Last quilt...First quilt

Yesterday, I finished putting together the quilt top I started on a whim. No more purchases were made to finish it, the quilt shop is closed until Tuesday. I would have preferred a dark blue outer border, but had the red floral in my stash, so I used it! It is the last quilt top I made in 2017. With no suitable backing...it also becomes the first quilt of 2018. I'll get some backing on Tuesday and finish it up.

Blocks finished and auditioned with an alternate block fabric

Adding setting triangles

Sewing the rows together

Finished! A nice queen sized quilt.

Mr Wazoo is struggling with the flu, but managed to quilt this customer project before he was too ill to stand up for long periods.

The quilt is done and already sent back to the customer in Florida

He used the panto Angel Wings, because it mimics the butterflies

The last customer quilt of 2017 was this tee shirt quilt for a grandson. It will go home on Tuesday...January 2, 2018. Mind boggling, isn't it?

This should be a hit with the young man!

Tonight I'll be watching the ball drop in my jammies with a glass of bubbly and some Christmas cookies. Mr Wazoo will have his shot of NyQuil and be snoring in the New Year. I bet you wish your life was as exciting as ours is!!

Happy New Year, everyone.

The Wazoo quilters

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

We had a wonderful Christmas with two of our kids and the littlest grandson, Dechen. One day, we'll have everyone here, and what a blast that will be! Until that day, we are so grateful for the family spread out over the states and unable to make it here.
All the cookies were a hit, and Christmas dinner with friends and family was a joyous occasion. I read on a blog that knowing Christmas is 365 days away gives one a sense of power. It gives me hope. Hope for a better year to come and everyone here next time.

Merry Christmas from our family!

Mr Santa got me these shelves for the studio and put them up for Christmas.

The last batch of cookies!

Andy and Dechen share some cookies

Grandson watches trains on Mama's phone

Getting into his stocking

Grandma's tree is full of sparkling surprises

We start quilting in a few days, but we are enjoying the time together while we can. Happy New Year, to my readers. Do something creative in 2018.

A Change of Plan...

Yesterday, I had another marathon baking day, finishing a few more cookie types and making the dough for cut outs. I had a minor disaster when all the pecan Tassies stuck to the pans...threw out the entire batch. No Tassies this year. Otherwise, everything went smoothly and ,in the end, I had the kitchen back to normal. (which means you can see the countertop!)

Snickerdoodles cooling on the rack, the next batch in the oven

My trusty Kitchen Aid took a beating, but was lovingly cleaned at the end of the day. Job well done!

The fancy decorated cookies come tomorrow.
Here is a sample of the finished cookies: Cherry snowballs, one surviving Tassie, Rangers, Peanut Blossoms, Chocolate haystacks, 7-layer bars,Chocolate M&M pretzels, Italian Wedding cookies, Chocolate dipped Ritz bits, Double chocolate chip cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Lemon Poppyseed tea cookies.

I also made some Toffee-chocolate candies and the dough for sugar cookie cut outs. The only thing left to do is Spritz and fudge. Then I pack up boxes for the kids who can't be here, and a few friends. We got a box from Andy's in-laws in Japan, and once again have bags and boxes of mystery snacks! Mr Wazoo especially likes sampling them and figuring out what each one is. I send my home made cookies and some snacks they don't have there, like Chex Mix. Mine gets there for New Year's Day. Theirs is always on time for Christmas...sigh.

The cookie stash is growing!

Our gift from Japan. It's a mystery to us what these things are...

The box going to Japan. There will be Chex Mix and some Godiva treats, too.

Chocolate Toffee candies

Molly got her holiday fluff and buff, so she's all ready for her close-up

Today I'll be on the road. I am going to NC to get Carolyn for Christmas. We'll chill there overnight and head back here tomorrow morning early. Andy, Chikako and Dechen come tomorrow evening, and then the fun begins.

Merry Christmas to everyone out there in blogland. Enjoy you day as much as I hope we will.

Countdown to Christmas!!

Back from NC and in high gear to get the final tasks accomplished before Christmas. First, and most important, I am DONE shopping!! Yesterday, I wrapped the gifts while baking the first batch of Christmas cookies, and got them under the tree.

The last two quilts are bound, wrapped and under the tree.

The tree even looks good in the morning sunlight!

Oooo!! Presents for everyone.

We had one procrastinating customer bring a tee shirt quilt for her grandson, and we couldn't say no. I quilted it quickly and she'll have it in the mail today. I'll bet she was binding like crazy last night. Not me! I watched Holiday Inn for the umteeth time, and went to bed early. I will be baking all day today, so I needed my cookie-sleep!

I'm sure Grandma is happy to have this done!

Ha ha ha!! Me either!!

Panto: Dazzle, of course.

Have a jingle bell day, dear readers!

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No quilting...just family fun!

We are in Charlotte for the weekend, visiting Carolyn and preparing for our stellar Christmas gift from her...we're going to the Packers game!! The Packers play the Charlotte Panthers today, and we have tickets! Merry Christmas!!
While we've been here, Mr Wazoo assembled an IKEA dresser, and I set up the Christmas tree and repaired the quilt I made years ago for her bed. The binding had come undone on one side for about 4 inches. No biggie, a few minutes with needle and thread, and she's good to go.

New dresser with the appropriate decorations

Tree up and ready for the ornamentation

Bento Box quilt, all fixed.

The cat watched me sew, making sure I wasn't doing anything wrong.

She tries to squeeze her fluff into the smallest window perch!

While we took over the apartment, Carolyn participated in a Christmas 5K run. They gave the participants a shirt and headgear to wear. Here are a few pictures of that.

Long underwear under your clothes was the order of the day, since the temperature was 28 degrees!!

The Charlotte skyline behind the runners.

It really is a beautiful city.

Our weekend is winding down, and after the game and dinner out, we'll get a good night's sleep and make the drive home tomorrow. It has been a rejuvenation weekend, sleeping in without a dog waking me up at 6 to go out...Molly has been staying with her pal, Bullwinkle, and his family. She has had the time of her life with new smells and lounging on their couch by the fire. Ah, a dog's life

I'm ready!!

Quiet day at Wazoo

 I went to my block of the month class this morning, but only three of us came. The schools were closed in the county and some people had issues with their driveways and roads, too. With time to kill, I went to the mart of Wal and did a bit of Christmas prep. I found the truck I was looking for as well as another group of smaller vehicles to go with it. I also got some of the needed supplies for cookies. All in all, a good shopping trip.
Back at home, I spent the rest of the day in the studio finishing quilts. The binding is on the comfort quilt, the binding for Carolyn's quilt is ready to be put on, and Dechen's Eye Spy is quilted and trimmed. When I get home tomorrow, I should be able to get those two things done.

I spy with my little eye...a quilt for Christmas!

I used a red check for the inner border and the cute alphabet print for the border.

Bugs on the back with the orange peel quilting.
The binding is solid red.

Tomorrow is the guild Christmas party. I sure hope the county has school back in session so we can all get together and have a grand time!

Wow! What a weekend!

 We woke up Friday morning to a winter wonderland. It was all so beautiful and quiet.

There were about 4 inches on the ground and the trees, and it was still snowing.

I had a quick breakfast and went to the studio to work.

At 9:30 or so, the power began to hiccup on and off, making quilting on the longarm impossible. I decided to sew on Carolyn's quilt instead.

Welcome to the studio!

The view from my sewing area is a magical one

A few minutes of this hiccuping, then pfft. Power off. I figured it would be a short outage, so I sat by the window and read a couple of quilting magazines while I waited. Nothing happened. Yup. Power off.

Mr Wazoo and I met up in the house and made a plan. He brought in snow in a 5 gallon bucket and we set it in front of the fire to melt. Good for flushing toilets. I found the French press coffee pot and made us some coffee. We lit the fire and soon, the room was toasty and we were fine. Mr W grumbled about the lack of TV, but kept himself busy shoveling a space for Molly to do her business on, and making a path to the shed. I settled in to my hand sewing chair and began replacing blocks on a quilt I am repairing. When It got too dark to see, we turned on the lanterns. Mr W went to bed, grumbling. It was still snowing. 

Melting snow by the fire

The fire pit took on a comical look.

My car did, too.

Molly was ticked off...she does not like snow.

Saturday morning, it was up to 12 inches on the ground,still snowing and still no power. We prepared to repeat the previous day's chores when, poof!, we had power. 24 hours had passed, and we were okay. I chose to decorate a bit, then head down to the studio.

Santas and snowmen!

Our first tree when we moved here was a live tree. Mr W planted it in the yard, and we have lit it up each year.

Its so cute!

The garden is buried!

Gray skies and more snowfall

It finally stopped at a bit over 12 inches, and the sun came out. Mr W went out to play, and I went to work in the studio.

Isn't it pretty?

You can just feel the cold!

Carolyn's quilt is almost done. I just need to do the binding.

Panto:Feather flourish

The backing is Eclectic Elements, too.

I also quilted this comfort quilt

Panto: Dazzle

I cut and sewed this I Spy quilt for Dechen. I'll probably add a border and quilt it in the next couple of days.

Some of the snow melted in the sunshine yesterday and again today, and we have returned to normal; watching Christmas movies and flushing toilets with wild abandon. Sometimes, though, it is good to slow down and enjoy the quiet and the less frenzied pace. I even researched a Janome treadle machine! It would have been nice to sew and still look out and see the wonder of nature.
I enjoy winter, and that is one of the major reasons we chose to move here. I'll be back on schedule, teaching the block of the month tomorrow, and hosting the guild Christmas party on Tuesday. Until then, I'll enjoy one last look at the mountains in the snow.

Keeping track of the weather while checking out the Janome treadle machine on the laptop.

Sunset. Less snow, but still pretty.