Thursday, December 10th, My Christmas project

Thought I would share my latest journey into madness. I decided to make my dad a quilt for Christmas out of his old ties. I don't think by posting, he would find out because his computer is so slow and it would never load all of this information.
In May of 2007, the girls and I spent a day with mom in their bedroom cleaning out the closet. It was a huge task and dad had at least 50-60 ties. Now my dad only wears a tie to church and the funeral home, and many of them were so outdated or stained that we got it down to about 40, and I took the rest. For Father's Day that year, I made him a pillow:He didn't take it very well, and scolded me for taking his ties and cutting them up. It took him almost 2 weeks to call and thank me for the gift, only after mom made him. So we will have to see how he takes it this time. I mean the ties are already deconstructed, so no harm no foul!! A good friend of mine also gave me a sack full, so I have a huge selection.
This process began a few weeks ago. I washed them in warm water and dried them.
Then, I began the painstaking process of taking them apart. This took an entire 4 hours of movie or TV watching to do. There is a holding stitch on the wide side that needs to be cut, then there is a long running stitch that can be pulled to take the whole seam apart. Then the "guts" need to come out.
Then I pressed them flat and cut the bottom seam off:
Next, I fused interfacing to the wrong sides of three ties at a time. This is necessary because ties are cut on the bias and the fabric is very unstable. Then it should be easier to sew.
Next, I cut the piece into 1 1/2 inch strips. When I started cutting them, I was cutting the narrow way, but I found if I cut the long way, I get much more usable material.
I then get rid of the short ends and start my cutting process:The jagged ends get pitched and then I have some nice strips to work with:Last step before sewing is sorting into my needed lengths. My friends will be happy to know that I am not trying to be "matchy-matchy", but this is going to be totally scrappy with a pattern in mind. Stay tuned for the finished product. Will he get it finished on Christmas morning? I don't think so, but I am going to wrap what I have finished and then take it back to complete it.

Wednesday, December 9th, All the tunes, all the time

We have had XM radio for about 6 years. Did I ever share the story of how I crashed the van tuning it and took out two mailboxes on my street? A story for another time.
Anywho, XM has 5 stations strictly dedicated to Holiday music starting right after Thanksgiving. I love it because I have options!! While at home, I listen to our multitudinous collection of Christmas CDs, but while in the car I have the following options:
Holly....tried, really tried to listen to it, but Christmas carols by Lady GaGa, or whoever, doesn't float my boat
Hanukkah.....even though in his younger years, many people thought my dad was Jewish, I really don't have an interest. How many Dreidel songs are there?
Traditions....I like this one, but when they play "The Christmas Song" over and over again, I get a little tired of it, and I love that song!!! I can tell it is coming on by the violin swell at the beginning!
XM Pops...my favorite choice because they play choral numbers and orchestrations of classical Christmas pieces and the one I usually stick with, although I flip over to Traditions when I am needing a boost in my jolly meter
Christmas in the country...Ummmmm, no.....Johnny Cash had a great story, but I have decided that he, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton must have had great agents, cause they can't sing!!!

Tuesday, December 8th, Snow, snow, snow.....(tune from movie White Christmas)

We have had unseasonably warm temperatures for November and December, but like they say, "If you don't like the weather in Chicago, wait a few minutes, it will change". And change it has, we have a big storm in the forecast and already Iowa and all states west and north of us are getting slammed.
On that note, thought you would like to see the cute cheese ball I made for our small group get together on Sunday night. Maybe I brought on the snow.....
He was as delicious as he was adorable!!!

Monday, December 7th, A day that will live in infamy...

On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The surprise attack destroyed much of the United States' fleet, especially the battleships.
May we take the time today to remember those who lost their lives in a day that signaled the United States entering World War II.

Sunday, December 6th, The tower is now complete

The work is progressing on our church and yesterday we approved another $60,000 in much needed improvements, repairs and upgrading. I am totally stoked for how our building will look!! I know the steeple needed to be fixed, but it is going to take some getting used to.
Before:
After:
For as long as I have attended, we have called it the "Rapture Tube", not only because of it's shape, but also because when it was windy outside, you could feel the wind blow down into the baptistery. Guess God will have a different portal for us!!!

Saturday, December 5th, The elf is at work

Chuck has been getting into the holiday decorating and today when I got up from my little nap after working last night, he was donning lights on the back fence. Unfortunately, he is having a hard time finding more lights in the stores. We need to get to the inside of the house as I am hosting Bunco on Friday. Why is this season so stressful sometimes?

Friday, December 4th, I'm dreaming of......

The last couple of mornings have given us a little dusting of snow. I love snow, not the driving in it, or the shoveling of it, but I just love the look of it. Hope we get some for the holiday this year!