Twas a few days before Christmas...

The stockings are hung by the chimney, with care.

 The tree is smaller than usual, but at least it is there.

 My supervisor blinks his approval, on his way to another long winter's nap.

 The gingerbread is ready for icing, each chap.

The guests are preparing to travel, and the last few details are falling into place.  I trust that you, too, are close to ready for the blessed day.  I'll be surprised if I post between now and the New Year, so I'll wish you and yours the most Merry of Christmases. Hallelujah, Christ is born!

More Ornaments

For now, the stocking (ornaments) are hung on the chair.  But they are finished, so that's good!

 Mama's little helper has decided she's shy.  Cutie patootie!

 It's been weeks (months!) since I've been out to visit at the walnuts.  The dogs are doing well, looking forward to whatever the day will bring.

We have company arriving in one week, so Santa's Workshop is closing its doors.  Time to focus on cleaning the guest rooms and prepping for family.  I so look forward to this time of year!  I hope you do, too.

May God's blessings and light shine in your lives this Christmas, and throughout the coming New Year.

So Busy!

On Monday, we had our annual BOTV mailing party.  Several of the Best of the Valley gals got together to put together the mass mailing of entry forms, etc. for the upcoming show.

 If you're not on the mailing list, you can download the entry form and guidelines here.

Last week, I finished some heart ornaments.  The stocking ornaments are still under construction.

 I finally finished marking Penny's Pinwheel.  Here it is, waiting to be basted.  oh wait!  You can't see it!  I covered it with a sheet, just in case the cat needed to check it.  And he did.  Of course he did.

 And here it is, all basted and ready for hand quilting.  I've already got 4-1/2 years invested into this quilt.  What's another 4-1/2 to get it quilted, right?  :D

Once the mailing party was over and the quilt basted, I took the tables out to the garage and commenced decorating for Christmas.  Here's what I've got so far:

 Actually, the above is what I want you to see.  Here below is what it actually looks like:

Goals are good, and the current one is to be able to take a picture of this same view, without all of the piles of decorations-in-waiting.

I'll leave you with visions of a fully decorated room, and wish you the most blessed of Christmas seasons.

Christmas is Coming

Yesterday was our guild Christmas luncheon.  So much fun!  So much food!  Each table was decorated by a different friendship group.  Our Itty Bitties table looked like this:

 I brought the dishes and red Waterford goblets for water.  I wish my camera had picked up more detail in the next image.  So many people were wearing red, it was quite festive.

 And the food!  Look at this selection of salads!  We opted for a salad and dessert potluck.  I thought it was quite the success.  Everything was delicious.

 This is the dessert table.  I didn't realize until just now that I should have waited for everything to be uncovered before snapping the pictures.

Twenty-three Corn and Beans blocks were turned in for the Block of the Month drawing.

 Next month's block is "Christmas Dishes."  It's the Broken Dishes pattern, done in Christmas fabrics.  It doesn't look like much, but can be turned into a really cute quilt.

I'm currently in the process of making ornaments.  Hopefully I'll get them finished soon.  Then I will post pictures.

Hope you're having a lot of fun, wrapped up in holiday prep.  I know I am!

And Another One

A few weeks back, I spent a day at Calico Mermaid, at their in-store retreat.  10 hours of sewing, and two delicious meals later, I came home with a finished applique and the blocks for another baby quilt.  Over the next week, I put the blocks into a top, and then quilted it.  Yesterday I finished, even the binding!  wow!  I hope to get it into the mail next week.

 I showed you some UFO blocks in my last post.  I waffled back and forth about borders, then decided to make a bold choice.  oh my!  This diagonal stripe was tricky, as I needed to cut it both length- and width-wise to get the effect I wanted.

 It completely changes the feel of the quilt, but I don't mind.  I kind of like it.  It's still a "winter" quilt, but it's not as "cold" as it felt before adding the drama.

Fall has come in earnest, to our little pocket of California.  The gingkos began dropping their leaves last week.  In anticipation of the rain on the horizon, I took Babykins over to the park for an impromptu photo shoot.

 Little Helper tried to put the lens cap back in place as I tried to get a picture.  When I set her down, off she ran, squealing all the way.  Too much fun.

 The next day the rain poured down, bringing with it more gingko leaves.  This is our front yard.  The beauty is fleeting, but it sure brightens a rainy day!!

Tomorrow is December, beginning the big tick tock until Christmas.  Time to get busy in the workshop and see if I can get a thing or two under the tree before the 25th.
Happy December and Happy Quilting, one and all!

Another Baby Quilt, Done

 The above baby quilt has been finished and delivered.  Hopefully baby Celeste has already been wrapped in it.  Baby Abby received hers (the pink one in the last post) and I'm sure she's already breaking it in.

I pulled some very old blocks out of my UFO bin and put them on the wall.  It was high time to do something with them, so I added corner stones and sashing.  It needs a border.  I should dig out my Christmas fabrics and see if I have something with white and poinsettias, or anything else that might work.

 The nights have been cold enough to turn the gingkoes into gold.  Fall is final here.  Can winter be far behind?

I trust you had a delightful Thanksgiving.  We did.  I forgot to bring out my camera.  I've been so busy being Grammie that I don't remember to take photographic evidence.  Hopefully I will remember to document this Christmas season.  There's not much that can beat the wonder in a young child's eyes as the tree goes up with the lights and ornaments and then the packages begin to gather beneath it.

Am I ready for Christmas?  Not yet.  Am I ready for the Christmas season?  Always!
And away we go!

Two Finishes

I completely finished two baby quilts on Sunday.  Well, all finished, except for labels.

 I also went back to the Tiara, and successfully quilted a third baby quilt.  It still needs binding.

When I went to this year's Completed Quilt/UFO list, I was quite surprised to see that I'd neglected to mark off several quilts.  wow!  I've done a better job posting on this blog than I have on my design wall paperwork, and yet, I see that I have another finish that I didn't get posted here.

What can I say?  Life.

Baby girl, or should I say Toddling Granddaughter will be here in 30 minutes.  She's one reason the paperwork has gone by the wayside.  I guess I'm just Grammie these days, and not Quilting Grammie.  Those days will come, eventually.

Block of the Month

Guild met on Thursday.  The response to the Monkey Wrench block for November was wonderful.

 For next month, we're doing Corn & Beans.  I'm hopeful that the response to this one will be great as well.

Other than writing patterns and sewing samples, I've quilted one baby quilt and attached the binding.  Once it's stitched down, I'll have a finish.  yay!!

Been Busy

huh.  I'm not sure what happened, but I just lost my post.

To recap, last week was our guild retreat.  We went to Wonder Valley, where we sewed up a storm.  I was happy with my work space, though I ended up labeled as an anti-social wall builder.  oh well.

 I was thankful that Wendy VB left early and left her Ott light behind.  I'd forgotten to bring mine, and I spent HOURS working on applique.

 I was making chairs.  This is one of my rejects - the color was all wrong for the quilt top.  oh well.  It will go into my UFO pile and perhaps became part of something else someday.

I was also able to get two baby quilts pieced together.  I basted them last night.

 I'm hopeful that I can quilt them sometime soon.

Guild meets tomorrow.  I need to get together the pattern and samples for Block of the Month.  Busy, busy, and it's just the start of busy season.

Happy Quilting!

Blocks of the Month

The last time I posted, I realized that I'd been remiss in sharing the past months' blocks of the month with you.  I am the Block of the Month chairman for Valley Oak Quilt Guild.  We've had excellent participation throughout the summer, which was unexpected.  Some of the blocks have been challenging, and yet, the guild members have been willing to give it a try.

Our block for July was an 8-pointed star.  I asked the members to make one for the drawing, and one for a Quilt of Honor, to be given to a veteran at the county fair.  The blocks were returned, but the turn-around time was too fast.  The quilt will be ready for 2019.  These were the blocks in the drawing:

 The block for August was Delectable Mountains, done in "mountain" colors.  Twenty eight blocks should be enough to make a quilt top.

 September's block was Sister's Choice.  It, too, was pretty popular.  Love the colors!

 October's block was a bit over-the-top challenging, with the Wild Goose Chase. And yet, the results are wonderful!  I'm sure the winner was over the moon with delight.

After such a time-consuming block last month, the block for November is something simple.  What could be easier than a Monkey Wrench?  Hmmm  I thought I had a picture of the sample blocks, but I don't seem to be able to easily access them.  Maybe next time.

Hope you enjoyed the show.  I know I've had a lot of fun choosing blocks each month.  It's always great to choose one that is a hit with the members.  Now, hmmm.  What to choose for December...

whew!

Last week was a whirlwind of setting up and taking down.  Our house at the walnut orchard was transformed into a wedding venue.  It was fabulous.  Just look at it!  (This picture was taken the night before, during the rehearsal dinner.)

 Four of the seven women in the wedding party are expecting.  wow!

 The pictures were taken before the ceremony.  Here they are setting up for the professional.

 Don't they look wonderful?

I took 100+ photos, and the photographer took another 200.  I think the bride and groom were smiling in every one!

 Above are all of our sons, together in one frame.  That doesn't happen very often.  And below are our two granddaughters, together as flower girls.  That doesn't happen often either!

It was a lovely evening, filled with love and friendship and excellent food.  The tents went up on Friday, and came down on Sunday, all done by family and friends.  Very good friends.  I hope that I speak truth when I say a good time was had by all.  I know I had a wonderful day.  It is good to see one's child so very very happy.  :)

And sometime during the week, I was able to send off a birthday card.  whew!

I plan to sew tomorrow.  We'll see what happens.  Goals are good!

Busy Month

Last week, I gave a trunk show at Valley Oak Quilt Guild.  The following day, I taught a class.  I called it "Freeform Seascapes."  I think it went really well, though there were only five students.  It was a lot of fun, and each seemed pretty happy with their results.  They were all quilting by the time the class ended, and one student even had the binding on her quilt!

Here are the student projects:

 The next day, our son and daughter-in-law arrived from Missouri.  They're here for the wedding on Saturday.  Our last son is getting married.  woohoo!

I put off making the flower girl dress until this past weekend.  You know how children are.  They grow so quickly and unexpectedly.  I wanted to be sure I only had to make one dress.  :)

 whew!!  It fits!  yay!!

So, yes.  I've been quite busy.  Next week everything should calm down a bit.  I cleared out my Sewing Annex.  I removed the twin bed and replaced it with a queen.  Did I tell you that I went to the Common Threads boutique?  I did.  And I came away with a quilt, made by The Pointless Quilter.  Isn't it perfect?

The kids say the room is quite comfortable.  yay!!  It's taken me years to put a second queen bed in my house, but now that I've done it?  I wonder why I didn't do it long ago.  oh well.  Oh, and it's a Casper mattress, which my boys all say is the best bed ever.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to check in next week with some pictures from the wedding.  Goals are good!