Hard Candy Christmas

That's the name I've come up with for my Christmas quilt.  As I look at it on my design wall, it reminds me of the hard candy so prevalent when I was small--ribbon candy and round flat disks with a design in the middle. The colors all sort of swirled around and that's what they do in this quilt.  So far, anyway.

I have enjoyed using my new Accuquilt GO! to cut.  By layering and using both fabrics, one run through cuts all the pieces for each block.  I've used fat quarters of the Sentiments fabric and some scraps of older fabrics I had in my stash that blended.  Each block is different.  

Here's one in progress:

And here are two as I ponder the sashing:

Here's a view of four of the five rows before I began adding the sashing:

Don't they remind you of that swirly candy?  I have three rows complete with sashing now and hope to have the whole top joined tomorrow.  Then there'll be the border fabric to decide on.  This whole quilt has been decided upon one step at a time, even though I did create a prototype in the quilt program part of my Explorations software.  (I gave myself permission to change the plan at each point, but it's turned out looking pretty much like I originally planned.)

Busy, Busy

Oh my goodness, I've just realized how long it's been since I've posted.  I was thinking it was only a few days, but it's been nine or ten.  We've been busy.

The house is decorated for Christmas except for the Christmas tree.  (My honey, being a forester, is not the least bit interested in an artificial tree, so in order for it to be fresh for Christmas, he doesn't cut one until a week or so before.)  Since we have the new furniture in the living room, it's been trial and error to decide where to places things.  I think I have it for now, but next week, who knows?  :-)

Bruder Bear is here!  He arrived tonight and will be with us until Monday morning.  He and his son JR will hunt with Dan for the next few days and it's so fun to have him here.  Here's hoping they'll have some luck, but no matter what, I know they'll have a good time.  

I'm doing some stitching in my sewing room.  I bought myself a little pre-Christmas present.  It's an AccuQuilt GO! fabric cutter like the one I used to make the quilt for a shop sample last spring, and I'm using dies to make 8" star blocks with the 3 Sisters Sentiments fabrics.  Oh, and the runner I made last month for the coffee table using that fabric?  Well, I decided it looked better on the dining room table so I'm thinking this new quilt will reside on our bed as originally planned.  As I mentioned above, it's been trial and error this year in the decorating department. . .  

Stay tuned!  I'll be back in a day or two with picture of the in-progress Christmas quilt!

A Little This and That

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we had a wonderful day down at my parents'.  We broke tradition and had ham instead of turkey and it was delicious.  Of course we had mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, and pumpkin and mince pies.  As usual, everyone complained about eating too much, but that's to be expected.  

On the Monday before Thanksgiving we enjoyed an overnight visit from grandson Keaton.  His school was out for the week but brother Cameron's was not, so Keaton was looking for a little "vacation" for a day or so. He and Papa Dan cleaned and filled the hot tub and Keaton enjoyed being the first one in this year.  (I suspect it wasn't quite as fun without a brother to splash around with, however.)  

In the evening I introduced him to a favorite site of mine, especially during the holidays.  Jigzone is an online jig saw puzzle site with many categories of puzzles, but my favorites are, of course, the Christmas ones.  You can change the cut and go from six pieces to one with about 276, so even if you've done a puzzle before, you can still be challenged by it.  Keaton loved it.  

Aebelskivers were requested for breakfast and this grammy was kept busy at the stove making strawberry jam filled yummies.  

By the time I was done it seemed as though a bomb had gone off (I seem to have dirtied every bowl and scraper in the kitchen, not to mention the liberal use of powdered sugar), but as Dan said, no one was hurt in the explosion.  :-)  We all ate until we were stuffed. Mmmmm....

Of course the trains came out and covered the living room floor.  Dan and Keaton were even able to diagnose and fix a problem with a special train I'd gotten for Dan years ago, and Keaton loved sending it chug-chugging down the track.  (It actually made that sound once we found a 9-volt battery to revive it's "voice".)  

Meanwhile, in the sewing room I came up with a little project to be used in this month's embroidery club that proved to be a hit.  We machine embroiders often have designs we love but just can't figure out what to do with. I was pondering this and all at once came up with an idea: stitch out a row of them, frame them with simple borders, and you have a perfect little accent for a wall or table.   I have a different one on display at the shop, but here's one I finished here at home.

This particular design is from an OESD pack called Holiday Luster.  Each design in the pack is one color, which makes it perfect for quick stitching.  

And last, in house news, we ordered the carpet for the stairs today!  They said there'd be no problem getting it done by Christmas!!  Yay!  

Dad's Quilt of Valor

I just received an email from the lady who made Dad's quilt and am pleased to share this picture.

The lady standing right beside Dad is Sallie Wilhelm, the one who pieced Dad's quilt, and the lady to the far left in the striped vest is the one who quilted it. On the right side, you can see some of the ladies in the hug line.  It's a lovely big quilt and also came with a matching pillowcase to be used as a storage case.  Those ladies do wonderful work!  

New Table Runner? Check!

Ohh, I can't tell you how much I love this new runner! The fabric is so gorgeous (Sentiments by 3 Sisters for Moda) and the pattern (Waffletime by Atkinson Designs) is perfect when you have a beautiful focus fabric you don't want to cut into small pieces.  

It's a perfect fit for the coffee table and I can hardly wait to have it there for Christmas.  I have more of the fabric and plan to make a throw quilt.  My first plan (before the table runner came on my radar) was to have the quilt as an accent for our bed for the holidays, but now I may want to use it in the living room.  Of course, it has be made first!  :-)

I have two embroidery clubs to teach today, so I'm off to get ready.  Happy Thursday, friends and family!  

Veteran's Day

I can't believe I forgot my camera (yes, I can--as my mom says, it's a family affliction), but I did.  Today Dan and I drove my parents to a Quilts of Valor presentation where Dad was one of twenty veterans to receive a special quilt.  Dad's is beautiful, all done in red, white and blue log cabin blocks surrounding a center panel with an eagle.  It's very fitting as he was a member of the 101st Airborne, known as the Screaming Eagles.  Dad's quilt was made by a lady who worked for him many years ago and he's always had a special place in her heart, so it was doubly special for both of them.  

The program was short and sweet, with emphasis on giving the quilts to the veterans.  They started with WWII veterans, and Dad was the first up.  They show the quilt and then there is a "Hug Line" composed of ladies who made the quilts.  I wasn't sure how Dad would react to this, but he headed down that line and gave each of those ladies a big hug and received one in return, and there were at least a dozen of them, probably closer to fifteen or sixteen.  It was fun to watch.  (I still can't believe I forgot my camera!!!)

When all the presentations had been made, and they included quilts for some veterans who have just returned home, there were refreshments and I'm here to tell you it was a cookie lover's (Dad!) dream.  It was at an American Legion hall, so I don't know if they were responsible or if the quilt ladies did it, but they did themselves proud.  

We took Mom and Dad home and spread his new quilt out on the sofa to admire it.  There's a huge machine embroidered label on the back (probably 8 1/2 by 11") with Dad's name, his dates of service, branch, etc., and the names of the ladies who pieced and quilted it.  As Mom said, it's a family heirloom.  

What a wonderful way to celebrate Veteran's Day.

Winter's Sending A Little Hint...

The view out my dining room window just a few minutes ago:

And I have to say, except for walking very carefully, I love it!  So beautiful.  Meanwhile, Dan just finished the trim around the entryway windows and is tearing off the old trim around the door in preparation for putting up matching trim.  New door will come later, but for now, the entryway is getting ready for the holidays!  I need to see about carpet for the stairs this week.  Note to self:  Do it!!