2019 ~ All in One Post

2019 has been a busy year.
So many times I've wanted to update the blog with information on projects I'm working on, completed quilts etc. yet, I never made it to the computer. Sorry.
Since the new year has started and I have every intention to keep updating here, I wanted to recap the past year in one post.

Quilt 15x20
A ELIQG Challenge "Animal Selfie"

Quilt 38x45
Baby Tumbler Quilt

Quilt 68x68
Pattern: Summerville by Thimble Blossoms
Fabric:  Miniature Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings
Wedding quilt for my daughter

Quilt 70x76
"A Village in Spain"
Pattern: Village
Fabric: Several Kate Spain fabric collections

Pillow 24x24
Pattern: Lisa the Unicorn by Elizabeth Hartman
Fabric: Ombre strips by V&Co
Birthday gift for a 4 year old

Quilt 52x60
"Fair Winds + Following Seas"
Pattern: Nautical Alphabet
Gift for a couple of sailors

Quilt 32x41
Pattern: Sailing for boat design
Baby Shower Gift

Quilt 59x64
Scrap Happy Weekend Retreat
Frost Valley YMCA

Quilt 57x66
Shannon's Squares
Fabric: Kate Spain
Gifted to Shannon~ Christmas

Pillow 18x18
Free pattern from Fandon in Stitches
Paper Pieced

{ A Finish, Just in Time }

The one and only handmade Christmas gift {unless you count pillow cases and linen spray} is complete  and on her way to live with my niece in Florida. I've been planning this quilt for her for some time but weddings and new babies kept bumping it down the to-do list.

I used the pattern Charmalade by Pamela Lincoln, a freebie from Moda Bake Shop. I thought the simplicity of this design and its "modern" look were perfect for a 20-something.

I quilted this one myself, just simple straight lines which follow the design. Sometimes, simple is best.

The fabric is {Flirt} by Sandy Gervais for Moda. I love the colors and prints. You can't miss with red & aqua.

The backing and binding are from Bonnie & Camille's{Vintage Modern } line.
Quilt finished at 56x68

P.S. HSTs ~ there are 130 of them in this quilt. That's a lot of trimming!

I'm linking up to:
Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday
and
Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy Weekend Before Christmas!

{ Christmas Cookies }

For the first time in a zillion years I made rolled sugar cookies for Christmas gift giving. My Mom reminded me that I used to make such pretty cookies when I was a kid but they really didn't taste very good. (Thanks for telling me 35 years later Mom) I looked around the internet for cookie decorating blogs and came across Sweetopia.  There were recipes, decorating tips and videos to aid me in my beautiful and tasty cookie quest.

I picked up all the required ingredients and decorating tools, baked one day and decorated the next. I'm happy with the results, both the look and the taste. These babies took a long time to decorate. First they had to be outlined, then flooded with royal icing. Some needed secondary decorating so I had to wait for the first layer to dry a bit before starting the next layer. Oh, and mixing royal icing for 10 minutes with a hand mixer was hell. I'm hoping to find a stand mixer under the tree from Santa this year.

I have to bag them and pack them up for gift giving. A few I'll be keeping for myself, just to look at.

{O Christmas Tree}

Yesterday we drove to the Foster Avenue Market to pick up our Christmas tree. Each year we get a live tree and the market is the best place to get a nice tree at an affordable price. It took us about 30 seconds to zero in on the keeper after we were directed to the "small trees". I didn't examine the entire stock as I usually do since we were both fighting a bad cold. I looked quick....what do you thing about this one....it has a nice shape....smells good.....we'll take it.  The tree dude trimmed the lower branches, ran it through the netting machine and tossed it in the back of the pickup.

We got it home, set it in it's stand and stood back & admired it. Not too bad. Well, unless you notice the gaping hole 2/3rd's of the way down on one side and the broken top spike. No angel on the tree this year. Anyway, my planned decorations would hide the hole. I put the lights on and called it a night.

Today I broke out the new tree decorations and the deco mesh from Looziana. This year's tree has a Mardi Gras theme.......gold, purple & green decorations. I got them really cheap from the new 99cent store up the block.  It's definitely different than our usual tree. I'm kind of liking it. Now I can start wrapping.

{Christmas Preparation}

Last night I dreamed about sugar cookies with red & green sprinkles and a large, cold glass of milk. Well, this week will begin the preparation for {Christmas}. I don't decorate as early as some people I know. I'd rather do it all the week before, you know, the pressure makes me work better. Ok, not really. It's just that I have a hard time thinking about Christmas before Thanksgiving is cold. Tomorrow we'll go to the market and get our tree. We'll probably set it in it's stand but the decorations won't be added until the weekend. I'm waiting for some deco mesh to arrive from Baton Rouge , LA. I'm going to try something new with the tree decorations this year. I'll post photos if it looks decent.

This weekend I'm also planning the {candy making}. As much as I loved the cookie making when I was a kid, it's not something I'm very good at. The candy making is more fun for me. This year's choices are {English Butter Toffee} and {Peppermint Bark}. I'll do shopping for the ingredients saturday morning and get started right away. The sooner they're done, the sooner I can start picking. So much for the diet for the next two weeks.