Antler Anxiety

I was very worried about making the November BOM, which features this adorable moose. At the last session, the instructor told us that the antlers were to measure 4 inches at the widest part. I procrastinated about plunging in to this one-of-four sections for the month's block, until I realized there were only 2 weeks left until the next session. "Better get a move on, " I admonished myself.

The moose has many parts (including one 3/4" piece), so cutting them out took a while. I enjoy the precision required for this activity. The instructions required making the antlers first. I was ecstatic when I was done sewing and took a measurement - a perfect 4 inch rack of antlers! I never thought I would get this excited about something so small.

The piece came together perfectly. I did not have to tear out one seam. I think he is very cute, too. Only 3 more sections to go to complete the block. Definitely have to pick up the pace to get these done.

Am deep into making holiday presents for special friends. My little Janome is really getting a work-out!

Tomorrow is a skating day, complete with Paso Doble practice with my friend Maddie. Then, off to SF on Wednesday for new skates.

Onward, minus antler anxiety.

Swine flu or not, whatever I have feels like it.

Yesterday, I was feeling pretty *punk* but ran errands with DH, like going to the appliance store as we are much in need of a new oven, which seems to have died on us. I was feeling slightly off when we left the house. For the rest of the day, my condition went downhill, until at 5:00 pm I announced to DH that I was going to bed-not to nap, but to sleep, as in until today. I felt dreadful by day's end and could hardly even move as every muscle seemed to ache. I immediately fell asleep (maybe it was around 5:30) and slept until 8:00 am this morning. Am still in *yuck* mode, but did manage to complete the dog-theme quilt for my neighbor's wife, as the extra fabric came in the mail yesterday. If this isn't the swine flu (I don't really think it is), whatever it is isn't any fun. So, today I am just taking it easy, cutting out some fabric for the next Cabin Fever BOM.

I do hope to feel better by Monday, so I can skate in the morning. This coming week is going to be pretty hectic, with the trip to SF for skates and doing required health screens to allow my volunteer activities with the Mercy/Catholic Healthcare West Hospice and Home Health department.

I desperately (o.k., that's a little dramatic) want to find some *fab* music for a new program. My BSB found some that is absolutely gorgeous and she will create a magnificent program I know. Watching one of the younger adult skaters (she skated as a kid) doing her Christmas program resulted in my feeling completely inadequate in my skating, hence, my "complaining" to Coach J about my lack of inspiration/progress in the sport. I really wanted to skate yesterday and see my BSB and another great skating friend who is preparing for her Pre-Gold dance test on the 11th. Good for you, Suzee! I found out from my BSB that there is no test session in January, so my Ten Fox will have time to "cook more," thus increasing the likelihood of actually passing this dance. I'd like to target taking the 14-Step test at the same time as the Ten Fox, but that's a stretch.

Off to cut out fabric and then, I think it will be nap time. Hope I kick this bug very soon!

Onward, with the hope and optimism this time of the year brings.

Dog-Theme Quilt, New Skates & Desperately Seeking Skating Inspiration

I have been working to complete the quilt that my neighbor asked me to make for his wife's surprise Christmas gift. This picture is a close-up of part of the piece. If you click on the photo, you can see the detail of the fabric better. I wish the doggie fabric had been easier to fussy cut; as it was, I had to figure out how to cut off as few heads and tails as I could, but this was not easy, as you can see. Nonetheless, I think it is a cute quilt that she will enjoy. They are real dog lovers - like us - with a King Charles Spaniel and Boxer, both very sweet dogs. From a technical skill perspective - with the exception of mis-cutting one of the borders which necessitated having to buy more fabric for one border - this top came together nearly perfectly. I didn't encounter any problems at all. What a relief!

This week I will definitely get my new boots and blades. I am scheduled to make the trek to San Francisco on Wednesday. I do so hope that after waiting all this time (since the end of July) that the boots and blades are worth the wait.

I skated this week only once, but had a fun lesson doing some things I hadn't done before. I complained to Coach J that I was feeling uninspired in my skating. I didn't mean she was responsible for keeping me inspired, but I fear she may have interpreted my comment that way. I need a goal - new program perhaps? I also MUST get out of Bronze dance and move into Silver. One blasted Ten Fox is holding me back! Seems like I will be testing this dance in January with Coach Chris. Please, please, please let me pass it. Also have been working on Silver dances with Coach J and Coach C. I love the Fourteen Step - very quick, very cute. And, of course, there is the Paso, now only two weeks away from its debut at the Coffee Club Cookie Exchange and Exhibition event. I think a group of us are also going to do the Golden Skater's Waltz together. A truly lovely social (not regulation) ice dance done to the Westminster Waltz music. It's loads of fun!

Thanksgiving was quiet. Dear Husband whipped up his famous rack of lamb. We made roasted cauliflower (delicious!) and I made a yam casserole that I liked, but DH was not too crazy about.

We received our new living room furniture the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It looks so nice and really makes the room. With the new stone floor and furniture in the room, we now have a beautiful place to sit, entertain, or just use for reading.

Back to the quilting "salt mines." Am binding one of my table toppers today. Wish me luck.

Onward into the official holiday season!

Quilting, Elf Day, and Kudos

When your back is up against the wall, you get more than a sore back! I learned this lesson when I decided to make something for a door prize for our annual Coffee Club Cookie Exchange and Exhibition at our rink. This has become a wonderful tradition, this year being our 11th year of the event.

I didn't want to purchase any fabric, so off I went to my stash. I've never made anything "scrappy" and don't even like this concept because it pushes against everything in me that is structured, symmetrical, and simply obsessive about order. But, this little topper - which features holiday and skating fabric - seemed to scream, "Scrappy is good!", hence, the highly disorganized and slightly silly nature of the piece. But, it was fun to make and easy to put together.

What was the lesson? I was going to have this professionally quilted (yes, I know this seems silly), but decided to do it myself, because we are spending major bucks on the house, so I'm trying to economize elsewhere. So, I screwed up my courage, got out my very best quilting reference book and plunged in. Dear Husband said the outcome (sans binding, which I will add this weekend) is very "cute," which is high praise coming from him. Learning something new is one of the best aspects of quilting. I truly think this craft is keeping my mind sharp as I enter my *senior* years. Of course, this piece was no big deal, but I did quilt it myself with a cute red zig zag stitch-in-the-ditch technique and will add red binding myself, and a label. All-in-all, I feel a sense of satisfaction for doing something from beginning-to-end on my own. Small accomplishment, but feels good anyway.

Tomorrow, I will get up bright (no, it will still be dark) and early (on a Saturday no less) to volunteer at Magic Circle Theatre. I'm playing an elf in the Roseville Santa Parade. Fortunately for me, my elf duties are inside, because Santa will be at the Roseville Theatre, so the kids will come to him and I'll be right there by his side. Three hours of children will be a challenge for me, but fun. I'm also officially a one-day a week volunteer for the Mercy S.O.U.L./Hospice program. Thursday will be my volunteer day. I'll be working out of the office in Rancho Cordova. The irony here is that I once occupied the very same office back in the days when I worked in marketing for an HMO. Scary!

My BSB passed her Ten Fox dance test! Yay! Great for her. The test session ran long so she is testing her European Waltz in January, but she is now a Pre-Silver ice dancer. I'm so proud of her for yet another skating accomplishment. She also picked some absolutely magnificent music for her next program. It's perfect for her gorgeous skating style.

Onward!

Snow White, Skating, and More

Yesterday started with a stint at Magic Theater for the kid's performance of Snow White. There were 450 children in attendance. They were all seated in 30 minutes with little to no trouble. The theater has a great system for getting these children into groups (by school) and seating them in the Roseville Theater. My dear friend, Tony, came to visit me at the theater. I haven't seen him for some time, not since I was the guest on his cable television show, Sacramento's Talent. He brought me the CD of the interview, but I doubt I will work up the nerve to watch it.

After Magic Circle, it was off to the rink to work on the Paso with Maddie. My friend Susan was there and working on the "real" version of the Paso. OMG, the steps are so fast and not 'adjusted' for the likes of me, as Coach J has done for our Holiday Show performance. Susan is doing a great job on this dance. I'm amazed at how quickly she picks up these dances. I think she just started working on this a couple of weeks ago and she is already doing a fabulous job on it.

Maddie and I drilled the Paso. Coach J made some additional changes. There were too many people on the ice so it was difficult to hold a pattern, but we did get a couple of good runs and Coach seems happy with progress. I"m not, of course. Still needs much refinement, IMO.

Then we worked on the ensemble number, which is down to 5 skaters. One of our group had made the necessary changes to accommodate our reduced numbers. These worked out quite well. It was fun to skate the program again. Coach J told us that Jill Shipstad (who had choreographed the program for us to skate at Worlds last July) would be here on December 11, the day of our annual Coffee Club Exhibition and Cookie Exchange. It will be so nice to see Jill again, as she is truly a lovely, talented, and genuine person. She is going to perhaps do a group lesson for the Coffee Club participants. What a treat this will be.

Today is my BSB's big day - her test for the Ten Fox and European Waltz. Good luck, J! You are going to skate through with flying colors. I'm very happy for you. You will definitely be a Pre-Silver dancer when you leave the rink today!

Doggies seem to be doing fine, except for a little 'problem' yesterday with Merlin's meds. I had fed the dogs their dinner, but when Dear Husband got up from his nap, he fed them again, including giving Merlin his meds. I immediately called the vet to see what we should do. She said Merlin would just be very sleepy from the double dose of his pain meds. Sure enough, he woke me up at 5:04 this morning, just as perky and ready for breakfast as always. Thank goodness no ill effects from our lack of communication.

Will see my dear friend Lori today at Cabin Fever and deliver my 34 (minus the two I keep) blocks to her. I certainly hope they pass muster!

Onward. Have a great weekend, Dear Readers.

More trees and skating 'stuff'

Here is a picture of the Block-of-the-Month (October) that I must show at Cabin Fever this Saturday to obtain the November block fabric. We've already made this design as part of a block with four different sections, so I cut and sewed this one in about 90 minutes. And, it's a perfect 12 1/2 inch block. I am making progress; it's that 'scant' 1/4 inch seam. As you can see, I am thinking about embellishing this block with a little dog, but he looks strange in this picture so I may bag the idea. I think it's a scale problem.

On another quilting front, I deliver my 34-blocks (minus the two designs I made that I get to keep) for the holiday block exchange in which I participated. Lesson learned from this experience: I'm not a production quilter. I like taking time when making blocks, including the cutting and sewing. I didn't get my fabric until nearly Fall, so I felt rushed to make the blocks. I think they turned out pretty well. I'm curious to get the blocks from the other participants.

On the doggie front, we get one doggie (Merlin) feeling better and the other gets sick. DeeDee was ill on Monday, so off we went to the vet. Now she is on Pepcid and a bland diet for the week. She was still feeling *punk* up until yesterday when she seemed to bounce back. Today, we are going to the eye surgeon to check on her retinal atrophy. Still considering whether we should have her right eye done, so at least she could have some vision. She seems to grow more anxious as she loses more sight, but this could just be our imagination. Merlin is doing very on the medication regimen and even is doing some good morning stretches which he certainly couldn't do 4 weeks ago. He still can't jump onto his favorite couch to sleep. And, DeeDee has commandeered it anyway. Typical DeeDee behavior, as in "I'm the queen and I get whatever I want!" Right now, in fact, she is barking because I am eating my bagel and she wants her share of it (which she will get, as will Merlin).

Also on the 'four paws' front, today I am meeting with the supervisor of the S.O.U.L. (Source of Unconditional Love) program at Mercy Healthcare/Catholic Healthcare. My friend Madeleine, who started this program 15 years, and I were talking about the need they have for some 'arms and legs.' As a former volunteer - with our wonderful Samoyed, Henry - in the program I really wanted to help. I'm meeting today with the hospice/home health supervisor to see what needs to be done. I can volunteer a day a week to this endeavor and look forward to helping keep the program running. It is a wonderful way to bring some joy into the lives of others who are experience some very difficult times.

Yesterday I skated for two hours, which was great fun. My BSB was there on the ice at the same time, so I got to catch the glimpses of her during practice and her lesson with Coach J. She is getting ready for her dance test this Saturday, but she was very kind to help me with the Ten Fox outside Mohawk. Her advice really helped a lot. When it was time for my lesson, Coach J asked me what I wanted to work on and I immediately said, "Dance!" before she could suggest freestyle. I had been playing some Christmas ice dance music and she said, "I heard the Argentine Tango music playing. Let's work on that." This dance is so much fun, with a wicked twizzle that is scary but very cool. We drilled the Paso again and Coach gave me an exercise to improve the footwork section. Ugh. I cannot do what she suggested but will keep at it. It's less than a month until our Coffee Club Exhibition and Cookie Exchange and about six weeks to the rink's Holiday Show when Maddie and I will be doing the Paso. The clock is surely ticking! Must, must, must work on the Paso more to avoid total embarrassment.

Onward!

My First Quilting Commission

Yesterday I received a phone call from a neighbor, asking me to make a quilt for his wife for Christmas. I was quite surprised, as I am still just a "confident beginner" quilter. He and his wife had bid on the quilt I donated to our silent auction for our wine crush party. She was quite disappointed that she didn't have the winning bid or so I was told.

I immediately thought of all the reasons I should not accept this commission. To wit, "I don't have the skills," "I don't know what to charge," "What if she doesn't like the end product?" etc, etc, etc. In the end, I decided that I would make the quilt, but not charge for my time. But when I told my neighbor this, he insisted that he did not want me to do this without being paid. I told him I would get back to him today. What to do? What to do?

I am very flattered that my neighbor would ask me. We share a love of dogs and he asked me to make a dog-theme quilt. I went online and found some perfect fabric. Sent for swatches to show him, despite the fact that he told me that he completely trusted my judgment in these matters. After sleeping on the request, I decided that I am really excited about making this piece, but will NOT take money from my neighbor. Period. That's decided.

On the home dec front, it has been yet another week of chaos. New carpet on Monday & Tuesday, then tile work beginning on Tuesday through this week and even tomorrow (Saturday). Thank goodness that Dear Husband is giving me a break from the activity and is working from home today so I can skate. Yay! I really need to get back on the ice for a variety of reasons.

Merlin is much improved and even able to take short walks. He is very "sparky" in the mornings now, back to barking very loud for his breakfast. That's always a good sign.

Onward we go to skating and quilting!