Cabin Fever

Is anyone else having this problem? We've just been having such bad weather here that I haven't wanted to get out much. Well, I've wanted to, but I don't have the gumption to do it, most of the time a nap sounds like a better idea. Now they're calling for another winter storm tonight with lots of freezing rain and snow, yuck. Actually I did get out for a while today, my daughter and I went to see 27 Dresses. It was cute, even though you can pretty much figure out the whole plot from the beginning, we both really enjoyed it.

I guess this weather is good for something, I've actually gotten a couple of quilt tops done. This Christmas quilt top went pretty fast, I was trying to get it done while I was still in a Christmas mood so I worked hard on it. Hopefully I'll get it quilted by next Christmas. I want to make three Christmas quilts so each of my children can inherit one. This pattern is from Strips & Strings by Evelyn Sloppy. I probably wouldn't have made it just from seeing the picture in the book, it's more muted colors. Our LQS had this quilt hanging in their store, and it was bright colors like these, which I was really drawn to.

The second top is from a $5 block class at a LQS. I join every year mostly because I have a quilt buddy that also goes and we know we'll always have that day to get together, go to class, and have dinner together (and GAB like crazy!). I have about 5 years worth of blocks from these classes, but so far I think this is my favorite set of blocks. It really looks better in person, the border is made from a batik fabric with white swirls & it looks really nice with the blocks.

I'm still waiting patiently for my first grandbaby, she's due in about two weeks. In the meantime I get to play with this little guy. He's the son of my daughter's friend, and she lets me be "Grandma Sue". He's a lot of fun, but can you tell that he doesn't sit still much? All the pictures I took were a blur, he has a very short attention span. He's really a joy, though, learning something new every day.

I have a question, if anyone can help with this I'd appreciate it. I'm wondering what to use for pincushion filler. I don't want to just use stuffing, I'd like something that will give weight. I can use sand, but wondered if there's something better than isn't too expensive.

Take a guess....

...where we've been on vacation, I'll make it real easy with this first picture.
San Francisco it is! Actually we spent more time in nearby San Mateo & San Jose, that's where our two sons live. It was really kind of a miserable week as far as weather goes, they had just had a major storm the day we arrived, lots of rain and high winds, and there was debris everywhere from the trees being damaged. Sadly, it was actually warmer back here in Michigan on a couple of the days we were gone, it got up to over 60 degrees in Michigan and I don't think we ever got over 50 in California, WEIRD!

We didn't do a lot, we really just wanted to spend time with the boys, but we did visit the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. They had an exibition of art by H.C. Westermann which was interesting.

I won't try to describe it, if you're interested just click on his name, they describe it better than I could. I liked his boxes the best, but couldn't get a good picture, there were things inside so the idea was to look through the windows to see what the piece was about. Unfortunately, they had to put everything in glass cases to protect the art, which basically ruins the whole idea of the thing since you can't really see in the windows too well that way.

They had so many interesting works of art, I'm not sure if I've ever seen things this old before. This tapestry (from Belgium) is from around 1480, that just amazes me. That always makes me wonder about where it's hung, what sort of people owned it, what were their lives like?

The couple in this picture are my son and his girlfriend, I thought it was funny that they're sitting in front of a display of ancient bowls & are way more interested in her new iPhone. I was impressed with how useful it was, someone always had a question about something that Alex was able to answer by using the iPhone. Too small for me, I'm too clumsy to use those small buttons & I like a MUCH bigger screen.

We did go to one quilt shop in California, but I didn't want to do much of that since I'm trying not to buy new fabric unless I really need it. I have a LOT of fabric that I need to use up. I can add a bit of quilt content to this blog though. Below is a table runner that my daughter and I made for a friend of hers for Christmas. I also made one like it for my mom. Very easy to do with charm packs.

I also made this mini quilt around Christmas, I thought I'd try selling it on eBay, but it didn't go. I'll probably try again since that's not the best time of year to sell such a thing. I may try Etsy, too, I just have to figure out how to set up a store. I also need to find a way to take better quilt pics, they always come out looking wonky.

It was so good to get back home, the older I get the less I like to travel. I'm really getting to be a homebody (or is that hermit?). I like driving much better than flying, but it's not too practical for going to California unless you have a lot of time.

Now that I'm home I can get back to watching my Gilmore Girls complete seasons set of DVDs that my kids got me for Christmas, yea!