12 December, 2018

Snow, Outside and In!

Merry Christmas! Well, it's not like we didn't know it was coming. The snowmageddon event had been forecast for days. My daughter used this analogy earlier in the year as we awaited a hurricane: "it's like being stalked by a turtle".  Yes, we knew it was coming and we were as prepared as we could have been. The stores were depleted of milk, bread and toilet tissue last Friday. This was the scene outside our front door around 8 AM on Sunday morning. It snowed and snowed and then it snowed some more. Big, heavy, wet flakes driven by a biting wind. When it was all said and done; approximately twelve hours later, for us, we had a little over fourteen inches! That's a lot of snow for us here in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, and it's really unusual this early in December. The last snowfall nearing this accumulation, that I can remember, was on Christmas Day, 2010. It was, and still is, pretty. But it's a nuisance. Our city and surrounding area have pretty much shut down. The local county schools are still out, and will be tomorrow too. Luckily, our rural roads have been plowed and scraped and we're in pretty good shape if we need to get out. We did some shopping yesterday afternoon. The grocery stores have been hit hard and the shelves are still bare in spots, the delivery trucks aren't keeping up yet. Ah, winter in the south!

The one thing that I am exceedingly grateful for, above everything else, is the fact that we didn't lose power! Many weren't as lucky in that regard. On Monday I decided it was a good day to load Gregory's quilt and get it quilted up to give to him for Christmas. I trimmed up the backing and was left with this-- everywhere!
Hannes looks confused:  "what is this Mom, it's bad enough that everything is covered with snow outside!!"
"Oh, good, she got her snow shovel and cleaned it all up! Let's keep the flurries indoors to a minimum!"  You're probably wondering why a quilt backing would have produced snowdrifts of lint.
Here's why! A super-soft Minkee backing that is absolutely fur-like! This quilt is for the same grandson who requested a "Soft Quilt" (click for previous post) when he was four years old, he has very specific tactile requests when it comes to what he sleeps under. This one is so luxuriously soft that I cannot resist petting it with each advance onto the back roller. It is quilting up beautifully, too; with the quilting stitches sinking into the backing for an almost carved appearance. I do believe that he will be happy on Christmas morning. One more "snowy" trim after it comes off the rails and the binding will hold all of those flurries at bay forever. Thank goodness. Both Hannes and I have met our snow quota already-- both outside and in!

Life is Good!

3 comments:

LizA. said...

poor Hannes.....he needs some lessons from a couple Doodles on how to truly appreciate snow. The Doodles are jealous -- we've had a mere 1.5" so far this year and it's mostly gone now. Don't you just love Minky backed quilts! I just finished a Christmas one for a special niece.

Elita@Busy Needle Quilting said...

I'm waiting with bated breath for the snow that seems just out of reach here. I also love to touch a minkie backing. Cleaning up after it, not so much. :D Glad that you're safe & warm with electricity. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Janet O. said...

Very pretty snowy scene in your yard.
I haven't used Minky to back a quilt because of all the fuzz I was afraid would fly everywhere. But I do love how cozy and cuddly it feels. Your grandson will love it!