Christmas Week

I am constantly shaking my head trying to wrap around the fact that it's the end of the year. Today is the 20th. I have four days to finish my gift sewing . . . No, it's still not finished!!!

I was shocked that it's been a month since I posted anything on my blog. It has been a crazy, busy month. So what have I been doing . . . 

I've spent time with mom. We enjoyed several visits with just us and had a Saturday baking session with my niece.

Newton kept great #10 busy playing with legos.

 

 

 

I spent a week and a half working an inventory. This part-time, temporary job totalled about 40 hours, meals were planned to be easy since arrival at home coincided with my guys coming home very soon after me.

There were doctor appointments, pharmacy runs, Christmas shopping. In between, I worked in my traditional Crispix mix that my family absolutely loves.

And I sewed, sometimes as early as 7 a.m.

And stitched, between wrapping gifts, cleaning up after dinner and prepping breakfasts and lunches for the next day.I

I am never happier than when I'm busy. I've been thinking about goals for next year. I already know that I want my main focus to continue to be on UFOs. I still have numerous quilt tops to finish into quilts. I have my flannels for next year's pajamas. 2018 is off to a productive start.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement, spoken or unspoken. 

I wish you a blessed, happy Christmas

And

A blessed, healthy and happy New Year.

(found on Pinterest)

Goal Reports for November 20 and 27, 2017

Goals for the week of November 20 and 27, 2017

1. Joe's Quilt

- begin sewing YES

- sash rows

2. I LOVE HOME

- finish stitching Block 3 YES

- begin stitching Block 4 YES

- assemble Block 3 YES

- assemble Block 4

pictures coming :)

3 Additional PJs (formerly known as Adult PJs - yes, there are more kids' PJs to make) - not yet, I got wrapped up in Holly Cottage

- cut out patterns/fabric - YES

- begin sewing and finish sewing :) YES

4. Needlebook - no, same excuse here . . . LOL

- cut out, sew

5. Holly Cottage Christmas

- begin drawing off designs YES

- begin stitching YES

My last two weeks, although not much time spent blogging, has been very productive. It's that time of year when I'm feeling overwhelmed by too many projects. But I'm going to keep plugging away.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you days filled with creativity.

Hectic days

My days lately have been so very hectic. More than usual. Doctors and dentists . . . Scheduling and rescheduling . . . Dropping off and picking up. . . Cooking, cleaning and laundry. And shopping . . . Christmas and groceries. My thoughts are running rampant with baking and gift wrapping.
And this week, add to the mix, a part-time temporary job for the next few weeks.

I'm still looking for time to relax and do stitch-y things. I have a start on my Holly Cottage Christmas. Actually, I've made a pretty good dent in the number of blocks that need drawn and prepared for applique.

I managed to get some Christmas decorating done this week also.

My little trees kept falling over, so I put them in these little baskets and filled them with sand to weigh them down. They needed a little dressing up.

I found this adorable checked ribbon at Michael's and made the bows. Definitely helps. Mom suggested wrapping some empty boxes (I might have to weigh them down with bricks :) I'm thinking about it. Reminding myself that Christmas isn't just about the material things.

Speaking of which . . .

My very good friend, Susan, has presented us with this challenge on her blog. I'm taking the challenge. It's to make one block per day during advent. it works out to 20 blocks if you don't make one on Sunday, but you could always make two on Monday :) That's enough blocks to make a quilt top, which is suggested to put together between Christmas and New Year's. Then we are encouraged to donate the top/completed quilt to our favorite charity. Hope you are able to join us. We could all make such a difference with such little effort.

Now to the other end of the spectrum, look what I received this week from my Shoebox Swap partner:

 

24 gorgeous fat quarters. . . Aurifil thread and an adorable USB flash drive in the shape of a rotary cutter. 

 

Chocolate !! GODIVA chocolate !!!! I am in so much trouble !!!! 
And the little purple box?  The sweetest little needle book !!!

Every page has these sweet little, vintage lace motifs. I just love it. My partner, Tracy, did a fantastic job of choosing all the things I love.

Wishing you a blessed week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Friday Night Sew-In

Thanksgiving was a wonderful, relaxing day. Hope you all enjoyed yours, too.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day and enjoyed some relaxation with Friday Night Sew-In hosted by the beautiful Wendy.

Here's what I got up to:

Block 4 of I LOVE HOME is almost done.

The first block of Holly Cottage Christmas is drawn off and the applique pieces are ready to be cut out and ironed in place.

Don't forget to check out what everyone else was up to Friday night.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a blessed weekend.

Monday's Goal List

And Tuesday and Wednesday.

But first,

Friday Night Sew-In is this Friday, November 24. Our hostess is the beautiful Wendy. Hop on over and sign in :)

Also this weekend, if you have time, have the channels and are familiar with Nancy Zieman, PBS (Public Broadcasting) will be running a two-day, 12 back-to-back episodes of Sewing with Nancy. Nancy passed away earlier this month from recurrence of cancer she'd been stricken with. She was a beautiful, generous person like so many of you are in the quilting world. It is their tribute to her life and work.

Now on to what's been keeping me busy and happy.

I managed to get all four rows and the sashing sewn together for Joe's quilt.

I LOVE HOME block 3 has been stitched and just needs to be assembled.

I've started stitching on block 4.

I'm practically dancing for all the progress I've made so far this week. In addition, I took Newton to the dentist, went to JoAnn's and got flannel for next - yes, next - year's Christmas PJs. My kitchen is cleaned and organized and ready for Thanksgiving day cooking. We'll be spending the day together with Mom.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

See you at Friday Night Sew-In.

Thanks for stopping by.

Goal Report for November 13, 2017

First a word from

our weather !!!

We got some visible, almost measurable, snow on Sunday after all the wind and rain. Temperatures dropped, it's not going to last. We are looking forward to 50s by mid week. Thanksgiving day is looking pleasant for traveling.

On to my goals. I have had the most productive week I've had in quite a while.

1. Joe's quilt - making progress

- layout - DONE

  

- begin sewing - that's scheduled for Monday.

2. I LOVE HOME

- finish Block 2 - DONE

- begin Block 3 - DONE

- assemble Blocks 1 and 2 - DONE

- download pattern for Block 4 - DONE

(and drawn off)

3. Adult PJs

- pull patterns - DONE

- purchase additional fabric - DONE

- cut out patterns - not yet

- begin sewing - not yet

4. Needlebook - not yet

BONUS !!!

Holly Cottage Christmas

A really good friend inspired me to purchase this pattern. Said friend has suggested that I begin where the SAL is and catch up at the end. I, of course, thought this was a great idea :)

To that end, I purchased necessary fabric and began by cutting out the background blocks and pulling the floss. I also managed to pull together all the small Christmas prints I have in my stash.

A VERY productive week !!!

Goals for the week of November 20, 2017

1. Joe's Quilt

- begin sewing

2. I LOVE HOME

- finish stitching Block 3

- begin stitching Block 4

- assemble Block 3

3 Additional PJs (formerly known as Adult PJs - yes, there are more kids' PJs to make)

- cut out patterns/fabric

- begin sewing

4. Needlebook

- cut out, sew

5. Holly Cottage Christmas

- begin drawing off designs

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Goal Report November 6, 2017

So for this week my goals are:

1. Santa Hats

- finish third wall hanging - DONE

2. Joe's Quilt

- decide on layout

- cut fabrics

No progress here

3. I Love Home

- continue embroidery

 

So it's been the kind of week that I got stuff done, just not enough.

Here's what I want to accomplish for the week of November 13, 2017:

1. Joe's Quilt

- layout

-begin sewing

2. I LOVE HOME

- finish block 2

- start block 3

- assemble blocks 1 and 2

- download block 4

3. Adult PJs

- pull patterns

- purchase fabric

- cut out

4. Needlebook

That should keep me busy and out of trouble.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Gorgeous Saturday, Warmer Sunday, Goals Monday

It's a beautiful Saturday. It's chilly but we didn't really get any snow, just flurries. Today we have sunshine :)

I did manage to get something accomplished this week.

It's not finished, but I put a huge dent in the first block of I LOVE HOME by Jacquelynne Steves.

Block 1

I still have to decide how I want to finish the hearts. The "blooms" are going to be buttons that I'll attach after I finish assembling the block.

 

Block 2

I love how the tree turned out. Bit of inspiration using the feather stitch. I was trying to incorporate some different stitches to make the block more creative and interesting. That's the fun part of using a simple design.

It was challenging, because Rocky kept jumping up on my chest so that I couldn't see my work.

 

I received a text message from my youngest niece and she provided sizes for all the greats. So Saturday afternoon I spent running the elastic and sewing them shut. All I have left to do is get the tshirts to match.

Here are Monday's goals:

1. Finish last two pairs of PJs

2. Pull patterns for four adult PJs

3. Decide on a design for a needlebook

4. Look for heart shaped buttons for HOME

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.