November Recap

Framed thank you notes

At the beginning of November, my friend, Gail, sent me a photo of the thank you notes the grandkids, J and K, had written to her husband, Dick. Dick had invited us to see his trains run. He has made an amazing display of trains, track, countryside and cities. The girls were awed with all the details of the layout. They wrote their thank you notes after their visit and I mailed them. Dick and Gail purchased a frame and mounted the thank you in a frame which they hung for their open house guests to see.

Barb and a project that she stitched on my machine

In this day and age, a written thank you note is a rarity. Miss J was concerned about "writing" her note since she just turned six. She said she is in school but, she hadn't learned how to "write" yet! She came up with a plan and she completed her thank you. Miss K completed her thank you entirely on her own. I was impressed with her vocabulary and sentiment! Kudos to their momma, A, who has supervised their thank you notes from the time each could make marks on paper!

One day while I was out walking the dog, I had a conversation with my neighbor, Barb, across the street. Her Bernina was in the shop because the thread cutter needed repair. She was waiting her second week for the part. She was in the middle of a special project that had to be finished by November 22.

Barn block

Barb and I purchased our machines from the same dealer at about the same time. I asked her if she wanted to borrow my machine. At first she said no. Then she said she would think about it. A day later, she said yes! I was happy to share Joie, which is my 790 Bernina, for about a week. Barb shared with me one of the embroidery projects she made during the week!

While Joie was away, I used Inky, my 1947 featherweight to do some piecing. I also used Bernie, my first Bernina to do some applique and to begin the quilting on my book club quilt. I made a quilt block for an outgoing guild president. The outgoing president has had several barn quilt painting sessions so the block choice fit! I "painted" my quilt block with micron pens and needle turned appliquéd the lame windows. I liked it finished.

I also combed my stash for the "Frolic" fabrics which is the Bonnie Hunter mystery that kicked off on Black Friday. My neutral bag isn't in the photo. I did purchase a few fabrics because I had no aqua and I wasn't sure about the light blue. I formed a Facebook group made up of Mt. Hood guild members to stitch this mystery. It took me a long time to piece the mystery quilt from last year. My thought was working in a group would help us all move toward the finish line. We meet tomorrow to support one another. I'll be posting progress from time to time!

Frolic fabrics

Last week, I shared my finished Karen Kay Buckley project with Karen. When I take a class with a teacher, I try to drop them an e-mail after the class thanking them for the class. Once I finish the project, even if it takes years, I e-mail a photo and thank them again. Karen not only wrote back with some nice comments, she asked if she could share my project on her social media! Of course, I said yes! A day later, she posted it on her instagram account. I met someone who lives sort of in my neck of the woods who might join one of the guilds I am member. I felt like "Queen for the Day" with the recognition from Karen.

With my book club, I led them through three drawing exercises. I was impressed with everyone's efforts! We had a few laughs and people said it was a fun day. . .WHEW!!! I was hoping for that kind of a review! In January, we will have the reveal for this book at a tea shop. That will be my last activity. Later in the month, we will discuss our next book! This is the third book that I've led the discussions.

This month, I taught 23 kids in swimming lessons, 30 participants in Red Cross lay rescuer CPR and 15 participants in American Heart Healthcare Provider CPR for a total of 68 people.

In terms of my November goals, I completed six of my 10 goals. I made progress on two other goals. I did not do the November embroidery lessons. I did stitch the October embroidery lesson. I haven't documented the lesson yet! I'm not too far behind!  I have had one finish to report this quarter. I am quilting a beast. . .the leaves quilt that I shared with you in the last two posts. I am making progress and having fun which is what counts in the end!

We had a nice laid back Thanksgiving. My mom who recently began splitting her time between Woodland, WA and Bend, OR, had planned to have dinner with us. In Bend, she woke up to eight inches of snow one morning and four the next morning so she decided to skip driving over the mountain pass. Her decision was a smart move as the previous day there had been an accident that closed the highway for a number of hours. She had dinner with my brother instead.

Shading exercise I shared with my book club

My husband cooked dinner which we shared with a couple friends. They brought dessert and appetizers. . .it was great pairings all the way around!  Later that evening daughter A and I did some pre Black Friday shopping. It was a little crazy; but I was home by 10pm. I did over sleep the following morning; but, daughter A and I did a lot of shopping. I still made it to the first store by 5am! We went to a lot of stores and because few door buster deals were on our lists, we avoided most of the crowds. I have missed two Black Friday shopping days--both times I was on a trip in the last 27 years we've been going. This year, we went out for breakfast to celebrate our finish! We might need to make breakfast part of our tradition!

Our neighbors for the last five years are in the process of moving to more acreage for all their livestock. Our new neighbors moved in enough supplies to have Thanksgiving in their new house. Yesterday, they were moving in beds and other furniture. Sylvia, the previous neighbors' milk cow, came for a visit. The new neighbors were trying to catch her which she was having no part of that game! I was able to catch her and walk her back to her digs. It is nice to know our new neighbors are kind and helpful. Life is always good!