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Saturday, December 29, 2018

December mini-of-the-month

I was determined to get my Mini-of-the-Month posted before New Year's Eve. My last post was 4 weeks ago, when I posted my November monthly mini a day late. So here is what I came up with this month. I hadn't done any stitching for weeks, and I needed a quick fix.
This is based on a Merry Mini Monday free pattern shared by Sheryl at Temecula Quilt Co. If you take the link to her post you will see how I altered it.

A "pre-binding" shot gives you a clearer look at the quilting. Very simple stuff, for a very simple design. I thought about hand quilting the motif in the center of each block, but I needed this to be a finish this December, not next year.












Here is another glamor shot. I  named mine Christmas Crossroads.



















So what have I been doing all of those weeks when I wasn't stitching? Aside from the usual Christmas busyness, I was finishing up a very long-term project that has nothing to do with quilting.
In 2005 I began acting as my Father's scribe while he dictated his life story. In his later years he had a genetic tremor that made writing and typing difficult, and I was anxious to have his story. So we worked once a week, whenever we could, over the course of 10 years. The last year of his life we just tacked on a paragraph now and then to tell what he was doing at that point. Since his passing I have proofread, edited, searched for photos and documents to include, and tried to eliminate duplication. When you spread your story out over that many years, it is easy to forget that you already included something in another section of the story.

The past few months became crunch time, with a goal to have the book printed and bound for my siblings and I to give it to our children for Christmas this year. In order to achieve that I set aside everything that I could and spent hours every day for weeks getting it ready to submit. Mission accomplished! And I just realized that today is the second anniversary of his passing. 
Sure do miss you, Dad!

Now I have a little more breathing room time-wise, I have started quilting one of the minis from the stack of those that need completion. I chose one from a Pam Buda pattern that I made a couple of years ago, I believe.
This is the stitch-in-the-dtich in progress on my DSM. Tedious at times, I admit, but I like what it does for a quilt, so I persist. I will move to Gidget (my HQ Sweet 16) for the FMQ.


I received a belated birthday gift earlier this month from my friend, Kris (Lavender Quilts blog) in Oregon.
She sent me one of those great fabric bowls she makes in some of my favorite colors. And she stocked it with goodies, too! Thanks, Kris! I love it all!


Just want to share one more thing (channeling my inner Columbo). I have repurposed a quilting item as a "game night" helper. When our kids come over for game nights at our house, we have occasionally run into issues with some games that require you to hold a large amount of cards in your hand, and keep sorting through them to find which one you need to play. A year or two ago, while playing the card game version of "Ticket to Ride,"  I realized a quilting ruler rack was perfect to hold my hand of cards, let me see them all at once, and choose the one I wanted to play much more quickly and easily. Since then I have used coupons at Jo~Ann to pick up a couple more, when I didn't need something else. Now I have enough for 4 players! Here you can see 2 of us with our hand for a round of "Deer in the Headlights."
Now you know what to get with your next coupon! :)

Have you decided on your quilting goals for next year? I have been giving it some thought, and have come to zero conclusions. However, I have almost narrowed down the projects I will be taking to retreat the second week of January. Looking forward to it!

Until next time, 
Janet O.



28 comments:

  1. What a great and worthwhile project you took on. So much family history gets lost and forgotten.....all those priceless stories of family and events. My brother and I like to outdo each other when telling them:) Love your current mini. Great idea for card night!

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  2. Lovely mini...and I am doing the same thing, writing my dear hubby's story!! I am so glad you did this...wonderful!

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  3. Your siblings and children will treasure those books always. Over 20 years ago my sister undertook the same task of recording the family history of our maternal grandparents' lives as they immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century when they were teenagers. We all treasure our copies of the book she put together and she's thinking now of compiling a new edition for the youngest generation. And of course with all the genealogy/ancestry search tools available now we've connected with many relatives in the old country via a family facebook group. So interesting and fun. A sweet little Christmas mini too!

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  4. Quilting on Christmas Crossroads is so lovely--is it all FMQ or some ruler work? Your Dad's story us such a special gift for now and future generations--great job!

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  5. What a sweet idea of putting together the book of your dad's memories. I wish I had more of my mom's thoughts on paper. Your little December quilt is adorable. I have a few quilts I want to make this year. I hope I can make it happen.

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  6. My dad was a consummate story teller. We gave him a tape recorder once to record his stories, and he just clammed up. What you did with your dad is priceless.

    Love your minis!

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  7. Woohoo! You not only made it before I did, but your mini is sensational! If I could machine quilt like you I would never hand quilt again! It is gorgeous. What a wonderful gift for your family! I cannot think of anything I'd want more than to read about my Dad's life whenever I wanted to. They will all treasure this gift forever! Love the little Pam quilt too. Hope you get lots of stitching time in the New Year. I might have to retire early!

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  8. that roping design is one of my faves and perfect for this mini....beautiful labor of love for your family and generations to come....

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    1. Thanks, Grace.
      I love the rope design, too. Probably over use it, but I can't help myself. :)
      Dad wrote his history for the benefit of his posterity, and I have already had feedback as to how much it means to some of the grandkids.

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  9. What a precious gift for your family - and a tribute to your Dad in having his stories and memories all together. Your December Christmas Crossroads is adorable - congratulations on meeting your goal. Hmmm...what shall we do in 2019?? Fresh new projects or tackling UFO’s??

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  10. Your awesome legacy to your Dad is so wonderful--what a labor of love! I know it will be a treasure for your entire family. I love your little finished quilt--it looks adorable along side it's friends--congrats on a sweet finish! I have a couple of ideas for next year--for sure Bea and Cecile's FB sew along and I'm keeping an eye out for Barbara Brackman's tribute to nurses. My one big goal is to start a Stonefield's kit I purchased from someone I follow on Instagram over a year ago.

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  11. What treasures you have created for your family through your quilting and especially the writing, with your his help, the story of your father's life. While I'm sure your family will probably have some fights over your quilts when you are gone, I'm sure they will hold more dearly the printed story of your father's life. ---"Love"

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    1. I think you are right that Dad's history will mean much more to our posterity than my quilts will. :)
      I don't know why your comments aren't coming through to my email anymore. If you see this will you let me know if you have changed any settings.

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  12. Your quilt is really darling!! My husbands grandmother made a book similar to yours, and it is a treasure! Good for you!!
    Happy New Years and may 2019 be full of blessings!

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  13. Your mini is wonderful! I like it much better than the original version, you did a great job with the colors, too. What a neat gift for your kids. It is so nice when you have a life story of a loved one to pass on. Your little churn dash is adorable and the quilting will add so much. The bowl is beautiful and so useful, too. A very nice gift! The ruler holder work great with the cards. I don't buy much fabric at JoAnn's now but I do look for tools to use coupons. Usually when I have a good coupon the item I really want is already on sale so the coupon won't work! Have a wonderful New Year!

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    1. Thanks for your kind comment, Marsha. It didn't come to my email, so I am answering here. Like you, I often find that the item I planned to buy with a coupon at Jo~Ann is already on sale, but these ruler holders were not usually already marked down when I bought them. Best Press is another thing I can often buy with a coupon when everything else is on sale. :)

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  14. Your little mini is so sweet. The quilting design is perfect. It enhances the piecing without overwhelming it. What a great accomplishment getting your Dad's story compiled and printed. That book will be a treasure. I haven't set any specific quilting goals for 2019. I can't seem to get excited like I used to. I think it's because I have so many tops waiting to be quilted. Maybe now that Christmas is over and my company (while it was good to see everybody) has come and gone I'll have enough mental energy to plan something. I want to get my own pictures compiled soon and labeled so that's a goal I've set. I did get all the slides converted to a flash drive and gave that to my siblings for Christmas. It took hours and hours but actually not as long as I thought it would.

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  15. Your incredible machine quilting always brings your quilts to life. Your December mini is sweet as always. What a gift from your dad, completed with all your love. Your family is blessed with his stories. Happy New Year

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  16. I love your December mini That is a great Family Christmas gift. Wishing you a healthy, wealthy and Happy New Year. Hugs.

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  17. Awesome to see a new post on your Blog. The Book was a big project for you. Nothing like a Christmas deadline. The minis are sew cute. I made a UFO list, but not much Stitching other than a few Baptism/Temple bags for the Grands and the Quiltville Mystery, of course.

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  18. Love your December mini and the machine quilting is fabulous as always :) What a wonderful gift from your father--and you. It will be cherished forever. Happy New Year to you and yours!

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  19. Love love your December Mini and it goes so well with your Christmas collection of quilts on display. You really have such a great eye for small quilts and also for display.
    I was so touched by your story about scribing for your Dad. What a gift of your time and talent for such a worthy project. How did you siblings react? Did they know about the project? amazing - you are amazing.
    What a clever clever use for the ruler racks!! love that.
    I wish you a happy happy New Year! xo

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  20. Of course your little minis are fabulous. My December one is in the mail to Wendy and my November one (oops, a little late) is on the wall, waiting for finishing.
    I LOVE the story your father told and that you put together into a book. What better gift to give to your kids and your siblings?? Just amazing!!
    Happy New Year, dear Janet!!
    xxxxs,

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  21. The memory book of your Dad's life is certainly a treasure for your family! I wish I had more of my Dad's memories in writing. We did get some so that's good. So many times, the memories are talked about when you don't have access to any paper or any way of recording them. Lovely little quilts! Happy New Year!

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  22. What a sweet finish, Janet. It's so simple yet totally delightful.

    Oh, what a huge project to edit and prepare your father's story for publication. Just rereading for typos would be time-consuming, but editing for content -- wow! Good for you to get it all finished in time for Christmas. I'm sure everyone who received a copy will treasure it!

    Thank you so much for the suggestion for a card holder. This is just what my little grands needed when we were playing Old Maid. I'll have to see if our local JoAnn has them when I go tomorrow or the next day.

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  23. What a great legacy you created with your Dad. As life seems to move faster and faster, it will be something for the younger generation to sit and read and reflex when they get to be a bit older. Heres to a prosperous,healthy and happy 2019!

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  24. What a wonderful project you did with your father. Special,for the two of you to create a gift for the entire family.

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  25. I really love your Christmas Crossroads! I'm going to have to visit Temecula and scoop the pattern. They do fun things. Your DSM was coming along nicely! (I'm catching up, so I'll see if you've finished it yet or not in a few. :P) The idea for the card racks was AWESOME!! Clever girl, you! Way to go on getting the books finished ... they look nice and professional with the spiral binding. We're debating getting a spiral binder at work, and I so hope we do! I know your family was so happy to receive these sweet memorials to your dad. ♥ :)

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