One.... (and zero....)

I hope you're ready!!! Christmas Eve is here! While most of you may be waiting for tomorrow for the celebrations to really begin (or at least this evening), we've already opened our presents! We will be making appearances with extended family over the next few days, so have declared Christmas Eve as our official Christmas "Day". So the gifts are being enjoyed, and we are having a cozy family day together. We are going out for Chinese food in a few hours (something you can't do on Christmas Day in this town), and then to the Christmas Eve service. Splendid!

I finished my dad's quilt this morning - quickly stitching the binding on while Nathan was checking in with work. Phew!! I'm not quite as happy with the quilting as I'd hoped to be - I had a bit of pulling and skewing, but washing and drying it took care of most of the problems. My dad has to love it 'cause it came from me, right? I sure hope so!

Merry Christmas to you all, and may your days be filled with family, friends, and fun!

Two...

(Let's pretend this was posted yesterday, 'kay?)

Remember this stack of fabric?

It was supposed to be a Christmas quilt for me. I had promised myself that I would make a quilt to keep... and I broke that promise :( I have come to accept the fact that this quilt will not get made before Christmas - in fact, not until February with the orders that I have booked. Will I make it in February, or wait 'til next November and then try to fit it into my too busy schedule? I have my suspicions, but I guess time will tell.

I think I'm ready for the big day... you??

Three....

Ugh... Even though I pinned that quilt like crazy, it's giving me grief while quilting. Grrrr.... But today is redeemed by having coffee with a friend, a playdate for my kids, and an evening with my husband.

Here is the playdate in process (they are spys, if that isn't obvious...):

Five...and four... oops!

So, you may have noticed that I missed a day in my Christmas countdown. Or maybe you didn't. Yesterday was one of those days where the plan you wake up with in the morning is not the plan that your day ends up following. Not that I want you to feel bad for me - not at all! It was a good change of plans. My husband had to make a hotshot pickup and invited the kids and I along for the 10 hour drive (5 there, 5 back). Since our kids are excellent travellers, and my Christmas list is fairly under control (just waiting for a few more packages, all other gifts are wrapped under the tree, Christmas baking is just not really happening this year), I was able to change my plans and take off with the family. We spent the day in the truck listening to hilarious podcasts, singing Christmas songs, and (less this is sounding too perfect and idyllic) letting the kids watch movies. I hope it's one of the things that our kids remember when they are grown - the fun travels we were able to take.

Today from sunrise to sunset (that's only 5 1/2 hours on this, the shortest day of the year), was spent at my mom's, just for the fun of it. And, thanks to my mom, I came home with more Christmas baking than I had intended to have in my house this year. Aren't moms the best??

I also managed to get this quilt basted.

Yay! Only a few more hours 'til this one is DONE!! I basted it while visiting with my mom and sister, and had to put up with a considerable amount of heckling for the amount of pins I use. But I am a heavy pinner convert. There is nothing like the ease of quilting when there are multitudes of pins holding that baby firm. Yup.

Alright... supper time... I better go figure out what that's gonna entail!

Six...

I have nothing to show for today... we went to church and have spent the rest of the day relaxing. Enjoy your Sunday, I know I am!

Seven...

Last night I decided to put a stop to the procrastinating and wrap the presents before reading all my blogs. Don't you hate when doing what you should do is the wrong choice? I finished wrapping all my gifts in my matchy-matchy storebought paper, then saw this. Why couldn't I have seen this first? Imagine the ooo's and aaahh's over my gifts. Drat. Remind me next year...

I loaded my pics onto my computer before previewing them on my camera. Apparently one of the little elfs who make my house their habitat was practising their photography skills.

It was my son. I remember him sneaking around with the camera. I'm not showing the one where he caught me unaware. Wouldn't want to scare you!!

And here is the progress on my dad's checkerboard quilt. All is going well on it, and another 1/2 hour or so and it will be a completed quilt top.

Today was the first day of Christmas vacation, and we spent it watching "Miracle on 34th Street", making sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies (thank you Pillsbury), shovelling the driveway twice (who needs expensive gym memberships when the snow just keeps falling?), watching "Fly Away Home" (yes, two movies in one day... I'm that mother... sigh...), playing Uno, and eating Ichiban noodles for supper (oh, you guys wanted to have three meals today? Ooops). Now my three year old is giggling in her room with her almost three year old cousin. They have now figured out which volume is just quiet enough that I won't come in there and tell them to go to sleep. So sweet....

How are you spending the Christmas holidays? Any tips for me to stay sane, yet not continue the two movies a day trick? Especially since it's could be -30 Celsius this week (-20 Fahrenheit, in case you don't speak Canadian).

Alright, the volume is inching upwards from the "sleepover" room - off I go to lay down the law (or some sweet aunty/mommy version of that).

Eight....

Continuing on... Eight days left 'til Christmas. Today was the kid's last day of school. This week was filled with school celebrations and activities. I spent more time at the school than I did in front of my sewing machine!


One of the activities was "gingerbread houses" (aka graham crackers smothered with icing and candy). I don't think any of the houses made it home intact.



Perhaps since more sampling than constructing was done.




The break thus far has already been good - my house is vacuumed (last night, and now it needs it again), and the sewing room is tidied (for at least two more hours).

More project stuff to show tomorrow!!

Nine...

The countdown continues.... Here is today's project (and tomorrow's, and the day after tomorrow's...) - my dad's Christmas or birthday quilt, depending on when it gets done! These small stacks of squares are just making me so happy right now, I almost don't want to start sewing them together. I am making a checkerboard quilt for him - each alternating square will be white. So I sewed strips of color to strips of white and have cut them into these squares. Now I'm gonna sew those suckers together into strips again. I think it will work up fairly quickly, so a Christmas finish date is most likely possible.

I'm also showing you the tray that I keep on my sewing table. It holds all the odds and ends that would end up on the floor if I didn't have a place to throw them. A spare foot, seam ripper, hand sewing needle, my labels, containers of safety pins.... all get thrown in there if they are in frequent use. It keeps it close without being in my lap.

How's your Christmas shopping going? I think I'm done. No, wait... one more gift to buy for my brother. Yep, that's it! I spread out the gifts in my laundry room today to see if the gifts for my kids were "even". You do this too, right? Make sure that you haven't inadvertently over or under bought for one kid? They are all fairly even, but (and I do this every year) I want to buy more! We made a decision to keep things simple this year, and each child is getting something they really wanted... but I love giving (and the shopping, I love the shopping)!! We'll see if I can make it through the next nine days with my determination intact.

Here is what came in a package today. It's not the last package I'm expecting, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all the packages will come on time! I ordered this book for my son from one of amazon.com's affiliate sellers. My son has borrowed this book out of our local library so many times - I think every other time we go he chooses it again. Now it can be part of his permanent collection.

"Under a Prairie Sky" is beautifully written and illustrated. It thrills me that he loves this book so much (and that it's not some character from tv). The story has a rhythm to it, not rhymed, but lyrical and poetic nonetheless. I'm sure there is a word for that... but I don't know it. I sure hope he is as excited to receive it as I am to give it!!

Oh! Did you see all the snow through the window in the first picture? It's been really coming down here - oh! how I love it! The roads aren't that great, but it is just so Christmas-y! My favorite thing is having the tree boughs weighed down with 6 inches of snow, and seeing it through my front window.

I'm off! Gotta get something done to show you tomorrow!

Ten....

The final countdown to Christmas has begun. Wow! It always sneaks up on me. I've just sent out the final custom order this morning, and now can work on the projects that I want to give as gifts. I had hoped to finish all my orders on December 1, and each day that it took after that, one of my projects for my own giving pleasure got taken off the list. The things that I am not going to complete before Christmas are: cuddle size quilts for each of my kids, dolls from Wee Wonderfuls patterns for my girls, handmade ornaments, throw pillows for gift exchanges, potholders for stocking stuffers... the list goes on... and as I type this I am realizing it was a slightly over zealous list - even if I had gotten a December 1 start. Next year I'll start in June...

Since I am determined to enjoy this Christmas season (I'll relax, even if it kills me!!), I am only going to tackle projects from now 'til December 25 that I enjoy. And I'm not going to kill myself to get them done. There is a chance that a quilt top will be given as a gift, with the finishing touches to be put on it in the New Year. So there!!

Now for a glimpse at the final aforementioned quilt set, "Flannel Fields". The top is pieced entirely with the customer's sons' receiving blankets. Each quilt is very lightly quilted with straight lines, and then framed with a dark binding. The backing is flannel as well so the whole quilt is entirely cozy.

Now, you know I LOVE custom orders, right? (You DO know that, I hope!) I love making a quilt that I know is going to be loved, so it's nice to make one specifically according to somebody's wishes. But, although these quilts turned out really nice, I did not enjoy quilting with flannel!! It stretches much more than the quilting cotton that I usually work with, and there were times I wanted to throw my scissors at it :) ! So these flannel quilts may be one-hit wonders (well, there are two of them, so two-hit wonders). They did have a lovely drape and feel to them when they were finished, however - so maybe if I wait a couple of months I'll forget the frustration and try flannel again.

Now, on to the next thing - a quilt for my dad. He asked for a tv watching quilt a few months ago, but has been convinced that he is not actually getting it for Christmas. I'm hoping I can pull it off while keeping the promise to myself to enjoy the next ten days. We shall see.....

Still playing dressup...

This year, 2010, has been a good year for parties. There has been several that we have been privileged to attend, and we have never had more fun. Two parties in particular were super fun, and they had one thing in common - both required us to dress up as a certain character. This summer, we had a redhead party, where we had to come as our favorite redhead. Nathan came as a friend of ours, whom the party was in honor of. I came as our three year old daughter; she being really, really into the dress up phase. My costume required frequent changes between swimsuits, long dresses, and tons of jewellery (and lopsided ponytails). Oh! And awkward poses. That was my daughter this past summer.


Our other costume party was last night - our company Christmas party. Nathan went as Scrooge, and I as the Ghost of Christmas Past. So fun!


I'm still quilting too! I'm working on the last order before Christmas - a set of twin size quilts (probably my most common order this year). This pair is being made for two sweet boys, pieced out of their baby receiving blankets. Here's a peek of a pinned "Flannel Fields".


It will be quilted with... wait for it.... straight lines (what else could it be !?). Wanna place bets if I can finish both by next Wednesday (the promised finish date)? It's gonna be a couple of late nights..... yawn.....

Okay, I'm gonna quit procrastinating and go to work.... right after I check facebook... and my blogs.... and.... oh bother.

The Christmas Post....

I hope that you were all wondering about Christmas at our house.... if not, you're about to find out anyways!

I don't think that I overdo the Christmas decorating - there are very few seasonal knick-knacks spread out around my house, mostly because I can't stand the clutter. However, we do have six trees.... but it's not as bad as it sounds. Each of our kids "need" one in their room, so they each have a small tree. Then, there is one for the family room that holds all of our family decorations - the ones we have collected through the years. Lastly, there is the living room tree (aka my tree) - the nicely decorated one that matches the living room. Not too bad, right?

Here's a shot my son took of he living room tree.....


The kids decided to perform an impromptu Christmas pageant for Nathan and I, complete with intermissions and costume changes (the former was to have time for the latter - there were many, many intermissions). Here is Gabriel speaking to Mary. We must work on presenting properly towards the audience.

And one of the wisemen with his "treasure". I'm not sure if that's gold, frankincense, or myrrh.

I've been busy, busy, busy with the quilting lately - and I'd like to show you it... but most of it I can't. There were many custom orders that are meant as gifts for Christmas and I don't want to wreck anyone's surprise. I will show you this quick little pillow that I whipped together out of scraps from a basically identical pillow I made back in October.

It's leaning against the family room tree, and you can see some of the assortment of ornaments we've collected/made over the years.

Every year we give the kids a new ornament for their collection. Last year I decided to make their ornaments, and used these cute embroidery patterns from Wee Wonderfuls.

I color coordinated all the embroidered bedding with the kids' actual bedding, and made each character have the same hair color as the kid it was intended for, so each child new immediately which one was theirs. Then I backed them with a fabric from their quilts that I had made and attached a ribbon. So cute, and a great memory to have.

Here is a complete view of the family room tree. It looks so much more magical in real life! My favorite thing is to read in the evening with the glow of the tree's lights on my pages. Sigh.... If only there were more time for that.

We are quickly approaching my children's Christmas program at their school and I found that my two girls were lacking appropriate footwear.

Aren't these ones sweet? These are for the three year old. I love the little rosette on top.

And heels for the eight year old. Sniff, sniff..... I'm not entirely sure they'll fit, hence the tag still attached. Update: They didn't fit. They were replaced with entirely impractical silver "Hannah Montana" heels with fake diamonds on the top and open toes.

Well, that's all the Christmas goodness I have to show you for now. I called this "The Christmas Post", as if this would be the only one. That's quite laughable, since I tend to enjoy this season just a tiny bit, and will most likely not be able to keep from sprinkling the season's goodness into everything between now and New Year's. Please don't be mad...

Merry Christmas!!

Another set of quilts...

I've just finished another set of quilts - two quilts for two little girls. It's a fun challenge - come up with two similiar quilts that look good together, but are different enough to not be confused for each other. In this case, they are both quite different. The same fabrics were used in both, but with completely different results.


The set also included two coordinating pillows, and a set of curtains (not shown).

I'm loving the rustic backdrops lately, but perhaps you are getting tired of seeing my trashy fence?

Both quilts were quilted with straight lines, and I love the areas where the lines intersect and make the small crosshatch in the corners.

And now, a little Christmas spirit. We have about half of the Christmas decorations up in our house so far. The kids each have a small tree in their room, and a few other things to decorate their spaces with. My son thought he needed a nativity scene, but since there wasn't an extra one, he made one....

Sweet, isn't it? I think the red ornaments are just for decoration. Notice the star on top of the stable? Baby Jesus is in the manger between the two other lego people (aka Mary and Joseph). I love this time of year!! Three weeks to go!

Still Shopping?

It is four weeks until Christmas! Isn't that great? As of yet, my house is not decorated at all, but that is under my husband's orders that Christmas season doesn't start until December 1. He likes to pretend he's a Scrooge, but it's all an act. I am conveniently laying the blame at his feet for the lack of holiday decorations in our house, when in fact I've been too busy to think about it yet. Perhaps this next week.... we shall see....

I have been busy like an elf these last few weeks, trying to finish up the Christmas orders that I was inundated with. Things are looking good for an imminent finish. Then, I shall start the Christmas sewing that I need to do for my peeps.

Since I know that some of you are just starting to think about your Christmas shopping list, and may have hoped to still order a quilt (please excuse me while I fall off my chair, laughing), I'd like to show you a possible option. I have one quilt for sale right now. One quilt!!! I'd like to have a huge stock of them, but I can't keep them around (I love you, too!!!).

Here it is....
It's a "Fractured" quilt. I originally posted about it here.

It measures 57" x 57" - a generous sized throw quilt. The colors (red, white, and black) are perfect for the season, and would complement your holiday decor. I also think it would make a beautiful picnic quilt in the summer, but you don't need to think about warm weather right now - that might just make you sad.

If I have piqued your interest, you can check the quilt out on Etsy (where you can purchase it easily and have it shipped to you), or my Facebook page (where you could send me a message if you live close to me and want to buy it).

Happy shopping.... wherever your list ends up taking you...

A perfectly basted quilt...

Is almost as wonderful as a quilted quilt. Yep.....


It looks like a magical field of safety pins. I love it. Hopefully, with a little bit of spousal cooperation, I can get a lot of this quilted this evening.

And here are the matching pillows for the aqua and pink quilts. Curtain panels and one more quilt to be quilted will complete this set. Wouldn't it be nice if I could finish it before the weekend??? We shall see....

What did you do this weekend?

I went camping! Did I mention that I live in Northern Alberta?

Every year, my husband has a camper or shack in the mountains to stay when he goes sledding (or ski-dooing, or whatever you call it). This last weekend, the kids and I went out with him to hang out in it for the weekend. Talk about getting away from regular life! We didn't have running water, so hot water had to be made on the stove. This also made for some interesting bathroom situations, which I will only talk about if we are good friends.

We found a great hill to go tobogganing on. 9 minutes up, 15 seconds down.

I printed off a bunch of coloring sheets, sudoku, and word searches to occupy our time. The cupboards behind Nathan had to stay open so the items in them wouldn't freeze. Fun!

I know. Right now as you look at our shack you are thinking, "Wow, they are so classy! So polished, so refined!"

Or maybe you're not.....

It was such a beautiful place to spend the weekend. There was a full moon (or almost, I'm not really sure) that lit up the snow so much at night that the kids were waking up at 3 am thinking it was morning. So magical.... What a great family time.

Quilting stuff coming up later....

So far...

Two aqua and pink quilts - that's what is next on my agenda. I was told no white in these ones. That takes me a few baby steps out of my comfort zone, since white is my go-to for any color quandry I find myself in. But... take a look at this block. On the screen it is nice, but in person... oh! the colors of the print play off soooo beautifully with the charcoal around it.

And another of my favorite blocks (I can't help it if there was a white background on a print).

Just a simple layout for this quilt - nobody's shocked at that, I'm sure.

They aren't stitched together yet, so that wow at the top won't be there in the finished quilt.

Onward I go!

Another one bites the dust...

Only in a good way. Another project completed and on it's way to a new home.

This is "Striated". The color combination was requested (robin's egg blue, red, brown, and cream), but beyond that (and the size - twin) I was given the design choice. Right now I am loving anything bold and graphic, and I am still stuck in the "adding texture through quilting" mode, so this is what became of that.


The top foot or so is tucked into the fence. It's a slightly longer than normal twin size quilt.

This quilt is going to be a throw laid across the end of a king size bed. I wanted it to have different vignettes depending on how it was folded and placed (definition I'm using for vignettes is from dictionary.com, "any small, pleasing picture or view"). So, the widest red and blue stripe were HEAVILY quilted.

The red and blue stripes. Everything is very organically quilted on this quilt. I wanted the imperfect quilting lines to play off the rigidity of the vertical stripes. Over time and washings, the quilt would have gotten a delightful crumpled look on it's own, but this sped up the cozying process.

Another view of the back where the quilted lines show well.

This is the pebbled area I was complaining about here. Beautiful, but so much work.

A final look.

On to the next quilt now...