December Mini, Wall, River

It's been quite a journey during this tumultuous year but Wendy The Constant Quilter has kept a group of us engaged by making minis and focusing on the positive. Thanks, Wendy!

This orphan leaf block has been in a drawer for years and then one morning I took it out, added some leftover hsts, red and green borders, corner squares . . .

. . . and with a little hand quilting it was done! It's 14" x 14".

I finally made and installed a 72" x 72" design wall with the help of my SIL :) I followed Barb V's Design Wall Tutorial and I can't tell you how happy I am with the result! Thanks, Barb! It's been a goal of mine ever since we moved here and the only wall space I had upstairs was in an adjacent bedroom to my sewing space but it worked out perfectly.

Early Christmas morning the river looked like it was frozen in time but then it began to break up just like what happens in the spring. Huge ice slabs were piled up along the edge and before you knew it the whole river was once again flowing. Amazing to watch!

And at 7:00 this morning the moon was so bright it lit up the sky and reflected in the water. I love stuff like this!

Thank you all for visiting my blog this year. I so appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment or two :)

Let's ring in the New Year with hope and optimism! 

 

 

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Copyright 2020, Barbara Schaffer

Eleven Things That Made Me . . .

. . . S-M-I-L-E 😊

Like . . . 

1. Opening the package with my tee and medal for completing the virtual 87-mile RBG Run/Walk. My time was 27 hrs 21 min 51 sec and I placed 2549th out of 7937 participants. Yikes! I must thank my friend Cath in MS for getting me involved!

2. Receiving an email from a distant cousin in Germany who is related to me on the Strubbe side of the family. This is an early photo of the property where my gr-grandfather Wilhelm Heinrich Strubbe (1853-1917) was born in Harpenfeld :)

3. Coming across this photo of a typing class when I was in high school. I'm not in this picture but I knew many of the girls who were. In fact, my first job was typing the inventory of an antiques dealer who lived in town :)

4. Receiving a photo book from our realtor after our NJ house was sold. What a treasure!

5. Meeting my challenge of reading 12 books this year. Not bad considering all that has happened. No real rhyme or reason as to what I read though I enjoy historical fiction more than anything else. I've been a member of PaperBackSwap.com for years where I order/swap books but keep track of what I read on Goodreads.com. 

6. Seeing animal tracks in the snow.

7. Hanging several little Christmas quilts in my sewing space. 

8. Draping a large one over the railing so we get to see it from below.

 9. Reading about the history of the area when hiking with my daughter. 

10. Looking at photos of this gorgeous quilt that will be on display at the Bergen County NJ quilt show next June. See more pics here.

 11. Seeing this photo in the Association for Gravestone Studies newsletter--and smiling! Why? It's all about the Spritz Cookies! How clever to inscribe the recipe on a gravestone. My mom and I made these cookies every year and my favorite shape was the Christmas tree :)

Hope there are some things that made you smile, too!

 

 

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Copyright 2020, Barbara Schaffer