Thursday, December 15, 2011

Boxer Rebellion finish...


The big underwear reveal!  The hand quilting is done, it is bound, and it is time to take it to Steve's work place and hang it up.  Boxer Rebellion if finished!


I quilted a diagonal cross-hatch on the applique blocks and just followed my heart's desire on the other ones.

There are quilted hearts on the boxer shorts, which did not photograph well...


The stripe and plaid patterns in the poly/cotton blend boxer fabrics were really wonky to work with, so the stripes make the blocks look crooked and squirmy to me.  Oh well...part of the charm, I guess.  This next block was my favorite to quilt.


It's funny...I picked the pieced block patterns solely based on their funny names (in relationship with the subject matter...).  You know...Darting Birds, Hands All Around, Young Gentleman's Fancy, Grandma's Favorite, Jack-in-the-Box. Pride and Joy, etc.  Yuck-yuck-yuck!




(I can't believe I embroidered the word "butt"...my grandmother would be so proud...)   Oh, and then there's the whole issue of depicting my naked husband in cloth...with nipples, no less...

 
I guess there is no longer anything sacred...





I quilted an irregular piano key pattern in the wonky border.  The stretch of the plaid makes my vision swim!  Some of those boxer shorts were so old, thin, and thread bear, I'm surprised the weave of the fabric  held together at all.


How about those abs...awesome, babe...


I will go to Steve's workplace in the next couple of days and install Boxer Rebellion in his desk suite...I hope he doesn't get ribbed too much from his fellow workers...there are a couple of quilters there - I know THEY will appreciate it.


Some of my favorite ornaments on my tree were either made by my daughter or were made by teachers or myself with Riley's pictures.  I love all the glitter on this Popsicle stick star.  Steve calls glitter "the herpes of the craft world."   Even after 8 years, the glitter on this puppy is the gift that keeps on giving.  Weasley has had a speck of it on his nose for over a week...he runs every time I try and remove it.




The peanut wrapped in foil was the first ornament Riley made at age 3...hilarious.  I'm not exactly sure what the humble peanut has to do with the Christmas story...maybe peanuts were served at the inn in Bethlehem??



I'm a little embarrassed over how stressed I got over my tree ordeal last week.  There are so many people worrying about REAL issues this Christmas, and I'm going on and on about my silly, saggy, scrappy, screwy, synthetic tree.  I felt very silly and humbled by that as I delivered gifts and food for the Giving Tree to the church today.  The mission team took on 29 local families this season.  The need is great in Michigan, as I know it is in many places this year.  We are grateful that there is still some sort of local social safety network, trying to gather and assist these otherwise undetected families.  It is painful to think that for every family identified, there are many more out there, too embarrassed to come forward and ask for help.


This ball ornament was fun to make...you roll the circle-shaped picture cut out a little to get it into the tiny hole at the top of the glass ball (did I say tiny?  let me reiterate, it was TINY!).  Then, using a chopstick, you stuff tinsel in behind the picture to flatten it uniformly against the inside of the ball.  Of course, you do this while trying NOT to break the fragile glass ball (I broke TWO while trying to make this ornament years ago - I was a crazed, drooling maniac with that chopstick).  Then you hide the edge of the entombed picture with a circular bead of glitter glue dots on the outside.  It was a lesson in patience for me...I only made one.


I'm so very grateful for teachers, Sunday school teachers, and parent volunteers for these ornaments sent home as Christmas gifts for parents from the students (and the time and patience it took to make them)!  They are such a treasure!  I remember Riley being so proud as she would place the stapled mystery brown lunch bag parcel under the tree.


My Ola angel ornament watches over the tree when I am not around...it's a wild collection of ornaments I've gathered over the years, and someone has to keep them in check.  I think of my tree, sometimes, as sort of a "Night at the Museum" or "Velveteen Rabbit" sort of affair.  When we are asleep, I like to imagine the ornaments coming to life and frolicking around the tree all night until we wake up in the morning.  This probably only happens in the portion of the night when Weasley is sleeping (either plastered on, or around, me).  If the cat had witnessed this conjured ornament orgy, the tree would be in shreds in the morning and there would be many ornament casualties littering the family room floor.  I remember making up this story with Riley when she was really small, and to this day we are careful about what ornaments go next to who when decorating the tree.


Last Sunday on my birthday, our church choir sang the Rutter "Magnificat" with orchestra.  All the hard work and rehearsals pay off...it was truly joyous.



I hope you are getting some time to sew mingled in with your last minute Christmas preparations!

In stitches,
Teresa   "o)

27 comments:

  1. oh I just love all those ornaments, ah yes the infamous glitter we have a few of those too and I am vacuuming glitter for weeks after Christmas,
    the picture ornament is wonderful...
    This quilt is just soooo fun! Its going to make him smile everytime he looks at it
    what a conversation piece its going to be!
    can't wait to hear the stories.
    Merry Christmas to you and your family
    Kathie

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  2. Just think this is a hoot!! My ecletic group of school ornaments have moved on to my daughter's tree. There are a few that really held fast that glitter - old horse glue I think!
    Our quilt guild had their x-mas party and we opted to secret gift local families in need rather than an ornament swap - oh, my there were so many things - and many of these ladies were affected by Irene's terror themselves. I would have loved to have heard the choir/orchestra.

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  3. dear teresa,that is a very special quilt,merry chrismas to you and your family,susi

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  4. Thanks for sharing the Boxer Rebellion. It is hilarious...especially the quilted abs. Also, I appreciated reading about your Christmas tree ordeal. It made me think twice before suggesting to DH that it was time to replace our tree.

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  5. Teresa, This post really started my day off with a big laugh and a lasting smile for the day. The Boxer Rebellion turned out wonderful! What a "hoot"! If that doesn't teach your hubby to watch what he says around you in the future, nothing will! I'm sure his co-workers will appreciate the addition to his office. Tee hee. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  6. Pure awesomeness!!! My hubby's coworkers would get the hugest kick out of such a thing. LOL!!

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  7. Love those abs! What a great humorous quilt.

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  8. I just LOVE your sense of humor! Boxer rebellion is great. I can't wait to hear the comments it's going to generate at work.....your collection of ornaments is very similar to ours--only instead of kids pictures ours has lots of Dalmatians and picture ornaments of Dals no longer with us along with the odd VW or sailboats from a long ago part of my life.

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  9. LOL!!! The quilt is great and love the block names. Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed the tree ornaments. I have some treasured ones just like yours.

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  10. Teresa, it has been such a hoot to watch Boxer Rebellion come alive. I think it's the cutest thing ever! Love the abs. LOL Everytime I fold my hubby's poor old threadbare boxers, I think of your quilt. I'm thinking his are too thin to even begin to try to sew with. ;0)

    I love your ornaments! Aren't they the most special ones? I still have every one that Kevin made for me, and he's grown and gone with a family of his own. They are still near and dear to my heart, and I can remember when he gave them to me like it was yesterday.

    Thank you for sharing your hilarious sense of humor with us. I never leave your posts without a smile on my face!

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  11. The Boxer Rebellion turned out perfectly. Your handmade ornaments remind me of the ones that my girls made so many years ago. Merry Christmas.
    Beckie in Brentwood, TN

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  12. What a fantastic quilt the Boxer rebellion turned out to be, I think we all need your sense of humour. Love the names of the blocks, lol. Your inspiring with your quilting choices!
    The hand made kids decorations are the very best on the tree, the ones that are full of memories. A very merry Christmas to you and your family.

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  13. I am so glad I didn't miss the post of this quilt. It is fantastic. Love the abs on your hubby. lol
    You did such a great job.
    Loved all your treasured ornaments.

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  14. What a fun project! What are you going to applique next? :0) Thanks for showing so well how you quilted each of the blocks - I can learn lots from studying them. Your quilting is as amazing as always.

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  15. Too funny! I love your Boxer Rebellion, and the ornaments being kept in line. Merry Christmas!

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  16. Boxer Rebellion is fabulous. I love using clothing fabric in my quilts and love how wonky it always is. :-)

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  17. I love boxer rebellion! So cute, a great idea and very creative!

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  18. You have hit such a home run on the boxer quilt. It is so charming and funny! the stitching is wonderful too.
    Thanks for a tour of your ornaments
    happy holidays!

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  19. Your boxer rebellion is wonderful...my DH would die if I made him anything like that...too bad cause I think it is great!

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  20. Your Boxer Rebellion quilt turned out just great, love those abs! I also loved the story and pics of your collection of decorations. May that glitter just keep on giving.

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  21. Hi Teresa--I love your "Boxer Rebellion" quilt--so humorous and I love the pieced blocks along with the appliqued ones..hope you have a joyous Christmas Julierose, La Blageuse

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  22. Congratulations with finishing the Boxer quilt. Loved seeing your decorations, and I am very impressed with your church choir! Rutter is not the easiest thing to sing!
    Jane

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  24. The boxer quilt is just the cutest! I love the colors and that POP of orange!

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  25. The boxer quilt is brilliant. The 6-pack abs are most impressive.

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  26. Your Boxer Rebellion is gorgeous! Learning history would have been much more interesting if I had been reading about yours rather than the historical rebellion! heehee

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