How was my Thanksgiving?

 Thanksgiving, doesn’t that already seem like so long ago? Well, let me tell you about my Thanksgiving, mostly so I don’t forget that this was the year that the oven went wacko. I was so stressed out last year, I guess, with my job that I don’t even remember last Thanksgiving (2008). My parents, Grma and Great Aunt were here and apparently we had a very nice day…I thought that was 3 or 4 years ago. Then I found the pictures, yup they were here, last year.

So Thanksgiving 2009, I’m laid off, so no work related stress to deal with and the turkey is doing it’s happy little turkey thing in my oven. It’s been in there going on 5 hours and I’m thinking it should have only been 4/12 hours (barely a 15 pound bird), finally the little popper on his butt ‘pops’. But, I know not to trust these. So I also check him with my own thermometer—twice. He's done. Fast forward about ½ an hour, Meghan has the gravy about done and everything is on the table. We start the carving and my new electric knife I got at Kohl’s and blogged about a couple weeks ago…was worth the money. Unfortunately, it didn’t help the undone thighs. Oh the top of the turkey was done, but the bottom, no. So what did I do? Well, after sharing a 2 second look with my husband (OH MY GOD THE STUPID #@#$%# TURKEY ISN’T DONE!!!) I calmly advised my family of the situation. My dad’s aunt said, “Well, we’re not going to starve, just put it back in the oven for a while.” - Oh the wisdom. So, I put it in another roasting pan and cranked the heat up. We put everything in the fridge that needed to. I did some dishes, discussed at length with my mom, grandma and aunt what could have possibly been the problem and about an hour later we ate. It was done. It was delicious. (Friday I went out and bought an oven thermometer, and that's the problem it's off, way off. Paul will fix or I'll be getting a new oven for Christmas.)
Now, if that isn’t enough of a story to make this the thanksgiving that we all remember…**November 2014****: “Remember the time mom’s oven sensor/thermometer went bad and the turkey wasn’t done….hahahahha”. Well we can also say, “OH yeah! That was the same year, Grand pap (my dad) went peasant hunting in the morning and when he got home, Jake bit him, and it got infected and after we finally ate, he had to go to the ER and have intravenous antibiotics because it started hurting so bad…..” I am not making this up.

(Jake is my dad’s 12+ year old English setter. He’s never bit anyone, he doesn’t even growl. They’re just not that kind of dog breed. We have a Gordon setter, same deal.) So we don’t know what triggered it. He’s an old dog and they don’t go hunting very often anymore. Did he just want to stay in his dog crate nice and warm in the back of my dad’s truck? Is he losing his hearing, eye sight, getting doggy dementia and my dad startled him? He was fine and acted like nothing happened 10 seconds later. My dad called him out of his crate and said he jumped right out and came over to my dad wagging his tail. He’s been fine since. Sadly, my dad had to go back to hospital for a 2nd round of intravenous antibiotics on Saturday, (they wanted to admit him at that point but he refused-yup, if the infection doesn’t do him in, my mom might.) He went back in on Sunday and it's finally responding to the antibiotics and the blood work came back that his blood isn’t infected so that was a relief.  But he had to stay home from hunting camp. It’s the 1st day of buck here in PA and “the men in the family” go to the mountains. As I’ve said before, all the deer are here in suburbia, but there’s no messing with tradition.
Is it ok if I wish for a really quiet Christmas, like “shhhh...Nobody talk, breathe, move.” Let’s just watch the tree, wrapped in a warm quilt, or maybe bubble wrap- it’s safer. Is everybody up to date on their booster shots, flu shots? Rabies vaccination anyone?

For your viewing pleasure...

...and the continuation of my documenting my quilts.
 This little wall quilt I made in 1995, it's hand appliqued and the bow was attached after the quilt was finished. This is the 2nd one I made.  The first one my SIL made such a fuss over-I was compelled to give it to her.  This is one of those quilts that never seem to lose its appeal for me. I just love seeing it every fall.

This is an oven mitt.  I never use is, just hang it on a cabinet knob every October and put it away when the Christmas decorations come out. It was a project from a LQS in 2003, called The 3rd Saturday of the Month Club. You paid a small fee in January and got your first little project. Then as long as you brought the completed project into the shop the 3rd Saturday of the following month; you got the next month's pattern free.

This is the quilt on my bed right now, made in 1997.  It's all flannels even the backing.  The pillow panel at top is cottons.  I machine appliqued those using a loose zig zag stitch. This was before I had a machine with the blanket-stitch. There was no way I was doing all that by hand. It's one of the few quilts I've tied. 

This is a lap size 'raggy seams' quilt I made in 2004.  The front is all homespun's, the back is mostly denim from the kids' worn out jeans. It was amazing how little usable denim is left from kids jeans after removing seams and holes in the knees etc.  I had to go to a thrift store and buy some large men's jeans to make up the difference.

This is a Little Quilt (literally and patterningly as well). It is only 13" x 17". I hand quilted it.

I just love this little guy too. As I've started to document these quilts.  I'm finding some of them haven't been labeled... GASP!  Bad, Diane, bad. 

And in this process am seeing first hand why it's so important.  --It's a pain in the butt to go through 4" ringbinders of patterns and notes to try to find the date that I took a class (that quilts further down) or in this little quilts case looking back through my quilting photo albums.

Much easier to just flip the bottom up and read the label. 

This is another Little Quilt, scrappy 9-patch made January 2004.

This little winter door hanger I made in 2005.  The pattern was in Amer. Patchwork Mag. in 2004. 

 He hangs on our door almost all year.  Annie will use her nose to ring his little jingle bell to get our attention when she needs to go out.  Our 1st westie, Haley, taught her that, but Haley rang the sleigh bells  on the hinge side of the front door.  It, too, was a holiday decoration, that stays up year-round.  

Annie will hit the big ones first, but if we don't jump up within 30-40 seconds.....she'll start flipping the snowman.  Sometimes we just watch her do it, cracks us up. 

And finally, my no diamonds Lone Star. It's made with HST.  I think 5/2005 is when I made it.  It doesn't have a label, and the class notes just have 4/29 on the top of one of the pages (in my hand writing).  I don't remember and didn't have a picture of it in my photo album.  Wow, I really dropped the  archival ball on this one.

It's finished!

And I'm really happy with it.  I did an all over micro stipple but in the center block area I quilted a feathered circle....really was a waste of time 'cuz you really can't see the feathers.  But I like to do feathers and micro stippling is sorta boring...so it's all good! 

  Oh, and you may be wondering "diane, why would you make a turkey blue?" Well..... I made this to go on my table for

Thanksgiving, the new tablecloth I got for it is blue, my dishes are these:

Pfaltzgraff "America" there are 4 different quilt blocks in the set.   So I think it will really look nice together,