Monday, December 29, 2014

Quilty Little Christmas


I am loving Lori Holt's Have Yourself a Quilty Little Christmas quilt along on Instagram.  Most of the blocks are in Lori's book Quilty Fun, but she shares some new ones, too.   This has got to be one of the cutest Christmas quilts available.  It is a small quilt, but I found the size didn't matter when it came to how long it took me to finish a block.  Or maybe I'm just not that fast.  Anyway, it's been a lot of fun to piece.  Check out Lori's blog at http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com 

I wasn't able to start this until Christmas Day, but that was fine with me.  Because of everyone's crazy schedules this year, we celebrated on Christmas Eve.  Christmas Day was very quiet, just the hubby and me.  The perfect time to begin a new project.





All I need now is to finish the snowman for the back and the embellishments for my wreaths and Gingerbread Man block. 




Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Christmas Eve Festivities

This year we are getting together and opening gifts on Christmas Eve. Dinner is going to be easy-to-fix lasagna and French bread.  I will probably make a strawberry cake for dessert, but nothing fancy.  Still, just to liven it up a little, I decided to try my hand at making napkins for the place settings.



My local fabric shop was giving out this pattern, so I thought I would make a sample to see if I liked it.  It's really easy.  You cut 2 18" circles from 2 different fabrics, cut the circles in half, and sew wrong sides together (leaving a 4" opening), then turn inside out and stitch closed.  The 18" circles will make 2 napkins.  There are several patterns like this on Pinterest.  The hardest part is folding the napkin to resemble a tree.  I think mine looks pretty close.

I still have a couple of more presents to wrap, but at least I got all the baking done and packed, ready to give to special friends. 

Every year I say I am not going to do any gift baking because it is SO expensive, but every year I get the bug to bake and off I go.  One of my New Year's Resolutions needs to be to read last year's notes on the subject.

Hope everyone has a 
Wondrous Holiday Season!


Friday, December 12, 2014

Big Wind

Another storm rolled into California, this one with a lot of wind.  It's been foggy for the last few days and I was glad to see the wind because it would blow out some of the fog, but I never expected winds of 50+ mph!  Our fence became a casualty!  Ouch!  Insurance called and is taking care of the problem. 



It's a nasty day outside, wet and cold, so it's perfect day to wrap presents!





Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Shopping in the Rain and a Little Stitching

At last California is getting some much needed rain!  So today I went shopping in the rain at Target and a few other places.  I love their festive decorations.


Then home in time to do a little sewing.  


This little table topper is from Kimberbell.  She has the cutest designs and they are all easy and quick projects that can be completed in a weekend.

I found some cute buttons in my stash and embellished the top hats with them.  If this doesn't put you in the holiday spirit, nothing will!  Fa La La La La

 


Monday, December 1, 2014

The Countdown Begins

On the First Day of Christmas I . . .

. . .  decorated the tree


















 . . . and made a Santa Trinket Bag from an old pattern I bought at a yard sale.


This little bag is only big enough to hold a tiny gift.  The bag itself measures only about 3-1/2" x 4".  This pattern came from Creative Makings by Martie and was published in 1978.  His eyes are black beads, his mouth is embroidered, and his cheeks and nose are felt.  Santa's boots and gloves are felt, too.  I had some old Christmas ribbon and used it to accent his suit and hat.  I think he looks a little Scandinavian or Danish.  It's really a cute little bag but I doubt that I will make more than just one because I just don't have many tiny presents to give.