This and that

Three things to be happy about:
(1) the statue in a fountain
(2) brick-oven pizza
(3) removing clutter

For years and years I've been promising myself a Christmas quilt for my bed, but for years and years I've looked up and it's the end of November and I haven't started my quilt.  Well this is it, this is the year!  As you can see, I have quite a collection of Christmas/holiday/winter fabrics to choose from, some of it has been languishing in a special part of my stash for ... years.

And this is just the tip of the stash-berg! 

To make it quickly I'm going with my Three-Six-Twelve pattern layout - I've cut a few pieces just to get things moving.  "Traditional" Christmas fabrics can be a bit "too too and not enough" used by itself, sometimes downright muddy looking.  For this quilt I'm using reds, greens, beiges, whites, and to shake it up a bit I'll throw in some "reads as solid" non-Christmas prints in red, green and gold...

I cut fabric into 6-1/2 x 12-1/2 rectangles, 6-1/2 square, 2-1/2 x 6-1/2 strips, and 3-1/2 x 12-1/2" strips. 

After cutting enough for variety I made three blocks just to make sure I'll like what I see... I think I do so far!

I also plan to throw in a few blocks with appliqued words and/or pictures to break it up a bit.  Isn't it great that when you're doing a "just for me" quilt, you can design and redesign as you go along?  I'll do this and that, then step back and see what else will go with it.  And the even greater thing is there's no deadline pushing me so hard that I stumble over my own foot pedal.  I'd like to have the quilt to use this year but if I don't, I'll have it next year!  I know the top will be pieced for sure.

 Last Friday the senior center sponsored a trip to the African art museum at the Smithsonian.  It was sooo rainy but at the time the bus left it cleared up. 

It's been many years since I've been to the museum so I took advantage of the opportunity - I mean, I could take the Metro down there and walk across the Mall at any time, but if the bus is going, nothing beats door to door service with someone else driving!

The picture below is of the "castle" at the Smithsonian; I can't tell you what all's in there but I seem to remember some antique dental instruments last time I was there around 10 years ago.  I could google it and find out, but whatever...

I was a bit disappointed at how the photos I took inside the museum came out, so I don't have any to share.  We weren't allowed to use flash and the lighting over the exhibits was sort of yellowish so the pictures aren't worth showing.  We saw ceremonial masks and a really intricate ceremonial robe with many layers of fabric.  This picture's not too-too bad, I think...

I couldn't get the shot I wanted because you can only get so close.  This exhibit in on a platform with an audible alarm, and when I moved my camera to a certain point the alarm would go off.  The long shot didn't come out for me.

I did see this little sewing machine, though...

made from wire!  It was inside a glass container but you can still see what it is.

Well, that's what I've been up to - sew forth and sew on!