Christmas Ornament Swap

I joined a fun "Christmas Ornament Swap" - the main requirement of the ornament was that it had to have buttons, somehow, somewhere... :o) These are the snowmen that I made.

I received this cute Holly Leaves and Berries ornament from Jeanelle. With lots of extra Christmas-y buttons!

Laurie sent me these cute little ornaments, made with miniature baking tins! SO creative! The container is a little red bundt tin! Fun!

And from Robin... PINK! A cute pink button ornament - it's made using a small wooden embroidery hoop! And a little jar of tiny pink and white buttons! How did she know I love pink!?! :o)

You can click the pic above to go see other creative ideas that the other swappers made! This was so much fun!

4 little bears and snowmen...

Usually, it's the story of the 3 bears but this time it's 4 bears! :o) These are the bears that I made to give the kids this Christmas. These are keepsake bears. David gets the dark brown one, Anna gets red, Lizzie gets the cream one, and Jimmy gets the light brown. The boys have buttons on their vests and the girls have flowers... I love how they all look a little different (besides colors) even tho they're made from the same pattern. These bears stand about 7" tall. :o)

And I made some snowmen last week... Out of chenille! Wool felt angel wings, sticks for little arms. (Thanks to my Boy Scout for whittling them sharp for me, to be able to insert them!) Added a little snow glitter to them... I *love* the way they turned out. :o)

this week's sewing... :o)

Lots of "miscellaneous" sewing this week! :o) First, I made this pillow, which is now for sale in my Etsy shop.  It was made from a piece of vintage Coral Pink chenille, with a vintage baby pink doily stitched to the front... My girls want me to keep it... :o) 

Here is a close up of the doily... :o) 

Next, I made this block, it is the "Illinois" block from the "McCall's Covering America: 50 State Blocks United In One Quilt" pattern. Carol (Cornfield Quilter) and I are making these blocks, and I decided to make her the Illinois one, since that is my state. :o) Carol, it'll be in the mail to you soon!  

Next, was 72 placemats. Just cut fabric, and then hemmed, but still, 72 of them! These are for the Father/Daughter Royal Purity Ball, next month. :o)

And last but not least, my Christmas Stars quilt! Carol (Cornfield Quilter) did a beautiful job quilting it for me, and I added the binding to it today... :o)

Here is a close up of the quilting... Just lovely! :o)

Christmas BOM

Today, I put together the blocks from the 2010 Christmas BOM from Fat Quarter Shop! I did not buy the finishing kit, but instead used left-overs from the months. I still have enough left-over to make a scrappy binding, and then some! :o) I think my favorite block is the basket at the center bottom. :o)

Winter Wonderland quilt top done!

The Winter Wonderland quilt top is done! I love this quilt! It is approx. 64" x 71". Now to get some backing, and send it off to my friend for quilting... :o)

I am almost to post #200! (This is #198!) I will post a give-away in a day or two, of the red/white/cream scraps from this quilt top, if you're interested... :o)

Winter Wonderland center

Here is the center of the Winter Wonderland quilt! :o) I did the stitching a little different between the blocks, than what the pattern showed. I did a basic whip stitch (whoop stitch, according to dear husband!)... Sorry the pic isn't better, it's a cloudy day here... Now I'm off to make one more 9" star block - apparently, I only made 9 but need 10 for the borders! Oops! :o)

Winter Wonderland stars

I put together all the star blocks for the Winter Wonderland quilt - love how scrappy they are! :o) "Star of Hope" blocks: "Cut the Corners" blocks:

"Double X" blocks:

"Maple Star" blocks:

"Martha Washington Star" blocks (top) and "Pinwheel" blocks (bottom):

Now to put it all together! :o) Thanks for all the nice comments, I am really enjoying this project! I'm so excited to see how it all looks together! :o)

last two Winter Wonderland blocks!

Just finished up the last two embroidery blocks for Winter Wonderland! First is the "Snow Family" block - about 9" x 14". And last, but certainly not least! The "Candy Cane Clothesline" block - about 16" x 24"!

Now to start making the pieced blocks, there are 6 varieties of stars, in 6", 9" and 12" sizes... All red and white scrappy... :o) This was a kit, so I can't take credit for the fabrics... :o)

Thanks for visiting!

Happy New Year!

Three more embroideries done for the Winter Wonderland quilt! Here is the "Holly Border" block - about 4" x 38".
And here is the "Snowbirds" block - about 16" x 14".

And the "Snowball Fight" block - about 7" x 15".

Just two more blocks to go! I'm so excited to see how they'll all look together!

2011 will be the year I really concentrate on getting some of these older projects done and use up some of what I already have... :o)

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends! :o)

2 more Winter Wonderland blocks...

These blocks are going fast now... :o) Here is the "Skier" block - about 8" x 8".
And the "Snowflakes Verse" block - about 6" x 14".

Now onto the next block... :o) Thanks for visiting!

Winter Wonderland...

"Walking in a Winter Wonderland"... No not literally. Although we did get about 4" of snow Christmas Eve! :o) I have had the kit for the "Winter Wonderland" quilt since before last Christmas, and finally pulled it out the other day, and finished the top block - "Winter Wonderland". This is a *large* block, about 11" x 38".
I also finished the "Snow Angel" block - about 8" x 8".

And the "Toboggan" block - about 15" x 9".

I am really enjoying working on these, and they are going quickly, since I finally finished the largest block! I have another Crabapple Hill kit, the "Snowman A to Z" kit, to work on next... :o) And I have my eye on the "Merry Little Christmas" pattern too! I guess I'd better get busy! :o)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my friends!
May we all remember the reason for the season!

Weekend Projects...

This weekend was spent working on various projects... :o) First off, I finished up Sara Bear. She is for my mom for Christmas. I had her made, I just needed to "age" her and add her ribbon and flower... (Kit from The Old Pincushion Etsy shop.)
And check out this BEAUTIFUL hang tag that my friend Laurie, from Indulge Your Shelf, made to go with Sara.... Here is the front:

And here is the back:

Thank you again, Laurie! :o)

And last but not least... 10 Christmas Flannel fat quarters + backing = YUMMY!

I had some Christmas flannel FQs that I had gotten from The Nauvoo Quilt Company Etsy shop this past summer, that I didn't know what I wanted to do with... So I decided to cut the FQs into 3" squares and see how many 9-patch blocks it would make. Turns out it'll make more than 36 blocks, which is how many I used to make this little snuggly throw. A piece of flannel for the back, and there ya go! :o)

Christmas give away winner!

The winner of the Christmas give away is Marcia!

Please send me your mailing address (janda082803@yahoo.com) and I will get your package out tomorrow! Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks for playing along!

Christmas give away

Hold Everything! It SNOWED!
Jimmy was so happy -- we got about an inch of snow overnight Friday/Saturday! He had such a blast playing in it on Saturday afternoon! :o) I'm sure we will have PLENTY more snow by the end of the winter, but it was fun to watch how happy Jimmy was about it!

Okay, on to the Christmas give-away! :o) I am giving away a pair of these "finger-tip" hot pads, made by me! They are insulated, to protect you from the heat of pans, and have magnets in the "thumb" end, so you can hang them on the refrigerator or side of the stove!

There will probably be something else in the box, perfect for Christmas quilting of your own... :o)

All you have to do to enter, is leave a comment on this post, before Monday, December 13th. That way I can get this little box to you before Christmas! :o) Good luck!

Christmas gifts...

This week, I should be receiving fabric from a customer that wants a x-large throw made to give as a Christmas gift... (Yes, short notice!) So I have been trying to work on some of my own gifts to give, to get them out of the way... :o)

I made these two little wool/felt wallhangings. They measure about 5" x 6", with a small cinnamon stick for a rod. :o) Beads that I had on hand made the "ornaments" with a jingle bell for a tree topper... :o) My own little design! :o)

This is Sara bear! She is for my mom for Christmas. She still needs to be aged with some stain, plus some ribbon or flowers added. Laurie at Indulge Your Shelf is going to make me a special hang-tag for Sara. (By the way, be sure to visit Laurie HERE - she is having an awesome give-away!) This bear stands about 8.5" tall. Sara was made from a kit from The Old Pincushion Etsy shop.

And last but not least, just a peek... This is going to a dear friend, but she reads this blog, so I can't have her seeing the whole thing, it has a long journey across the ocean, so I need to get it mailed this week!

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was peaceful... :o) This week won't be as peaceful: Jim has his follow-up appointment at the pulmonary specialist Wednesday, and the local Christmas parade is Wednesday night, and David broke his glasses so I need to get him an appointment... And, and, and... :o) Have a great week!

Christmas stockings

Been working on these little Christmas stocking wall-hangings...

The stocking designs are machine embroidery, and then I just added a little jingle bell to each one, and a REAL cinnamon stick, to hang it with. :o) I put them up for sale at our Country Scrap Quilts site, individually or as a set... I thought they would make good Christmas gifts... :o)

Christmas Cottages and spaghetti :o)

I worked on some Christmas Cottage blocks today for a swap that I'm in. You make them in pairs (not necessarily matching) but then there is an "uphill" and a "downhill"... I have made 4 sets so far, but plan on making more before the deadline... :o)

There is crocheted lace along the rooftops and buttons for doorknobs (from that jar that I got at Apple & Pork!)... These are really fun to make!

And here is Jimmy at lunch time, having spaghetti... How did he get it THERE?!?! :o)

Hope everyone is having a good week! Thanks for stopping by!