Jeff Dunham

As a Christmas gift, our friends Jeff and Anita gave us tickets to see Jeff Dunham - a comedian and ventriloquist. So we all went to Madison yesterday, enjoyed a nice outside dinner at the Great Dane Pub, and then went to the Coliseum last night to see a fantastic show. It was a sell out (according to today's Wisconsin State Journal) and a really fun night. Somehow Ray and I didn't know about this guy but we do now - we had a great time! We spent the night at the Clarion Suites right there at the Alliant Center - very convenient - and went to the Farmer's Market on the square this morning. We had a leisurely trip home - all chauffeured by Jeff! What a wonderful way to begin this weekend!

Reversible Quilt Binding

I decided that the current baby quilt would look better with different binding on the front and back so I looked through some books and found one way from Cotton Theory but I had to change it quite a bit. I wanted to put on a binding that measured the typical 2 1/2" to begin with. After a little math and a few prototypes, this is what I have.

First I cut strips for the front (blue) at 1" and the back (red) at 2" Cut as many strips as usual.


Join the strips as usual for a regular binding.

Now sew the long strips together using 1/4" seam.

Set the seam by pressing it.

Press the seam open.

I press the right side also.

Fold the binding in half lengthwise. One side is all red; the other side is red and blue.

Sew the binding on the front of the quilt. BE SURE the back binding color is on top. When the binding is folded, this side of solid color will be inside of the fold. Use a full 1/4" seam.

Here it is after I seamed the binding to the quilt.

Fold the binding to the back and pin. So you have red binding on the back.

And looking at the front, it is blue binding. Voila!

A picture of the entire baby quilt will be available AFTER the baby gets it!

Babies and quilts

Mack is going to be a big brother in December!!! Congratulations Brent and Emily! Mack will be a great Big Brother!

I really enjoy making baby quilts but I only make them for family (and the kids that grew up across the street). I think it was in 2000 that I made 4 and thought that was a big year!!! Well, 2009 is a really big year. I have 9 to make - WOW! Our grandkids each get three (summer, winter, and regular quilt); others get one. So the expectant parents are:

• nephew Doug and Bev in July
• Brad and Sheila in October
• nephew Josh and Beka in November
• former neighbor Karrie and Kip in December
• Brent and Emily in December

One quilt is done and one will be finished today. I am hand quilting a third and plan to piece a fourth today. They are so much fun to make while thinking of the parents and the new baby they are expecting. What an exciting year we have ahead of us!

Alaska, here we come!

At long last we are going to Alaska! We'll spend a few days in Vancouver, BC., take a week long cruise, and then spent some time touring on our own - Denali, Anchorage, Fairbanks. We have about a month to get ready.

When we took the Census jobs, we made a "bucket list". An Alaskan cruise was at the top of the list. Our jobs were kind of fun but I'm glad we're done and we're ready for the big payoff!

MackFest

Grandson Mack's 2nd birthday was celebrated last Saturday. It was a gorgeous spring day except for the strong breeze. Mack's cousins were more interested in his gifts than he was!

Emily had to do a lot of opening for him. I'm sure all this will change by next year!

Mack's cake was a Mack truck. He enjoyed that (along with all of us!).

This is the barn that Mack's Grandpa Mike built. He really enjoyed hiding in it. Late in the day he said to me "Gamma hide!" so I crawled into the barn with him and he was delighted!

He had thoughtful moments...

and lots of fun (the banged up nose occurred a couple of days before the party)...

and finally was totally worn out!

Happy Birthday precious little boy!

Work is done!

My work is done!!! This morning I turned in my computer and finished up my Census work - work that was actually rather interesting! Even earlier this morning, I finished my job with Pearson testing - my carpel tunnel is acting up and I decided it was time to stop! Grading test questions wasn't so great... So I have made enough money for 3 Medicare/Social Security quarters. If something else comes along, I can add one more quarter this year.

Ray is probably done with his Census work. He still needs to turn in everything but it sounds like all of the work is done.