Race to the Finish Line...

Here's what's left to get done by Monday--Christmas Day.
•mail Christmas cards (Yes, MAIL them. They aren't even in the envelopes yet. I am getting the family to do this one...)
•bind Grandma's quilt (Yes, the quilting is finally finished! At least the binding is made, even if it isn't sewn on yet!)
•make quilt labels
•bake rest of Christmas cookies
•put together Christmas gift baskets
•deliver said baskets
•deliver any other gifts
•purchase last minute gifts: prayer partner (book? b&b?), books for hubby
•wash grandma's quilt
•practice clarinet for Christmas Eve service
•eeek, do laundry & get packed for trip!
•wrap wrap wrap gifts - note: none are done!
YIKES-better get busy.

Ho, ho, ho!
Wasie

Wow 2 in 1 Day!

I have never posted twice in one day before! This is a new record!

I realized that I have never written about Jessica getting her driver's license! Yep, the BIG day finally came! She managed to get all of her paperwork together at one time and go to the Department of Public Safety (that's what it's called in Texas) and received her paper driver's license. Then about 2 weeks to the day later she received her official driver's license. She does have restrictions as she is under 18. But she is so excited. She's doing pretty good too. However, she has very little sense of direction and is still learning her way around town. She and her sister are enjoying their newfound freedom. Mom, however, makes them call home on a regular basis. Especially during the busy Christmas season.

Drive carefully,
Wasie

I'm done....

The cry of the college professor: I'M DONE!

Sigh... But why do I feel so sad? I hate it when the students cry. There is only so much I can do. One must learn the material. It is sooo important to study consistently. Cramming just doesn't work well with organic chemistry. You've got to get the principles. Sigh... There's always next semester. And so the cycle continues.

Now I get to attempt to find Christmas! Where is the tree? Where are the decorations? And, oh, the gifts have to get shipped? What do you mean they won't guarantee delivery by Christmas? There's plenty of time! I still have projects to finish and Christmas cards to send! (If they get mailed, that is.) And dozens of cookies to bake for friends and neighbors, too. I guess I better get busy, tomorrow! Tonight, I'm putting my feet up. Cuz...

I'M DONE!

Merry Christmas,
Wasie

One down; three to go!

I finished the grades for my organic class today! Now all that is left are the 3 labs. With any luck I'll crank them out tomorrow. I very nearly finished one of the last two lab reports while the students were taking their finals. Unfortunately, I will probably be privvy to much weeping and gnashing of teeth tomorrow when all the students come by. sigh... I must admit I was disappointed in their scores on the final. I do not think they read the questions very carefully. First day next semester, I think we will go over a few of the multiple choice questions and discuss how to approach them aka read the question, look at the molecule, analyze the problem, etc. It seems that they just picked answers without putting very little thought into them.

I can't wait to be all finished so I can get on with the business of getting ready for Christmas! I need to finish the quilt for grandma for one thing. And after I finish that I was hoping to do a couple of other quickie projects. Plus we need to do sooome decorating! And I need to bake cookies for friends and neighbors. Sooo here's hopin' the students leave me alone tomorrow so I can finish up, and it goes quicker than planned! I only have 1 lab report and the lab finals left to grade (and the lab finals are fairly short as far as finals go).

Happy Grading,
Wasie

Topsy Turvy!

I completed the top to Grandma's Quilt last night! Here's a quick photo. The inner border is 1.5" finished and the outer border will be 3.5" finished. Now I will put together a creative backing--I purchased some cute fabric that was on sale and there wasn't enough left on the bolt of all one kind--so I bought two different fabrics and finished off both bolts. I also have some of the outer border fabric left that I might sneak in too. Then I am going to machine quilt it. I think I will stipple the stars and put swirls in between where it looks like hurricanes. I think the area between the stars looks like the weatherman's hurricane symbol. I also am hoping I have enough blue left for the binding.

My students took their last regular exam on Friday. I have to go and get busy grading it this afternoon and evening. They will be wanting to stop by my office and pick it up tomorrow. Their final is Wednesday. I still have to write it and grade it. Plus I am still finishing up grading the lab reports. sigh...

Of course, there is no tree up in our house. I have one Christmas decoration up. It's a hallmark singing snowman & penguins. All you have to do is set it on the counter. No lights outside either. Of course, the girls (teenagers, nonetheless) could decorate if they wanted too. It usually doesn't get done around here until I am finished with my semester.

Hope your decorating is going better than mine!
Happy Holidays!
Wasie

Quilting Snow Day!

Here in North Texas we had a little bit of ice yesterday which we don't get very often. On Thursday we all had a half-day of school/work and today I had a full snow day! So I was able to work on my grandma's Christmas present! And I got the top all pieced except the borders. It was a productive snow day for me!





The pattern is from a book called "Bundles of Fun." It's a great book; I like lots of the quilts in it and she shows them in many fabric combinations. I used 12 fat quarters plus 1 yard of the muslin for the stars. I wanted to use a color for the stars but I couldn't find anything that looked right with all of the colors. The one common thread among all of the fabrics was the off-white.

Here are the porch quilts I made for the girls. I call them their cuddle quilts cuz they are small and cuddly. I folded over one corner so you can see the back and how I sewed each strip on.

I finished Michelle's in July.


Jessica's I just finished here in November.


Well, I am going to do a little border work on Grandma's Quilt. She is 93 years old so I had better get it done for this Christmas.

Happy Snow Day,
Wasie