Make that FIVE!

When my longtime friend, Patty, was visiting from California  last week, she saw my four finishes from the last post and the fall decorating I'd done and she asked me what I had ever done with my Crabapple Hill stitchery from years ago. (like 7 or 8 years ago)!

Hmmm,   what had I done with it?    I knew I hadn't ever finished it, so it must be in a box or bin in my closet.  So, off on a hunt I went... and there it was.  Another UFO!   Yikes, will it ever end?

I had a stay-at-home day yesterday and my goal was to get that project finished.  Binding went on today and Voila...here it is.

Thanks Patty, for reminding me!

I hope I don't find anymore fall UFO's lurking in places because I have so many Christmas ones I better get busy now if I want them out this year.    I have to say that it really feels good to actually "finish" something.   And....if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I really don't like quilting my projects.   I always use my friend Mary's phrase.  "I quilt by check".  I think I've found that I can get by with straight line quilting, but don't ask me to put a curve in anything.   :)

I haven't figured out where I'm going to put it so for now it's sitting on Mr CnW's footstool waiting for Jack the Cat to find it and claim it!

(Hmm, about 20 minutes after posting, look what I found)

What is there about a quilt that attracts cats?  

Hugs, Anne

It’s a start anyway…

Saturday I decided I better start decorating for Christmas since I’m going to be gone some in the next few weeks. It’s such a huge job so I just figured I’d tackle as much as possible this weekend. Here are some “before” pictures.

A mess you say? No kidding!

Why do we put ourselves through all this?

And finally, the shelves are empty and dusted. (the only time the house gets a complete cleaning…LOL)

You’ll have to wait for the “after” pictures since we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but, oh heck, here are a couple of teasers.

I wanted to get the fireplace area finished first because I really wanted to see what the stockings would look like. They are the kits I got from Primitive Gatherings. I’m really happy with them.

Uh oh, this was taken before I put stuff under the candles to stagger the heights!

And a close-up. Hmm, I’m going to have to work on that 4th one getting it to hang straight. Also, too much of the light color on the left. Going to have to switch them . LOL It’s amazing what you see in pictures.

Yesterday morning we woke up to this…

What a better way to spend a Sunday than with some snow on the ground and decorating for Christmas. It actually made the chore task a lot more fun.

Oh, okay, a couple more sneak peaks.

I’ve got lots of tweaking and “phoofing” to do before you can see the rest but at least it’s a start.

And what would decorating be without my little guy, Jack, helping out.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. Cherish your loved ones because…you just never know...

Hugs, Anne

Yep, it’s official

I’m crazy! During the hot spell we had, I continued working on WOOL projects. Here are the stockings I finished. Now I just have sew the lining.

This is a picture that I scanned from the book “Primitive Christmas” from Primitive Gatherings. Just wanted to show you what Santa's beard looks like (from my previous post).

I think I’ve decided to use wool roving and hot glue it down. Easy peasy!

So…it has cooled down by almost 30 degrees, Woo Hoo, and what am I working on now? Why COTTON of course! See what I mean? I’m officially nutzo!

It’s a pattern by Bonnie Blue Quilts and I’m using the Sturbridge Village calicos.

Lots of half square triangles. I always oversize them and then trim to size. Makes for much more accurate piecing. Here are my “trims”.

Hmm, look who’s nesting.

He’s thinking that if he can’t see me, then I can’t see him! Sorry Jack, I know what you’re up to!

I’m still finding my “trims” all over the house. LOL

I’ll show you more of the quilt when I start putting it together. One thing I know for sure…I like hand work much more than machine piecing. Is that another “nutzo” thing? Oh heaven help me!

Hugs, Anne

Playing the waiting game

A couple of days ago, Carrie e-mailed me asking if baby grandson had arrived yet. I let her know that we were all on pins and needles "waiting". She then asked me what I was working on to stay busy. Well, truth be told, I wasn't working on anything because I didn't want to get interrupted in the middle of a project. I got to thinking about that logic and it didn't make any sense at all.

So, I pulled out one of the Jo Morton little kits that I bought way back last September at the Portland Quilt Show Expo. It was fast and easy and I finished piecing, quilting, and binding it...and still no baby call.

Look who wants another 15 minutes of fame.... See that little face to the right?

And as I snapped this picture, look who wanted to be a part of it?

No Jack? I must be quicker than he is...


And...remember Betty here? Well, it seems she's relapsed. She's going back in the shop for some more medicine! I guess that means more handwork for me!

And.........still no baby!

Jack in the Box

Sometimes I just crack myself up!

(Yes, his name really is Jack).

An unexpected photo op...

I was sitting at my computer and just happened to look over to my sewing/cutting table and saw Jack looking at something. What could it be?

Why it's "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" on TV!

Wow, must be a really good part!

I need to lecture him about getting too close to the TV. He's gonna need glasses. He said to tell you it was a really good show and have a Happy New Year!

P.S. Ignore the messy sewing room.. It's on my "to do" list!

Giftys

We always draw names around October for Secret Santa gifts. That gives us lots of time for shopping for the "perfect gift".


This is what Patty gave Cathi.


So then, Cathi gave me this wonderful Brighton necklace.

My turn...I gave Patty this little table topper that I made along with a framed quilt/stitchery and a braided table runner that I got from Karen at Farmhouse Woolens. I forgot to take pictures of the ensemble so maybe Patty can send me pictures of what she did with them and I'll post it.

That left Marsha who made this fun Mary Englebreit panel quilt for Janet (Myrtle).

And Myrtle gave Marsha this fun assortment of goodies. The doll is lifesize and so darn cute! Sorry for the quality of the picture but it was getting late. LOL. If you click on the picture you can see everything a bit better.

Then, another tradition we started a long time ago is giving everyone the same thing. It used to have to be homemade, but that part of the tradition has since fallen by the wayside..

This big Santa was given to each of us by Patty. Isn't he cute? The soles on his big feet are a riot!

Sparkle snowman guy was given to us all by Myrtle.

Cathi got this adorable flag for everyone.

Marsha made everyone a quilted tree skirt but we all decided they made great choir collars, so we did our best rendition of "Ave Maria". LOL

Here's where I put mine after I got home. Next year it will go under a tree.

Of course, Jack had to be part of the picture.

And this is what I gave everyone. Remember the snowman pillow during my "power sewing"?

Well, this is how many I made. Sure glad I challenged myself.

So, needless to say, we had a blast and the party finally wound down around 1:30am. Yes, that's AM as in AFTER midnight! In our younger days, we would go even later....or should that be earlier. These older bodies can't take those hours anymore. :-)

Thanks guys for another fun party!

A bit of a distraction

Gosh, I didn't mean to take such a long break between posts but, don't forget, I've been "power sewing". In the next few weeks, I'll be showing you the progress I made. Can't show things just yet.

So, I figured I'd better get busy with my Christmas decorating because we are leaving for Seattle on Tuesday and won't be home till next Sunday. And then it's...December. I have tons of decorations, and it takes me forever to put them up. I had some help today.

This is Jack. He's was into everything!

He really loves greenery. Even the fake kind.

Wonder what he sees in that bucket?

Finally, I had to banish him to the deck because he was undoing everything I was doing! (don't worry, he didn't stay out there long. After all...just look at that cute little face).

Hooray...one thing crossed off my list. It's Block #1 of "Wool Garden". You too can order yours from Karen at Farmhouse Woolens.

Have a happy Thanksgiving and I'll be back in a week.