January's End

I am so pleased to announce that all my Christmas things are put away!  Well, except for the little tree vignette in the downstairs hallway (seen in this post).  I can't quite bear to take it down yet as it brightens the basement so, but that's okay because all those things go in a different spot for storage anyway.     

I must say, it is kind of nice to have all that behind me and the house back to normal.  Of course, my normal tends toward red and green anyway.  The dining room table is the the only spot that's in a holiday mood--the new kitschy Valentine runner is there with the appropriately colored M&M's.  

I asked daughter Ann if she'd like a Valentine runner and took one over today; it's the one I made two years ago with charm squares using a disappearing nine-patch pattern.  Ann sent me an email this evening saying she loves it and it makes her smile every time she sees it. Yay!  Perfect for her house and that makes me smile.  

I watched little Daniel this afternoon and after he woke up from his nap we enjoyed watching a couple of Curious George videos on the DVR.  He snuggled in next to me with his sippy cup of milk and his snack cup full of Brown Sugar and Maple Frosted Mini Wheats.  What a wonderful afternoon!  

Shuffle, Ponder, Shuffle...Sigh

Yup, that's me doing all that work!  Hey, when you shuffle from a major holiday back to everyday life, it's work!!  It always takes me a while to take Christmas down, no surprises there, but I thought I'd try some Valentine decorating now.  If you've been a reader for a while, you know I made some new Valentine runners last year, and I have a quilt with pinks and browns that I made two years ago.  And then there's the new furniture in the living room...

So after working at the shop until one, I came home and decided today was the day.  (I'm tempted to put those last four words in all caps, but I'm refraining.)  I started gathering Christmas things and piling them in the hall and by the stairs.  Lots of every day things are stashed around the house in cupboards and in closets, so I started replacing.  And shuffling, and getting out those Valentine runners.  And pondering.  And shuffling some more.  And pondering.  And then...sighing.  

Guess what?  I'm not a pink person.  I'm a dark red, dark green and cream kind of person.  I've kept the newest runner (see last post) out on the dining room table, but the rest?  They've gone back in the closet.  Perhaps they'll become gifts, or perhaps another year I'll feel more "pink", but for now, (cuing Sammy Davis, Jr.) I Gotta Be Me.  

There.  I feel so much better now.  

Tomorrow, maybe I'll get the boxes out of the basement closet and finish up.  Or maybe I'll have an energy boost and do it in a little while.  

Table Runners

A confession.  I love table runners!  I love to make them, I love the look of them!  Itty bitty little quilts, scattered here and there on the tops of tables.  As a quilter, I get a lot of bang for my little buck--not much fabric, not much work, lots of color and comfort.  What a deal!

Before Christmas I made up a new pattern, Waffle Time by Atkinson Designs, in the Moda Sentiments Christmas fabrics and it was just right.  I made it for our new coffee table, but in the end, it wasn't right there.  However, it was just right on the dining room table.  

I decided that to justify my purchase of the pattern, I should make another runner.  With the new living room furniture, the need for more runners is obvious.   (Smile) Since Valentine's Day is coming up, a runner for the holiday seemed a logical choice.  I found a couple of matching prints in the shop's mark-down area (Free Spirit's Valentine print from several years ago) and said, "Sold!"  The fabric features those conversational hearts so reminiscent of grade school Valentine's parties. I added some mottled red and pink fabrics, and last night finished this:

Kinda like going from classic to kitsch, but there you have it!  It's a versatile pattern, and this new runner will look great with a big bowl of pink and red peanut M&M's!  Or maybe a bowl of those hearts.  :-)

Taking Down the Christmas Tree

I know, most people have long had their trees down, but that's not me.  I savor Christmas long after the actual day is gone.  After all, Jesus is always with us, so there's no end to the results of that long ago Christmas day. But today, the day had come to take this year's tree down. It was getting dry and Buddy, the cat, has been having a field day with the ornaments.  Time to give up.

And so Dan brought up the boxes and I began to remove the ornaments, one by one.  Most of our ornaments are hand-made.  We do have some glass balls and bells, boxes that my far-sighted sweetie bought after Christmas in 1971, just before our wedding, in anticipation of years to come.  (Just another reason I love him!) 

As I took down each ornament, I thought about its history with our family.  Here's an ornament my longtime friend Kathy made for me when we were still in high school (and that's a few years ago!).  Her family's tree was loaded with beautiful ornaments such as these:

Here's a special one to me; my dad wrote his name and the date on it back in 1958 and my brother wrote his name and the date in 1972.  Mom gave it to me as a special Christmas gift a few years ago and I cherish it.

Next up is a small red bell that harkens back to Dan's childhood.  There was once a green one, too, but after his mom's passing, the red one was the only one we found.  It must always go near the top of our tree each year.

This next one was made by one of our kids when they were quite little, probably in Sunday School, but we can't remember which one made it.  It wouldn't be Christmas with out this little red bird in an egg carton cup.

This year's tree was shorter than most.  Dan ran out of time to get to the woods and a friend in a nearby town volunteered one he had in an old Christmas tree plantation.  It worked just fine, as you can see from this photo below taken on Christmas Eve.

Today, as it made its last impression, it looked like this:

It was a good and faithful tree.  And it's only eleven months until a new one will make its appearance. There's comfort in that.  

And It's On The Bed!

I did it!  It's Tuesday night and Hard Candy Christmas in on our bed!  I gotta say I love it.  And Dan told me a few minutes ago, after he noticed it on the bed, that he loves it.  I call that a win-win.

And it's all ready for next Christmas!  :-)

Winter Beauty...and an Almost Done Quilt

The days have been so gorgeous!  Winter, wearing her most beautiful lace dress, has graced us with her presence for days and it's been so lovely.  Here's a shot of morning breaking a few days ago:

In the dark days of January, having snow on the ground makes the days so much brighter.  Today it's been snowing the type of flakes that make us feel like we're in the middle of the snow globe and it's making us smile.  

Meanwhile, Hard Candy Christmas finally made it to the quilting machine and all that's needed now is the binding! I'm debating between the same fabric as the last border or using the green from the sashing.  I want to get started this afternoon so I'll have to decide soon.

Right now I'm leaning toward the green as I think it will give it a nice finish.  I'm a very pokey hand sewer, so it will be a day or so before I'm finally done, but done I should be by Tuesday night!  (And since I still have all my Christmas decorations up, I can put it on our bed and it'll fit right in!)

Happy New Year!

I know I just wrote yesterday, but I did want to wish my readers a blessed and happy new year!  I was reminded of this verse by a friend earlier today, so I want to share it:

‎"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." --Philippians 3:13-14

Aren't we thankful we can always begin again? And it doesn't even have to be a new year.  :-)