Monday morning musings

So it wasn't just a one time thing last week when Ozzie decided to plant himself on my head. He climbs up there whenever he can now, especially if he is not feeling too playful and I'm sewing. Pretty sweet sewing pal. No, Ozzie, it does not make up for having a little pile of an accident in my sewing room under my chair. Yes, the chair rolled over it. It is a very good thing you are generally a good fellow.
We had just a wonderful, lazy Saturday and Sunday. Rainy, quiet days make for good sewing. My basket is getting full. I have about five sets left before I can put them together into blocks. I was figuring out the number of pieces in this quilt. [( 9 x 4) + (3 x 4) + (6 x 4) + 4] x 25, I think. You do the math. I know why I teach English, but there sure is a lot of math in quilts.
I've been wanting to make a needle book or pin book, as Sue Spargo calls it. I saw a sample one at the Country Living Fair back in September made from a Sue Spargo pattern, and then I ran across a pattern for one in the October issue of Patchwork and Quilting. I used felted wool for the outside and the pages, and just part of a fat quarter for the insides. Hers did not have the pocket on the right, but I felt like I would use it.
Here's the front cover. The whole thing is about 6" by 10" opened up. I think maybe I need to figure out a way to fasten it when it is closed, but I haven't settled on a plan for that. Anyway, it's Monday morning, and woo-hoo, no school today. Unfortunately, I do have a dentist appointment this afternoon, but that is just for a check up, not a major deal like the last times with two (Expensive) crowns. Also unfortunately, Allen had to go to Decatur today, but maybe I can think of something for dinner. He's been the chief cook lately, and that has been a treat. Shoot, we had a turkey dinner on Wednesday. Ozzie's still sleeping, so I might sneak in showering and getting dressing before his puppy activities begin.

New project

Cold and icy outside, cozy in my sewing room. I started a new quilt this weekend. It's a pattern from the most recent Quilt magazine. I have component parts for four blocks made so far...
out of twenty-five blocks altogether. I usually make scrappy quilts. This one has all batik fabrics I've got left over from other quilts except for just a few and the white batik background. I only have off-white and beige-y leftovers, but I wanted the bright colors to pop against a white background. Not usually my style, but I thought it would look just right this time.
The pattern for the block looks like this, but I plan to mix up the colors, not all one color in a block. We'll see when I am farther along. It was just plain fun to sit in my sunny room and make such quick progress. I will not enjoy a make-up day for Friday, but I loved this unexpected 3 1/2 day weekend.

BCS Game Tonight

Another big snow in Huntsville. Schools closed at 11:30 today, and of course, I made it all the way home in just about two minutes. However, as innocent as this looks, as I am writing this, roads are slick, and quite a few major thoroughfares are dangerous and icy or closed altogether. For a while this afternoon, we had several cars stuck in front of our house - couldn't go up the hill, couldn't go down. And so the result is no school again tomorrow, and a stay-home evening instead of going to Shannon's to watch the Alabama -Texas BCS game.
Here's Ozzie's big snowball adventure. The big problem is that he likes being out in the snow so much that he forgets what he's supposed to be doing. He is not much of a walker. He likes to go out and generally does what he is supposed to do, but then when he gets tired, he sits down or refuses to move. But snow, now that he enjoys.
Meanwhile, this week I have been working on a little hand-sewn quilt. I am in the process of quilting it now.
This is a from a Windham kit that I bought, and it is a Gees Bend quilt pattern. I totally enjoyed putting it together quickly. It was kind of like a puzzle getting the pieces I cut according to the directions to fit into the right place. I will have to think about what to do for the backing and how to quilt it. Although Ozzie likes the snow, now he is sitting on the couch just waiting for kickoff tonight. Roooooll Tide, Roll!