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January 30, 2005
Yet more quilting! Plus, baby Derek news!
The quilt top is finished! And baby Derek stands up all by himself!
It took several hours, but the quilt top is finished (finally!) I worked very hard on it. I followed the Amish rule: no quilt can be made perfect because it would be an affront to God. So every Amish quilt has at least one imperfection built in to it.
My quilt might be more Amish than some Amish quilts when it comes to the imperfections!
The quilt is a nine-patch (one of the easiest to make) and it has sashing and a border, which made it a bit more difficult to do.
I hope to be able to post a photo when I finish the quilt, which should be this coming Wednesday.
Thanks go to Brian, who took care of Derek for several hours today so that I could work on the quilt in peace.
Derek is lifting himself up to a standing position all by himself, he's very strong! I am very proud of him. He's so cute! I can't say that enough, he's just a very adorable baby.
Posted by Jessica at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2005
Quilting Part III
Today our class begain arranging our quilt blocks into the desired pattern and constructing the sashing and the borders.
I think I'm getting the hang of it, but I still feel as if the seam ripper is my best friend!
I really am enjoying my new sewing machine. It seems very easy to use, and I now am becoming proficient at setting it up. It looks as if it might be a fun hobby for me.
On the warranty registration form, the sewing machine company asked my reasons for wanting to sew. One of the multiple-choice answers was "to save money." I about keeled over laughing. Come on! Maybe in 1950 people in industrialized nations could save money by making their own clothing and quilts, but that time has long vanished. I can certainly vouch for the fact that the materials for making my first quilt (not the tools, even, which were certainly expensive enough)cost at least $50. And those were bargain materials, and not a whole lot of them, as this is a baby-sized quilt.
As I was taking my fabric purchases to the counter to pay for them, I noticed a stack of ready-made baby quilts (undoubtedly imported from China)on clearance for $15 each. And here I was paying $200 for the sewing machine (that's a cheap one!), $50 for quilting tools at the half-price sale, and $50 for material, not to mention the time it is taking me to complete the baby quilt!
The only way I'd ever "save money" with this sewing machine is if I never used it. I could save up the pennies saved on energy non-usage and go shopping at Old Navy!
Posted by Jessica at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2005
Quilting Part II
I wasn't getting anywhere with the quilting homework because watching baby Derek is a full-time job, with mandatory overtime! Every time I tried to use the sewing machine or the iron, Derek would find a way to get my attention. He even overturned a small table onto himself (he wasn't even affected by that!)
On Wednesday, I was at quilting class until 9:30 p.m. Brian was watching Derek for me. Brian took him to a restaurant and fed him garlic mashed potatoes (Derek smelled like garlic for three days!)
On Thursday, Brian had a DDA meeting (Downtown Development Authority)so no quilting time for me, but on Friday, I was too exhausted to try quilting.
Today (Saturday), Brian was supposed to take Derek to visit Grandma. It snowed up a storm, however, and we were snowed in. Instead of going to Grandma and Grandpa's, Brian watched Derek so that I could quilt. I had to make 16 quilt blocks by next Wednesday. I was able to make all sixteen of them (finally was able to think straight when I wasn't responding to Derek's needs every five minutes.)
Some of the quilt blocks aren't perfect, and I may make a couple of extra blocks because I think I can do better on those. But I am proud and happy that they came out as well as they did!
Posted by Jessica at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2005
Quilting-not for the Faint of Heart!
Brian bought me a sewing machine with the $200 we received from an insurance reimbursement...he had long listened to me wax eloquently about my longing to learn to quilt...well, here goes!
I signed up for a class through the local Viking Sewing machine distributor (located inside the local JoAnn's store.) Supposedly, they would teach me to make a quilt in four easy lessons!
Well, I've watched those quilting shows on PBS, and I still don't know how to quilt. I've read the books, and I still don't know how to quilt. Heck, I had never even used a sewing machine before two weeks ago!
I felt so frustrated when I heard that we were supposed to leave tonight's class with two finished quilt blocks...I couldn't even get the thread hooked up right on my sewing machine! Argh! And the instructions seemed daunting. I could sort of follow them, especially after the instructor made a sample block right there in front of us.
But then, when I got back to my own seat with my own sewing machine, I couldn't even remember how to cut the fabric (which had looked so easy just moments before!) And what the heck does, "Layer the two finished sets right sides together and matching and locking the seams" mean???
ARGH!
I ended up with not even one finished block, as I had to rip one whole seam out of my barely-started one and start over.
I have to have 16 of the blocks finished by next Wednesday...or the quilt monster will get me for sure.
Not to worry, though-the fearless leader sent me home with one of the sample blocks so that I can see what they should look like when finished...I should be all set to quilt up a storm!
Uh...help! :)
Posted by Jessica at 12:09 AM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2005
Model Horse Collector's Classes
Some model horse shows have classes to show off a limited amount of your models as a group.
I like some of the theme collections I've seen at live shows. I've seen classes filled with model horses of the same mold, or the same color, or the same breed.
One theme I've been thinking about is "Model Horses that Came with Stuff." Yes, I'm a sucker for horsies with all kinds of fun accessories.
In my collection, I have "Princess of Arabia." This model is so tacky and dumb that I'm amazed anyone, let alone myself, ever bought it!! It consists of a traditional-sized Black Stallion mold in a light dapple grey (later a lightly-flecked "red roan" that looks more like a flea-bit grey)and a Brenda doll dressed in an awful, very ugly "native costume", and tack for the horse. The costume on Brenda is so awful, they didn't even put any kind of footwear on her, she's barefoot. (Something never done around a real live horse, let me tell you!)
Well, I just HAD to have "Princess of Arabia" for some inner child reason, I guess. Boy, did my friends have a field day! (They still tease me occasionally!)
Then, I had to have "Toby," the vaulting horse. This is a Belgian in pinto with his vaulting tack. I couldn't afford him the year he was released, but I found him a couple of years later at Breyerfest for really a good price.
Peter Stone caught on to the "stuff" idea, and I had to have his chestnut Morgan with the Baker's Blanket and his ISH appaloosa with sleazy sleepwear.
Then there's the State Line Tack Trakehner with his lovely neck sash. And the Life Guard of the Queen's Household Cavalry.
And of course, the HOTY Julips with all of their nifty accessories!
I could have a whole collector's class just made up of horses that came with stuff.
They sure are fun to play with. I want to get the Peruvian Horse with tack and rider. That's next on my list...
Posted by Jessica at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2005
Uncle Don with Derek
Here is a photo of Derek with his Uncle Don!
Someday, Derek will be old enough to begin studying martial arts, and then Don will really be proud of him (I hope!) Right now, Derek is just old enough to begin studying eating. He is mastering that pretty well.
Posted by Jessica at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2005
Spammed!
The Jedi Master has spoken! There can be no disruptions of the Force until the Dark Side has been eradicated!
Comments will return when a new Force-field has been located. Thank you for your patience!
Posted by Jessica at 10:20 PM | Comments (1)
January 09, 2005
Future Soccer Star?
Derek with his new soccer ball!
Daddy bought Derek his first soccer ball...except it's sized for an eight-year-old! They do make tiny ones for toddlers, but Daddy liked the bigger one. Derek doesn't quite know what to do with it, yet, but he does show interest in playing with it. Actually, he tries to eat it.
Lately, he's been a bottomless pit as far as food goes. He loves to eat!
Today, we took him to Bennigan's, where he happily ate mashed potatoes. he then came home and had a large serving of barley cereal and carrots, as well as his normal serving of milk. Yum, yum!
He's sleeping, now, but in a couple of hours, he'll wake up and want more milk!!!
Posted by Jessica at 12:12 AM | Comments (0)
January 07, 2005
Derek and Mommy
Ryan sent this nifty photo of Derek and me. Isn't it neat how he tinted it?
Derek has been such a good baby! He is so fun to be around. A few days ago, he started making a new kind of expression that our friend, Danielle, calls the "Winston Churchill look." Derek scrunches up his face like a bulldog. It's really cute, and it does kind of resemble Churchill! We have plans to try to capture this new expression with a camera, but it hasn't happened, yet. So you'll all have to settle for this cute photo of Derek sans scrunchiness!
Posted by Jessica at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2005
Lucky Lindy Flys Again!
Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic Ocean twice, and is now safely back in his homeland of England!
Lindbergh, formerly Tugboat, is doing well at Havillands, says his new owner, Amanda. He is thrilled to have returned to the land of his birth. We hope he will send regular reports of the goings-on at his new stable.
His former stablemate, Nightwatch, is also doing well, despite having had to remain in the US. Nightwatch says he misses Lindy, but his new Julip stablemates are "really swell."
Posted by Jessica at 11:43 PM | Comments (0)
January 01, 2005
Derek in the Land of Megatoys!
Derek has so many toys, he doesn't know which ones to play with first!!!
My sister, Nancy, took this photo over the Christmas holiday. Santa was very good to Derek, as you can see!
Some other toys that Derek enjoyed playing with were cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, and catnip cat toys. (Blech!)
Derek also received a great number of outfits to wear in the coming weeks and months. He'll be the best-dressed baby in the neighborhood!
Posted by Jessica at 11:28 PM