Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Minis and More

The month is quickly drawing to a close and it is nearly time for the newest Minis and More Parade.  This month we were free to make any mini quilt that we wanted.  I decided to branch out and make a mini quilt as a table runner for Christmas.  Playing off the idea of my Silent Night quilt in my last post, I chose to put a different song in my head.  I looked up the music for Joy to the World and went with that.



This time I added the words with machine embroidery.  I thought the music fabric went well with the pattern.



Be sure to check out all of the other fun minis on the first of the month with Michele and Sherri.  I'm looking forward to seeing the choices that were made this month.

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I had a request for another tooth fairy pillow for another granddaughter - in "pink".  These measure about 6x7".  I have it personally from numerous tooth fairies that a larger size is best for finding under the pillows in the dark!


Now I need to get busy with a Christmas stocking for the newest baby in the family.  Needless to say, I have a ways to go on it.


We celebrate our Thanksgiving this coming Saturday and from then on it will be busy times around here.  Next week is changing the house over to Christmas to get ready for our big Christmas dinner - adults only -  the following Saturday.  I will be popping in to blogs periodically, but I may not surface for a few weeks.

I wish all of you in the U.S. a blessed Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be thankful for in our lives.  Enjoy your wonderful feasts.
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Thursday, November 19, 2015

Silent Night

Remember my little glimpse of Christmas sewing that I showed in my last post?  Well.....it is now finished and I LOVE it.  Let me present to you my Silent Night.


There was a lot of applique of those little notes....


.....and letters.....



.....and stars, but worth every stitch.


It is 52x63" and is a pattern from Seams and Dreams called Silent Night Quilt.
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Monday, November 16, 2015

Fall

Fall is definitely here for us with cooler temperatures and changing colors.  The fall lighting with the long shadows is always so interesting.

We visited with one of our son's families this weekend and enjoyed seeing the colors of the grape vines along our way.


It was a gorgeous weekend ahead of the storm that moved through on Sunday afternoon.



Yesterday was a blustery day with wind and "sprinkles".  It was perfect for a warm fire, comfort food cooking and a little stitching.

I sewed up a few blocks for this month's Block Lotto party.  I do love sewing these x&+ blocks.




I got a jump start on this Christmas pattern.  I fell in love with the pattern when I saw it at my LQS.  I hope to show you more in the next post.



Fall is a great time for cooking.  With all of the holiday cooking coming up,  the kitchen will soon smell heavenly all of the time.  To me there is nothing like the smell of bread baking.  It warms my heart as well as the room!!!!




Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week?  That means Christmas is right behind.  It will soon be 2016.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Trunk Full of Quilts

There hasn't been much sewing going on around here so this is the perfect time to show some old favorites.  Soma of Whims and Fancies is hosting a Trunk Show event on her blog.  Soma is a very talented pattern designer, photographer and artist as well as a great blogger.  She has some terrific sponsors for her trunk show with some great prizes so be sure to check it out and join in on the fun.   It runs until November 18th.


As quilters/sewers we will find any reason to create a quilt.  I have made quilts for each of the grandchildren when they were welcomed into our family - all twenty nine of them.  These are a couple of my favorites over the years.





Of course, there are many reasons to make quilts......

birthdays......


weddings....


....and to offer comfort and donate to charities.




When we run out of beds to cover, there are always walls in need of "warmth".





No more wall space?????  How about table decorations?




Placemats too....




Oh.....and let's not forget our little quilts for our coffee mugs.





To me, sewing has been a joy in my life since I was very young.  Initially it was all about sewing for my dolls and then garment sewing.  I loved designing and sewing my own clothes.  I made my own wedding dress as well as all of my bridesmaid's dresses.....yes, this was back in the 60s so the photo is a bit faded.



Nowadays, I enjoy sewing for the grandchildren and have found a true love in quilting.  This has  been a snapshot of my life of sewing.  Thanks for sharing it with me.
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Friday, October 30, 2015

Twinkle Blocks

I've had some fun this week sewing some of this month's Block Lotto blocks.  I must say that they looked a bit complicated, but really went up beautifully with the Tri Recs tool.  I also like the black background that was called for this month.  I'd love to see these set on point in a quilt.




I've spent my sewing time this week with a pile of mending and "have to do" sewing, but it feels good to have it done.  I did get a bit of fun sewing in with a couple of trick or treat bags for the littlest ones here.



We took some of the little ones to the pumpkin patch this week and had a great time.



We continue to celebrate October birthdays here.  I had a request from one of the granddaughters for a princess cake.  The problem was that she wanted one of our family's favorite cakes which is a yellow cake with hot fudge drizzled over the top.  I usually make it in a rectangular pan.  I decided to get creative and made a bundt cake, stuck a doll in it and make a gathered skirt to cover the plain cake.  Then when we served it we just removed the doll, sliced the cake and drizzled the chocolate over each piece.  It worked out perfectly.


The birthday girl was pleased.  That's what matters.


Over the weekend we attended the children's school gala at the Reagan Library.  It was a spectacular evening for the event and dinner was served underneath Air Force One.  It was quite impressive to look up at the massive plane above the table.




View looking up from our table.  
The very talented Soma from Whims and Fancies is going to be hosting a "Trunk Full of Quilts" event on her blog in November.  Pop over and check out a way that you can share your favorite quilts that you have completed over the years.


After RNG selected two "no reply" comments from my recent Halloween Haunts blog hop, I have finally notified the winner - Angelia (no blog).  Hopefully, I will hear back from her soon.

Have a safe and happy Halloween.
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Sunday, October 25, 2015

Halloween Haunts 2015



Welcome!  First of all, I would like to thank Marian of Seams to be Sew for our Halloween Blog Hop.  Many of us have really missed our great hops and it is a thrill to see so many "old friends" have signed up and have been sharing their incredible projects.  Halloween has always been a holiday that I love.  To me, it is a "kick-off" into the fall with Thanksgiving and Christmas right behind.  So.....Happy Fall Y'All!



While I do decorate with Halloween quilts around my house, my project to share with you today does not involve quilting.  Years ago my dad was in the hospital around Halloween and I made him something to decorate his room.  Since then I have done the project many times with the grandchildren.  So....here we go.....
These are the ones I made in the early 1990s

Grab a few drinking cups in two different sizes.  You will also need starch or white school glue, paper towels, a toothpick, a styrofoam ball (I used a 2 1/2 inch one), spray paint and items to decorate your witch or ghost.



Take your bigger cup and turn it upside down.  You are going to take four paper towels and soak them in undiluted starch or a school glue that is diluted about 1/2 and 1/2.  Drape the four towels over the paper cup - arranging them in a pleasant manner.


Take your small cup and place it on the top, gently pushing it down to mold the top to accept it.


Remove the top cup and allow the paper towels to dry completely.  They will become stiff.  I let mine sit overnight.

The next day apply a bit of glue to the inside lip of the small cup and place it on top of the dried first cup.  Continue to soak and drape four more paper towels over the top of the small cup - just like you did with the first cup.  Arranging the drapes in a pleasant manner.


Again.....allow to dry completely.

For the witch you will need to take the toothpick and insert a small portion of it into the styrofoam ball to form a nose.  Make it as long as you want.  Omit this step for the ghost.


Place a bit of glue on top of the small cup and attach the ball with the nose in the appropriate spot. Again.....drape four more soaked paper towels over the top of the ball, molding them around the toothpick and draping downwards.  You will now wrap a rubber band or some sort of string around the base of the ball to form a neck.


Thoroughly dry.

Now for the fun part.  Remove the rubber band.  Spray paint as desired.  I used black for the witch and white for the ghost, but I am sure a hot pink ghost would be perfect too.  ;-)  Decorate as desired.

Dressed for a night on the town.
Be sure to visit my fellow "hoppers" for today and sign in to the Rafflecopter on any blog for a chance to win a great gift from the Fat Quarter Shop.


As well, I have a small giveaway for the fall season.  It is a grouping of six fall fat quarters.  Please leave a comment below and I will select a winner at the end of the hop.



                                         Featured Haunts On Monday October 26
                                              Beads & Birds
                                              Needled Mom
                                              Fun Threads
                                              Pampered Petit
                                              Vrooman’s Quilts
                                               Grandmama's Stories

Happy Halloween!



A full list of all of the participants is included below.  You can still go back and check out their blogs and get some great ideas for Halloween decorating as well as enter their giveaways.  Also, be sure to stop at Marian's blog, Seams to Be Sew, to enter her pattern contest, collect today's pattern and vote on today's projects.


Featured Haunts On Wednesday October 21
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