Minus 7 F

Cold like we're having here in Wisconsin simply shouldn't be allowed!  It was -7 F when I got up at 7AM and my phone says it will reach a high of +5 F at noon today. Brrrr!  I like winter but this is too cold even for me. Maxine sums it up perfectly!

I'm so glad I put the flannel sheets on the bed earlier this month. Nothing feels better than flannel sheets on a cold winter's night. Well, maybe there's something else that will warm a person . . . just sayin.'

But I digress.  I spent yesterday afternoon in the sewing room and managed to sandwich all 4 placemats and completed all the straight line "in the ditch" sewing that was needed. I also forged ahead and completed the quilted arcs on one of the mats, so I could see if this was what I wanted. And it is.  

I'll be binding these with the aqua fabric.

I stitched up the 4 napkins as well so they're ready to go. And this is a shot of the back of the placemat.  As for the log cabin Santa ornament, well, I looked at it and moved it out of the way.  

I'm going to make bias binding for these placemats and I've never done that before. I learned somewhere along the way that bias binding was more sturdy than binding cut on the grain, and for placemats, I figure they'll be washed more often than a bed quilt so they should have the best binding. I'm going to see if I can find good directions for cutting the bias--and more importantly, how much fabric will I need.  I have plenty of fabric, but don't want to cut more bias than I have to.  So, I'll spend some time searching the internet for directions before I begin sewing again.  

Other than finishing up the placemats, I have a little cooking to do since my daughter, Jo, is coming home for the weekend and she wants to have leftovers to take home with her. She works long hours and loves to have something in the freezer to simply thaw and heat when she gets home.  I have also been thinking about the Christmas baking I want to do.  I am gradually realizing that it probably won't get done unless I really book it on these placemats.  We'll see how it goes. I love Christmas cookies and special quick breads but I certainly can live without them if I have to!  

I found this list of winter things to do, and I think I like it better than the list I made for myself--except there's no quilting on the new list.  And that's not a good thing! But I can do everything else on the list.  :)