Make-A-List Monday

 Yes, I know today is Tuesday and my post title says Monday. :-)  This just shows how this week has been already.  It's been a bit crazy with work, Christmas shopping, dealing with 2013 healthcare issues, etc.  The last few weeks of the year area always crazy here at work and it seems to be a bit more so this year.

I didn't get everything done that I wanted to last week....

1. Prepare backing and baste the Lone Star Wall hanging. Nothing. :-(
2. Trim quilt top for Whirly Stars baby quilt and add binding. Done.  Starting hand-sewing binding.
3. Trim quilt top for charity quilt and add binding. Done.  Starting hand-sewing binding.
4. Post picture of Christmas tree and snowman applique project.  Nothing. :-(

While I didn't seem to get a lot done here, I actually did get a lot of things done.  On Monday evening (12/3), I received a call from a local quilter asking if I could quilt a for her.  We met Tuesday evening and she left her quilt with me.  I have to have the quilting done by the 21st.  It will be a bit interesting to quilt as the top isn't too terribly flat.  I think it will just be a lot of extra pinning to ease the bulk in without creating pleats.

I also wrote up Christmas cards (with hubby's help) and we completed about 90% of our Christmas shopping.  Yay!  We spent last Saturday doing a little bit of window shopping at the local mall.  It was EXTREMELY busy there.  It re-affirmed why I don't like going to the mall anymore.  We did pick up a few things for Christmas gifts, so it wasn't a complete loss.

We also did some window shopping at a music store that's in the mall (yes - kind of odd).  This music store sells guitars, keyboards and also full-size grand pianos.  We're contemplating getting a baby grand piano to use at the house.

I've played piano since I was 5 and I love playing.  When I was in an apartment in Connecticut, I needed something to play, so I paid $$ for a digital piano by Kawai.  While it wasn't the same as playing on a real piano, it was close and sounded very good.  It still sounds very good over 10 years later.  Now that we're in our house and not really moving anymore (hopefully), we'd really like to get a full piano versus the digital piano.

A friend of ours has a used Steinway and every time we visit them, we play and wish we had one of our own.  So now we're starting to check out a few places that sell them.  I'm not bit into name brands, so the piano doesn't have to be a Steinway (I've played on some really great Steinways...and some really bad Steinways).  For me, it all comes down to how the piano feels and what it sounds like.  Heck, I'd buy a Yamaha grand piano if I loved how it played and sounded.  I'm a bit partial towards Kawai pianos as they have a very clear, bright sound to them and they don't sound muddled like some of the "old-name" pianos sound.

The best part about window shopping for pianos is that you get to try them all out. :-)  When we went to the mall this weekend, we didn't have any music with us, so it was playing bits and pieces by memory.  We plan on checking out another place this weekend and we'll be sure to bring music with us this time.

So what's my plan for quilting items this week??

1. Quilt client quilt and remove from frame.
2. Hand-sew binding on Charity quilt.
3. Hand-sew binding on Whirly Stars quilt.
4. Square-up backing fabric for Lone Star quilt.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

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