Calendars and Time

Hello, friends! January is chugging on, isn't it. Time for new beginnings, marked by new calendars and day planners [unless you have gone entirely digitally phone organized, of course]. My daughter gave me a Doug the Pug calendar for Christmas.

You know how I adore Doug the Pug! This will keep me smiling all year.

Today, January 10th,would have been my mother's birthday. I won't tell you how old she'd have been because she had an eternally young spirit and subscribed to the notion that we are all age 3o inside. . "OMG, I looked in the mirror, who is that old lady!?''. Sometimes especially if I'm tired or stressed I see that same face now in my own mirror. (Here I am at the clinic Monday in my very cute new socks!)

Anyway , back to calendars. Years ago when I left for college my mom gave me my first little Hallmark calendar book. Every year she'd go to the Hallmark shop, especially in Cape Cod, and get two of these little books--I believe they were free, one for each of us. Not a big planner or diary, just a little thing for your backpack or purse, to note important appointments and events. Some years the books were designed by favorite artist Marjolein Bastin! And they were always pretty.  Approximately 4" x 4 1/2"? I bet I have a box somewhere, with concerts and exam dates noted, flights home, vacations. reminders of college years and early life as a young single woman in NYC.
I don't think the little books exist anymore, nor do Hallmark stores?

In recent years a friend always has given me the rather unattractive datebook his broker sends him. It is plastic! It even has a pen.

I always make a fabric cover for it, that is one of my little New Year's traditions. The challenge is to make a fun and happy small crazy quilt to hide the blue or black plastic,

...using whatever is on my sewing table or in my workbox. No cheating [well, sometimes.]

These are the past two years. I was on an indigo kick.

This year I was cutting fabrics for my Leaders and Enders "Aloha" quilt.

Leaders and Enders are a thing one does when doing a lot of quilt piecing. Many sewing machines, especially my newer Janome, tend to chew up the first piece of fabric fed under the needle. This is destructive and annoying and can also throw off the tension and timing. So we instead use a scrap fabric to Start or Lead. I have never used Enders. This is another scrap [or aloha block] fed into the machine at the end of a seam, to keep one from tailing off and not maintaining the incredibly necessary and important perfect 1/4" seam. So this is something new for me to try. As I mentioned I just used scraps but the idea is to instead use a simple pieced design and in the end, someday! one will have a whole nother quilt done. Huh!
The ALOHA design on the pattern is a table runner; mine will be a beach blanket or deck throw, much longer, a bit wider.

I am cutting the Aloha throw pieces as 3.5 x 6.5" bricks/ rectangles. The pattern calls for squares but I want to show off my collection of tropical fabrics, not chop them up into small 3" squares.
So this is my 2018 pocket/ purse date book!

I remembered to make a buttonhole for the pen this year, yay! Actually since I don't  carry a purse it lives in a basket by my computer. I never have a problem remembering appointments etc, so it mainly gets used to stick in Rx receipts for taxes. and to note copay amounts for doctor visits. Realtime, real life events will go on Doug the Pug, in the kitchen, for everyone to see. For some reason, the book's back is always better looking!

How about you? Phone only? Wall or pocket calendar, or fancy daytimer with stickers and tabs? Or like me do you just remember to show up?

On to other subjects of importance:

Here's the week's weather. 

Things are possibly improving for a few days! Mo is dubious.

"don'wanna go out, mommy."

 Our friend Pork Chop posted an extreme close up, so Mo wanted one too! Cutie!

Have a great rest of the week!

love

lizzy 

gone to the beach....