Double Digit Days

Ya'll someone told me it's only 99 days til Christmas! If you have things to make now's the time to get started. I sat down one afternoon this week and made this little Santa wallhanging. The pattern is #501 Old World Santa by Bloomin' Minds and is super fast to make. I stuck the pattern and some scrap fabrics in a plastic bag at home a couple of weeks ago and brought it to the mission with me. When I was missing a couple of pieces I thought I had put in I dug through my scrap bag here (don't you have a scrap bag with you everywhere you go?) and used the back of one fabric and another one fussy cut to finish the job. Seriously, only a couple of hours at most. You gotta' love that! And.....I did the machine quilting on this table runner, made the binding and put it on and all it needs now is to be washed so the flowers and leaves can fray. It's a raw edge applique piece and I want the edges to be fuzzy. I'd wash it here but the water is awful for laundry - my white things have some tough rust spots that I'll be spending some time trying to get out when I get home. I love this for the fall....I think it will go on my small bar in the kitchen.

Anyone else starting on Christmas stuff?

A Child's To-Do List For Christmas Eve

Just in case you can't decipher this list:

1. Make Cookies

2. Play Outside

3. Get Dressed

4. Go to Sleep

Do You See What I See?

Do you see that baby over there on the right? That's Andrew Jacob and his birthday is December 31, 2008. Right now he's resting in the safest place there is on this earth - in his Mommy's womb. He doesn't know that in 8 days (as I write this) his world is going to be literally turned inside out, upside down. He doesn't know that he is going to be rudely plucked from the home he's known for the whole of his life and dropped down into a life he knows nothing about. A life with a Mom who is going to continue to hold him and protect him and take care of every need. A life with a Dad who's going to throw him up on his shoulder and carry him around like a football and never, ever drop him. A life with two big sisters who are going to dote on every sound and move and yawn he makes and who will, in time, be screaming at him to leave them alone one minute and scooping him up and squeezing him tight to their hearts the next. A life with grandparents who will think he's the best thing since sliced bread and who will take millions of pictures and tell hundreds of stories all about him.

And just think, God loves us more than that. More than Andrew's Mommy loves him and more than Andrew's Daddy loves him and more than Andrew's sisters love him and more than Andrew's grandparents love him....all added together.

And two days from now as I write this Jesus will have His birthday celebrated all around the world. Once upon a time He was a baby in His mother's womb and His life was turned upside down, inside out. And once upon a time His mother held Him and protected Him and took care of His every need. And once upon a time His daddy threw Him up on His shoulder and carried Him around and never, ever dropped Him. And once upon a time He had brothers and sisters and grandparents who teased Him and laughed with Him and loved Him and told hundreds of stories about Him.

And just think, He willingly allowed His life to be turned inside out, upside down....again. Because He loves us more than our Mommys and Daddys and brother and sisters and grandparents...all added together. Wow.

May God bless you throughout this Christmas season and beyond. May He give you the strength and grace and wisdom you need to serve Him and love Him just like He loves you. Merry Christmas.

It's Stitching Time!

Hancock's was having a sale today so I went to check it out. Christmas fabric was marked 70% (or maybe 75%, can't remember now) off so I bought enough to make 8 pillowcases. I had already made three so that made an even dozen. Yes I know that doesn't add up! One of these is a pillowcase that was made for my now 32 year old son when he was five years old and is destined for his son who will be born New Year's Eve. Six are for some of my grandchildren and six are for the children of a friend. I also got enough Christmas fleece to make three throws and three panels for aprons, all of which will be gifts. One throw is done (all I do is do an overlock stitch on the outside edges) and two are cut and ready to work on tomorrow or Monday. And I got all of that for $45! (The "antique" pillowcase is on the bottom right in the second picture.

Yesterday I used two Moda charm packs to make these doll quilts and pillows for my three youngest granddaughters. Are they not the cutest things?

Just a few more days to stitch before we celebrate Jesus' birthday but that's enough time to get those other two throws done, the three aprons made, a wallhanging quilted, and mabe the six placemats I want to make on the sewing machine. Are you doing last minute stitching?

Christmas Greetings

This Christmas card is the one I sent out this year - and I just love it! I know you can't see it but inside this snug little cabin is a woman with a quilt hoop in her lap. It's just so me! There are candles in the windows and a heart wreath on the door and bunny rabbits peeking inside. It sits beside a creek and in the background is a sleigh, undoubtedly the husband off to town while the wife stays home in the warmth. That would be me - staying home where it's warm. :)

Inside it says "May your heart and home be filled with the light of Christ in this beautiful season of love. Merry Christmas! And it includes this verse, "Lord, may your faithful love rest on us. We put our hope in you. " Psalm 33.22 And that's my wish for each of you - that the light of Christ will live in your heart throughout this season and beyond.






I didn't do as much decorating this year as in the past but I thought you might like to see what I've done that I especially enjoy. This is the china cabinet that belonged to my husband's grandmother. The Merry Christmas blocks were given to me by a friend many years ago and the dishes were a gift from my children. The glasses were my mother's. The things that mean the most to me are the ones that have memories of people associated with them. They are the ones I want to be surrounded by and have close to me.










This Dickens Christmas Village was given to me by my children as well. It sits on the mantle in my sunroom and stays lit from the time it goes up until I take it down - and this year it might just stay up all winter!

I hate the dark. That means it's important to me to always have light around me - sometimes it's just the light of Jesus' love but the flicker of a candle symbolizes that for me.

On the left I have a manger scene with a beautiful angel wallhanging watching over it. We've had it for several years and since we moved into this house it always watches over us from that spot. The Santa is one I made last year. I bought the kit on one of our Colorado trips at a small quilt shop on the Kansas border. We were stopping at Winnfield for the bluegrass festival that year, meeting my sister and friends. I have wonderful memories of that time. The stockings, of course, are for my seven grandchildren. It's time to add an eighth!

And this last one is our tree. The angel on top is a little bedraggled but she's guarded our tree since my children were small so she will always be there as long as I'm here! Our tree isn't a masterpiece of design - but every ornament on there is one that means something to me. There are ornaments my children made when they were small and ornaments my grandchildren have given me. There are ornaments we've bought when we traveled or that I've made. There are ornaments that were gifts from dear friends or loved ones, some now singing with the angels. The Christmas tree skirt my mother made for me. The bear was a gift from my husband just a few years ago - just because.

You know Christmas is such a time of joy and it should be. What a great gift we got in that baby. But it's also a time when my heart yearns for Heaven. When we sing carols I can almost see the doors of Heaven opening.............

Finished by Friday - Starting on Christmas

A couple of weeks ago I won a giveaway from Crazy for Primitive Quilts and Gardens. (Ok Blogger is definitely not cooperating with me today since I can't get it to highlight anything but "crazy"). I made it this week - my first Christmas finish. Is this not the cutest crow you ever saw?

This Carpenter's Wheel/Star, I can never remember the name, you have seen before. But it is now quilted, bound, and gone to it's new home. This pattern is super simple and I think I'll be making more of these for gifts. I made it in a Debbie Maddy workshop.