Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas to Everyone

Coffee Break
Santa stopped by this past week for a little coffee and talk.  It was so nice to see him able to relax on the deck even at this very busy time of the year.









But since I had all of my Christmas gifts either bought or made I was able to have this on my design wall.
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All of the yellow and orange are steps 2, 4 and 5 of Easy Street.  I can’t express how excited I was when I finished step 5 on the day it was introduced.  I have never been so caught up.


3.5 inch squares
I also have a bunch of 3 1/2” green squares cut but Bonnie said we didn’t need them yet.  Well, then, why did she have us cut them up?     Oh, yea, probably because eventually we will be sewing them to something else and, yippee, I’ll be ready.
Also on the wall are two of my teapot BOMs.  I finally began the applique process, doing the blanket stitch this time.


2 teapots
The teapot on the right is upside down, showing the stitching only.  It’s kind of cool to see just the outline, don’t you think?  On the left is my pretty flower teapot, the one where the spout was so light it almost disappeared into the background.


flower teapot
But look how great it looks when outlined by the thread.  I used the buttonhole on all but the “shading’’ pieces where I used a small zigzag.










dots teapot
It’s harder to see the stitching on this one because it is black and blends in so much better.







dots handle
You can see some of the stitches here but I can tell you that it is not easy to stitch on those little pieces.  The light gray shading on this handle was one piece of fabric under the black handle but it still needed to be stitched….oh, my.


dots shading
And this shading was done using the same fabric as the pot but I darkened it with a fabric pen. 

These teapot have been so much fun.


After all that sewing I spent the weekend having lunch with my daughter and great grandson, shopping alone (with no buying Crying face) and then shopping with DH and buying (he is a really bad influence on me).

Today is Christmas Eve.  DH and I will spend the evening opening the gifts that have been sent by our families who live far away.  We will eat chili and watch old videos of Christmas’ past and remember when it was much noisier  around our house.  On Christmas day we will have a late breakfast (blueberry pancakes)and open our gifts to each other.  We will also spend time remembering that on this day we celebrate the birth of Christ, our savior.   What a wonder to live in a country where we are allowed to celebrate and share our faith: we are so blessed.

Merry Christmas!

Linking with Patchwork Times, Quiltville, and What a Hoot.

EDIT!!  Look what Santa brought us this morning.  Meet Elsa.  Doesn't she look happy to be here?  She is our 8th grandchild, second granddaughter and we are so excited.


17 comments:

Donna said...

Congratulations! What a wonderful Christmas gift! Love the teapots. Have a Merry Christmas!

Quilter Kathy said...

Your design wall looks so fun, as always!
So exciting that Santa brought you a new grandbaby for Christmas...congrats!

Kerri said...

Love the orange and yellow combo. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Judy D in WA said...

Awww, Congratulations. I cannot think of a more perfect gift.

Your Easy Street pieces look great. LOVE the teapots! Santa sitting on the deck makes me smile.

Great Day in the Morning said...

Proud of you Gari! Didn't get my Part 5 finished until Saturday afernoon. Besides those green squares (mine are red) that we've already cut, we also have those 64 1-1/2" x 3" black & white rectangles we went ahead and cut in Part 2 that go somewhere later. I haven't even tried to figure out where all of this is gonnna go. But I'm getting anxious for the final step that will tell us.

Also, congratulations on your new granddaughter!

Debbie Lou said...

Congratulations! What a beautiful Christmas gift! Love you block colors and the teapots are adorable. Thanks for sharing!

Lynette said...

A new baby! :D Can't get a better Christmas gift than that. :D Your pots look terrific! The red outlining really made the spout pop perfectly. And yeah - I can't imagine stitching around those tiny spaces.

Teresa in Music City said...

Congratulations on the new grandbaby! You win the prize for best Christmas present :*D Love your teapots - you're doing a great job on them! The stitching really enhances them a lot. And you are doing much better than I am on Easy Street. But I'm hoping to catch up soon!

Aunt Sister said...

Gari, you are doing Alabama proud! I have just started stitching the four-patches! Congratulations on grand number two, what a great Christmas present. Christy Horton in N. AL

Amy said...

Sunshiny bright colors for your Easy Street! FUN!!!

Melinda said...

Congratulations on a new Christmas baby! Your Bonnie blocks look great!

Jasper's Cottage said...

those teapots are adorable...Elsa is too. Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your new grandchild! She looks robust and healthy - just perfect. The Easy Street pieces look fabulous all laid out on your design wall. Merry Christmas.

Pam in Texas said...

Congratulations on your special arrival. What a gift.

Dar said...

What a nice Christmas surprise. Your granddaughter looks like she is announcing to the world that she is finally here! Congrats to you and the parents. Love your teapots. When I get more caught up I'll have to take a picture of a quilt I made using teapots. Not the same style as yours, but fun. You are way passed me on Easy Street. Hope I can catch up this week. Hope your Christmas is the best ever.

Andee said...

Love how you changed up the colors!

Kate said...

Congratulations on the new granddaughter! Love the teapots and the colors you've choosen for Easy Street.