ours was!  Be safe.

 

 

Thankful and Do-Over Day

We got some bad news yesterday that has been partially taken back today.  That is Eva getting a smooch on the cheek from our Remy. (She was eating a cupcake and he had designs on those crumbs on her lips).   Poor little guy has been limping lately, and his right thigh muscles have gotten noticeably smaller (atrophy).  We got him into the vet yesterday and were told that he had injured himself awhile back and probably would need surgery to put a pin in his knee.  Oh, and there was a fuzzy area on the x-ray that might be cancer.

That is such a bad word, and certainly has terrible associations in my family.  But, today the lab results came back and our Rem does not have cancer.  (We are all doing a happy dance).  He just needs to have an expensive operation to repair his injury.  Ok, we will all deal with that.  Honestly, he is such a good dog, it pains me to think of not having him around forever.  He is technically Sara and Ryan's dog, but he spends a lot of time with us.  He and Ozzie are practically brothers.  (Think Devil/Angel).  Whew.  I just want to have Remy around for the foreseeable future.

Yesterday was my day off (and man, did I ever need a break from work).  I just spent it puttering around in my sewing room, and ended up doing a few blocks over again.  Do you ever do that?  You just aren't 100% satisfied with your first effort and cannot let it go. You finally succumb to the impulse to just make the thing over.  

My first do-over was the Triangle Gatherings block, above.  I just wasn't loving the block on the left.  That type of block is so tricky to do right.  If you are even a HAIR off in your seams, those lines will not line up perfectly.  It came out ok, it was just my least favorite block in the sew along.  Lisa Bongean (Primitive Gatherings) is still cranking out these variations of blocks you can make with sixteen half square triangles, and she published Block 76 recently, and I liked it so much I had to have it in my quilt.  It is pinwheels, how cute is that?  So I did a re-do and replaced the block on the left with the block on the right.

Ok, that was a successful Re-do.

Next up was my ModaBlockheads block of the week.  My first effort is on the left.  I like the contrast of the fabrics, as the block design is showcased really well, but the block came out so wonky, it was hardly square.  That bugged me no end.  So I remade the block with fabrics that had less of a contrast.  The block came out perfectly square and was executed well.  But I dunno, what do you think?  Which block is better?

Harrumph.  Not all Re-dos are an improvement.  I wanted to re-do my pumpkin/bird block on the left because I thought my appliqué wasn't so great.  I didn't use matching thread on the bobbin and it kind of showed through and bugged me.  So I thought I would re-make the block.  When the second block on the right was finished, the appliqué job was clearly better.  But the pumpkin shape is awful!  I had forgotten that I customized the appliqué pattern when I made it and did a nice fat symmetrical pumpkin.  Ugh.   This re-do was a fail.  My first bird is better too.

So, weigh in friends.  Is it worth it to spend the time re-making blocks that you are not 100% loving?  Or should you just leave well enough alone?

Have a great weekend everyone!

If You Love Cats....

I still don't have a sewing related post due to traveling out of town for my doctor appointments Monday and Tuesday, but I thought you might enjoy the link to this post.  If you haven't checked out my sister Andrea's blog Under a Blue Moon, and love cats, you had better go on over there and have a look.

She has two gorgeous cats that actually match her decor (she is kind of like that), and are gorgeous to look at.  The only way they could be improved as far as Andrea is concerned is if they were sparkly.  Just kidding, sort of.  Anyway, she tells the story of how these sisters came into her life, which you might find entertaining.

Being the owner of a high energy and annoying dog, their peaceful personalities are refreshing.

Back From the Emerald Isle

I'm back from my trip to Ireland, and yes, it really does look like the photo above!  We had a wonderful time visiting our son and feel even stronger that we would love to have property in Ireland to live in for at least part of the year.  We came home to a horrendous heat wave, and had a firmer appreciation for the 65 degree weather we enjoyed while away.

We covered a lot of territory while we were on our trip, from bucolic drives through Eastern and Southern Ireland, where sheep really do share the road with automobiles-

to a fantastic side trip to London for five days.

We did some touristy things, such as seeing Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, but also did some more unusual sightseeing, such as going to Highgate Cemetery, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and the Pink Floyd exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Our son Ahren was the most outstanding tour guide, planning such interesting excursions and activities.  One fun thing we did was to have tea at Fortnam and Mason, purveyors of extraordinary tea.

We got back a week ago, and let me tell you, jet lag is no joke.  The first few days back home involved waking up at 2:30 AM, raring to start my day.  I have mostly recovered, and am looking forward to getting back into a routine and regular blogging.  Hope you all had a good August!