Flying home to sunny California

OK, maybe not sunny, but definitely not snowy.  We got our first real dose of reality overnight with about 4" of snow.  This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the kids were still going to school, despite the fact that it was still snowing.  At about 10am, though, the school called to announce an early release day at noon.  It's not as good as a full day, but I still got nearly 3 hours quilted on a client quilt.  I need a full day so I can have an afternoon to wrap :-)

This quilt is all boxed up to be sent home tomorrow.  I never got great pictures of it, and figured today which was very cloudy wouldn't yield those.  It's very dark and overcast.  It's a cute lap quilt, with hexagons hand appliqued all over  it.  The middle and border fabric is a cutesy print with birds, but not one that shows the quilting really well.  I chose do do a very fun and effective free-roaming feather for the border, and a large-scale McTavish type filler in the middle.  I hesitate to call it that because it barely resembles a McTavish, but it sets off the applique.  Each of the hexie clusters were stitched like different flowers.  I know that the owner will love this one when she gets it back!

We are slowly getting ready to come to that holiday "stop".  The last minute quilters are still out there.  I have a rush job quilts that need to be done by early January, one I hope to get to later this week.  My 8-yr old has been happily wrapping for me this year, but I can't trust him to wrap for anybody in this house!  He and my husband went treking through the woods yesterday and came back with a great little Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  It was free, and is infinitely better than the 3' fake one I had set up on a box.  All decorated now, and I didn't have to do a dang thing (just the way I like it!).  I am so unmotivated this year to decorate and shop and get ready.  Some years it is tolerable; not this one.  We are now down to the week count down.