Sunday Sundry - Vol. 48

I finished quilting the kaleidoscope quilt yesterday (woo-hoo!).  It went pretty well, despite the size.  The center was a little tricky to maneuver in, and that is where I started.  I did a few meanders and—I'm not going to lie—for a brief moment I considered stopping, ripping out my stitches, and calling my local longarm quilter.  But no, I had it basted and we had come this far together, just persevere (so went the self pep talk).  Keep going, keep going, keep going.  And I did.  And it's done.  And I'm glad!  

I am sort of embarrassed to admit I wanted to wimp out, but there it is.  I didn't.  I took courage from friends who told me they or someone they knew had quilted a king size quilt on a regular machine, and this wasn't even that big.  Perhaps it will be an encouragement to someone in a similar situation who doesn't know if they have it in them (you do).

Okay, so here is the latest dilemma.  What kind of binding should I do?  I mean, the backing is a soft custard yellow with multicolored strips from some of the fabrics on the front.  I quilted it in matching yellow thread, which blended well overall.  I was thinking a yellow binding, as I have enough yardage in the custard yellow.  I also have enough of a light pink print (see bottom left block of first picture above).  Otherwise, I'd have to buy fabric (which I'm okay with, if that's what works best), or do a scrappy binding.  But I think there is enough color going on in the quilt that something solid along the edge would be more restful.  Any thoughts?

It's Genetic
My cousin Peggy in Louisiana discovered my blog and was inspired to start her own Pyrex collection.  I am so happy for her!  She recently bought a little hutch at an antique shop for her Pyrex display and sent me a photo.  Isn't it the cutest?

Back in October, I bought a pretty casserole dish and stand, but as it turned out, I already had it.  In fact, there's a picture of it up there in my blog header.  Doh!

This, friends, is when you know your collection might be getting out of hand (and/or your memory faltering).  At any rate, I figured there might be just the right spot for it—on Peggy's shelves.  So I packed it up, along with one of my minis that seemed meant to be together with it, and sent it to my cousin.  She loved it!  I'm so glad!

At the risk of embarrassing both of us further, here is a favorite photo of my cousins, Peggy (on the left), Patsy, and David, along with my sister and I in the pink dresses (I'm on the right).  This photo is from the era that particular Pyrex casserole would have been in circulation.  

Who'da thunk we'd reconnect all these years later swapping Pyrex stories?

Holiday Shopping
I started my Christmas shopping on Friday night.  I even bought myself a little something for the tree, he-he.

How about you, have you started your Christmas list yet?