finishing up for the holidays

the adorable sweater i've been knitting for the last 5 months is not going to work out. i have this vision in my head (and yes, i told snappy it) that if i send it, then i will be the aunt who made the pink bunny suit.



so this is what i'm making instead. same yarns: blue cotton and silvery gray bamboo/silk blend....what's left of them anyways, made into a cute stocking cap for my nephew. this bit of blue is actually a different dye lot, but was NOT marked as such. so when the last bit of knitting to the dang sweater is the front, along the top of the sleeves, shoulders and neckline...a different shade of obvious blue is not a good thing.

last week, while i was home sick as a dog after my whirlwind trips to california and washington, d.c., i finally finished stitching the binding to my wonky log cabin that i did with quilt dad's quilt along earlier this fall. i had it sewn on, but not turned and handstitched for a couple of months. i know...shame on me... but i was doing good things! QOVs instead!

quilt front

click on these pictures to see the fabrics better. the tree fabrics are just too cool and i'm glad i finally got to make my christmas quilt after purchasing the tree fabrics 6 years ago.

quilt back

i'm proud to say that this quilt is almost entirely made from stash fabrics. i bought a fat quarter each of a red and a blue fabric and about 3/4 yard of another red fabric to use in here. when i bought all the other fabrics over the years, i did not expect to do a log cabin and need more variations. i still think i should have had one more white or blue to mix in, but i love it. even if my first attempt at free-motion quilting needs a lot more practice. oh - and i bought the white kona cotton for the sashing since i was out of plain white. that same white kona was also used in 2 more quilts and i have a 6" wide piece left of my 6 yards.

now, i only have one more quilt to make before christmas. two if i count boo's cat-in-the-hat quilt that i swear i started handquilting again last week. it's just coming along slowly. and i'm knitting a baby blanket for my best friend's baby due in late december/early january.

holy cow! i won!

first - have you read this book yet? if you haven't, run (not walk!!) to you nearest bookstore or library and snag a copy. then grab a cup of tea and sit for hours. you'll say "ooh" and "aah" over the gorgeous quilts featured in it, and then cry over the stories.



well.... i bring up the book because i got a flickr mail message tonight from the publisher's flickr group saying i had won a copy of the book and a fabric pack from moda/united notions. how cool is that!? i can't wait...and i know what i'll do with the fabrics (or what i'll probably do depending on what they send me) - make another QOV! i won it because of the work i've been doing on them, so why not give back with my fabulous earnings?

i already bought fabric today to use on an upcoming QOV that will be made with the assistance of boo's tiger cub scout den. i get to discuss it in further detail tomorrow afternoon with his den mother. so far, my plan is to prepare a bunch of white cotton squares with freezer paper and have the boys color heart-warming and happy pictures with crayon, then heat set the crayon and make a quilt from there. robert kaufman has a line of boy scout fabrics right now and i got some today to use in it. this is the 100th anniversary of the boy scouts, so it's a pretty big deal in scouting. there will be hints of the cub scouts in the QOV, but not overly obvious. then, my hope is to find someone local: at one of the boy's churches or a family member or neighbor who is deserving of a QOV, then have the den present it in person. it is supposed to be one of their community service-type activities and what an experience for them. so these 7 year olds may not remember it or exactly just how emotional the process is, but you never know. my 7 year old knows what it means.

that's all for me tonight. i've got to unload all the stuff my mom unloaded on me today. it's so hard to say no sometimes...it's all good things, i just don't have a place to put them. and i need sturdier pots for the pretty amarillus bulbs.

a truly humbling experience

see that below? that's me... waiting outside reagan national airport in washington, d.c. on monday afternoon. and on my arm is my super fantastic "cathy bag" made by tia that arrived just in the nick of time for me to take it with me. perfect size for carrying all the usual purse essentials, a novel, my folder of flight and itinerary info, my knitting, my big iPod case, etc. plus, it's navy and i went for those reasons.

i returned last night from a short trip to washington, d.c. after lots of flight delays and time spent in airports. safe harbor had their ever awards ceremony and i was flown in for it.

the captain introducing me

i had the opportunity to present my second quilt of valor made to a 3rd class petty officer on monday night and meet him in person.

meeting this hospital corpsman, as well as everyone else in attendance, was a humbling and emotional experience for me. while my husband gasped looking around the room at the assistant SECNAV, the assisstant CNO, the CNP, many admirals and the assistant surgeon general, i held in tears from hearing the stories of both the safe harbor enrollees and the care managers.

i will never forget this experience. i am grateful to safe harbor for it and honored to have been recognized for my efforts with a letter of appreciation signed and presented to me by a rear admiral, along with a challenge coin.

later, i was approached by men and women of various high ranks with praise and thanks. i was even slipped a coin by an army sergant major for the assistant surgeon general's office. it's the cool one on the left. i've never seen one like it before. i almost outranked my husband's highest coin from the commander of the 5th fleet.

but today, we are both sick with bad head colds. he gave it to me and the doctor laughed as he gave us the same antibiotics. at least it was at the end of our trips and not the beginning.

giving thanks

thanksgiving is here today. i don't know about you, but i've had some craziness in my life this week, this month, this year with my family. i am definitely thankful for all that i do have and all that i have had.



despite the stress that the good ol USN has imposed a few times, the unexpected death of a beloved family pet, my father's cancer, my mother's illnesses, the loss of a good family friend/extended family member last week, the toe surgery-turned heart surgery from my father-in-law and overall insanity with work... i have much to be thankful for this holiday season.



i am thankful for my husband and son. for my incredible parents who taught my sister, brother and i to be the caring and generous people we are today. i am thankful to no longer have a miserable landlord and to be the proud owners of a VA mortgage. i am thankful for the opportunity to give back to our servicemen and women with my quits. i am thankful for recognition. i am thankful for good friends who lend an ear and shoulder. for the world's best pumpkin pie recipe...passed down through the generations.

"a safe harbor" mini quilt

"a safe harbor" mini quilt
Originally uploaded by greeneyedsilversmith

this cute little quilt was made as a "thank you" for my contact with the navy's severely injured support program. she has helped me find very worthy and deserving recipients of my QOVs and i think she needs a little something herself.

[A] used to quilt herself, so she knows and loves quilts like we do. she has also helped arrange a little trip for myself and snappy to washington, d.c. very soon. i couldn't be more excited about it and will absorb as much as i can in less than 24 hours.

and this morning when i opened up my email, my orders - yes! i have navy orders! - were right there. snappy is just my arm candy in dress blues. funny enough, some of our other navy friends in the baltimore area are attempting to plan a little gathering while we're there too.

and just in the nick of time, i finished sewing all my swap blocks and did an extra bee block for the november's requirements. all of them are out in today's mail. whew! all before the holidays!

this past month, i was lucky enough to secure a slot to have some camp follower bags made. they're all finished and on their way to me. this is just another thing i'm really excited about lately. and if i get them in time, i'll take them on my trip to d.c. i'm all smiley and giddy this past week...plus really really tired in the middle of it all.

ways to say "thanks!"

as veteran's day quickly approaches, we should honor the fallen and say "thanks" to those who have or are currently serving to protect our freedoms.

this morning, i found a terrific website - books for soldiers - in an email that allows us to give back to our service men and women. i'm a bookworm. i love to read. i have a huge stack of books to take to our local used bookstore and trade in...but never seem to take them... i'm going to register with this site and hope i can send some of these books off to our troops for their downtime. they could use them more than the bookstore.

here is a great list of other ways you can help. there are websites that you can simply and easily give thanks or send a holiday card virtually (scroll down about halfway and you'll see the link on the right hand side in a blue box). you can also read "shout outs" and messages from our troops to us, such as this one:


"I would just like to tell America, thank you for all of your support and love you give us. All of the care packages, letters and everything, it keeps our heads up and lets us know just who we are fighting for -- all of YOU. It's no wonder why I'd give the ultimate sacrifice to keep our great country free and safe. Everytime I come back from Iraq, I get applause, hand shakes, smiles, cheers, pats on the back and thank yous. It makes me feel good, knowing that I'm doing my part in protecting this great country. Again, Thank You all! Take Care and God Bless!
SrA, SLC "

that one starts to bring tears to my eyes. i couldn't decide which message i wanted to post here, but this one said so much.

and with that said...i shipped off my 5th QOV quilt top and backing yesterday to the longarm quilter. the 4th is being quilted as i type and i should see it back soon. i haven't decided on what to do for the next QOV, but i think i need to take a little break and work on finishing up xmas gifts that i have started or planned. i'm running out of time for those.

qov #5 - "homecoming"

qov #5 - "homecoming"
Originally uploaded by greeneyedsilversmith

here's a quick pic of my current QOV in progress... inspired by crazymomquilts "snippets" wall hanging quilt. it's not a great photo, but the sun set early with the time change and i couldn't take it outside. so instead, you get to see snappy's feet peeking out below.

QOVF suggests that we keep journals as we sew and quilt each of these war quilts. i thought i'd share a little bit from my journal on this quilt that explains the inspiration and idea behind why i chose this pattern:

"This quilt is all about home, family and friends. Pieces of each of those are included in this quilt; many of the pieces that I have been gathering have each come from something I made previously or am currently working on. There are fabrics used in my son’s Cat in the Hat quilt that I need to finish handquilting, pieces from dresses or clothes I’ve sewn in the past, fabrics I often repeat in other QOVs and US Navy printed fabric. There are favorite fabrics that went into wedding or baby quilts for family and friends, some from the quilt that will one day cover my bed. Fabric from my most recent quilt that my son is looking forward to snuggling under at Christmas time. Others that come from the many block swaps and mini quilts that I trade with other quilters. One fabric is printed with travel journal pages showing the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Great Wall of China – just as you may have kept a journal of the places you traveled with the Navy. There are even fabrics that I have won from another crafter or quilter’s giveaway on their blogs. Each of these fabrics has a story. Now they take on a new story: yours."