Snow Day

We woke up to some pretty snow this morning, with more predicted to fall off and on through tomorrow, leaving behind about 3-5 inches.  That's about the perfect amount, as it makes the world all white and sparkly but doesn't cause much trouble.  It's fun that the snow started soon after I decorated the patio with greens and lights in the pots and boughs on the fence, so when we sit in the dining room (now acting as an activity center and office) we see the colorful decorations which the snow makes even more festive.   

Here's Turbo on the patio yesterday standing in front of the pots. 

And here are those pots this morning.  It always amazes me that an inch or so of snow can change the look of everything.   

I can't resist showing you this photo of the little sculpture our neighbor made for us from an upside down wind chime.  It sits on a table in the corner of the fence and the snow fell on it in a very cool way.  

While I'm writing this Ben is sitting across from me working on a new jigsaw puzzle and Turbo is resting on the sofa.  In a bit we're going to make a special snow day breakfast from the "Sunday Pancake Breakfast" kit that arrived yesterday, a present from my wonderful sister.  Wasn't that perfect timing? 

I'm looking forward to getting a major haircut later this afternoon, and of course will walk Turbo once or twice, but otherwise have work to do in the studio.  My goal is to finish the hand stitching I'm doing on the Canyonlands piece I told you about a few weeks ago.   Once that's done I'll back it with fabric and add a bunch of machine stitching.  My goal is to have it done and photographed by Christmas so I can enter it in an online show that has a Dec. 31 deadline.  

In order to figure out how I wanted to stitch it I ended up making three smaller pieces from the same fabrics; you can see them on the right side of this photograph.    

Yesterday I added machine stitching to this one, and it gave me some good ideas for stitching the bigger piece. 

Besides the exhibition deadline, I'm wanting to finish up the Canyonlands piece so I can do some holiday sewing.  See that cute little mat in this photo?  I got it in the Secret Santa gift exchange one of my quilt guilds did last year and it is a perfect size for holding a coffee mug or tucking under a vase of flowers.  I thought I'd make a few for some of the Meals on Wheels clients that we've been serving for several years.  That means getting them done by the 21st, the last day we'll deliver before the holiday.  I'm going to make them in less Christmasy fabrics so they'll be more versatile but will probably still use red, green and white scraps.  As the holiday approaches I'm feeling the pull towards doing some seasonal sewing!