more presents...



Sue from Quilt times sent me this for participating in the Christmas Quilt Alongs.  Love it Sue!!!



From my Secret Santa in Cobble Court Quilters:

I love this card. It reads:

Wishing you

threads of happiness

and colors of joy

woven throughout

the fabric

of your life.

What a nice gift!  Clipsters and a candle.

~smile

A movin' and a Shakin'

I left my sewing room a mess. I knew I had to clean it and straighten things when I returned from Maryland. Once down there it felt cold and things just needed to move. First, I moved the sewing machine table off the front wall and placed it in the middle angled to face the middle. Then, I moved in the other table I had bought but never put in the room and another plastic three tiered box. Lastly, I placed the large cutting table to the front wall and the chair next to it.

There is a large space in the middle and to the right of the sewing machine.

It's warmer over in the middle of the basement than off both walls.

This table is behind the sewing machine so if I want to cut and sew I can.

 It will also store my projects Im currently working on.

After I finished rearranging, I started on the scrap basket. I do not like the overflowing scrap basket. I believe it is taunting me.

I have been dreading this... but it must be done.

I will need larger bins. 

cuz there is more....

Christmastime ~ a little early then off to Maryland

Usually we have to celebrate Christmas early. This year we had ours on Wednesday the 22nd. It began with tradition of placing the star on the top of the tree....

yep, that is 19 yr old Eric.

We had a nice dinner of roast, potatoes, carrots and biscuits.

Santa came and stuffed the stockings and placed the presents.

And a ring at the door with the UPS man delivering tvs for Madi and Eric which were suppose to be sent when we returned from Maryland. So, good and bad situation; Madi is at the door and sees her big gift and so surprise ruined... although we do not have to worry about it coming after we leave. ??? it's all good.

Mia opens her presents. This was her second go since she found them all by herself earlier while I was cooking in the kitchen. Yes, they were under the tree and no one showed her which ones were hers.

Eric opened his Lampard jersey from Chelsea soccer team. He was so excited.

These are Madi's new boots. Can't you see her excitement. It's hard to shop for someone who asks for a car.... notta chance.

Josh, Madi's boyfriend, actually came by for a visit.

The next day, Thursday, we arrived at Mom and Dad's house around 3pm.

Their house is decorated like Macy's in NYC.

Dining room tree.

I just love the way mom decorates a tree. She has 4.

He still has no clue to what is in the box...." Eric, what did you ask for?"  "I dont remember" " so it's ok then next year if we get you whatever?"  "um noooooo"..... 

"Oh yeah.....  I really wanted these ! And all three wedges!  wow!!!!"

Madi opened her Chi flat iron. 

and some fuzzy fleece sheets (which she already has put on her bed and cleaned out her entire room, as she did last year, right when she got home)

Mom is opening her earings. Fire topas with leverback. 

Dad is opening his saying "hmmm what did I ask for?"

Must be an epidemic.

This is Te'a. Mom and Dad's Yorkie.

Here is Eric (hubby) and Te'a working on the fire insert. Te'a loves the fireplace.

We can say "fire" or "brrrr" or "cold" and she will bark and go to the fireplace.

She is very upset it is not working so she is assisting Eric.

Alyssa and Brittany                                                         Brook  loves penguins.     (my sister's girls)

                                                                                     I made the blanket for her. Embroidered the edge.

This was a great Christmas. We had fun and it even snowed a little. (more the next day)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Sharing and Sewing with Reenie

Yay!!! Finally some quality time with Reenie. Saturday was set aside for sewing and catching up. A lot of chatting took place here. I dont think there was a silent moment. (And if you know Reenie and sewing, she shuts up when she sews.....so we must really missed the chatting...)

First we did our Christmas gifts exchange which we just did out of pure love and devotion.....not planned what so ever.  Santa brought me two Scrap Basket Surprises quilt pattern books so I just had to give one to Reenie. He knows one book would just not do. I also made her a green fuzzy warm cozy scarf which she wore all day long. 

Doesn't she look toasty!!!

Reenie's picture

Here is my gift from her. She tricked me. As she had implied on her blog this tree runner was someone else but when I opened my gift I was so happy the tree runner I loved was for me.

Love it! It is on my coffee table in my family room.

Oh sewing...  Yes we did some sewing. We made these table decorations if you will.

Reenie's picture

Now we have to embroider.  The directions had "Faith, Hope, Love and Joy" around the borders.

We wanted to do it by machine but the font wasn't large enough. I think by hand is prettier.

Reenie taught me paper piecing with the trees in the runner she made for me. I think I have found a new love... 

there was a moment though that I continued to sew the fabric in the wrong direction. Third time was a charm I guess but my head started to hurt....this is when we stopped to venture out to Craft Bits and Pieces. I have been itching to buy some good fabric for cheap cheap.

Ah so much fun!!

Thanks Reenie for a great day!

My New Tree Skirt

My tree skirt is complete and under the tree. Yay!!!  This project truly took longer than I anticipated.

Here it is before I cut the center hole.

Here we are selecting our tree. It's a frasier fir. It was so cold and snowy Monday afternoon that we actually, for the first time, chose a pre cut tree. Just cut two days before mind you but we usually get the saw and do it ourself.

                     Yes it is coming together. Im almost finished. I really like the tree skirt. It is made of old fabrics and scrappy.

Now onto finishing the fall top and the heart block top which are just about finished. Then to make the yoyo wall hanging that is the gingerbread house. I also need to finish the mystery, just about done with it also.

What I've been up too.....

Since the retreat...which is still all I think about....I had Thanksgiving dinner and now I am back to sewing with still too many items on the back burner.

I did the binding on the Christmas block swap quilt.... and washed it (which squanched it up at least 2" so it doesnt hang as much as it did but still is great). Jill did the machine quilting on it. And here it is on my guest bed.

Next I finished the Jitterbug quilt that I did with Reenie via text and email and one gathering. It is simply machine quilted and binded in yellow. I so love 30's fabric.

Then the lastly items that have place the tree skirt, fall quilt and heart block swap quilt on the back burner have been these little buggers.....

They are doll quilts I hope to sell for extra Christmas monies to buy more presents...... 

Now on to a few more of these lovelies so I can get back to other fun stuffs... oh the mystery too.

It snowed today. Yay!! it so puts me in the mood for Christmastime.

Cobble Court Quilt Retreat

       Arriving at Wisdom House in Litchfield, Connecticut after our dinner at dec*ca*pous....sounding like a spanish dead cow on the GPS...   de Capos, we immediately threw our stuff in our rooms and set up shop geared for sewing.

      We sewed until 9pm and began our Meet and Greet session with a Show n Tell of a quilt we brought and wine/cheese.  I truly enjoyed the display and stories each of us brought. Every single quilt or picture was completely unique.

     

Lillian

Sue

Sandra

I loved how these stories were told of these quilts that they became a piece of me now and now know a special part of each of them.

We did surprise Marie with a baby quilt for her new grandson. It turned out wonderful. Diane (who wasnt able to come but is a part of our circle) did a great job putting the quilt top together and Patrice did an amazing job finishing and quilting it.

Marie and Patrice

On Saturday there was lots of sewing. I worked on my fall disappearing nine patch.

still working on it...   I ended up putting it away and sewed together the rows of my tree skirt and binded a doll quilt.

Saturday we braked for lunch and went into Litchfield. We ate at the restaurant that Marie described vividly in her book "A Single Thread". We met Charlie, who treated us like queens and had a wonderful dessert that was to die for. I had the best scrumptious linguine I have ever had.

As we left the Grill we ventured down to Cobble Court. It is really there and saw Marie's vision of how she would love to truly have a quilt shop there in Cobble Court in New Bern....our story town.  It is a hidden hideaway. 

Looking down Cobble Court

Evelyn's Quilt shop (really an antique shop)

Sue, Debbie (slightly behind), Beth, Patrice, Lillian (back), Sandra, Reenie (center back), Marie, Cathy G (back),  Kathy, Paula (back), Cathy McG, me, Pam.  Front: Dorothy, Jen, and Karen

We also did pillow cases for Susan B Anthony House there in CT. We ended up with 40.

 40 Pillow cases to donate.

Not only was this a quilting retreat, it was a weekend of bonding friendship and spiritual growth due to this tie we all share from Cobble Court.

I am so proud and touched to have 16 friends for life and many more to come from our lovely quilting circle.

~Shellie