Snow Day!

Our little 2" to 4" of snow that we were getting last night turned into a foot of heavy, wet snow.

All the schools are closed, the Boss and Andrew's office is closed and I'm staying home all day!

 

We decided we're not putting the house back on the market since we now have all the kids plus one at home, so we bought a sofa for our living room.  Now we have this cozy little space that we can relax in while they are in the family room watching TV.

On the table is my Plan C quilt top from Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles Times Two book ...I'm hoping to machine quilt it on my Pfaff today...with a day off I might as well play!

I hope you enjoy your day!

On the Side...

Sherri at The Loopy Ewe is having a First Quarter 2011 Cable Challenge.  The idea is to knit anything with a cable and finish it this quarter.  Yeah, by the end of March.  I decided to jump on in because Grace had asked me to make a scarf that matched the mitts I made her last year.  Easy enough!  I gave her a few options and she chose On the Side (Ravelry link) by Abby Tohline.  So far it's knitting up pretty quickly and is a simple seed stitch with a reversible cable down one side. I'm hoping I can finish it before the winter is over...I'd like her to be able to use it!  

 

I'm alternating working on this with hand quilting my nine patch quilt.  It was a Christmas present for Andrew's girlfriend Dayna and she's waiting patiently for it.  One of these days...

I also got back to my machine last weekend and hope to have a finished top by the end of this weekend...I'll post that when it's done!  I'll quilt this one on my Pfaff since my longarm is still in storage, which is where it will remain for the foreseeable future.  Someday it will see the light of day again...I hope!

Daisy Damage

I love my puppy, but she's a chewer. She has her own quilt, which sits on the floor in the living room.  She plays on it, sleeps on it and NEVER chews HER quilt.  Mine, on the other hand, is fair game.  So, over the holidays she did this...

I decided to fix it today.  First I found similar fabrics and sewed them together.  Then I appliqued the blue side into the nine patch.

Then I did the same with the white...

I tucked a small piece of batting into the hole, then appliqued an old Debbie Mumm Santa over the hole in the back.

I did a little bit of stippling to hold everything together...and I thought it turned out pretty good!  Now I'll pack it away for next Christmas.

And now it's a quilt with a story!  (And I do still love Daisy!)

Happy New Year!

I wish you all the blessings that the new year can hold. I've been blessed with this group in the photo...they've brought so many wonderful things into our lives.  Jake and Ellen are on the left, Grace is in the center and Andrew and Dayna are on the right.  They're all remarkable young adults and I can't wait to see what wonderful things they do with their lives. 

There are changes in the works here at Lakeside Quilting.  We've invited Jake to live with us, after a rough patch in his life.  He's been a welcome addition to our household and a tremendous help with Daisy!  I've given him my sewing room as his bedroom, so there will be much less sewing by machine in the new year.  I currently have 3 or 4 quilts to be handquilted, as well as enough yarn to keep me busy for several years, so I'll be content with whatever time I get in front of the sewing machine.

Andrew will be spending more time at home as well and I'm so happy about that too!  Of course, with all these adults living in the house, I'm cooking a lot more, which is a good thing.  I enjoyed focusing on home this holiday season and we loved staying in with the kids this year...there's something about having everyone under my roof for Christmas that makes me happy and at peace. It was fun when they were little, but even more fun now that they're adults...and adding Dayna and Jake to the mix this year was fabulous.

So, 2011 will be an adventure here at Lakeside...and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you. Thanks to all of you who have continued to visit, in spite of the fact I don't post as regularly as I used to.  Thanks to those who comment and let me know that you're still out there. Thanks to all of you who have become such a large part of my life!