Wisdom teeth OUT!!

Doesn't Rob look like Santa??!! Only one month to Christmas. He even has the red clothes. He had all four wisdom teeth pulled today and the doctor said they were really impacted and hard to take out. So far though, he feels pretty good. We went to Borders while we waited for his prescription (for pain that will inevitably come VERY soon) and he got a new cook book (Alton Brown) from the tooth fairy. My mother reminded me that the tooth fairy needed to arrive some time today. His white beard is a towel with ice packs in it. He attached it to his head with a belt so that he could play his video game. Clever, isn't he? He has to eat soft foods for a few days, so Thanksgiving has to be a mostly mashed potato and pumkin pie event. Oh, he does not know I am posting this on my blog, so SSSHHHH!! I told him I was sending the picture to nana.

Thankful pilgrims

I started this pilgrim wallhanging last week when Kenny asked me for one. There were no patterns available, so I looked online for some coloring book pages. Believe it or not, it was hard to find a picture that was not goofy or silly in some way. Eventually, I came up with this idea from a picture I saw on some clip art page.

Here they are with their faces and bodies outlined with black thread. I used a tight zig-zag stitch to make the outlines and contours on the clothes and hair.

Then I made some leaves and put them on the top and bottom of the pumpkin. They are three dimensional and have fabric on both sides of them.

The last step was to add an orange binding, which frames it up nicely. Overall, I am pretty happy with it. Since it was a make-it-up-as-you-go kind of project, there are some little mistakes, but no one else would realize it.

A few recent projects.

I went to see my friend over at Bee Haven Acres last weekend and brought this reversible apron I made for Bev. She is the apron-making queen (even had one in a magazine!!), but I know it is still always fun to have someone else make us one! This is the Christmas side.

Evelyn came to the quilt shop when I was going for the fabric and she loved the little penguins skating on the ice.

This is the autumn side. The tan has wheat-like images on it. The big pocket has owls and pumpkins. Evelyn picked that out too. She has even told me that she would like to make an apron one day when she is done with college (in December she will graduate!!)

Today I took a class at the quilt shop on this folded star design. I did not buy ANY fabric for the class. Spent a few minutes in the attic going through my enormous stash and came up with these colors. Loved the way they came together. I had to leave the class early to attend an 80th birthday party for my neighbor, but came home later and finished it. It's in the frame and everything!

Kenny asked me for a Thanksgiving wallhanging with Pilgrims on it, and since there is no pattern available, I found some ideas from coloring books (always handy with easy designs) and created my own. It's almost done, but I am not sure how it will look! Maybe I will be able to post it tomorrow night. Or not!

Keeping a tradition alive. Dad makes Evelyn a Hope chest of her own!

This is the front of the hope chest. Each panel is separate and on little rubber spacers so that it can expand and contract each season when the weather changes.

The dark line around the top is all inlaid.

Evelyn has always loved dolphins. Dad carved these and put them into the top.

A full picture of the front. I love it!!

These balloons are from Dad's party on October 4th!! They are still flying high at our house:)

THE STORY BEHIND THE HOPE CHEST

When my dad's 70th birthday was approaching, he was in the middle of making my daughter a hope chest. Remember how so many of us looked forward to having our own homes and families when we were young? A hope chest was a treasure that most of us wanted so that we could start collecting the things that would make our homes special. I don't think young women today have the same longings that we did back then, and they sure don't pine away for a hope chest! They have never even heard of them.

Well, dad made one for Evelyn and they made the decision to come here to deliver it in person. Of course, it was a surprise, so I could not tell her about it. For a few weeks I wanted to sort of mention hope chests and how we all wished for them when we were girls, but decided that would be too obvious.

She was so surprised and excited when she came home from work and saw her special gift. But, she had no inkling of its meaning or why she was getting one. (My dad made it clear she was not being coerced into marriage, but explained the tradition to her.) Evelyn was so touched by the gift and the letter my dad wrote to her about her and how special she is, that she told all of her friends about her hope chest and how grandpa made her one of her own. Now, they all want one too! Mom got her some new towels to put in there, so she is on her way to filling it with lovely things for her future home. It is sad when we forget the good traditions and just let them go. I loved (and still use) my own hope chest. Now Evelyn has her own family heirloom!

Now, that's a striped bass!! Pictures for my dad!

We all grew up on this Island, so it's natural for everyone in the family to have done some fishing in their time. My husband used to surf cast, but does not have memories of catching fish. He decided to go with Rob to the ocean tonight to see if Rob would bring him any luck!!

Well, this is Kenny's happy face! Seven fish in one night!! The two of them had a ball!!

They are cleaning the rods and laughing like men who made a killing on the sea! Rob was the happiest ever....because...

He caught THIS!!! His biggest striped bass ever!! Notice the bumper sticker on his rear window..."Gut Fish?"

It was 39 1/2 inches long!! Boy, are the men around here happy. They said that they each brought luck to the other tonight! I had a quilting class in town that did not end until 8:30 p.m., and I totally expected to see them home and in the house long before I got back. But, no, they were just getting home when I did. I knew it had to be good when I heard their voices and saw their faces! Right now, Rob is cutting the fish up into several future dinners. They will sleep well tonight.

Halloween is coming!!

Kenny made me these wooden Halloween decorations a few years back. I had seen them in Martha Stewart Living and just had to have them. We shine a big light on the front of the witch, cats, bats and crows. This is what they look like from the front.
The coolest part though, is that the shadow of the witch and one of the big cats shines right onto the top of our house! It is huge that it covers the house.

Yes, I do have one of those ghetto blow-up decorations! I just love them! We have at least one for each season. No one else is using them around here anymore, but until they die out, I will keep putting them up.
This is the cat that shows up on the house next to the witch. It is black, of course, but the flash made it look light.

About four years ago, I made this little wall quilt for Halloween. It hangs above the television so we can look at it all night while we watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (we have all the seasons!!) or something else spooky. My mom tried to sneak this one out of the house before they left to go back to Florida, but I would fight over this one. I offered her my witch wallhanging, but no, this was the one she wanted!! :)

When my parents made the journey to Long Island earlier this month, my dad had a special surprise present for Evelyn!! I will devote the next blog entry to that one. You will love it!!

Mariners Compass quilt for dad's 70th!!

My dad turned 70 this week and my parents came back to New York so we could all celebrate together. About a year ago, I started thinking about making him a Mariners Compass since he is an avid fisherman. I found this Quiltsmart pattern and started making it. This is the first section.

Two sections put together.

Half of the medallion together. My husband LOVED the colors in this quilt.

Here is the center medallion done. It is enormous!! For sure, it will take up the entire center of the bed. I have never done a quilt with just one center image, so it was cool to try it.

I put the center on this light blue (it's just placed on it here, not sewn on yet) and then put darker blue borders around it. The center is appliqued on and then it is ready for quilting. Since there would be so much blank space, I had the quilt quilted by a professional. She did the most amazing work on it. The blank space is a work of art by itself. Once the quilt is home at my parent's house, mom will take pictures of it and do a close-up of the quilting. I was stunned by that alone. Due to the weight of the quilt, the quilter said she would never do another one, so I guess I got lucky!!