Thanksgiving

I am thankful for a wonderful husband who takes me to Las Vegas to get away from it all! Here are a few views of the Bellagio Hotel from a different angle. The first two are from the balcony overlooking the Conservatory that is by the Spa. I spent most of my free time in the spa with specialized services that were fabulous!


And this picture is the high skylight just outside Sensei Restaurant where we had a tasty lunch.

We went to the Venetian to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was done so well, and we even had front row seats. The scenery, visual effects, the beautiful voices and great dancing made us both feel as if we had experienced something pretty special!

Last, this is a quilt I machine pieced using Judy Dales' methods in 2001. I call it Joy. It's a pretty good time to share it, I think!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood`

It was a glorious, beautiful day today in the Midwest! We decided that we would get Christmas decorations outside, and move the last of the summer garden stuff inside the shed. We managed to get all but one tree lit, along with 12 wreaths hung along our walkway. Our neighbors add their identical wreaths along our shared fence, and when it snows, it looks like a lovely lane with the greenery and the red bows.

We're taking off in the morning for a quick trip to Las Vegas. I'm missing my mom a lot these days. Her birthday was a few days ago, and Thanksgiving was always *her*day to gather us all together. Instead of trying to duplicate that for the rest of the family, Hubby decided that I should be whisked off for a spa day at the Bellagio, and dinner at our favorite restaurant, Picasso's. We'll also see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian, and probably walk the Strip if the weather is decent just to people-watch. We're hoping the winter storm that has been mentioned by the weather-guessers will hold off until we return. We actually should be home on Wednesday night, and have a nice quiet day of football on T-Day. You know we'll be glued to the TV for the KU/MU game here, too!

I've been helping a new friend do a memory quilt for one of her daughters. She was here on Thursday, and this is what we got accomplished. She has one more section to add to the bottom that has another large star in it, but that will wait until after Thanksgiving. I'm liking the looks of it a lot!

Hopefully, the Bellagio will have a beautiful Thanksgiving display in the Conservatory while we are there. I'll post pictures when I return. Stay safe!

Moving right along!

I've been running along side myself as I wind up the year's projects and wanna-dos! Today was a good day, I think!

Here's my soon to be 9 year old grand daughter's little quilt 50" X 60" kitty quilt. She really, really, really wanted to Crazy Dogz quilt, and since I didn't have time to do another one of those, this one will be her surprise on December 13th. The label has her picture on it with her birthday cake from last year, and I added "Kaitlyn's Kitties" on the cake in Photoshop. It really is straight, just crooked photography!

You can double click for a larger, closer picture of it to see the purple chenille squares and binding. If anyone ever hears me talking or even thinking about working with chenille again, please remind me how much I diskliked working with it. It took two vacuum cleaner containers to get the fuzz and shreds up. And my fingers are almost bleeding from using it on the binding. Yuck!

But all in all, I really like it, and I know she will, too!

Here's my little round robin 4" block that was sent to TX for it's first round of 15. My theme is Garden Thyme, and I've asked for batiks to be used. I also included a picture of my garden with the wind sculpture in it that looks like this (sort of!).

Now, I am going to work on a sweatshirt jacket for my friend, Linda. She makes the most beautiful socks, so we decided to barter a jacket for socks. She chose the fabric, and I chose the yarn, so I am certain we will both be pleased with the outcome.

November?

The year is slipping away fast, isn't it? But we've had the most glorious Fall that I can remember!!! Today it's supposed to turn cold - something like in the 20's by evening, with a lot of wind. We decided to get out yesterday and take some pictures of the yard before the autumn leaves left us in the whirlwinds. I'm glad we did, because it's already windy and the leaves are twirling around and flying down the street!


While we were in the backyard by the gazebo, I thought it would be a good time to take a picture of my Flipped Out Circles. I decided that I was finally full of circles, and stopped when I had enough to make a lap quilt. I found a really great piece of fabric at the Needle Nest for the borders and the backing, so it got done fairly quickly. I offered it for a class, but had no takers, so it's home now, and on my sofa in the hearth room. Should make a nice snuggler tonight when it gets cold, eh?



I've been busy getting odds and ends done, mostly odds - so there isn't much to show for it. Right now, I have some school uniforms in the wash. I'm going to cut them up to make stars of various sizes, and end up with a nice size quilt for a school auction. Last year I made a baby quilt, but I think something from/for their school will have a higher interest level. I have until February, but I know if I don't get it started now, that time will be here, and I'll be having to scurry, and worry.

I'm also working on a couple of round robins. I have my mini-round robin all ready to go, along with my wish list. On my sidebar is the group of bloggers who are doing this over the next 15 months. It will be a little thing when we are done - something like 9" X 15"? I can't exactly remember, but it's small! Should be a fun and easy thing to do each month.

The other round robin I'm working on is for my BuddiesRus small friendship group. There are two in California (Wendy and Sherri) and two in Kansas (me and Carolyn). We're having a camp in Cambria next Spring, and we thought this was a good way of getting to know each other before then. We've made our second exchange, and my brain has been working overtime, let me tell you! I wish I could share the pictures, but I can't since I know they are regulars readers, too!

I've been helping a new friend plan a memory quilt for her daughter, and as soon as I have some pictures of that, you'll see them here, too. There's also a kitty quilt with purple chenille in the works for a future birthday present in December.

So there's a lot going on, just nothing all lined up and in a row. Now, I'm off to clean house (gasp!!!) and perhaps sew later today.