More Thanksgiving

Today I'm thankful for the right to vote. I think far too often voting is seen as a "given". It's not. It's a privilege and an honor. It gives us a say in our government. If you voted in this election I say thank you for helping to make a difference. If you didn't vote in this election I urge you to make sure that you do vote in the next election. And not just the "big one". There are many offices we elect officials to and you should be voting from the local level on up.



Over the weekend I was able to get some quilting work done. I finished up a Christmas present (that I will post a picture of after Christmas naturally).

I finally got the last border on my roosting robin. It's not the best picture because the last border is black on black and it's hanging against my navy blue drapes but here's a picture:



And I have put another border on my Christmas roosting robin.



This will be the last round for a while because I'm up to the final round and it will be what my friend Carol calls the "WOW" round. It's a sort of save your best for last concept. And if I can actually pull off what I'm planning it will be nothing short of a miracle. lol. But it's going to take some time.

It's been a while since I've posted a picture of Thunder. This one is an old one but he's soooo cute in it and besides, he's laying on my patriotic quilt and what better day than today?



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving fast approaching I'm planning to do a month long thanks for my blessings. Since I very seldom post daily I'm probably going to end up posting a few things at a time. Since this is the 3rd day of November I already have three things to be thankful for and here they are:

For November 1 I have chosen the biggest blessing in my life - the gift of everlasting life I have in my Savior Christ Jesus. I can't even begin to describe what this gift has meant to me. And it is a gift. I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it. And the good news is if you haven't accepted this gift for yourself it's there just waiting for you to claim it. If you are unsure how to go about this please scroll down to the red "ready" button on the right side of my blog. Click on that link and it will take you to a website that will explain it all to you. I looked around online for a picture to go with this and when I saw this one I knew immediately it was the one.

The reason I chose this one is something someone explained to me years ago when I inquired about crucifixes. I was told that there were no crucifixes in the church I attended because we serve a risen God. Jesus had to rise to complete His purpose. He had to come back from that grave for me - and you. So this is my Lord and Savior after conquering death.




November 2 is my family. I don't know what I would do without this crazy group of folks. We may not have a conventional home life (although I'm not even sure what "normal" or "regular" would be considered anymore) but there is lots of love in this house.



November 3 is quilting. I have loved quilts for years and I am thankful for the opportunity I had to learn to make quilts. Quilting is my stress reliever and creative outlet.



Until tomorrow, hugs and stitches. Jody

A Day Late

My mother was very punctual. As a matter of fact she was always early. And she made sure that I understood that you should not make people wait for you. So I wonder if that's why I'm chronically late. Not so much time wise - I'm always early for work. But when I do send cards (which isn't often - I'm not a "mailer") I'm normally late. Of course it doesn't really help that my darling husband doesn't know how to tell time. Okay, he does know how - he just doesn't do it. After living with him for over 27 years it's no wonder I am becoming more and more time challenged.

So today, on the first of November, I finally finished up my Halloween quilt. lol. I machine quilted it - I got some nice thread that goes from red to orange to yellow that I thought would look really nice in a meandering stitch. I even got a solid brown backing so the stitches would show up. The problem - oh right, I don't know how to do a meandering stitch. lol. I was going to practice. Then I got cold feet and decided to do a grid. And I did a grid but not like I was going to do. I got very discouraged - as I normally do when I machine quilt. I keep thinking I'll get better the more I do it but it doesn't seem to be working that way.

Well it will pass the galloping horse test so I'm happy with it.



Since it's a holiday quilt it won't be out all the time and I think I can stand the mistakes for a month or so every year.

Now it's time to work on a few more things. As we get closer and closer to the end of the year I want to get some things finished up. I like to end the year with more in the finished column than I started the year with in the to do column.

So I'm off to the quilting room. Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Trying to get something done

Well for the second weekend in a row I have been determined to get some quilting done only to have life intrude on my intentions.

I've gotten a lot of cleaning done. Did some Christmas shopping (including shopping for fabric!) and even a bit of reading.

I did get a tiny bit of quilting done. I've gotten the top and bottom of the current round on my roosting robin done:



I am working on the sides - they will only be two rows wide - I'm going for a rectangle. Maybe this evening......

We've been having an adventure with Thunder. At long last the fleas have arrived. sigh. Last week the poor thing felt so abused - two baths and one application of flea repellent. Doesn't he look happy? lol.



We tried to tell him everyone else is having a terrible time with fleas this year but it didn't really make him feel any better.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Terrific Give-Away

Can you believe someone wants to give away a quilt? Check out this link:



and you too can have a chance to win this beautiful quilt.

Be sure to look at all the pictures - this is a gorgeous quilt and this lady designed it and made it herself.

Sure hope I win it. lol.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Goin' To A Show

No I'm not going to a quilt show - although I sure would like to. lol. Goin' To A Show is the name of my latest finished project. Its a wallhanging I made to hang my show pins on. I spent a lot of time looking for a pattern specifically for show pins (there aren't many out there) and finally found this wallhanging that I decided would work.



I thought the pins would make nice centers for the flowers.



A couple of these are not show pins but are very special. The pin to the left is from Capital Quilts - a great quilt shop in Gaithersburg MD where I went with three wonderful ladies that I'm on a Yahoo group with. The pin in the middle is of a quilt block with four flowers that I also got at Capital Quilts. Of course each of the flowers represents one of us. Not that I need anything to remind me of that very special day but they sure are nice to have.

I've also done two more rounds on my Christmas roosting robin. They were very simple - basically a separator round and a round to take it off point.



I mentioned before that my daughter has taken an interest in photography and I found this picture on the camera. This is the front of our house.



Now you can picture where I'm at when you read my posts. (I'm sure you were all sitting on the edge of your seats just wondering what my house looks like. lol).

Well it's time to get moving and get something productive done.

Here's a look at one of Thunder's latest pictures.



It's hard to believe we've had him 7 1/2 months. He'll be a year old before long. My baby is growing up. lol.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Something New

My friend Barb is a multi-blogger. She has a quilting blog, a book blog and a devotional blog. I already have the quilting blog and have been wanting to do a book blog but since I have a hard time posting here regularly I didn't want to start up another blog to keep up with.

So when I found Shelfari I saw my opportunity to mention the books I like without having a book blog.

Now when you come to visit you can check out my bookshelf (on the lower right hand side of my blog). You'll find a selection of books I have read and loved. Right now I have a selection from Jennifer Chiaverini, MC Beaton, JK Rowling and Cindy Woodsmall. I have read multiple books from these very talented ladies and would recommend anything any of them has written.

So be sure to check every now and then to see what I've been reading and maybe you'll find something that looks good to you.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody