a real grinch

some complete brainless idiot posted a link in a message to my online quilter's group and now my computer is a complete mess. i hope they slip on the ice and break their neck. for some mysterious reason, there are those whose brains are complete mush who think the internet is a license to snoop and then destroy people's lives. i cannot delete this horrible program they uploaded to my computer without paying a "ransom" of $79.95. i hope they are patient because it will be a blizzard in hell before i knuckle under to them and their extortion tactics. i only hope the technogremlins will create havoc on their computer like they have done to mine. in the meantime, i'm praying that my computer will get fixed so i can continue computing with my boring quilty stuff and job hunting. no doubt they got coal in their stocking this year......

a merry christmas indeed!

since i can remember, we've always had our tree and a family celebration on christmas eve; this year was no different. we were missing a few people but had a wonderful evening. santa was good to us all. we had our traditional clam chowder with salad, shrimp dip and chips, christmas cookies and this year a blueberry pie was added. due to work schedules, it was just me and mom on christmas day so we opted for takeout chinese instead of cooking and cleaning. i had toyed with the idea of traveling to maryland to be with DD and DSIL but glad i didn't as we are in the midst of a HUGE blizzard that will put everything to a standstill for a day or so. we are thankful to be warm with enough food to last the duration, as are our family members. i pray for those who are not that fortunate. ***** i'm sewing down the binding on the butterfly quilt now and it will be completely done in a day or so, making me quite happy indeed. then i get to do something different for a change. 2011 is looming and my UFO list must be tackled straight away.

again?

can you believe it? it doesn't seem right somehow that we should get snow 2 nights in a row! but that's exactly what happened, as you can see from this shot of our parking lot yesterday morning. it wasn't much but it WAS snow. thankfully THIS morning we have no more and that little bit we got yesterday is nearly all melted. even so, i decided it was time to hang up the snowman, my little mascot for winter. isn't he cute? this came to me in a winter swap a few years ago, meticulously hand crafted. ***** today i am finally starting to bind the butterfly quilt. i finished the cross-hatch quilting earlier this morning, which was a bit more difficult than i realized. the problem is i have no large, flat surface on which to measure/mark the diagonal lines and used a TV tray table, not sufficient at all for this task. my hope is to tackle the sewing space (bedroom) to see if i can fit in a larger, flat surface for just that task--marking and ironing. ***** christmas eve day and only a couple of food prep tasks remain to be ready for our family celebration. when i was a child, christmas meant off to grandma's and the hordes of family around 2 tables. in retrospect those were idyllic days. there will be only 5 of us together this year, missing my brother, DD and DSIL, nephews and great-nephew. i wish we could all be together physically, but most certainly are in spirit. even with empty chairs, we have many blessings.

not santa, but....

snow arrived last night. not too much, perhaps 4" at most, but it's snow nonetheless and doubt if it will melt anytime soon. ***** i am busily quilting on the butterfly quilt, now on the last blocks before i can start the binding, which is all prepped and ready to go. i'll probably spend the weekend on the binding and then next week launder and voila, another finish for the year. that will make 3 full size quilts i've hand quilted this year plus some other projects, so that's pretty good. ****** next week it's my annual "clearing the decks" organization and readying to start the new year. i'm hoping to make new curtains and spit-polish the room and, hopefully, find more space for sewing. i've also got to devise a way to have another flat surface on which to iron as I go, plus get my design wall up. i've those 20 UFOs to finish plus start some new projects as well.....always plenty of ideas!

another happy monday

why? first, no snow yet, though that may change TODAY. second, already been to the pool today so can lounge (and quilt) without regret the rest of today. third, i don't have to go anywhere NEAR the MALL this week! fourth, can't clean too much as vacuum is out of commission and waiting on a part. these in addition to being healthy, warm and with many blessings all add up to a happy monday!

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.