Christmas Is a Comin’

This is where I spent all Wednesday afternoon, out on the deck having coffee with Santa.  It was in the mid-70s, the sun was out and I was able to finish one book and start another.  What a great way to begin the week before Christmas.




The night before we had dinner theater.  One of our family traditions, and our favorite, is Magoo’s Christmas Carol.  Even without the children here (ages 44-50) we still sing along and anticipate the funniest part, seen above.  We are watching one Christmas show every night: it is a way to enjoy our old traditions in a current way.



On the quilting front, I completed all of Step 4 of Easy Street and got them sewn onto Step 2.




I even got the green fabric cut into 3 1/2” squares, ready to use in the next step.  I really don’t enjoy the cutting part but spacing it out a week apart seems to make it not so bad.

 

After I got all that sewing and cutting done, I boxed everything up and put it away until Friday.


I did do some additional sewing.  I have begun the applique on my teapots.  My usual applique technique is a small zig-zag with invisible thread.  This time I am using the button-hole stitch with a coordinating thread.  I got one done and am in the middle of the second one.  I will be showing them on Monday.
Have a great week.  Don’t get too cold or blown away by the storm that is right now crossing the country.  Gari

Fun in Alabama

Up first is my design wall with Step 4 of Easy Street.  I have a few of the units done, including being attached to Step 2, and the rest of Step 4 half done.  I would have had them all done Sunday but a trip to Pizza Hut for a taco pizza completely derailed me.



This time I was able to put yellow and orange together in the same unit: again my two favorite colors, united.


But I didn’t start working on Easy Street until Saturday afternoon because I had started a new project.

These are two placemats designed by Sindy of Fatcat Patterns.  And she is offering it free this month. 


I prepared the applique on Friday and did the quilting on Saturday.



One of the differences between the two are the packages where I reversed the fabric.  Also, I bound one in green and the other in red.




I did circles overall but did more specific quilting on this motif which is part of the fabric.

Last Monday I finished wrapping all the gifts we are sending and mailed all but the ones to my mother.  Her’s I will mail this week insuring that they arrive closer to Christmas.  The reason?  Well, she tends to open them as soon as she gets them and I hope to have them there for her on Christmas, or at least as close as I can get to it.  Now all I have left to wrap is the ones to DH.  I have his hidden in the studio so part of today will be wrapping, again. 

Yesterday we shopped for our Christmas tree.  We have a great artificial, lighted one but there is currently no room for a tree in the living room.  That great tree is now brightening our deck: it looks great.  So Sunday we bought a 3 1/2 ‘ Norfolk Pine which is sitting at one end of our dining table.  And there are even a couple of gifts, wrapped, under it.  Almost every day more and more signs of Christmas appear in our house: it is really beautiful here, inside and out.
Oh, have you seen the New Year’s Mystery at Longarm University?  It is a picture quilt to be pieced prior to New Year’s Day and then quilting lessons will be given out throughout the day.  I have done one of her quilts/lessons and it was great.  This quilt, I think, would make a great wallhanging behind our Christmas Village next year so I am thinking about signing up.  Want to join me?
I will be linking to Patchwork Times and Quiltville.  Stop by and see what lots of other people are doing.

A New Man at Our House

A few weeks ago, while going through the many catalogs of “stuff” one can buy for Christmas I came across this mannequin.  I set the picture aside and decided that when the holidays were over and my bank account was somewhat replenished, I would get him for our front porch.  Then later I was telling my mother about him and she offered to buy him for me for my birthday.  And I jumped on that offer and here he is.  I have already been shopping for clothes for him (he is 6’ and slim: doesn’t fit in our family at all).  Anyway, I was going to get him a Santa suit but this isn’t the time of year to find one in the second hand shops so all he got was a hat.


Then last evening DD and SIL came over with an older suit he no longer is using when he plays Santa for the groups and kids around town.  Of course they forgot the pants so I am calling him a Redneck Santa, at least for now.  He really looks great welcoming us home.



DH even contributed some reading glasses in case Santa gets bored sitting out there watching the birds.  This new man in my life is called Fred: I’m not sure why but it just seemed to fit.








In addition to getting Fred set up on the outside, I have been wrapping gifts on the inside.  Almost every surface was covered with wrapping paper, boxes, and gifts: what a mess.



And help was always there when I needed it.  But I did get the job done and gifts were even put in the mail.  I wrote on Facebook that I love making gifts and even enjoy shopping for them but I really don’t like wrapping them.  I am always glad when that part of the season is over.



Last night we had a visit from our great grandson, Sky.  He is 4 and just the right size for our miniature daschund, 
Sadie.






And, finally, I was able this morning to get back into the studio.  This is the beginning of two placemats from the same designer as my Funky Chickens.  I really am a little further done than this but I didn’t get a picture so will show more on Monday.

Have a great week and weekend.  Gari

Quilting and Family

I don’t believe it, but I am still all caught up with Easy Street.  I will say that even though some people may not think that 2” pieces are not small, they seem pretty small to me.  And to sew the bias edges, over and over and over again, is really tedious.  However, this Step 3 came out Friday, I had the pieces all cut Saturday and all sewn Sunday. 



64 of these segmants
and we still don’t have any idea what we will be doing with them.



But this is what is on my design wall today: all 12 Funky Chickens.  I am so in love with these chickens, they may just live on that wall for the next month.




And here is Chicken #12.  Isn’t she pretty?  I hear her saying “Don’t tell me I am the last one!”








And the last thing I got done last week was December’s Teapot.  I have had this fat quarter of fabric for a long time and love it for a teapot.  I wish I had more of it: I can see that it would work great on a kids quilt.  Oh, well.







Family:

On Thursday our daughter received her pin for completing RN school.  She has been working as an LPN for the past 3 years and soon, after taking and passing the Nursing Board exam, she will begin her career as an RN.  We are so proud of her!




I made her this quilt as a graduation gift and surprised her with it at the graduation.




I bought the nurse fabric when she started back to school but didn’t start the quilt until this last semester.







And, this was the first time I have quilted with Minky fabric and it quilted like a dream.

I am linking up with Patchwork Times, What a Hoot, and Quiltville. 
Have a great week.  Gari

Fun Week

Last night DH and I attended a concert called Joy at the Beach directed by Karen, a friend from my working days.  The singing group was formed following Hurricane Ivan, which devastated the Pensacola Beach area, as a way of healing and a promise of rejuvenation.  They have been presenting musical programs now for 7 years.  It was a fun and refreshing program.  And, based on the audience, Christmas is not just for children!


While in Pensacola we made our obligatory stop at Dunkin.   As usual they had cool stuff for sale and we had to get this, a DD t-shirt.  Now I admit that I don’t like Starbucks coffee (too bitter) but I found this really funny and so two of them came home with us. 



Today I added something to our Christmas village scene.  It is the quilt on the right, a feathered star quilt top I finished 2-3 years ago and still haven’t quilted it.  I was very annoyed with the big blank blue wall and remembered that I had this “star” quilt that would just fit that space.  What is funny is that Flight School, the quilt on the left, was first hung as a flimsy and then quilted after that Christmas.  Maybe that bodes well for the Feathered Star. 



Several times a day I walk in the woods with these two dogs.




Note that although we are all walking in the same woods, two of us are going in two different directions.  Sometimes I feel like I am being pulled apart: did you know that doxies are VERY strong?



Sometimes they pull together, a lot like sled dogs (and I am the sled).  We all get our exercise when we go for a walk in the woods.



But besides the exercise we are always running into beautiful things hiding out in our wonderful woods.



But lest you think that life is all travel, music, decorating, puppies, and wood walks, I have been sewing.  Here you see the results of having ALL of Step 1 and Step 2 of Bonnie Hunter’s Easy Street Mystery DONE!!  And it is only Wednesday.  I even had time to draw the Teapot BOM for December and to pick out the fabric. 
I will be on the road again tomorrow but will be back for the Step 3 unveiling on Friday. 

Little Pieces on the Design Wall

This is all that is on my Design Wall today: one segment from Step 1 and Step 2 of Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter.  I have 196 4 patch segments made (Step 1) and 32 of the 123 Flying Geese (Step 2) done.  Right now I am caught up but lets see where I am on Friday when we get Step 3. 




I did  finally get the ornaments on the 12 Days of Christmas quilt.  Here it is hanging over the fireplace and mixed in with some of our other Christmas decorations.





This was a BOM-mystery from a couple of years ago, offered by Esther Aliu.  What a challenge it was: diamond shaped pieced blocks, very small applique, large applique requiring custom quilting.  Yet, it is one of my very favorite quilts.




On Saturday I went to a meeting of sewing friends and then visited 3 quilts shops on my way home. I went looking for black on white fabrics to add to my Easy Street stash.  Here is what I found at two of the shops.  The one I really like the best is the dotted fabric on the upper left (I bought more of it than the rest).




I also found some batiks (surprise, surprise) on sale at the first shop.  This came as a kit for a pattern but I will probably use them differently as I rarely follow patterns.




And at the last shop I found these batiks on sale.  If you have read my blog for any time you already know that I have a passion for batiks so there was no way I could pass these up?


This week I hope to finish Step 2 of Easy Street, begin my last Funky Chicken block, plan the 5th teapot fabric, and at least print the foundations for Carol Doak’s mystery.  And since it has been in the low 70s, with sunshine, around here, I will be making room for some reading on the deck.  This looks like it is going to be a busy week.

Birthday Month is Over…..:-(

First I need to say “thank you” to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday.  Every one of those comments made me smile.
My official birthday was Wednesday and my first gift was that my husband took the day off from work to spend it with me.  He took me out to breakfast and then we headed to Mobile, AL.
Lunch was at Red Lobster where I had this:

This is a seafood bowl containing crab legs, garlic shrimp, scallops, corn and potatoes.  Oh, my, this was good.  And because there was so much of it, I have half at home and I get to eat tomorrow.





From there we headed to Bellingrath Gardens, just southeast of Mobile.   Bellingrath is the former mansion and grounds of a one time Coca-Cola executive. 




Look at these Christmas Cactus’.  There were several of them, each over 2’ wide and in many different colors.



Here I am in the poinsettia garden.  This was just as we were starting what turned out to be a 3 1/2 mile walk through the gardens.












There were mums everywhere and the Christmas lights started coming on as we walked.



The lights were beautiful nestled among the plants,









And became more beautiful as it grew darker.

Christmas lights at the Chinese gardens in Bellingrath.

These pictures don’t do these displays justice and remember we walked  and walked through miles of lights.  It was beautiful and wonderful.








But don’t think I haven’t been sewing.

I have made 100 of these little 4 patches: only 92 more to go.  And, unfortunately, a second step in this Easy Street mystery comes out tomorrow.  Oh, my, I’m behind already.


Better get to bed so I will be ready to get back to the quilting salt mines tomorrow.
Good night!