My first stage of the quilt is done.  I'm not extremely happy with it - too many errors, so it isn't "perfect", but...for my first try, I'm pretty happy!  I hope I can do the next stage a little better, so the finished project will look good.  

I ended up not going to Susanville - the weather forecast was not too pretty.  It turned out it was wrong, but....I was afraid to chance it.  It called for 4-6 inches of snow overnight in Susanville, and I didn't want to get snowed in there.  Turns out, the snow started this morning, so I could have made it back, if I started early in the morning, with no issues at all.  Oh well - I did get my quilt finished, and my baby booties (almost) finished.  The booties are done, now I just need to figure out where and how to do the buckles to turn them into pirate booties.  I also made a little lamb rattle to go with the set.  The afghan is in the washer now, so I'll get pictures after is is all dried and fluffy.

Finally, an evening home alone!  It felt like that, but it really hadn't been that long.  I have felt so busy lately it was nice last night to not feel busy.  I left work early for an eye doctor appointment (no changes - I don't need bifocals yet!) and then I picked up Alli from daycare and took her to MD Imaging to get x-rays taken of her back.  She has an appointment Monday with her spine specialist.  Then we went to Wal-mart because we were almost out of diapers.  Did I mention the doctor dilated my eyes?  I did just fine driving until we left Wal-mart, and it was dark and all the lights were just blurry halos.  Not a good drive home!  I got home at the normal time, so I started dinner, and then.....basically had the rest of the evening off!   After I cleaned up the kitchen, I worked a bit on my quilt.  I am down to just the boarders around the blocks now (for this month's assignment at least.)

They aren't perfect, and I know I need to improve in some areas, but....by golly, they look good!  I'm proud of me!

We had our book club meeting last night - we read The Book of Lost Things this time - a good book, but one I think I would have enjoyed more as a 13 year old.  The meeting was fun, but it has already been a long week, and I need some down time!  Tonight I can (hopefully) relax, but....I'm off to Susanville this weekend, weather permitting.  Since there are chain restriction right now, and the storm is supposed to get heavier today, we'll see if I make it.  It won't break my heart not to drive through the snow to get there, but I enjoy my visits - just not the snow!!!  The last trip wasn't a lot of fun - I think it took almost 4 hours to get there.

I was watching Allison eat breakfast this morning, when I noticed that there was a school bus parked outside.  It was 6:15, and not her regular bus!  I went out and told the substitute bus driver that Alli would be a few more minutes, since she was a bit early!  They had given the sub the 'old' schedule - the one where Alli was picked up at 6:05, not at 6:30.  Poor thing.  She had probably been sitting out there for 10 minutes before I noticed her there (I don't usually look out the window that time of the morning - it too dark to see anything!)  We got Alli all fed and teeth brushed, and ready for the bus by about 6:20, so she was early for her next stop, but that would give her time to find the house in the dark.

I ended up with a busy weekend!  Mom called Saturday afternoon, and while we were talking, she decided to come visit me on Sunday.  She and a friend of hers (who had never been to Redding) came over Sunday and stayed until this afternoon.  We had a nice visit, and we took Mom's friend to the Sundial Bridge Sunday, and then today, out to Whiskeytown and Shasta Dam.  We could have gone a few other places, but the friend forgot to mention she got car sick, so we called it quits after Shasta Dam.

We were at the bridge Sunday in time for sunset (too much time talking at the house!) and it was a bit brisk.  Okay, it was down right cold - the wind was freezing!

Today's trip was still cold, but most of it was driving.  Here is Alli at Whiskeytown, by the Glory Hole:

And Alli up at Shasta Dam

Mom and Alli at Shasta

Shasta Lake and Mt Shasta

While I was waiting for Mom to arrive Sunday, I started playing with my quilt pieces.  I was able to get quite a bit done while waiting - and would have had a lot more done if it weren't for having to stop and rip out what I had done (the very first thing I did was use the wrong seem allowance - everything had to be done twice!).  When I was pressing these blocks for the picture, I realized that one of the blocks had a square of fabric upside down, so I STILL had to rip out and start over again.  Sigh!  After Mom left today, I managed to fix my error and got a little bit further on the project.  Not too bad!  It is going faster than I thought it would.  The original project looked pretty big when we started, but I put a big dent in it this weekend.

I finished another project!  (and started a new one, of course!)  Here is a doily that I've had started since October.  I could not find beads that I liked for the outside, so...here are beads that are so-so.  They are larger than I wanted, and the doily is just a bit gaudy with them.  But......I am one more project closer to catching up with my WIP's.

My new project.....I went to a quilting class yesterday with a friend.  M has taken a quilting class before, but it was several years ago, and I have never taken one.  We've both done a bit of sewing in our youth, so it isn't all a foreign concept, but....it's a bit daunting when facing the other ladies that have been quilting for years.  There are about 25 people in the class, and M and I are the only 'first timers' there.  The group was very encouraging, and a lot of fun.  Even if I don't get 4 quilts done this year (the goal of the group) I will have had a very entertaining Saturday morning once a month.  Here is a copy of the book we are quilting from, and our first project is the top left quilt.  (We are also doing the top right, the middle right and bottom left, I think)



It is a nationwide club (I had no idea - I thought I was signing up for beginning quilting classes at the local quilt shop!) and the book/quilts changes every year.  This year, they are doing four smaller quilts, and you get enough fabric each meeting to do the 'assigned' blocks.  It really does break even a large quilt into manageable portions.  One lady brought in her finished quilt from last year, and it was huge.  (I felt a lot better when I found out that she was the only one that had finished it!)  Here is a picture of just the quilt we are doing now:


M and I decided to go in together to buy our quilting 'stuff'.  We needed a mat, a rotary cutter and a ruler.  We both had coupons for 50% off one item at Joannes, so she bought the mat and cutter ($46.00 for the set) and I bought the ruler and thread ($16.00 for the ruler).  We came out pretty good in the end - probably $18.00 for each of us, rather than $70.00 each.  She came over last night after dinner to cut out the fabric.  I couldn't wait that long to play with my new toys, so I had already cut mine out.  (I did watch a couple of videos on using the rotary cutter before I started.)  I had no problem with the cutter, but trying to figure out how to use the ruler was a bit more problematic.  (Suggestion #1 - don't  try something new when you are already tired!  Poor M had already put in a long day, so was completely pooped by 9:30 last night, and still had more pieces to cut.)  We both have our piece cut and are ready to sew!  One more unfinished project!

I'm off on a new adventure today - I start a quilting class!  I am hoping to not only learn to quilt and actually finish a quilt, but that I meet some new people and 'get out' more.  I have become so stuck in a rut over the last few years.  Go to work, go home.   This is a little out of my comfort zone, so....I'm glad I got pushed into doing it.

I finished the bookmarks for the book club last night.  I stayed up too late doing it, but I finished them!  I think they actually turned out looking like a scraggly tree in winter.  (The book has  a crooked tree, in which the main character moves from one world into another.)  Once again, I couldn't find anything out there for a pattern, so I had to create my own.  Not too shabby!  

AJ took his  annual dip in the pool on his birthday!  He waited for me to come in from work last night, so it was dark before he went in, so the pictures didn't turn out as good as they could have been.  My flash didn't work the first time he dove in, so he dove two more times for me, just so he could have pictures of it.  (You'd think that at 19, he would have outgrown it!)

It was a balmy 52 degrees outside - but the water felt like it was just a notch above freezing.

Brrrrr........

I got a few projects completed over the weekend - the hat, the baby afghan (no pictures yet), the first tree bookmark, and a few rounds on a doily.  Not too bad!

 Here is the yarn that I bought that is a ribbon, and the scarf that it is making:

Here is the yarn stretched out:

The hat that I finished:

The first attempt at a tree bookmark:

The second attempt - much better!  (The brown yarn helps!)

The dogs on our walk - chasing the ball - Koori is in the lead - eat her dust!!

Throw it!  Throw it!

Moon last night:

  

It's all Allison's fault!  I would have finished the baby afghan, but she came and snuggled up on the couch with me and fell asleep.  What could I do - I had to nap too!  Yes, I realize I could have continued crocheting, and even turned the TV off of Pokemon to a movie while she napped, but.....I'm still blaming it on her!  I can't even complain that I was that tired.  She let me sleep in until 7:00 on Saturday, and all I did was more normal chores for the day - I had no excuse, but I did have a good nap!  I even went to bed early last night, and slept until 6:00,  Maybe today I can finish something?

Not only did I not finish the afghan, I started three other projects.  One is a hat - only two more rounds to go, but I was nodding off last night, so I'll finish it today.  One is the scarf from the new yarn - I'm not planning on finishing it any time soon.  The other is a bookmark planned for my book club this month,  I couldn't think of a 'theme' for the book, so I asked the person the chose the book what she thought, and we decided to try to make a tree.  I started it while Alli was in my lap, so I used the only thread within reach - a blue variegated. It does sort of look like a tree, but the color doesn't help!  The pattern needs some refinement.  I'll post pictures later, when there is more light.  I have teenage boys sleeping on both couches, so I've kept all the light off this morning.  (AJ's birthday party).  They'll be waking up when I start making breakfast, I'm sure.

Well, I did it now - I signed up for the quilting classes on Thursday on my lunch, and then at lunch on Friday, I bought 4 more skeins of yarn.  What was I thinking?  More yarn?  But they look so fun!  One is a ruffle yarn - the yarn is a ribbon about 1 1/2 inches wide.  I played with it last night, and I like the look of it.  It is slow to work with though.  I'll hopefully get faster as I get used to it.  One skein is really soft, black with colored baubles in it - it should be perfect for a scarf!  The other two are for a hat I need to make for a co-worker, I couldn't decide which one to try.

I am almost done with the baby afghan - that must be a record for me.  I started it the day after Christmas, and I only have 5 or 6  more inches to add to it, and then figure out a border.  I do plan to make some booties to go with it, so the present isn't finished yet, but....I'm getting there!

Today needs to be a major housecleaning day.  The Christmas tree still needs to come down (I undecorated it last weekend, but it is still up) and AJ has a couple of friends in for an over-night part.  His birthday is Monday, so tonight is his 'party'.  Not a big party, pizza and soda and the guys over.  Not much different than any other weekend, except for the pizza.

I hate migraines!  I've had one every morning for the last week when I wake up.  My prescription clears them up (eventually) but I know I'm not sleeping well and I'm feeling pretty tired, and it's only Thursday.  I didn't even get to sleep in this morning.  Alli woke up much earlier than her 'normal' time this morning, at 4:45, and she was as happy as could be - wide awake and giggling.  I'm ready for a nap already!  Silly me, since Alli is still on her Christmas break, I've been staying up a bit later at night, since I can sleep in a bit in the morning.  I think it's early to bed for me tonight!

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail yesterday about a quilting club that is starting this Saturday at one of the quilt stores in town.  I may be signing up for it.  It sounds like a fun time, learning something new and spending some time with new people.  I'm just not sure I will be able to carve the time out to do 'more' stuff - I don't want to give up what I am doing now, so.....when will I do more?  I know, I'll trade my housework time for it!  (Probably a bad idea - I should spend more time on housework, not less.)

Happy New Year to all!  Not that last year was a bad year, but here's hoping next year is better!  I didn't make any resolutions last year, and am not really making any this year, but....I've got some ideas of things I should do!  One of my "not a resolution" resolution - to either finish all my craft projects, or if I'm not going to ever finish it, get rid of it.  

A list of unfinished projects that I can think of, right off the top of my head:

1 baby blanket

1 pair of baby booties (both due by the end of January)

2 hats (due by middle of February)

Alli's ripple afghan (this one may be one that goes away - I found out I don't like making a ripple afghan.  I may just take the yarn, which I do like, and turn it into a different afghan.)

Faux fox stole

Pink purse

Cat picture afghan

Multiples of scarves - the yarn is purchased, but scarves aren't made

Lots of doilies and snowflakes from my Yahoo! crochet groups that are waiting for me.

Finishing a project - whether a craft project, a cleaning project, or even an organizing project, feel so good, that I really should plan and finish more things.

I finished up this doily last night, and blocked it over night.  I think this is the first doily I have finished since October.  I also spent some time looking for patterns for a new bookmark for my book club.  I'm thinking of making ice skates (with a paper clip as the blade) this month.