Merry Christmas...The List is Here!

Santa approved the List this morning. Its now printed and on the fridge. One or two made the naughty list with one year probation to improve! I am baking today and wrapping a few presents that I forgot about. But overall it should be a quite day. All the family will be here in the morning and we will celebrate Christmas. I am very happy with all of the progress that was made on the gifts. Everyone will recieve a handmade item as we are trying to stay with the Made In America theme! Of course, fabric is probably made in China, but it was assembled here!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We have much to be thankful for in our family. We have added 4 new members since last year, and if Kristy doesnt slow down Jenson may arrive anytime. I bought him a gift just in case he decides to make it in time for Christmas. We are keeping his big brother Logan for a while this afternoon, so his mama can get a bit of rest.

Remember, Jesus is the Reason for the Season

End of the year count!

My sewing year didnt begin until this past oct after my knee surgery, I was stuck at home and going crazy, My plan was to make one quilt for my husband it snowballed into a quilt for all of our children plus a new baby quilt, I took stock of my stash and really had to add a lot to it to be useable

My old Singer broke down during this time so I replaced it with a Horizen 7700 Janome. So far it is a wonderful machine, My goal is to do free motion on the machine this year. I cant wait to apply this knowledge and be able to fininsh my own quilts1

This gumdrop quilt was the first one tht I did and I really like it well.

I made an carpenters star and plan to sew a little pillow from it

I started on this cute little pirate quilt for my grandson, He will just love it

Jensens baby quilt is finished as of today. Its washed and ready to bring him in the world Kristy is very happy with it

I made a total of 3 all wrapped upquilts. They were fun and festive and easy to finish

I also made 3 pinwheel quilts. Everything is quilted and washed, wrapped and under the tree. I made one more that never made it the quilter so didnt count it, I made another pinwheel that is white and red for my husband, All have been quilted except the pirate quilt. For a grand total of 9 completed quilts in 9 weeks! I am very happy with my process and now that I have finished, Im searching pattern books for a couple of baby quilts to work on.

My new year goals are:

Dear Jane Quilt

2 baby quilts

babybag

sewing machine cover

ironing board cover

Swoon quilt

Hometown quilt kit

learn to paper piece

learn to machine quilt

And another goal that is dear to my heart. I want to sew baby blankets to donote to the womens shelter for next Christmas, I can make one quilt a month to help a mother keep her child warm
I really want to do a BOM, but they seem to be overwhelming.

I want to find some classes to join.Well, going to bed. I have so much shopping to finish and plan to leave out very early to miss the crowds. Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Finishing Christmas!

I still have so much left to do. There are gifts to wrap, gifts to buy and I still have bindings on 2 quilts to finish.

We finished decorating the tree with the exception of the topper. My daughter has been so busy she has not had time to tie one for me. I bought some new ornaments this year to go with the large pepermint stick ornaments that I bought on clearance after Christmas last year.

Some of the lights have burned out, so probably need to buy a new tree this year when they go on sale! I love the new look on the tree this year. The previous trees have been so formal and I think this one is great fun! Have a happy day!

Almost Finished

This has been a whirlwind 2 months. First, having my knee surgery and therapy 3 times a week. And the big quilt project. This started off with me making one quilt for my husband. Just something to keep me busy during my recovery time. It exploded into making a quilt for all 7 of our children. yep, 8 quilts,8weeks! I do beleive the sewing machine pedal aided in my therapy plan. As most of you know, my machine was not functioning properly and caused major issues. I was having a meltdown at least once a day! Spending hours ripping out seams and basically so frustrated that I could not enjoy the whole quilt making process. I kicked it to the curb and went out and bought a new(used) machine. I am so happy with it, it sews like a dream, has so many stitches and most of all I can learn to free motion quilt with it. That is one of my goals this new year. I have signed up for the free motion quilting tutorials that begin in January. I am more of a watch and learn person, so I hope I can benefit from it without the aid of someone standing behind me guiding me along. I have worked very hard at building a new stash. My old stash was very depleted and I had given away much of it to my mother during the years I was in nursing school. I almost feel like a new seamstress. New machine,new fabric, I even went all out and bought a new sewing basket to organize my things with. Its been about 3 years since I made my last quilt. The quilt shown is one that I recently finished. I had bought the jelly roll planning to make my new grandaughter a beautiful quilt. Well, when she turned out to be a little boy (oops!), I had to alter my plans. I still had this lovely fabric and watned to use it up. So this one will go to my oldest daughter for Christmas. I wanted you to notice the binding. I used all the scrap pieces to bind it and just love it. This was one of the first I made after surgery and I had many mistakes cutting the squares. It was hard for me to stand up for very long and my cuts were so far off. I had to salvage the fabric somehow. I still have some left and it will go into my scrap pile for a charm quilt someday.

I still have a few bindings to sew, which I plan to do today. I need to get them wrapped, check them off the list and make sure no one was left out. My son in law wanted me to make his mum a quilt for Christmas, so one of them was shipped to Ireland this week. That left me one short and I still need to piece another to replace it. I am so tired of Christmas fabrics, but just one more to go and I can put them away for the year. I have 2 quilt kits that I will start in the new year. I have never participated in a BOM and would like to, but may wait on this since I also want to make a Farmers Wife quilt. I need to order the book and will probably wait until after the holidays. Hope you have a productive weekend. I have compiled my grocery list and plan to hit the stores this morning before the rush. It is the weekend before Christmas!

Christmas Pinwheel Quilt

I have finally finished all of the pinwheel quilts and all wrapped up quilts. Hopefully the kids will like them and I can get back to some serious sewing for me. My first quilt is going to be using the pattern Swoon. And I also saw the cutest little sailboat quilt on another blog. I am trying to find a pattern for that one also.

But, today I am headed back to the surgeon. There is a little knot that came up under my incision. So, we are sure that it is probably a piece of stitch that didnt get removed. Im am supposed to be there at 11 am and it is a 2 hour drive, so we are leaving a bit early to avoid rush traffic.

Oh No!

I kept this little darling this past Saturday because he was sick and couldnt go to daycare. Well, guess what?? Now I have come down with it and am miserable! I try to be a good patient but it is so hard. I tend to do exactly what I am not suppose to do. I am just praying I am better by the weekend. There is so much I still need to do in the baking and sewing department! I really need to grocery shop this weekend as well. One of the advantages of sitting around in your jammers all day is that I have visited so many new blogs out in blogland. I love looking through all the new and creative ideas this time of year. It inspires me to try new things. Hope you have a great weekend! Do something fun!

Building My Stash

I have almost finished my Christmas sewing for the kids this year and have been doing a little extra fabric shopping for me.

I cant wait to cut into this Ruby fabric. I have been searching patterns looking for the perfect one to use this great fabric. It has been so long since I have really been able to sew that my stash was very low. It has been fun building it back up again.

This is a picture of the back of the new baby's quilt. It will be reversible and I liked being able to jazz up the back a bit. Hope y'all are having a great weekend. I am pooped. Decorating is done and I have been baking cookies all day. I think I may just go take a little nap, before I go cook dinner. Have a great week.

A Visit With Santa Claus

Logan made his second visit to Santa this year. His first was when he was only a few months old. We were a little worried, that he might not like Santa. His papa Donnie has the full white beard and mustache also, so Logan kept looking at him and back to his mama. We are not sure if he thought he was sitting in Papa's lap or not. Anyway, he did just fine. The gentleman you see in the picture, plays Santa all year long. You will see him in the mall during the summer always dressed in red and very cheerful. The beard and mustache are the real deal! Nothing fake about this Santa. Children just stare in awe of him. What a great job he has, making kids and adults alike smile! Would be such an awesome thing to go about making people feel good all year long!

Have a great day!

New Sewing Machine!

Santa Claus came a little early for me this year! I went to my local Singer dealer yesterday to look at a machine that was advertised in my local paper. It had already sold, but the gentleman there showed me this Janome 7700. It was purchased in March by a little lady and she traded it back in on Monday for an embroidery machine. WEll, of course it was brand new, no scratches, in fact most of the accessories were still in the original plastic. I went back home to do a quick research as I knew nothing about this machine. I got on ebay and looked at used prices etc. By lunchtime, I was heading back to the store to buy this beautiful machine. It came with the acrylic table insert, but after I got there he also sold me the custom table that it was sitting in for little of nothing. I found out that it retails at $3000.00 and the table costs$500.00. I got the package deal for under $1000.00!!!!! And its brand new!!!! I had been watching auctions all month trying to get a used Bernina for a good deal and had been unable to get one. In fact, I had made up my mind that a Bernina was the way to go. My big concern was that we do not have a local dealer and the nearest one is 250 miles away. I feel like I made a good choice, if anything goes wrong with it, the dealer is here in town. I got it all set up yesterday and tried it out. It sews like a dream!!! I still have several quilt tops to finish, so I will be very busy this weekend. If any of you have this machine, please let me know how well it works for you. I would love to hear the good and the bad. This is very exciting for me, as I was sewing yesterday I stopped to think about the first machine I ever bought. It was a Singer touch and sew, used with a few cams to make decorative stitches. I paid $125 for it back then and used it for 25 years. It was like part of the family. After it was finally laid to rest and I bought another Singer in its place. I couldnt beleive the difference in quality. That machine is less than 2 years old and it has never worked properly. Im going to get it serviced and give to my older daughter. She needs one for hemming tablecloths etc. But she does not sew at all and wont use it very often. So I suppose it will be ok for occasional use. I hope yall have a great weekend. I have got sewing to do!!

(picture from janome website)

Black Friday!

I didnt brave the weather or the crowds today. I felt like just staying home and resting after such a busy Thanksgiving day. I worked on a quilt for the new baby that is on the way. His due date was moved up by 2 weeks. I was knee deep in Christmas projects, but decided to take a break and get this one cracked out!

This is the quilt pattern that I was going by. I really wasnt sure about the color palette. But my daughter wanted green and brown. I finally found this picture in a book called Simplify.

We chose these fabrics to use

I really love the lion and monkeys on the fabric. And who can resist the polka dots??

This is my youngest little man, Logan. Just look at his cute little grown up man tie! He will be sharing the spotlight is just a few weeks when his little brother makes his appearance. Bless his heart. I am curious how he will respond, since this will probably rock his little world! He is quite spoiled and very much a daddy's boy. Well, maybe with the new baby arriving, Nana and Papa will get to enjoy his comapany a little more!

Hope you had a great day and scored some really big deals!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have been very blessed this year and am so grateful for all the wonderful family I have. My husband is the best man, he is my best friend and just cant live without him in my life. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary this year! All of our children and grandchildren are such special gifts to us. We love them all and are thankful for each and everyone one of them. We are looking forward to adding another grandchild this year. He should arrive sometime right after Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Let The Baking Begin!

I am so excited this year about the holidays! Usually, I have to rush around and cook after I get home from work, spending all my extra time trying to pull off a great meal for the family. This year, I am taking my time and getting some of my baking done ahead of time. My grandson will be coming over tomorrow to help me. Caleb is 12 years old and is showing a great interest in cooking! I am secretly thrilled to death. I always dreamed of baking in my kitchen with my grandchildren, just like my grandmother did when I was little. Some of my fondest childhood memories are in her kitchen helping her "stir up a cake". I was the oldest of 4 grand daughters and we would all pile into the kitchen watching her mix up a cake. One of us would get the bowl, one would get the spoon and 2 would get the beaters to lick afterward. We had many good times in those days and I dreamed of having that same special memory with my kids. Since all of my grands are boys, they are more interested in following Papa around and doing 'guy stuff'. Caleb's mother does not cook, so he is very interested in the whole process. He helped me make a banana pudding a few weeks ago and offered to help me with the preparations for Thanksgiving.

My son in law, Bryan is a chef here in our city. He is busy baking and cooking for the holidays and my daughter Jennifer is a floral designer. They married earlier this year and have recently moved the florist to a larger building with an area for a cafe! They are opening on Monday morning, we are so excited for them. I have shared a few recipes with him that have been passed on to me over the years and he is planning on using those during the holidays.

I have been blessed with 7 children and all of them will be here next week for Thanksgiving lunch. The holidays can be very demanding due to the inlaws, outlaws and all of the other stops the kids have to make, so I feel very fortunate that they come to my home for lunch. My daughters always arrive early so they can help me with last minute preparations and each one will bring a side dish or a dessert.

After we all eat and clean up the kitchen we draw names for Christmas. We started this last year and it works very well. When you have this many children it is very hard for all of them to buy presents for each other. We decided that drawing names would take the pressure off and they could focus on their families instead. I am hoping that they will be pleased this year with my quilts that I am making for them. I have one more to sew and get off to the quilter's! It has been a job, but I have really enjoyed it. I haven't been able to do alot of sewing in the past few years due to school and work. I have decided, that I will continue to spend time making quilts, since it is something I really love to do! I have always put my hobbies on the back shelf, in order to accomplish other things and now it is time to stop and do something for myself! Do you think that is selfish??? I have discovered that I have to buy a better sewing machine after the first of the year. I really miss my old singer that I used for so many years! And, I have ideas of making the spare bedroom into a more organized space so I can find everything I need while I am working on a project.

Hope everyone has a great week! I have been blog hopping today and have discovered so many new and interesting blogs. It has been a wonderful treat.

Pinwheel Quilt

I just finished this little quilt top up this morning. My daughter has requested this one and wanted the bright green sashing with the plaid. I have made 4 tops with 4 more to go. Carried them over to a lady this morning to quilt them for me.

pattern

I finally found the name of this pattern. It is called "All Wrapped Up" You will find it in the free pattern section of Moda Fabrics. Not the Moda bakeshop site. Hope you enjoy sewing this as much as I did!

I Love This Quilt!

I got an early start this morning and decided to make another Christmas quilt. I just love this one, its easy and I was able to sew it together in an afternoon! My plan is to make one for all the kids for Christmas. I have to find someone to quilt them for me, since I am super slow at that. This pattern was a freebie at Moda's website. The pattern showed using scraps, but I didnt have enough to give it a good scrappy look.

I was so excited today to see the UPS man. He delivered an order from Fat Quarter shop that I have been so anxious to get. After I finish up with Christmas presents, I am going to make a quilt called Swoon. I ordered fabric called Ruby to complete it with. I want to make a few test blocks before I cut into the real stuff!

Well, hope you had a great day. I am starting another quilt top in the morning and have physical therapy tomorrow afternoon. Its going to be a very busy day!

Thanks to all who left comments about the sewing machines. I am still researching, but happy to have your imput to steer me in the right direction!

New Quilt Top

I thought I would show you the new quilt top that I just made. I still have to quilt and bind it. It is a little small, so I will just use it as a lap quilt. I have had some issues with this pattern from the start. First of all, I hate to cut out the pieces, it the worst part of any project for me. I was cutting with a dull rotary tool and I also was working on it when I really wasnt feeling well. My squares are off a little and although I ripped it out twice, I still didnt get it completely square. I am a novice at quilting although I have been sewing for 30 plus years. But, I will keep trying and I am determined to be a great quilter one day!

I really loved the colors in this one, they are very bright and colorful. It will cheer me up on a rainy day for sure! Have a great week!