Check!

During the grand re-shuffle of "stuff" in The Sandbox last weekend, I made a list of UFOs (gulp).  Is it a complete list?  Hell no.  But it's a list and it feels good to check things off.  :-)  One of the items crossed off is this Henrietta Turtle pin cushion.  It's a sample for Cary Quilting Company.  Cute....but oddly designed.  It sits on it's fat belly.  I stuffed it firmly as the instructions said and there is no where for the belly to go but down!  :-)

Funky.

I also got to check 25 nine-patch blocks off my list.  They are destined for a quilt being made by the Honeycomb Bee for the guild's quilt auction.

A few days ago it was almost 80F.  Last night, after a full day of rain, it snowed!  Well when I popped open the front door to look, it was slushing more than snowing, but it got cold enough to turn into an icy mess and there are black ice warnings up for tonight too.

 Not much snow really.

But the steps and deck were very icy.

This mourning dove was fluffed against the unaccustomed chill and sat for a long while watching the other birds at the feeder.

Some color to brighten the cold morning.

Ngaire is aging and has been having some trouble walking.  She loves to hang out by the front door, guarding her house and waiting for whoever isn't home to return.  Since it's cold by the door we bought another orthopedic bed at Costco.  None of the dogs will lay on the funky fabrics the beds come with so we bought some fun fleece to cover it.  I know it  looks bright in the photo, but when I come from looking out the front window into the dimmer hallway, my eyes are still dazzled and I can't see her on the bed.  She is our "disappearing" dog.

More like this.  :-)  Yes, I know....I haven't gotten back to my painting project and we are still "enjoying" the primer with painter's tape trim.

Today I turned my attention to the Bernina 830.  All of the brightwork on the machine and the metal presser feet were dull and....oxidized is the right word I guess.  They felt like dirty metal.  So I opened a window, turned on the ceiling fan and got to work with some polish.  This stuff is smelly!

All clean and shiny!

The machine is all clean and shiny too.  It wasn't very dirty but I went over it with the non-pumice Gojo and gave it a coat of TR-3 Resin Glaze.  Not quite so fumey thank goodness.  I also replaced the dry-rotted edging on the sewing table piece with stick-on felt.  The edge of the red felt looks a bit odd but they didn't have an ivory-beigey sort of color.  Red seemed the next most obvious choice.  ;-)

The cords and foot pedal are all clean too.

I was most worried about the bobbin case as it was a little rusty.  Looks good now!

The machine is so clean inside I don't think it had any heavy use.

It has a beautiful straight stitch (top left) and the zigzag works fine, but I can't get any of the decorative stitches to work.  We bought some Tri-Flow lubricant this evening and following the advice on several sewing machine Yahoo Groups I've oiled the offending mechanism and hope I will get a better result when I try it again tomorrow.    I also have a request in for assistance so we'll see what happens.

Cross that off my list!