Design Wall Monday

     It has been awhile since I have anything happening on my design wall. I have been finishing up a custom quilt order, and making small items like chicken pincushions and potholders for a craft show in November. I don't want to show the custom order on my blog until after the first of the year because I don't want to take a chance on spoiling anyone's Christmas surprise. 

     Finally, there has been some significant movement on my design wall. I have been making the scrappy strips for my fussy cut quilt by using them for leaders and enders while working on other projects. I finally got past some deadlines and spent some time assembling them into blocks. So far I have all 9 of my  "A" blocks done, and 3 out of 4 of my "B" blocks done.They look the same at first glance, but the difference is that on the "A" blocks a 2" scrappy band goes around the center, followed by a 3" band. They are reversed on the "B" block so that I do not have the 3" bands next to each other. I only have 1 "B" block left to make, and all of my full blocks will be completed.

      You can see on the right hand side, where I auditioned some slightly wider sashing between the blocks. You can also see the beginnings of a setting triangle idea.

     There have been many holiday festivities going on in my small town of Porterdale, GA this past weekend. Thursday night we had a tour of homes, and some live musical performances in our newly remodeled gymnasium amphitheater. The Oxford Youth Singers, Newton County Community Band, and the Covington Regional Ballet all performed. I really like living in a county with such an active Arts Association. I have not taken a photograph of our new musical venue, so that will have to wait until a future post. It was originally a gymnasium, built in the time when this was an active mill village. Several years ago it burned leaving the brick walls, but nothing inside, and no roof. After sitting dormant for many years, due to the prohibitive cost of repairing it and putting on a new roof, it has been remodeled to become an outdoor music/events venue. The town is very excited about it. 

     On Friday night we had our annual Christmas parade, which culminated in a visit from Santa with some actual live reindeer. I am in the community garden, and we participated by passing out little bags of sunflower seeds that we had grown last summer. It was warm for the parade-73 degrees!

On Sunday afternoon we had Tuba Christmas, and the temperature was 50 degrees for that! With the wind and misty rain it sure felt much colder. What a difference a day and a half makes! I know that for most of the country, 50 degree days in December is no big deal, and they really are not all that rare here, but the contrast between Friday and Sunday was quite something.

     Are you familiar at all with Tuba Christmas? I had never heard of it before I moved to Porterdale, but there is quite a history behind it. The short version is that Tuba players gather together and play Christmas carols. For more information click HERE
One of our City Council people is the head of a very musical family, and he has spearheaded Tuba Christmas in our town. It is a lot of fun. It doesn't show very well on the photo, but some of the Tubas have Christmas decorations on them!

    So, that is what I have been doing lately.  I am off to make that last "B" block. Don't forget to check on what the other quilters at http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/12/09/design-wall-december-9-2013/ are up to.

     Thanks for stopping by!  :)