Whatever you do on New Year's Day ...

... you do for the rest of the year!

Uh oh, I'm in b-i-g trouble.

I was watching TV waiting for the announcement of when the Stealth was going to fly over the Rose Parade. It flies over my house on the way home about two to three minutes after that. I got my coffee, my camera, a light jacket, and I went outside to wait. And wait. And wait.

The Rose Parade is tomorrow. January 2nd? Whose bright idea was that? And why didn't anyone consult ME about it?

But it's absolutely gorgeous outside. Well worth the effort to stroll around out there a day early.

Okay, so does this mean I'm going to be a doofus for all of 2012?

But while walking around on the outside of my patio, I discovered what was making the tapping noise for the past four hours. I mean, serious tapping.

This is an awful picture, but I was trying to zoom and crop and get the little thing to show up.



It's a little wren who fell in love with its reflection in that trash can sitting out there. Poor darling. It didn't even ease up on the tapping while I was around. I finally tossed a gumball at it and it flew away. I hope it doesn't have a bruised beak or something. Persistent little love-struck birdie!

The gray thing is the cover to my barbecue that blew off in the winds last week and nestled amongst all the leaves that were blown in that corner. Time to get out the broom and some garbage bags and clean up the patio, and a beautiful day to do it.

Okay. On to quilting news -- Friday I went to Ginger's Quilt Shop and spent all day sewing! Can you believe it?!! It felt SO good. I just grabbed a bunch of things that were sitting in a corner of my sewing room, and my Tutto bag with the smaller Bernina that had been sitting in the garage all summer, and off I went. I was so thankful the machine still worked!

I squared four quilts, made four bindings, and attached them all to their respective quilts!! Plenty of handwork to do in the coming week or two. And today, of course! Have to make some stitches today! Hooray!



I left my machine at the shop and went back yesterday and finished up the things I had hauled over there. I put the borders on a quilt. I was still wanting to sew, so I went out into the shop and purchased three yards of fabric to make the backing. Got that pieced and left it with Ginger to quilt for me. Hooray again!

Then I pulled out the little mini quilts that were in the pile and cut the backings for most of them. Two I didn't have back fabric, but had some leftover from the backing of the quilt I left with Ginger. It was the perfect amount!

So I bought three yards of fabric there and used it all up in the same day!

A really funny thing happened. A friend was there and was going over a small kit that she had purchased at a quilt show two or three years ago. She pulled out the fabric and saw that they had shorted her on the border fabric. She was so peeved as it was an older fabric and she said she would never be able to find it. I asked her how much she needed. You should have seen the look at her face when I whipped out a huge hunk of it and cut off a half yard for her. What were the odds that I would have that exact Prairie Paisley fabric with me on that day? I wish I had had a camera. She was absolutely speechless! A great moment! (This was the same fabric as the borders I had just put on my quilt. And since it was Minick & Simpson, you can bet I'll always have some of that with me!)

Now I'm off to unload the QuiltMobile, get the blackeye peas and cabbage going, get the ham in the oven, and then do a LOT of organizing in the sewing room.

I figure if I do that organizing today, I'll do it for the rest of the year!!!

Besides, I've gotten in enough trouble for one day, and it's only 9:30 a.m.!

Happy New Year!