Saturday, December 28, 2019

12 Days of Christmas

No, I couldn't help myself. In the middle of binding Tiny Tree ....
I've started another tiny mystery. Called 12 Days of Christmas, it's being brought to us by Suzn Quilts. There will be twelve 3" blocks given out daily. It started on December 26 so it's not too late to start. My blocks ....

If you'd like to hop into this 12"-ish project, you can find directions on SewingWithSusan  on Facebook or on her blog Suzn Quilts. It's fun -- join us!

Linking up with Angela on the last Scrap Happy Saturday of 2019!

Monday, December 23, 2019

Tiny Tree Update

Short post here. Need to make some cookies and hope to finish this up!

Needs a little trimming. I laid it on the red tablecloth to audition a red binding .... what do you think? I'm thinking I might like that! Thoughts appreciated.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Still Scrappy!

Amidst all the hustle & bustle of the Christmas season and celebrating the final days of 2019 while looking forward to what 2020 will bring, I've managed to stitch very little. Surprised? I'll bet not.

My Tiny Tree has grown. All 10 tree blocks are done and the 11th block (the trunk) has been cut out, ready to sew. Then decisions will need to be made. Here's a picture of my completed blocks.
They're not sewn together and they're not going to be necessarily in this order ... except the star block goes up on top. I was thinking about redoing that one, making the star yellow? Any thoughts? Maybe if/when I make another Tiny Tree quilt? It was fun and all scraps!

My morning walk on the bike trail with Gracie was very cold yesterday morning. Here's picture of the sun just coming up across the field and another of the frost on the bushes. Just looking at the pictures makes me shiver again!

The weather folks are predicting near 60 on Christmas Day. Sounds like time for a cook-out! Lol!

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Angela on Scrappy Saturday! Plenty of fun stuff to look at over there!

Monday, December 16, 2019

My Turn on the Blog Hop!

Today is Monday, December 16, and it is my turn on the 2019 Holiday Favorites Blog Hop. It's Day #8 which brings to mind "Maids a-Milking" and makes me laugh. If I was a maid, this maid would turn that milk into ice cream! Haha! Enough of that ... let's see some Christmas quilts and take a trip down Memory Lane! Isn't that a big part of Christmas, after all?

Hanging in our den, this quilt seems to explode Christmas although it is actually just a beautiful red & green quilt that I made in the early 2000s. The lap quilt on the back of the couch was  made using two Moda Turnover packages. Do you remember those? I don't think Moda makes them any longer.
This little snowman loves his tiny tree. It looks like the star he hung on the highest bough is a bit too
heavy!

My mother sits in the recliner with this "quilt-as-you-go" quilt behind her. Puts her in the holiday spirit!

Our Christmas tree is decked out with a quilted tree skirt. Pieced in the center, it has holly leaves & berries appliqued all around!

This is not a quilt but a "favorite" I'd like to share from the den also. It is the nativity that I place on the mantel every year. Way, way, way back in the late 1980s my next-door-neighbor & best friend Vickie and I made this plastic canvas needlepoint nativity together. She still teases me to this day about the camel --- I think I tried to cut it from the canvas at least three times and failed. I told her there would be no camel in my nativity so she cut this one out for me! That is truly a good friend!!! Lol! Christmas IS friends!
The detail on this is amazing and we searched all over to find the right yarns, threads, and beads to make the perfect nativity.

The next Hop stop is the bathroom. Everyone needs to use it so let's really dress it up for the Holiday!
My BFF Vickie made this for me one year for my birthday. I looked at the label and it is dated 1994!! This quilt is 25 years old! She'll be upset to see that I still haven't put the bows on her wreaths that I promised to do for her since she forgot them! Oh my! But she managed to get the bow on the black cat and a beaded collar on the striped one.

This is my "12 Days of Christmas" and it always gives me a chuckle. While making it during a QAL with Temecula Quilts I didn't catch on until about Day 6. Here's the skinny on it: Starting in the upper left, the first block has 1 piece to it. The next block has 2 pieces to it. The next block has 3 pieces to it. Are you getting the picture now? That last block does in fact have 12 pieces to it. Besides a good laugh, I just love that cardinal border fabric!

This corner piece also has a couple of nativities on it. The cross stitch one in the middle was given to me one year by my favorite cousin. Christmas IS family.

Our holiday wouldn't be complete without decorating the house. Here's Gracie assisting my husband Fred with the lights.

A little more progress .... Fred is hanging the bells on the porch light. He hates them but hangs them every year because I love them. Thank you, Honey! Christmas IS love!

Ta! Da!

Here are the links to the others on this fabulous Holiday Hop. Catch up if you missed the first seven days and keep on hopping until you get to Day 12!


Dec 10 KatyQuilts, katyquilts.net



Dec 13 - Kyle, kyleredente.blogspot.com

Dec 14  Kelly, pinkadotquilts.blogspot.com

Dec 15  Juliann, chasingstories.wordpress.com

Dec 16   Knitty Quilter, suehoover.blogspot.com

Dec 17  Lizzy,  gone2thebeach.blogspot.com



Dec 20-  Kevin, kevinthequilter.blogspot.com

Thank you, Lori, for putting this hop together and for asking me to join you and the others.

And thank YOU for making it through to the end of this post and allowing me to share some of my quilts and my Christmas with you. May you find friends, family, and love this season and throughout the upcoming year!

Friday, December 13, 2019

2019 Holiday Favorites Blog Hop & More

Have you been following along on the Holiday Favorites Blog Hop 2019 with Lori from Humble Quilts? We are well underway and the first five posts have been so inspiring. Lori kicked it off on Monday and today is Day #5. Check in daily as we share with you our holiday favorites and our quilty holiday decorations! (As you can see, I'll be Monday's child. Lol!)


Dec 10 KatyQuilts, katyquilts.net



Dec 13 - Kyle, kyleredente.blogspot.com

Dec 14  Kelly, pinkadotquilts.blogspot.com

Dec 15  Juliann, chasingstories.wordpress.com

Dec 16   Knitty Quilter, suehoover.blogspot.com

Dec 17  Lizzy,  gone2thebeach.blogspot.com



Dec 20-  Kevin, kevinthequilter.blogspot.com

For several years now I've participated with Temecula Quilts's holiday sew-a-long. This year's is Tiny Tree and here are my tiny blocks so far:
I've got these four done, two more cut & ready to sew, and three four behind ... until today's #11 comes out. These blocks measure 2-3/4" unfinished. When they're put together, they'll be 2-1/4". How do I keep getting involved with these teeny, tiny blocks??!!??

I've been using the black String-X segments for my leaders & enders. I'm making progress!
Believe it or not, I've actually got a finish to report. I started this cute little pillow a while ago but recently got it done. Sherri from A Quilting Life posted the free pattern on her blog. Didn't it turn out cute?
Front

Back
I usually fall short on the extra fluff on my handmade items because I don't have the confidence to sew anything more than the main part. However, I decided I'd try sewing on this tiny pompom trim. The pattern used lace and Sherri used larger pompom trim. Although it's not perfect, I think my tiny trim adds just the right amount of prettiness to an already pretty pillow!

There's secret sewing going on under my needle.
I still haven't started the Bonnie Hunter 2019 Mystery but I have been collecting the clues. I must be nuts to be even thinking about jumping on board! (And I may not!)

Have a terrific weekend and don't forget to follow along daily with the 2019 Holiday Favorites Blog Hop!
Leaving you with a picture of the glorious sunrise in Illinois this morning.


Linking up with Angela for Scrappy Saturday!

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Blog Hop & Kyoto

Waiting for my mother to arrive so I can take her to a doctor's appointment. I believe it is a recheck at her dermatologist today. Thankfully no biggie. She's 86 and really has no health issues. I hope I have her genes!

Wanted to give you a quick heads up. Lori from Humble Quilts asked me if I'd like to participate in a blog hop that she was wanting to run. I hesitated because I've never done this before but then I thought, how will I ever learn to do this if I never have a "first time"? So I accepted. She's calling it Holiday Favorites Blog Hop 2019.
Starting next Monday, December 9, Lori will kick the Hop off followed by 11 other fellow bloggers. More details will be forthcoming but you can probably guess from the title that we will be sharing some of our holiday favorites.

Quick update on Kyoto:
I'vve got the center star put together. It needs a good pressing. I've started putting on the outer triangles to get some corners on. Then only needs borders. It's really getting large!
I'm happy to be making such great progress!

I'll leave you with this last picture of my sweet Brody. Have a great week!