It has rapidly become crunch time on the Christmas tree skirt project.  In September it seemed like I had all the time in the world to finish the pieces for the November 20th assembly class.  Famous last words.  Some time late last week it occurred to me that there wasn’t a lot of time left and I needed to get off my lazy behind and get busy on those millions of tiny pieces.  Sewing all day Saturday was my goal, and since it turned out to be a rather snowy and freaking cold day, my timing was perfect.  I had about half of the spikes done, but nothing else.

I sewed for 14 1/2 hours with only minor breaks (I know!  It’s ridiculous) and managed to finish all of the spikes and all of the flying geese

I was optimistic (crazy?) and thought I could get all of the pieces done in one full day, but it didn’t happen.  Those damned geese have 30 pieces in each segment and there were 7 segments (8 total, but I had one done).  I was blurry eyed and exhausted by the time I got them done at 11:30 on Saturday night.  And the really good news was that I still had 2 segments of 7 each to finish - the 2 center parts.

Yesterday wasn’t all sewing, all the time.  I had to teach the final class in my beginning sock knitting series and had to do those survival things like grocery shop, laundry, cook dinner … those kinds of things, but I did manage to fit some sewing in too.  I got one group of the center design done - the one with the large red diamond.  Now I just have to do the second part of that center group and I’ll be done.  I hope I can find some time after work this week to get some sewing done because I’d hate to be so close to finishing before the class and not actually get it done.

Needless to say, I didn’t get the felted ballet flats finished, although they are felted and dry, but I need to sew the straps on and find buttons that work.  I also didn’t get the new craft room painted.  We got it primed Friday night, but didn’t get any color on the walls.  I wonder when I’ll find the time to get that done.

How was your weekend?  Oh and just so you all feel better about your home town - it got down to -6 degrees last night and was only 2 degrees this morning on my way in to work.  It’s November!  That’s entirely too cold for this early in the winter season.

It’s snowing here … a lot.  We’re supposed to get somewhere between 12 and 16 inches over the next 24 hours.  I’d guess we have about 8 inches now and it’s getting after it.  The thing about snow in Wyoming, especially in Laramie, is that it’s usually accompanied by wind.  Lots of wind.  But today the snow is falling straight down - that’s when we get a lot.  All the roads in and out of town are closed, so I’ll have to get special permission to drive on the closed highway to get home tonight.  I do so love winter in Wyoming.

Last weekend was amazingly productive.  And by weekend, I mean Sunday.  Saturday was busy with working at the quilt store and going to a fancy black tie dinner thingy for work.  The hubby looks fabulous in a tux, but otherwise it was your run of the mill black tie affair.  I’m really getting jaded in my old age.

On Sunday we did some errands in town and then I came home and sewed most of the day while I was doing those lovely household chores like laundry and cooking.  I worked a bit on my Christmas Celebration - I’m still piecing those spikey things, but it’s coming along.  Then I spent some time working on a project that will be on-going until sometime in February.  I joined a group at the quilt store - Club 72 - and there are different projects associated with being in the club.  Right now the project is called Tea Time.  It’s a queen size quilt that you get one kit for each month.  So far it hasn’t been hard, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get much more complicated.

After working on the tree skirt, I needed something kind of mindless, and this totally fit the bill.  These fabrics aren’t necessarily going to work in my house, but I have someone in mind to give this to when it’s finished.

Part of me loves the idea of having just a little bit every month that I have to do and then having a gift when it’s all said and done.  It makes me feel productive and organized, even though we know that isn’t true.

And since we’re talking about productivity, it’s time for a confession.  I have a hat on the needles - Jared’s Turn a Square - and I have about 4 rounds left and it will be done.  I haven’t picked it up all week.  Why?  I love the yarn and the pattern, but I’ve just been completely unproductive.  Maybe tonight.  There’s nothing like a good snow storm to make me crave my knitting.  I’ll let you know.

As I mentioned last week, I took a paper piecing class at the quilt store last Friday evening and all day Saturday.  The pattern is a Judy Niemeyer pattern and holy cow, you can’t believe the detail!  It took me three hours just to cut out the fabric - with supervision.  I didn’t have to figure out what to cut, it took that long just to do what I was told!  The pattern we did is called Christmas Celebration and is a tree skirt or a table topper.

Here is the sample the woman teaching the class made - just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about here.

I chose to make the tree skirt and I wanted mine to look pretty much like the sample.  The pattern uses batiks and has directions for piecing everything - the background, the large triangles … the whole kit and kaboodle.  I just couldn’t handle that much piecing, and I really like the way this one looks, so I did the minimalist version.

This was my first experience paper piecing, and I was a little nervous about what I’d gotten myself into.  In fact, when we were cutting I was seriously thinking I’d bitten off way more than I could chew, eyes bigger than stomach, crazy as a pet coon … the list goes on and on.  I found out that paper piecing isn’t hard, but it is time consuming and requires you to be very detail oriented.  Which isn’t so much a problem for me.  I’m sure that doesn’t surprise any of you.  We started by doing the flying geese.  For those of you non-quilters out there, the geese are the little triangles that go around in about the middle of the skirt. We got one section of geese done in the class, and here’s what mine look like …

The benefits of paper piecing include perfect points and it allows you to make your geese go in something other than a straight line.  So, aside from the time it takes to be exact, it wasn’t bad.

After the geese, we moved to something I thought was a bit easier - the spikes on the outside of the skirt (they’re plaid in the sample).

The tree skirt is put together in 8 “wedges” and in each wedge you have a right and a left spike segment.

We finished one of each on Saturday.  On Sunday I worked on the pattern a bit more and thought that since the spikes were the easiest, I’d start there.  I completed three more sets on my own and in the process cemented the paper piecing steps in my head … I hope.

The last part of the class was reserved for the center.  The center of each of the 8 wedges is done in two parts.  These were by far the most difficult, just because of the long spikes and the somewhat less than logical assembly.  However, everything ended up going together well.

We are meeting as a group again in mid-November to learn how to assemble the pieces into the wedges and then put those together.  Apparently, there are some tricks to it.  My goal is to have all of the pieces done by the time we meet so I can put it together and have it quilted before mid-December when I put my tree up.  I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m going to try.

I seem to have real issues being committed to this blog.  The thing is, I want to be committed.  I want a great blog.  I want to be connected to all of my great blog friends.  So, what’s the problem?  Maybe it’s because I haven’t felt like I had a lot of crafty stuff to share, or maybe I’m just lazy.  Whatever the reasons (or excuses), I’m going to try again to be dedicated to this blog and to all of you.

Despite the layoff this summer, I am employed again at the university - in a slightly different role, but still fundraising.  I have a new office and new co-workers, but all in all, things are good.  It’s been a few months and I’m starting to settle in and get my feet back under me.  About two weeks after I started my new job, I found out I had kidney stones … in both kidneys.  I had to have two surgeries - they were both outpatient (they blasted the little suckers with shock waves), but it still required two bouts of general anesthesia.  Not fun.  It took me quite awhile to feel “normal,” but I think I’m there.  I have to change my diet a bit - avoid those foods that are high in oxalates (or at least consume them in moderation) and much to my dismay, black tea is one of the things I’ve chosen to eliminate.  I’m trying to find some herbal teas that I like and I’ve been drinking a little bit of coffee (disguised in a lot of milk and sugar).  Does anyone else think it’s strange that coffee is ok and tea isn’t?  I’m also trying to drink the recommended 12 glasses of water a day.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to drink that much water?  It’s a major commitment - I promise you that.

I managed to do a lot of crafting this summer - mostly quilting.  I made a queen size quilt for my guest room and gained a lot of confidence through the process.  I painted the guest room a dark slate blue and the bedding I had just didn’t work.  I’d had that particular bedding since college, and quite frankly it was time for a change anyway.  The pattern I chose was the Mixtape Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman.  It’s a great pattern, but the fabric requirement and the cutting directions for the sashing fabric for the queen size were incorrect.  It didn’t turn out to be a big deal, but I just had to seam the pieces to make it work.  Now that it’s quilted though, you really can’t tell.

I used a lot of asian-inspired fabrics which make the finished product kind of modern, but I think the white sashing makes it just traditional enough to fit into my house, plus it really helps brighten up the room.  I chose a greenish-yellow floral backing fabric and I picked it mostly because it’s some of that extra-wide backing fabric, so I didn’t have to seam it.  I’m lazy, but I think it works with the green colors in the blocks.

Now I need to get some nice sheets, a white bedskirt (finding a 21″ drop is a huge pain - any suggestions you have would really be appreciated), and some pillow shams.  I think I’ll use some of the scraps I have left over to make a couple of accent pillows to try to tie things together.  Re-decorating a room sure is expensive!

In the quilting arena, I’ve also made a cute lap quilt using some really funky Christmas prints - it’s at the quilter’s right now, but more on that to come.  I’m signed up for a paper piecing class this weekend - I’m going to learn how to paper piece and get a great Christmas tree skirt out of the deal (well, if all goes well it will be great, although it could just as easily be a bloody disaster).  I’ll let you know how it goes and since I’m trying to get back into this blogging business, I’ll take my camera and try to get some in-progress shots.

I’ve been teaching a few knitting classes (socks and hats mostly) and have a great sock in progress.

That reminds me, I’m not going to have enough yarn and I need to see if kpixie has any left (or even something close).  I e-mailed kpixie to see if might on the off chance have a single skein hanging out in their inventory, but I doubt I could be that lucky.  It seems like this always happens to me when I have the perfect yarn and a great pattern.

Ah well, if worse comes to worse the toes will be something wild and crazy.  It won’t be the end of the world.  If I have to go with a different color, what color do you think I should use for the toes?

Hi strangers. I know it’s been a really long time and I have to tell you, I honestly debated about keeping my blog going, but it turns out I’ve missed you all. So, I’m back - hopefully to stay. I have a new job, and I really like it. I’m doing development (fundraising) for the University of Wyoming College of Ag. It’s totally new and different, but so far it’s been really fun. The people I work with are great and I think that will make all the difference for me.

I’ve been knitting and sewing, although not as much I should. I found that I’m not as productive when I don’t have you all egging me on and waiting to see my progress. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I’m not all that motivated as a general rule. I’m really excited because I took a basic quilt class on Saturday and learned lots. I learned how to cut straight lines, how to make blocks with little squares of fabric

I learned about making stars

And I ended up with a finished baby blanket quilt top.

Now I just need to figure out what to do for the back and how to bind it and then it can be quilted. This is for my cousin’s baby and she isn’t due until July, so I think I should be ok for time. Assuming I don’t procrastinate! Anyway, this quilting business is kinda fun, and my brother and his girlfriend are having a baby in November, so I will get to try my new skills on another quilt soon.

It was 70 degrees yesterday and today it snowed. This time of year I really hate living in Wyoming. It’s spring everywhere else and it’s snowing here. Ugh.