A Quilter's Christmas

We all know Christmas is the time to exchange gifts. I'm lucky enough to exchange gifts with some of my quilt friends. This picture shows all the lovely items given to me this Christmas by Dawn who blogs at Relaxing Robin. I met Dawn through our blogs. She made me a tree mug rug, which I'm already using! She also made my the nicest zippered pouch that included all these great gifts! I got tissues, needle holder, charm pack, lint remover and a cute sewing kit! How nice is Dawn?! Thank you so much! Quilting friends are the best!!

I met Star years ago on line and we actually met in person. We always keep in touch through Facebook. Star knits, crochets and quilts. This year, she sent me this crocheted hat. It's so warm and fits me perfectly! I hear we're having another storm Monday and of course, I'm working. I'll be wearing this hat for sure! Thank you, Star!

My favorite quilt magazine used to be Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. I was so sad when they stopped publishing. Years ago, they had a Pin Pal section. This was before email, the internet, etc. Well, I started writing to Sarah Cooper from England close to 25 years ago. And we're still writing to each other! We actually met in person back in 2001. We exchange gifts every Christmas. She gifted me tea, hand cream, cookies, chocolates and a lace knitting book. You can tell she knows me well! Thank you for my gifts as well as our ongoing friendship!

Social media has it's negative qualities which we all seem to hear about. But there are so many positive sides as well. I would never have met Dawn or Star without social media. Sarah and I still send actual letters to each other but will message each other on Facebook as well. It's a wonderful way of keeping in touch. 

I Like Thursday #31

Welcome to I Like Thursday! I'm actually a little early this week but since I'm usually late, I feel it all balances out! These were our stockings on Christmas morning. They are packed and so full! My dad made those for us. Of course, he made mine first. When I got married, he made one for Scott. And then, as each child was born, a new stocking was made. He's been gone for 2 1/2 years but he's still with us in many ways. 

We got the cats some catnip toys. They went absolutely crazy! It was so fun to watch. They were rolling all over the place. I think the catnip put them in the Christmas spirit!

My son got me this book. (I may have given him a hint!!) I can't wait to read this. It's a series of interviews and quilts that help answer why someone wants to cut up fabric and then sew it back together. It's not your typical quilt book. Sounds interesting!

My daughter always finds interesting gifts. I've never heard of Tea Drops. I guess it's liquid drops of tea that disperse in water. 

Here are the easy instructions on the side of the box. I can't wait to try!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I'm working at 6 tomorrow morning so I wanted to get this post done. I thought I'd share a few moments of my holiday with you. Please join LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for more fun and positive posts. One last time, Merry Christmas!

I Like Thursday #30

Welcome to I Like Thursday! I saw this little tree last week at the hospital. I never knew you could buy Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. I love it! It reminds me of all the times my brother and I used to watch the Charlie Brown specials when we were little. 

My husband bought this for me last week. I needed a funnel to fill my pin cushions. He got a 4 piece set for about $1.50! I can't wait to use them. I bought a huge bag of crushed walnut shells at the pet store. It's my favorite fill for pin cushions.

I finally finished my last handmade Christmas gift. These are just 2 ornaments for the children of a co-worker. They measure about 4" square. They weren't too hard to make but the size made them a little difficult. So glad they're done!

Here's my last label of the decade! While making the ornaments yesterday, I realized I needed a label for my last quilt. I just have to sew it on.

And that's it for my I Like Thursday this week. Please visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for more positive and fun posts. I hope you all have your Christmas shopping done. I'm in the wrapping phase. I'm always a bit relieved when the actual shopping is done. Have a great week!

Christmas Quilting

I have finally finished my quilt gifts that had to be mailed. I finished them over the weekend. I was off this weekend and made good use of my time. My packages are all ready to be mailed in the morning. Unfortunately, I can't show any pictures. This picture shows the last project of the Christmas season for me. I'm making two ornaments for the daughters of a co-worker.  I have to embroider their names and year. They still have to be quilted and binding applied but they're so small. They measure 3.5 inches square. They'll be quick!

I finished my Christmas shopping today. I just have wrapping left. It's so nice to have the pressure off! I can actually start working on my own projects again! 

Wish me luck. I'll be working in the morning while yet another storm hits the area. I work 3 days a week and always manage to be scheduled during a snowstorm. I hope that doesn't continue all winter!

I Like Thursday #29

Welcome to I Like Thursday! It's so nice to post about things that are happy and positive. I hope you enjoy my post! First of all, our Christmas tree is up! This is our smaller tree so we try to use ornaments that the kids made over the years. We try to put bigger and bulkier ornaments around the bottom so the cats leave them alone! Most of the time, they just sit under the tree and enjoy the lights!

Speaking of under the tree, I made this Christmas tree skirt many years ago! It was one of the first quilt projects I made. I bought all the fabric at Keepsake Quilting. I love using it every year.

I went to my local quilt shop, Bits N Pieces. I bought a few stocking stuffers while I was there! These are ornaments made up of a themed Christmas stocking. I got a cat one for my daughter. I found a barbecue stocking for my husband, I couldn't find one that I thought my son would like. However, I saw a candy themed stocking and felt it should be fine for him.

This is one of my favorite gifts I've received over the years. It's a sewing machine music box. The sewing machine moves up and down to the music! The treadle pedal moves also! I keep it in my sewing room. One of my best friends bought this for me. She knows me well!!

Those are my likes for this week! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to be inspired by more positive posts! Enjoy!

Disco is Done!

Even though I'm busily working on my quilt Christmas gifts, I did manage to finish this quilt top! It's Disco by Jaybird Quilts. It measures about 62" X 80". I really love it! I found it challenging as I was sewing it together, but it all turned out fine!

This is a close up so you can see the fabrics a little bit better. The fabrics are from Carolyn Friedlander. I bought this is a kit from Keepsake Quilting. I'm so sad that they're closing. I've signed up for their catalog a few times but never seem to get it. They will continue catalog sales. I used to love to visit them up in New Hampshire. I read their rent was going up and with sales decreasing, they just couldn't afford to stay open. So sad!

Off to work on my gifts! I'm almost done!

I Like Thursday #28

Welcome to I Like Thursday! We're starting to decorate for the holiday. The first item we bought was this little house for our kitties. As you can see, Lily is already enjoying her  home that comes complete with scratching pads. We packed away the Halloween house and will use it again next year.

I love seeing the deer in my back yard. There's a pack of 5 deer that seem to visit us often. We threw our old pumpkins back there. I hope they're enjoying them!

The big news we had on Monday was the snowstorm. We got 17 inches when it was finally over. I had to work at 6AM on Monday morning and I had a very difficult time getting there. I was half an hour late. It was just miserable being out that early with all that snow still falling. The ride home was much easier but that morning drive in set the tone for the day. I just wanted to be home!

I just got this in the mail yesterday. There are lots of nice patterns again this month! There's also a gallery of winners from AQS Quiltweek in Paducah and Charleston. Such beautiful work!

That's it for me this week. Please go visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for more positive and fun posts. There are so many nice bloggers out there accentuating the positive!

Missouri Star Quilt Co.

I placed my first order with the Missouri Star Quilt Co. I was so happy with my order! I bought this 108" wide backing for Disco. I wanted something geometric and loved the look of this pattern. It has a nice feel to it. It's soft and a great weight. It will be great to not have to seam the backing. 

I haven't been able to find Quilter's Dream Cotton batting in double size. I was so happy to find it that I bought 2! My longarm behaves very nicely with this batting and it drapes very nicely. It's my favorite!

Look what else I got! Freebies! Wasn't that nice of Jennie?! I really enjoyed using this website. They seem to have everything and the prices are great. I opted for free shipping and got my order earlier than expected. What a fun order!