an early gift

got a jump on new year's resolutions and have lost 10 pounds since oct! went in today for a blood pressure follow up and not only is my blood pressure waaaaay down (thank you, anthem, for ejecting me from that vile job!), i have lost 10 pounds just by moderating my food intake AND working out in the pool 3x per week. this really makes my day! now only 65 pounds to go to get into my "boston" wardrobe. i've got a gorgeous dress just dying to be worn again. no magic bullets here, just plain old common sense on a daily basis. next goal is to get off the blood pressure meds once and for all.

tree's up!

this year we opted for a bit smaller tree due to space limitations but it's just the right size for our combo collection of decorations. this year is my turn for the 'big' lights plus all the handmade ornaments and those DD and i collected over the years. wasn't it only a year or so ago she was small and painted those ceramic ones? or how about the sequin/bead ones i painstakingly made instead of doing housework? that was during my "sequin" kit phase ! our lives can be told through these holiday collectibles, insignificant items without the valuable memories they evoke. now, just cookie baking and a bit of wrapping remains before our family celebration. this year i am thankful for so many things, not the least of which is i'm not schlepping around malls at this point. ***** on the quilty front, still busily quilting the butterfly quilt, which is a possible christmas finish. i've 2 sides of the perimeter to quilt, plus binding. i purposely left it off my 2011 UFO list because it WILL be done soon.

thank you, judy!

judy so kindly shared a button for the stashbusters' 2011 UFO challenge, which i've posted to my sidebar. this is a tool to motivate us to finish up those UFOs that are haunting us. this is about the 5th (?) year i've joined in and it's amazing to see how many projects i have actually completed during that time. it's a no-stress competitive event against myself really, but others' finishes do really help to motivate me as well.

viking's little brother all better!

this is my to-go machine that i like to call viking's little brother. he had to go to the "hospital" to have the bobbin winder fixed and i just received a call that he can be "discharged" now. i really like this little machine that i purchased last year on ebay for practically nothing. it's light enough to tote and has enough bells and whistles for all i need. it'll be my christmas present to me!

progress picture

this isn't the greatest photo due to indoor artificial light casting shadows, but it gives you an idea of how the quilt is coming along. i'm working on the perimeter squares now, have attached the narrow black border which really makes it zing! i am hoping by week's end to start the binding, which i nearly always do by hand. it's a good TV/dvd task and is a switch from the quilting process. i didn't like this top very much when it was first assembled, but now that the border is on and there's a lot of the quilting done, it is evolving into a real "butterfly" from its ugly cocoon. ****** it's unseasonably warm for december, 50 tomorrow, so we are getting rain instead of snow. once this storm passes, it will turn cold again but without precipitation, so dodging the snow bullet so far.