GOODBYE KINDERGARTEN

Yesterday Vail Blue and I went to Ruby Major Elementary and met Uncle Michael and Avery's mom and grandma Peggy to watch her end of year program There are five kindergarten classes at her school so there were lots of parents and grandparents and sibs in the cafeteria for the program.  It was great.  They sang several little songs and did some dancing around the stage and then we went to see Avery's Classroom.

Here are some pictures of the happy occasion.

Of course there was a little water pond in the foyer with some tiny goldfish to entertain us while we waited for Uncle Michael.

Watching part of the program.  Avery was front and center and did a great job if I do say so myself.

Some of the kids started crying back in the room -- I think it was a domino effect thing.  But whatever it was it got a hug from the cousin:)

Max and Vail Blue meet Avery's teacher.

As you can see in the picture above, Ballerina Bunny was there (tucked under Vail Blue's arm) for the whole thing.  We all eventually left the school and went to Chili's for some refreshments before heading home.  It was a fun afternoon.

BLOGGER'S QUILT FESTIVAL 2010

It's time for the Bloggers Quilt Festival again.  Use the link below to visit Amys Blog and see all the wonderful quilts.








I decided to enter a quilt I started in 2008 and finished in 2009.  I made it for my boss to give to her when I retired last year. (she was my principal for the last 15 + years that I taught school.  She was a super boss and continues to be a good friend. )  This is was my first attempt at a log cabin.  It was fun but also a learning experience:)

FINISHED CLASS PROJECT

I took my supplies to class and came home with this.

The class was really a lot of fun. We made decorative triangles, added button holes, sewed on buttons using the machine, put in a zipper, sewed decorative stitches onto some ribbon and then top stitched the ribbon down on both sides of the zipper, quilted the bag itself and made squared off corners -- not necessarily in that order. I'm going to make several of these for Christmas gifts.  I'm going to use mine to corral things like scissors, thread, measuring gauge and other misc. stuff I take to sewing classes.

HORSES AND CLASSES

I've decided that I need an extra mini-camera to keep in my purse because I never have it when I'm gone somewhere around town and always wish I did.  Yesterday Michael, Avery, Vail  and I went to the Agricultural Center where they house the horses that the police use to help in patroling downtown Nashville.  I think they are in use mainly on weekends and for special events.  Anyway, they have funny names like Joe, Edge, Sabre, Scout and about 11 others.  It was a lot of fun.  The horses were out of their stalls and in the indoor paddock that is basically the center part of the huge barn.  Two of them were playing tug of war with a deflated and torn up soccer ball.  They were all quite friendly and I was really wishing I had my camera to take a few pictures.  Naturally I didn't.

This week I have three sewing classes.  Tomorrow I'm going to the Sewing Quick Start class where you take this













and turn it into this small zippered pouch.

while learning more about your machine and some sewing techniques too.  I've never made a case or a purse with a zipper so I'm especially looking forward to that.  Tuesday I have the third of the four mastery classes I'm taking.  I'm a little disappointed because these classes have not been hands on so far but I have learned several things about how my new machine works and that's a good thing.  The class I'm going to on Wednesday is just a lecture but I'm very excited about it because it's about organizing your stash and sewing room.  I can always use organization tips.

Have a great week.

REPAVING . . . SORT OF

I decided that it's time to take the plunge and actually do some quilting -- not just piecing on my new machine. I've done some practicing off and on and have to say I really like how easy it is to adjust the tension so that when I make curves or loops the tension looks as good as when I do straight lines. Anyway, I got out the yellow brick road quilt and and after looking at it again, I decided if it's worth finishing I should do it right so I took all safety pins out and all the basting stitches from around the edge so I could take my three layers apart.  The problem is the backing is plenty wide enough but so close in to the size of the quilt top in length that the top was hanging off the backing in a couple of places.  So I'm going to add a strip across the width to make the backing longer.  I'll take pictures of before and after and show what I do.  Also, it has been rolled up and moved around so much that it really needed to be smoothed out again and re-pinned .   I think I know how I'm going to quilt the blocks -- think free motion flowers.   I'm going to do one or two and see how I like them and go from there..  Here's to steady speed and steady hands.

Tomorrow is a busy day of errands and appointments so it will be middle afternoon or later before I get to sew.  Til then.

BLOG?? WHAT'S THAT???

Been in a writing funk of sorts lately. So .... I haven't written anything. Hopefully I'll get back on track. I haven't done a lot of sewing either. Life keeps happening. But today I worked on an addition to my kitchen curtains. These are the original curtains that I made.  They go more than half way up to provide privacy but are open at the top to let in plenty of light.

I didn't take into consideration that those windows face west so during the months that the trees are without leaves, the afternoon sun is very bright and in your eyes if you are at the kitchen table or sitting in the den.  So I came up with the idea of another tier ... a shorter one . . . and used some nice white muslin that I had with a band of the original fabric at the top.  I've finished the two smaller windows and this is what it looks like.

I think I like it.  I tried it at the top but didn't like it as well.  Anyhoo, I may only use them in the winter when the trees don't filter the afternoon light.  I'll decide that after I finish the rest and let them hang for a few days.

One of my favorite online fabric shops is going out of business, Fat Quarter Quilters.  They are having a sale if you need some nice fabric for a great price.

Had another Mastery class today for my 820.  Learned how to make sure it's threaded correctly, both the top and the bobbin and also the care and maintenance that the user needs to do between checkups that the tech does at the store.  The things I love the most with this machine are the dual feed (totally awesome ), the larger bobbin (never runs out of thread :)), the little clock, and the dual feed . . .  did I already mention that cause  I really love that dual feed.  There are lots of things to like/love about this machine but I'm having a senior sewing moment right now.

Heading off to finish the rest of my kitchen curtains.