Designing Monday

I have been working on a soldier quilt for our guild this week.  I pieced all the stars for it a couple of weeks ago and then set it aside to work on some other things.  This week I cut most of the stripes and should be able to piece it this week if time allows.  My calendar is pretty full, but sometimes that's when I get the most done.

I finished a genealogy class this weekend that has been going on since early January.  Our county has a very dedicated librarian who has been working in local history and genealogy for 35 years.  She has an incredible memory for historical facts and trivia and has taught this class every year for probably 25 years.  I took it originally in the early 80's when it was about 4 or 5 weeks long and a full class was 20 people.  Now she speaks to an auditorium of 75 - 100 and the class takes 9 - 10 weeks.  Computers have made so much more information available as have the efforts of the LDS church.  While I was poking around on my computer this weekend I found a record for my great grandfather listing him on the rolls of the poor house in the early 30's.  This made me so sad to think they had so little when we have been blessed with so much.  I know that my mother purchased a headstone for the graves of my ggf and ggm in the 90's, because there was no money for markers when they passed away.  She told me  that she remembered as a girl that they were poor as churchmice but very proud.

We were able to talk to both our son and our daughter yesterday.  He is struggling through his mid term week and has lots of studying to do.  She has a new boss and things seem a little brighter in her corner of the world.  I think the conservative culture of Saudi Arabia has really worn on her, but she has been able to find some people and places where she can be more herself and that has been a blessing for her.


Daylight Savings hit us yesterday and today I was up bright and early.  Unfortunately the sun has not shown its face yet.  Hope you are having a sunny day in your part of the world.  Be sure to hop on over to Judy's blog to see more beautiful designs.

Designing Monday

I finished the first little Halloween quilt that I showed last week and moved on to #2....

I am trying to decide whether to use
           solid black. . . . .  .









or a patterned black for the setting squares and
triangles.


I already have 2 or 3 more quilts in my brain that I would like to make in this same orange and black color scheme.   I don't know why I didn't think of this years ago.  I really like how these look.






Our daughter made it safely to Saudi Arabia.  She left here at 6:00 am on Monday and arrived at her apartment about 7:00 pm on Tuesday (which was Wednesday there).  She had been traveling or sitting in airports that entire time.  Before the week was over she had already taught two days.

She now wears an abaya - a long black overcoat anytime she is on the street or in the presence of men.  In her classroom (which is all women) she can remove the coat and her scarf.  The temp there is 100+, so I am sure it must be stifling hot with the coat.  She also wears ankle length skirts and must wear sleeves that at least cover the elbows.  Fortunately she is very flexible and none of this seems to faze her.

On her first night there, she went out to dinner with several other women from the US or Great Britain. In the restaurant they were placed in a curtained room.  Each time the waiter arrived to serve them, he had to announce himself outside the curtain and the women made sure they had their scarves on, etc.  As soon as he left the room and drew the curtain, off it all came.  I am sure this must have been very comical as he came and went quite often.

Enjoy some quilting today.  The Y is closed today, so I can have a whole day of fun.

Be sure to check out lots of beautiful designs at Judy's blog.