Christmas is Coming

....the goose is getting fat.  Poor goose!

The blogs are so exciting with all of the Christmas decorating showing up.  I really enjoy seeing all of the creative ideas out there.  Does everyone else too?

I started to put a few things out yesterday.  I hung my Christmas Cactus quilt and I love it.  I think I have shown the completed top last winter, but here it is bound and hanging.   It will be such a nice addition to our future Christmas decorating.

To see more great Christmas quilts check out SewCalGal.

We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Saturday which is our tradition.   I had lots of help from the family - especially my dear hubby who cooked the turkeys, made the gravy, stuffing and potatoes.  It was delicious and I told him I might relinquish the job to him in the future!!!!

Lots of directing going on.

Some of the grandchildren came over and set tables and did prepping of veggies.  Thank goodness for a wonderful gang of help!

Grandpa overseeing the process.

Part of the gang for Thanksgiving.  The rest came later after a soccer playoff game and church.

Our son's new family member.

Not much quilting going on here unless a quilted jigsaw puzzle counts.  Can you tell I am bored?

It will be nice to get this cast off so I can use scissors, knives and rotary cutters again, but I am able to use the fingers more now that the swelling and pain has subsided.  Yeah!  The bad hair days remain!!!!

This was what we enjoyed this morning.  You know it's going to be a great day when it starts like this.

Keep up with all the great Christmas decorating as I am loving it!

A Pause

There is a wonderful 11-11-11 Linky party for mini quilts going on today.   I have always enjoyed doing mini quilts because they offer you a chance to work on a technique that you might not want to attempt in a full sized quilt.  In my dreams I have always thought about doing a red and green Pineapple quilt to display at Christmas.  Years ago I did this little mini (14") and stopped with the top.  This week I did the quilting on it and put the binding on.  It will have to do until I get that big one done.

I had great hopes of a nice post today with lots of fun stuff, but it isn't going to happen because I am celebrating autumn with the fun color of orange...as in a cast.  Boo hoo! 

 That's what happens when one steps off a curb and catches their foot between the curb and a rubber tire all the while trying not to fall and seriously break something!!!!  Do you think I will tire of orange in six weeks?  Maybe I should have gotten red for Christmas.  I apologise in advance that I will not be able to comment as I can only chicken pick at the keys.  Know, however, that I will be reading your blogs.  I must focus on what I am able to do and not what I cannot as we enter the busy season of Thanksgiving and Chritmas.

A million thanks goes out to all of our wonderful veterans today as we celebrate Veteran's Day.  They all do an amazing job of keeping us safe and free.  THANK YOU!!!!

Fall

The days are definitely shorter and darker.  From the weather channel it sounds like it has been an early winter for many across the states.  This morning I was out wandering in the gardens and noticed several plants that are very un-fallish.  I have a couple of iris that are typically spring bloomers showing their pretty colors this autumn.

I am looking forward to next year's bloom as I have added a few more to the plantings.  Alice was digging up some of her plants and asked me if I would like some.  I look forward to seeing them come to life and bring fond thoughts as I remember her each year.

As well the roses are putting out what will probably be their last flush of blooms before I prune them next month. 

The bougainvillea is also gorgeous along the fence right now.  These are definitely great drought plants as the less water they get, the more they bloom.

Halloween was exceptionally quiet this year.  I doubt that we even had ten trick or treaters and half of those were a bit old to be out.  There is just something about handing out candy to kids with beard stubbles that does not make my day!!!  We always have our children and grandchildren over for soup and chili dogs before they head off to a few of the neighbors who know them.  It's tough to get a picture of all of them as everyone is too excited about getting out or eating their stash. 

I received my ALQS6 swap mini quilt in the mail this week.  It came from Misha (no blog) in Washington state.  I absolutely love it.  The colors are fantastic and her work is just spectacular.  The irregular shape is so wonderful.  I wish she had a blog so we could all follow her.

Also in the mail I received a package from Jill of some great novelty prints and some selvages.  Slowly, but surely I am getting enough selvages for a good selvage project.  There are so many wonderful things to be done with them and I am excited about giving them a go.

I had picked up a kit at the last guild meeting and finished it up this week so I can return it this week.  It is all flannel and so soft.  Some little one will love it.

As well I had a Christmas panel from Timeless Treasures that I made into a lap quilt for the Christmas season.  I will donate this one to the grandchildren's school for their auction later this month.

The week has flown by again and it is hard to imagine that we are already into November.  Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is right behind.  Do we all have a million projects left to finish before then??????