Christmas Evening with the Grabers

We had a fun evening with the Grabers on Christmas Day.

With help from the adults, the children made and decorated pretzel log cabins.

It's so nice that Paul's folks are still able to be up and around and enjoyed the evening with us. Later in the evening we sat in a circle and sang gospel songs along with a few Christmas songs.

Joel provided deep fried hot poppers and cheese sticks.

Craig helped me cook taffy.

Teryn and En Provence

Life ...

"I can do it myself!"

Maybe that will cut easier now.

You need to sign your name

"Here, you can give it to Tina."

... as a Quilter

I continue to work on Bonnie Hunter's "En Provence" mystery quilt. We made half square triangles for clue no. 5.

Between clues I have also been working on another quilt, "Daddy's Ties" for the Hildreth Family. You can read about that project HERE.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

May you feel the peace and joy of Christ's coming.

Rejoicing in this life-giving hope! --Julia

Daddy's Ties from Buck Hildreth

Life ...

Rusty was entertained for a bit with the mirrors on the medicine cabinet.

... as a Quilter

I finished the quilt I have been working on for "Pea Picker." I just love the way the light reflects and gives luminosity to the quilt.

"Daddy's Ties"

from the collection of 'Buck' Hildreth.

66"X56"

Each tie was picked open and ironed. Then I added a lightweight woven interfacing to each piece to help stabilize the fabric.

I quilted it with loop-dee-loops and then trimmed it and sewed on the binding with my machine. Then I hand stitched the binding to the back side.

The label

And then Mr. Jimmy (Pea Picker) came by to pick it up. I think he was as pleased as me.

Linking to

Nina Maria's "Off the Wall Friday" and

Amanda Jean's "Finish It Up Friday"

En Provence and Tina's 5th Birthday

I finished clue #4 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt "En Provence." Now I'm wondering how the green and yellow will work into the mix.

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We were invited to Craigs for pizza on Saturday evening...

... in celebration of Tina's 5th birthday.

The lady bug cake was a hit with the children. Just look at the black mouths an tongues from that icing!

A Quilting Week

This has been a hand quilting week for me. Our Magnolia Mennonite Sewing Circle had a small turn out on Tuesday. I helped with the quilting around this frame.

Mikey watches Kate tighten the clamp.

 Michelle irons a dress she is making and Sherilyn & Mikey sew the binding to a comforter.

Karen works on the binding of another comforter.

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I also helped quilt with these ladies at Maple Street in Columbus.

Bessie and Zella are tying this quilt while Lawana does the marking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Moon Rise

Children, En Provence, and Daddy's Ties

Games and storybooks kept Georgi, Talya, and Delta entertained while their parents were out for the evening.

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I finished up clue #2 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt "En Provence."

I had fun trying different arrangements with the units.

And now I have started working on clue #3. I'm a bit leery about the light purples being too dark; but I'm tired of second guessing myself and decided to just go for it...

...and use my original pallet of fabrics.

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The quilt I'm making for 'Pea Picker' of his "Daddy's Ties" is in the quilting stage now. Here I have matched up 'frames' for the smaller rectangles.

This is the finished top that is ready for quilting. I like the luminosity that the silk ties provide.

'Pea Picker' brought some of his daddy's shirts to me and I thought to use them for the back of the quilt. After I got it all pieced I decided that it just didn't go with the classy silk front. So I found a better suited backer. This back would be great for a more casual top.

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Good morning -- through the kitchen window.

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Ashton had Darren over to play on Saturday morning. After having fun around the muddy pond out in the cold, they were glad for the laundry tub and warm water.

En Provence and Pea Picker's Daddy's Ties

I didn't get very far with the sewing of clue #2 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt "En Provence." At least all the pieces are cut out. I opted for a more subdued magenta with gold. The background fabric here is what I plan to use as my light purple.

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Paul learned to know Pea Picker from driving truck. He asked Paul if I would make a quilt from his daddy's ties who had passed away sometime earlier. His daddy was a funeral director and dressed up a lot; so he had a big assortment of ties. I spent many hours carefully picking out the stitching and getting them ready to use. Then I decided I really do need to wash them on a very gentle cycle. So I did ... and then I had a big mess of mangled ties. My new washing machine twists and mangles so many things, even jeans. (I think I'm ready for another brand. Maybe Speed Queen.)

So then I worked at ironing them out and fusing a lightweight woven interfacing to the back of the ties to stabilize them and cut out rectangles.

I'm alternating a whole block with a smaller framed block and will decide on placement when I get most of the framed blocks sewn.