Sicky Baby...

No photos today.  Jazzy spent most of yesterday feeling poorly.  A still not yet talking 2-year-old with diarrhea and a consequent rash is a pitiful thing to behold.  I even got thrown up on twice!  Fortunately, I had a sense the second volley was coming, so I got the two of us into the shower in time, making cleanup much easier.

Yeah, fun.

But at least he's been docile while sick rather than screaming or combative.  Still, I hope this passes quickly and he feels better soon.

And despite being a cuddle object most of the day, I did manage to get his Christmas quilt done!  Now I switch to Block of the Month and Round Robin mode for the weekend, and as soon as those two projects are done, I move on to Squiddle's Christmas quilt.

One other bright note, I finally did manage to order Bonnie Hunter's new book, String Frenzy, this morning!  And, as it came with a free download of her Hunter's Star variation, I got to read through that as well.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Jazzy's quilt is about done - five more minutes of quilting should finish it, and then binding, the label, and a wash.  Yay!

And Squiddle and I made some sugar cookies this afternoon during Jazzy's nap!

Also, remember that probably 1950s quilt top I got for free at the Orange Grove Quilt Guild meeting last month?  I finished its soak in Oxyclean, rinsed it several times, and hung it to dry in the shower while the rain poured outside:

The Oxyclean did what I hoped it would.  The age stains disappeared, and the more egregious marks also for the most part vanished.  For example, this stain:

Was reduced to this:

Miraculous, no?  However, there was one loss.  This block:

Well, all the color vanished from the fabric, and all that's left is this:

I'm trying to tell myself that it would have happened during washing of the finished quilt anyway.  No other blocks were affected.  This was a free quilt top.  It's not museum quality by any means.

But I need to decide is I'm going to leave it as is now, or find a suitable fabric and replace the block.  Thoughts?

Stars, and Stars of the Stage

Sorry, no post yesterday due to late night (OCQG evening board meeting) followed by an early morning (OGQG meeting).  But, with Wonderful Husband's aid, I did manage to get myself and the little boys up, dressed, and out the door to my parents on time, so I was able to get to the meeting on time, and sign up for the April workshop with Edyta Sitar.  Which hopefully I will not actually be here for!  But I'd rather be signed up and miss it than not be signed up and miss it, if that makes sense.

There was no speaker at the Orange Grove guild this month.  Instead, we were treated to a mini stage musical by The Pennyroyal Players. "Piecin' It Together" was hilarious, heartbreaking, and highly enjoyable.  If you ever have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it!

I have three things due at guild next week: Block of the Month, with all that entails, my part on the Round Robin challenge, and something for the ornament exchange.  That last one, at least, is now done:

It's a 3" block (each square and half-triangle is 3/4") that I got from issue 32 of Miniature Quilts.  Which was published in 1997.  Wow, the magazine is old enough to drink!  The block is definitely not perfect, and my hand-quilting is lamentable, but I put effort into it, stretched my skillset some, and it's done.

Two more guild things, and two more Christmas quilts, to go.  Jazzy's is under the needle being quilted right now, and Squiddle's... is still in the planning stages.

(I was going to do one for Wonderful Husband as well, but I'm taking mercy on my sanity and punting that deadline either to our anniversary or Valentine's Day.)

A Finish!

Autumn Colors is done, binding, label, and all!  Here it is laid out on the floor pre-washing:

And a beauty shot of the flannel on the back:

Post-washing, it finished up at 49.5" x 63.5".  So it may end up as a kidlet bed quilt.  Or it may live on the back of the sofa, offering a pop of seasonal color and something to snuggle under while watching the TV.

Things I learned: binding with batiks, the corners turn out nice and crisp!  Also, that I am slightly disappointed by the quality of the Robert Kaufman flannel I used for the backing.  Snuggly, yes, but also starting to pill up just a touch after just one wash!

But all in all, not a bad way to use up 78 four-patches that came into my possession from somewhere unknown....

Stars In Their Eyes

Everything Squiddle has been saying lately makes me think I'd best rethink my planned borders for his Tinkerbell quilt.  He wants something that's "blue in the middle and pink on the sides."  And a bedroom that is all pink, even the floor.  (My mother's response to that was that she had already done one pink bedroom, for us girls.  I remember that bedroom.  The strawberry pink we picked out was very... virulent.)  He also wants to be an old train engine, like Thomas, except pink all over.

Right.  Much more pink needed on that quilt....

But for today I got a bit more work done on Jazzy's quilt!

I got it all basted during Jazzy's (enforced) nap.  And clearly my math was off somewhere because I had no room to spare on the length of the backing and batting.  Still, it works, however barely!

I also got to do a bit more hand-stitching on the binding for Autumn Colors.  I'm on the last side!  I'm hoping I can get it finished tomorrow morning during Jazzy's speech therapy.  That way I could show it off at guild this week and next...

Seeing Stars

Ugh.  We had to be gone too early and for too long today because of three house viewings.  The timing threw off our groove and plans.  But at least we did get down to the Christmas event hosted by our realtor's company.  Squiddle got his picture taken with Santa Claus.  Jazzy flatly refused to have anything to do with it and would not come down from my or Wonderful Husband's arms.  How strange in some ways that a child who likes to run so free, is so mistrustful of strangers.

But this afternoon and evening I persevered!  While chili simmered on the stove for supper, I sewed and sewed and sewed.  And I got Jazzy's Galaxy quilt top done!

And after dinner, I got the rotary cutting supplies and flannel from the garage, and pieced together the back.  Tomorrow, if I'm lucky, I'll get to bring in the batting and make a quilt sandwich....

Watery Things

Yesterday we had the rare experience of a rainy day here in SoCal!  It was glorious.  Well, I say "day"... it rained in the morning, and then again in the evening.  It stopped before noon.  Which did make going to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific an easier drive.

Here are my boys with seal and sea lion tank in the background.  A big moment of hilarity was when a sea lion pooped right in front of us! But despite the implications of this photo, the aquarium was packed - at least half a dozen buses of schoolkids there.  I need to remember to go in the afternoon, not the morning.

And, since Wonderful Husband was working from home today, I got him to hold up the mermaid quilt for me.  It was 54"x66", but I measured it up after washing and drying and it's now 52"x63".  I'm also calling this "what you can make with five remnants from JoAnn's."  This is to be a Christmas present for Niecelet.

Now back to working on the Galaxy quilt....