It is a dark black!?!?!?!with a dark black in the batik.

I took a picture with the black as a sashing and I don't like it. I don't mind the other picture with the colorful batik. I plan to use the border PH used with the green quilt. I will use black as the foundation that will be the zig zag and use individual pieces of the scraps that are left from in the quilt.

I agree about the black sashing - makes it very heavy.

Love the batik though - nice mix of colours in it, bright but not too bright so it still showcases the fabrics in your blocks. Nice choice. :thumbup:

I'm off to visit my Mum now. Won't be back on until evening so you will have lots of time to sew and post pics of what you have finished. :D

Today DH and I are going go shopping in the 'big city'. We will drive about an hour and a half to the state capitol of Idaho which is Boise. We will just have a fun away day and go to our favorite hamburger restaurant. I won't be sewing today. My friend, Gina, came yesterday for our first quilting gettogether. She decided what pattern she wanted to make for a tablerunner. I suggested she try a sample block first and she loved the fabrics so that she is finishing it off for a table runner for a gift for another friend! I love it when someone grabs onto quilting and runs with it! The block I showed her was the D9P.

Not only do your children live near but your mum, too! I might have said that for 43 years I lived away from my parents. We were able to have a close relationship in spite of the distance. Three years ago DH and I were able to move here where the folks are and we love it and are so thankful. We do live away from our daughters and their families, though. How far away is your mum?

30 or so years ago my DH and I chose to move away from the suburbs to a more rural area so my mum and sister are an hour's drive away. Unfortunately neither of them drive or use a computer. My DD has married and moved 1½ hours away, back to suburbia. She is home now with a new baby but unfortunately I am working. My son, on the other hand, lives 5 minutes away. His wife is also home now with a new baby. Time, distance and work hours don't align very often but once a month I am able to pick up my mother and we meet my 3 cousins at my sister's work place and have lunch and chat for the afternoon.

Out of the 6 women I am the youngest and the only one left with a husband - I sometimes feel like I am living in some parallel world speaking a different language, our lifestyles are so different. It is strange how our paths can move in different directions within the one family. Nevertheless, I look forward to these lunches to catch up on the family "goss".

It sounds as though Gina is a convert to the quilting world and it will be exciting for you to watch her progress. It is great fun to nurture someone's interest, see them grow and share their joy in it. Apart from my normal job I also teach decorative art and get as much satisfaction and pleasure seeing how thrilled my students are when they successfully complete a piece as they do themselves.

I hope you and DH enjoyed your fun day shopping in the "big city" and got to your favourite hamburger restaurant. Did the shopping involve any quilt shops?

It's 11.30 p.m. and DH is already sleeping so I had better sign off and hit the hay. Good night.

This is Sunday evening about 5:30. It has been a good day of rest and I needed it very much. I have been mildly busy the last few days and it caught up with me! Our day out on Friday shopping was a good one. We didn't do anything unusual . . . . just getting out of our usual routine for a bit so we are ready to get back. On Saturday I went to the folks and cleaned for them. I do this every so often. Dad keeps up fairly well and I go in every two to three weeks to do a bit deeper cleaning. It is always a good visiting time, too. I have a fairly busy schedule this week. There is some down time here and there so I should have a good week. I was planning a Christmas party for our Sunday school class and today I found they need a bigger place as they are having the children, too. I am OK with that . . . . I was just trying to give the previous hostess a break. I am going to host an afternoon Tea for about 8 ladies. This will be the 15th of Dec. In the meantime this Thursday Gina and I will meet, again, to continue quilting time. I also meet twice a month with a few gals for crafting. We just bring whatever we are working on and visit. We meet this Wed. afternoon. I will go for now and catch you later! Judith

Sounds as though your time is very organised Judith. (By the way, my sister is Judith also.)

I would love to join one of the sit and sew groups in my area but at present I would have to go either weekends or evenings and I feel I should keep those times for DH. It's something to look forward to doing in the dim future when I retire. :thumbup:

Work and social life are both getting busy with Christmas fast approaching. I need to get cards written and shopping done but won't get the chance before Friday evening and then there is another week gone. Perhaps I should get off the computer and write some of those cards.

With DH retired and I have never worked out of the home to be retired we don't have outside pressures for holiday business. This week I do have some things planned most everyday but, they are fun things. Today Mom and I are going to Christmas shop. Usually Dad is with us which is just fine. Once a year at Christmas Mom and I go out alone and have a 'girls' time. I think I have mentioned that Mom gave up her sewing room and quilting a bit ago. The other day I found she had kept back some scraps for making a quilt for one of her great-granddaughters. Mom tried to rotory cut the fabric and doesn't have the strength to manage so I will cut and she wants to try working some on the quilt. Together we will get this quilt made. It is 4 patch and semi-snowball blocks.

I was wandering through some other threads the other day and I noticed your avatar so I read and you were talking about needing to work in your yard along with the other preparations for Christmas. I know in my head you are in the southern hemisphere as is my cousin in Chile, but, the mental picture I got from your thread brought me up short for a minute! It was a good time musing about it! Happy Christmas preparations whatever they are!

Sunshine and BBQ's and days in the garden unless it's too hot - that's Christmas here. For those closer to the coast it's fun on the beach. Though we do have a traditional roast for Christmas lunch then it's back to salads and cold meat and BBQ's during the holidays.

I am still working on putting the 'star' portion around my PH blocks. I have three more to finish. I had 15 squares so I wanted one more to make a 4x4 setting. I didn't want to pick a new PH square so I made a label. I programed the alphabet app. on my machine but.. . . . . it doesn't have spell check and I misspelled a word! Oh, well! I have gotten sidetracked working on some of the Christmas Tree napkins. They are fast and I think so cute!