2022 Tuesday To-Do #38: The Season of Advent Begins


I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!
Along with the perfect feast on the big day,
one of our sons treated everyone to jambalaya
one night and smoked brisket the next.
We had a game night with all the kids and the grandkids.
Hubs and the boys spent some quality guy-time hitting the
gun range and getting the Christmas lights up on the house.
(I have most of the decor up but I'm kinda slow-rolling it.)
We spent most of Saturday just relaxing and watching
football in front of a toasty fire.   Then Sunday came
and we were saying our goodbyes.  We'll see the cadet
in less than two weeks and both boys will be back for
Christmas of course but it's still a little emotional
to enjoy so much fun and then *poof* it's over;
everyone's gone.

So what did hubs and I do?  Hit the golf course!
In a lovely windchill of 30.  Forty degrees is kind of
my cut-off for golf but after all that eating, I had to
do something.  Besides, we're barely fitting in one
round a week these days. 

You thought I was going to say 
"...barely fitting in my clothes" didn't you?
Well that's true too.  Ugh!

I was darned happy with the 94 I shot because after
a recent lesson I've been really working on correcting
some things so the scores haven't been too great. 
I'll ignore that it was the easiest course in town.
I'm still new enough at this gig and I need confidence.

Well hey, let's get to the meat of this post.

Oh. My. Gracious. We are on the homestretch of 2022!
Advent has begun and Christmas is just weeks away.
That usually means a lot of hustle and bustle but
I'm doing my best to stay focused and just be
present for my presents (kidding!) for all the right things.
Oh, I have plenty to do but I think it's all about starting
 early, pacing myself and making those lists so
today I'm joining the rest of the do'ers on the
to help keep me on a good schedule.

I didn't get done as much as I wanted to but with all
the family fun of Thanksgiving week, I did well enough.
I wasn't about to make sewing a priority so you'll
find no regrets with this mom.
Most importantly, I wanted to get that one last quilt
into the shop--and I did so it was a good week.

Last week's to-do's:

1) Finish Christmas Geese top, quilt, pic and list
DONE.

Christmas Geese - 63X79

With the addition of borders, it's now a nice size.  As I
mentioned last week, matching those diagonal seams
was rough, and I ripped more times than I ever have.
Usually if I rip and redo, I call it quits at that.  It's a rare
day that I go at something twice.  Now on this quilt,
there was one "intersection" that I fixed and re-fixed
for a grand total of six tries.  SIX!
But by golly, I got that one!
They're not all perfect but at least when I look at it,
especially after quilting, nothing jumps out at me.


I quilted 'er up with holly and berries...and ran into
another snafu.   Quilters, if you are one of those who
takes her quilts to a longarmer, THIS right here is why
you have to watch those bulky seams.  TWICE thick
seams (and I still don't think they are that thick??)
altered the needle enough to cause tension issues
 on the top.  Of course it went unnoticed for an entire
half row the first time.  Ugh.
So yeah, the ripper and I are pretty tight after this quilt.
I'm telling you, we are *like this*.  Practically best buds!

Psst, between you and me, I still can't stand that
thing but let's keep that between us since I'm sure
we'll be working together again in the near future!


I rushed the picture-taking part but I think what 
was able to snag pretty quickly will have to work.

2) Finish Midnight Pines
Progress, but not done.

With all that time spent with the ripper was I
really going to get another finish in?!? 


Well this is where I'm at with Midnight Pines. 
You might be able to see that the top two rows
are sewn.  I'm even a little farther than that now
and it's going fairly quickly so I remain hopeful
I'll see a finish before the weekend hits.  And so...

Next Week's Goals

1) Finish Midnight Pines

2) Plan quilt for wedding gift, maybe even start pulling.
Or shopping.  As big as my stash is, I don't think it will
support the requested color scheme.  Sigh.

And I wanna drumroll for this next one...

3) MAKE SOMETHING FUN JUST FOR OUR HOME!
Frankly, I can't remember the last time I did this
and I need some good ol' quilt therapy.

Other than those, I need to have my booty busy finishing
up the Christmas shopping and decorating because
we are travelling again--and oh I'm excited for this one!
I'll keep y'all in suspense until next week though.

Happy quilting!

Comments

Kathryn T said…
Your Christmas Geese quilt is totally gorgeous. Sorry it had to be visited by the ripper but well it sure looks like it was all worthwhile.
YOur Thanksgiving time sounds wonderful and really before you know it Christmas and family will be upon you again.
All the best with Midnight Pines.
Joyful Quilter said…
Sorry Christmas Geese was such a pain! It is a very pretty quilt. And happy me, I have the book the pattern is in. If I get it made I'll heed your warnings on the diagonal seams.
It sounds like you had a lovely Thanksgiving . Congrats on your fabulous finish. Such beautiful fabrics in the Christmas Geese quilt . Midnight Pines is going to be magnificent. Enjoy your week.
Ivani said…
Christmas geese turned out so beautiful, Cheree and the quilting is just perfect for it. So glad to hear you had a wonderful time with your family. Traveling is always so exciting. Enjoy!
Linda said…
I bet that jambalaya was delicious - your family time sounds wonderful! Haha I did think you were going to say fit into your clothes. :) I just LOVE Christmas Geese, in spite of all the ripping it turned out beautiful. I really like Midnight Pines. I'll be interested to see what you make for yourself. Good luck on your goals and have a great week, and thank you for sharing with To Do Tuesday!
piecefulwendy said…
Christmas Geese is just perfect for the Christmas season, but I'm sorry about your deep conversations with Mr. R. Who needs that?! Midnight Pines is probably a finished top by now, at the rate you sew!
So glad you had a great Thanksgiving, Cheree! It all sounds fun, well, except maybe the round of golf in the wind. We are definitely missing our golf here, though - 3 inches of snow on the ground today. Christmas Geese is beautiful - bet you're glad to get that one finished, lol! And I'm loving the look of Midnight Pines - perfect name for it, too.
Your Christmas Geese is beautiful and my favorite colors. Hugs
Home Sewn By Us said…
Hi Cheree! I just KNEW there was some golfing going on over there. Hopefully, the wind (chill) helped push the ball closer to the hole! Christmas Geese looks so gorgeous in that first picture. I love that border you chose. Holly and berries looks fab, too. AHA! We had that snafu with our first longarm experience. All that work the needle had to do to get thru the multiple layers. We had to bring out the ripper, too. I still hate our Christmas top, too - it had such great potential. I adore the fabrics . . . hate the finished product and can't get past it. How are you going to quilt Midnight Pines? I am collecting panto names now. HAHA! Yes, please make something fun just for you and your home. I'm planning a bench pillow using your tut. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
Kate said…
Sounds like you had a wonderful time with the family. When you don't get to see them as often, ditching some sewing for all the family time you can get is definitely allowed. We spent the holiday with Grad Girl in Texas as she couldn't get home due to work. You still made good progress with several projects. Good luck with this week's to do list.
Needled Mom said…
So glad you enjoyed the family for Thanksgiving. Making wonderful memories is worth the sacrifice of not sewing. Your nightmare quilt looks beautiful. You are braver than I am Togo golfing in those temps! Brrr. Blessed Advent to you.
chrisknits said…
It's perfect! I can't even see any issues with your seams. I love he panto, might have to search out that one myself.