Monday, December 9, 2013

Now with More Cowbell

Well, the strangest thing happened while the internet was out here for a day and a half this weekend.  I actually got stuff done!  Funny how that works.  As in, I got a quilt one hundred percent D-O-N-E, done.  Also knocked out a really good chunk of the Christmas shopping on Saturday, caught up on laundry, and made a big ole turkey dinner and trimmings yesterday, because apparently we must not have eaten enough turkey on Thanksgiving what with all the wild waterfowl.

If the internet had stayed down past noon yesterday, I may have even gotten up the Christmas tree and possibly channeled my inner Betty Crocker with some holiday baking.  Hopefully, that will happen in due course before the next outage.


So, quilt-wise, the baby boy quilt is now ready for gifting! 


I went with a solid green binding, a Quilter's Basics in Peridot from Connecting Threads.


The pieced backing did use up most of the Denyse Schmidt fabrics in the stash, except a few small scraps.  Sweet, soft blues and blue-greens.  I can almost smell the baby powder.

I am so happy to have a finish, at long last.  Linking to:

December Finishes

 * * * * *
The other day I was looking for something in a store while the most annoying Christmas song ever was playing.  I don't even remember what it was, but it was an over-amped nerve jangler that made me want to finish up and get out of Walgreens on the very next sleigh.


Which led me to muse:  Can there be too much of a good thing?  (Sure.)  Are we obliged to hear all the familiar tunes in their various renditions, everywhere we go for six weeks?  All that repetition; to me it kind of starts to feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, stuck in a loop and waking up to "I Got You Babe" every morning.

And yet there I was doing my shoulder exercises yesterday and instead of counting the seconds to hold the stretch, what am I doing?  Singing Jingle Bells.  Fifteen seconds, folks.  That's about how long it takes to get all the way up to "Dashing through the snow..."  I know, I'm a walking contradiction.

I like the Christmas season and all, but the older I get, the more my feelings about the music are mixed.  And as I followed that thought trail, I had an idea:  Why not mix up the sleigh bells and bell choirs and silver bells with...more cowbell?


And that, friends, is how my YouTube playlist, "The Twelve Days of Cowbell", was born.  Norm and I had fun coming up with two pages' worth of song titles throughout the day yesterday, and then whittled it down to an even dozen.  It is an eclectic mix.  I hope you enjoy!  (PS-The first one may be my favorite, drummer boys!)

9 comments:

Sara said...

You and your hubby sound like a fun bunch and great friends!

Beautiful cuddly boy quilt!

Sarah Craig said...

Good for you, P.! Our internet has been in and out for about a week now - and it does seem that I'm getting more done, although it is annoying when I need to do a blog post! Love your 12 days of cowbell - can't wait for the next one!

Elizabeth said...

Paulette, this is why I love you. Cowbells. I tell ya.

I completely agree. There are only so many ways you can do Jingle Bells before it starts to get to you. Last year, I thumbed through the iTunes Christmas section and bought only the original/non-traditional Christmas songs. My Christmas playlist is a lot less repetitive and annoying (although there are eight versions of Silent Night still on it). Let me know if you want some suggestions. I took a quick listen to your playlist and will definitely be playing it in its entirety when time allows.

The baby quilt is so perfect! I love that green binding. Connecting Threads has awesome prices. Congrats on an awesome finish!

And man, you really knocked it out of the park while the internet was down. Maybe I should request an outage around here?

Great post!

xo -E

Kim said...

Wow you've been a busy gal. Well done!! It's amazing how much time is eaten up with the internet!! Your baby quilt is perfect...such a lovely gift. I must admit that the Christmas music one has to listen to in stores does get a wee bit tedious...though I must admit that I love playing festive songs in my li'l ole home and sing along with them!!

Michelle said...

Yay for completed projects! I really , really like the green binding. The quilt looks so warm and snuggly now that it's quilted. :)

As for the cowbell Christmas, I need to wait to get to my desktop before I can give it a listen, but I am VERY curious.

Pokey said...

That baby boy quilt sure is great, I like how you stuck to the DS pieces for the backgrounds, it puts a nice harmony in the mix.
Well you have done it again...I listen to your music via you tube, and end up chasing rabbits! I did add the drummers to my faves, Larry will get a kick out of that one ~
:-}pokey

Shay said...

The internet is the world's biggest distractor. I swear I;d get three times as much done if mine went out for a week. There would be finishes left right and centre.

Love your finished baby quilt!

I'll nix the cowbells- Im listening to Buble Christmas songs at the moment.

Kevin the Quilter said...

Way to go P! I love that baby boy quilt! Sorry your internet was out, but, that seems to get me doing more as well! What on earth did we do before internet? Watch TV???? I also feel everything needs a little more cowbell too!

MomWaldsPlace said...

First, the quilt, it's adorable, of course!

Second, I don't listen to all of the renditions of the classics, just the singers from "back in the day". Over, and over, and over until I drive my family insane. A few newbies are nice like my "Carribean Christmas" CD. It was great for driving in the snowstorm the other night. Much peppier than the soundtrack to "The Day After Tomorrow".

Anyways, I cannot listen to your cowbell video. I'm afraid.