Christmas Stockings on the Mantle, Spiderweb on the Wall

Christmas Stockings
now decorate the grandchildren's mantle so I can share photos of these most recent additions.
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Velveteen Christmas stockings for grandchildren

Loud and proud. As usual.

Funny how frequently we forget all the finishing details. While it takes time, beading the ornaments isn't that difficult. But then you have to

1. Attach them to the front,
2. And add snowflakes or other details with reinforcing fabric on the inside,
3. And sew the stocking together,
4. And the lining.
5. And shape the cuff.
6. And bead names on the cuff.
7. And cut the scallops.
8. And make the hanging loop.
9. And attach the cuff and loop and lining.
10. And sew fourteen bells on.
11. And package it so the velvet doesn't crease.
12. And mail it before the rush. Oh, too late for that.

Somehow this reminds me of childbirth. Oh, how quickly we forget all the details there, too. And what bundles of joy at the end.

Previous posts:
1. The Fairmont and our Christmas stockings
2. Beading the stockings


Scrap Spiderweb Quilt
In the meanwhile, the scrap bag is filling up and I need a baby quilt. I had a few spiderweb kites and string triangles left from my own spiderweb. It seemed like it would be easy to make a few more.

Scrap triangles for spiderweb quilt

Here they are.

Scrap spiderwebs layout

After adding twenty blue kites, some of the triangles seemed too dark so I changed them out. Now I have more leftover triangles, probably as many as I started with. Grr.

Blue stars added to scrap spiderweb quilt

I could have cut more blue but liked the white of the design wall better. And I had a bit of leftover white and pink print.

Scrap spiderweb quilt with blue and white stars 

Now it's partially sewn and I'm not sure if I should have made only blue stars. Ah, well. The baby will like it.

DH took me on a quick trip to New Orleans this weekend. Our flight was cancelled last week; snow closed the airport. With snowfall only once a decade or so, they don't purchase snow removal equipment anywhere in the state.

We breakfasted at Cafe Beignet. The chairs are duplicates of a set my grandparents owned. Their chandeliers had lovely prisms. The interior roofline reminded me of old subway tunnels.

Cafe Beignet, New Orleans

We visited the WWII Museum to see the newly opened Road to Tokyo section

World War II Museum, New Orleans

and finished at Sacred Grinds across Canal Street from the Hurricane Katrina memorial and in the middle of acres of cemeteries. They advertise coffee "good enough to wake the dead." It's the best coffee I've had in years; my latte was deliciously smooth. I'd be there daily if I lived closer.

Sacred Grinds Coffee Shop, New Orleans

Enjoy the day, Ann

National World War II Museum, New Orleans

Everyone knows about Bourbon Street and the French Quarter in New Orleans but we went somewhere different this trip. The National World War II Museum was founded by historian Stephen Ambrose, author of Band of Brothers. It currently encompasses three huge buildings on Magazine Street. I thought it would be a collection of military memorabilia we'd look at for half a day. Boy, was I wrong.

There are loads of planes, tanks, transports, weapons, uniforms and medals representing both Allied and Axis artifacts.

Overhead view inside the Freedom Pavilion

Some are unexpected. For example, the odd-looking white capsules near the right turn sign in the photo below are German bomb shelters.

View of more buildings from the main entrance
to the National World War II Museum.

Mr. Ambrose interviewed thousands of veterans and survivors of the war. (A friend of ours related his interview lasted four hours. He thought it would take half an hour.) These oral histories are the strength of the museum. They provide the textual explanations of the displays. Some written but the most moving are audio.

There are floors of exhibits that fluidly intersperse artifacts with large dioramas, interactive maps and small rooms where personal narratives and photos are available at the push of a button. One was a discussion of the end of the war which included opposing viewpoints by veterans of the US and Japan.

Diorama of a small section of the D-Day landing.
To scale except this is only 1/40 of the width!

We saw two 4D presentations: Beyond All Boundaries and the USS Tang.

USS Tang presentation

The staff and volunteers are extremely friendly and helpful. I can see why this is the premier attraction in New Orleans. We reluctantly left at day's end... after the third call for closing.

Enjoy the day. Ann