Thinking Christmas

At a gathering of quilters a couple of weeks ago one of the women spoke of making sweatshirt jackets by raw edge appliqueing more or less random pieces of fabric to the sweatshirt, after a front opening has been cut and the whole side and underarm seams also cut open. The hostess of the gathering went to her closet and modeled her version which was very handsome. I've done two and am on the third as of this morning. I have a large stash so one was made of only batiks and this one of blue/lavender fabrics, it doesn't need big pieces so I can't call it a stash buster. My favorite thing about quilting has always been making seat-of-the-pants decisions about which fabrics to put next to each other. I had so much fun with this particular jacket that I began appliqueing a second fabric on top of the first. I'm getting a lot of loose threads so I'll wash it before I give it away and hope to dislodge the really loose threads. But if it has a slightly "hairy" appearance, that's okay with me.

The jackets are meant to be worn casually with jeans, not seriously out of the house. I had thought the first one which is on a fleece sweat-style top, would become a bed jacket for myself as I love reading in bed, especially winter nights. But I decided it was just the right thing for my niece so I may have to make another for myself. I'm really enjoying the project. A baby quilt has been requested so I have to leave myself time for that, too.
Speaking of babies, little Sophia here is no longer the baby of the family [she is my son-in-law's niece]. Whenever she visits, as Thanksgiving day, my daughter's house her first stop is the Buddha board where she can paint with water as she is doing here. I've written about the Buddha board before -- that is a trade marked name and can be found by Googling it and can be ordered if anyone wishes. [I am not a salesman.] Our family have several, I had a tiny one. The board part has a surface that dries gradually after a picture is painted -- it is a meditation device. You can see the potential if, for instance, you write your name or draw a self-portrait and mediate as it gradually fades away. I use that exercise also as a timer for how long to sit and meditate. Sophia tends to slather on a lot of water and doesn't particularly want it to dry -- but is then pleased if she goes away to do something else and comes back and finds a clean board to draw on all over again.