The invitation came at 10 o’clock this morning when the doorbell rang. It was our neighbor from behind our house, Frau Adelhoff, whom I have only met on one other occasion, inviting me to her annual Christmas breakfast for all the ladies in the neighborhood on December 2nd. She was most eager for me to come and meet all the other German ladies. We are the only Americans living in the immediate area around the little park which centralizes the neighborhood, and apparently, I am somewhat of a novelty. Of course I graciously accepted her lovely invitation.
Now, what to bring? The traditional hostess gift here in Germany when invited to some one’s home for dinner is a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine. Well, the flowers would work, but somehow I don’t think the wine would be quite appropriate for a traditional German breakfast (beer, perhaps. Wine, nein.) And besides, there will probably be many other bouquets presented to Frau Adelhoff that morning anyway.
I’m always telling the students in my classes (or anyone who will listen, actually) that my Star in a Star Wallhanging pattern, which is made with my Easy Star and Geese Ruler, is THE PERFECT last minute hostess gift. Viola! That’s right! What a great idea (I’m glad I thought of it!)
By 10:35 am, I was sorting through my stash of Christmas fabrics and I selected three pretty prints. This is a great opportunity to make not only one Christmas wallhanging or table topper as a gift, but one to keep on hand in case of other last minute holiday invitations. By 10:45, I set to work pressing and cutting my fabrics to make two little quilts.
Now, we’re in REAL time as I write this. It is currently 11:15 am, and I will post my progress as it happens.
11:37 am: I have sewn the first set of 8 flying geese to make the inner stars.
11:48 am: The two inner star blocks are completed.
11:59 am: Eight large flying geese for outer star complete! (Don’t forget to always trim your ‘dog ears.’)
12:18 pm: The stars are done! The only thing left to add are the borders. But the Mercedes factory whistle went off 18 minutes ago. Time for lunch!
1:21 pm: It was a longer break than I expected to take. I enjoyed a bowl of yummy veggie soup, and answered about 20 emails that needed a response. I also got another load of laundry started. Now I’m ready to get back to piecing my Christmas Quickies!
1:40 pm: Borders are on, quilt tops finished! On to scout for fabric for the backing and bindings in my stash and to cut batting. (I also need to fold the clothes from the dryer and move the wet clothes from the washer to the dryer. See? I can multi-task!)
2:10 pm: Quilts are basted (since they are small, I spay basted them) and I made two hanging sleeves from the leftover backing fabric. Time for another laundry break.
2:25 pm: Time to cut and piece the binding.
2:35 pm: Momentary break to answer the phone, answer an important email about chaperoning for my son’s field trip, etc. Back to work (play!)
4:58 pm: So much for my glorious day of uninterrupted quilting. In the midst of quilting, my boys arrived home from school…..the doorbell rang (twice!) with deliveries, the post, etc. There were more loads of laundry to finish…..Andrew fell in the mud and needed help getting cleaned up, and the cat threw up a hairball. However, I managed to finish the gentle meander quilting on one of the quilts. It’s looking great, and now, if I can just manage to get the sleeve attached and the binding sewn on. (TRY THIS: stitch your sleeve down at the same time you stitch your binding. For these little quilts, I’m stitching the binding on the back and finish the stitching BY MACHINE with a tiny zig zag on the front).
5:45 pm: Finished! Yes, it took me longer than I expected, but I had plenty of interruptions along the way today. Life happens! But the point is, I was able to complete an adorable little Christmas quilt to take as a hostess gift when I go to the breakfast gathering at Frau Adelhoff’s home next Tuesday.
All in all, I’d say it was a productive day. After all, any day spent quilting is a GOOD day! 🙂
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