Merry Christmas!

 



















To each of you who has touched my life
through the wonderful world of blogging,
I wish you a very Merry Christmas.
May the New Year be filled with bounteous
blessings for you and your loved ones.

May I share with you a special message
that can be found here:

 Merry Christmas

Nola

It's a Marshmallow World

It really is a marshmallow world outside.  Everything
is covered with white fluffy snow and is picture-card
perfect.

I love it when the tree limbs and branches are
decked out in all their "white" finery.

Yesterday morning we woke up to freezing rain which
later turned to snow throughout the day and into the
evening.  It was not fun going to work.  Thankfully
I only had to drive one mile.  My street finally got
plowed in the early evening.

Today we are getting a short break and the sun is
shining, but we are in for another round this
evening into tomorrow.  Am so grateful my son got
the snow blower working and for the young men in
our ward who came in the late afternoon to shovel
the walks and driveway once again.

Guess I best take care of these little ones.  Looks
like their feeder is almost empty -- again! 

They keep me hopping!  It is very hard to get
a picture of them.  Felt lucky to capture these
few.  It has been fun to see the different birds.
We even had a woodpecker earlier.  Wasn't
able to get a good look, but I think it was one.
They are very shy about having their picture
taken, but not a bit shy about eating me out of
house and home and spreading their seeds on
the snow.  But, I love watching them out my
window.

Now I Can Share

Received word today that  my friend, Karen,
received her Christmas gift and has opened it.
So, now I can share what I sent to her:

A journal cover stitched with her initial using
Michelle's "Stitcher's Alphabet".  (journal
included)  Michelle was kind enough to include
a small free pattern which I made into a bookmark.

I also tried my hand at crocheting a spool pin
doily. Have fallen in love with these little
doilies and think they are fun to make.

This little snowman was also a freebie from
Michelle and has also been received by
another friend, so I can now share it. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to share a few more gifts
that have kept me busy over the past few weeks
as they are given to friends and family

Outside My Window!

As I was walking into my bedroom a few minutes
ago, I happened to notice the reflection from my
window.  Knowing that the sun was setting and
we were probably in for another gorgeous winter
sunset, I hurried to the window.  Oh my goodness!
The sky was on fire and the colors were so
vibrant!

Of course, my camera was not handy so I had to
run and grab it.  In just the few seconds it took to
find it, the colors in the sky had already began to
change.  Why is it sunsets change so quickly?

But, I was able to snap a quick picture. This doesn't
do it justice.  It was really almost a fire engine red
not orange and yellow, but at least you get the
idea.

As I stood there basking in this beautiful scene, I
suddenly felt such a longing for my Mother.  How
fun it used to be when one of us would notice the
sunset and quickly call the other on the phone
and say, "Hurry, look out your window."  Often we
would "ooh" and "aah" with one another, but more
often than not, we would just be quiet, even hang
up the phone and call back after the sunset had
faded.  How I miss those special times.  How
grateful I am for sweet, tender memories and beautiful
sunsets.

Delightful Surprise!

My mailman left me a sweet little package this
weekend.  I love finding packages and letters
in my mailbox.  Seems like we don't get many
of those anymore---just lots of junk mail.
Everything is done with the computer.  So, you
can imagine how excited I was to see a
package addressed to me!

Of course, it had to be opened immediately.  I
can never wait!  And this is what was on the
outside of the package.  It was wrapped in white
tissue paper and red ribbon and these sweet little
ornaments tucked in amongst the ribbon:

They look so much cuter hanging on my tree!

Tearing off the tissue paper---yes, I tear off
paper because I get so excited---was this:

I sat there admiring this beautiful little snowman
wall hanging with tears in my eyes.  I couldn't
believe my friend Karen had made this for me.
The picture does not do it justice as the fabric
and colors are so much more vibrant.  And,her
stitching and quilting is awesome! 

She knows how I love snowman and designed
this just for me!  How lucky and blessed am I!
I told her it is going in my room, but I've since
decided that it is going in my family room where
everyone can see it and enjoy her becautiful
workmanship.  That way, I don't have to keep
my room in perfect order to show it off when
visitors come.

Thank you, Karen, for your wonderful gift
of friendship and for sharing your talents with
me.  

Snowman Ornaments Finished

Yeah!  Ornaments are finished and just in the nick
of time.  I have tried for three days to find time to
get out my Christmas tree and decorate it. 
With snow falling outside and temperatures
dropping, today was a stay-in day and I was
finally able to decorate my tree with my new
snowman ornaments.

These have been so fun to stitch and I'm
really happy how they look on my tree.

Now, if I can just find time tomorrow to
decorate the rest of my house I will be one
happy camper!

Christmas Finishes!

I'm so excited!  Myrna was able to quilt my snowman table
topper in less than a week!   And, now it is all bound and
ready to be enjoyed. 

Was also able to make two pillows for gifts:

And, the grandchildren's placemats are stitched and
quilted. They will receive these after Thanksgiving
so they can start using them December 1.  My mother
always did a little pre-Christmas gift for us and I
have tried to carry on this tradition.  So these plus
a ornament will be their pre-Christmas gift this year.

Found this cute snowman fabric for the backing so
they can use both sides.

I was making great progress on my snowman
ornaments until I accidentally used a different red
to stitch one and when I soaked it to get rid of the
transfer-ez, it bled.  (That's what happens when you
do this at night!)  I have never had that happen
before.  So, now I have to do it over.



















I had also started stitching a table runner with
this DMC 321, but think I will now unpick it.
Don't want to have the same problem after
going to all the trouble and time to stitch it.
Has any one out there ever had this problem?
If so, what did you do to salvage your piece?

Hopefully, the rest of my snowmen will be
ok.  Think maybe I'll a dollop of vinegar just
to be safe of the last few.

Off To The Quilter's

The end of October I posted a picture of a snowman
block from the Beehive Quilt Hop.  At first I was
going to make individual snowmen and give as
gifts, but I changed my mind.  Decided to make
two of the blocks into a table topper.  The pattern
was free with the snowman sample kit and was very
easy and quick to make up.

While at work, I contacted the lady who does
machine quilting for me and found out she could
take my pieced top and quilt it for me.  I was
afraid she would be inundated with Christmas
quilting, but she was kind enough to take my
small piece.  Hurried home from work to cut and
sew the borders on before dropping it off.

It should be ready in a couple of weeks.  Then I'll
sew on the buttons for the face and bind it. 

I have a little grandson who is learning to stitch/
embroidery simple little designs.  While he was
over one afternoon asked if he could make something
for Halloween.  We found this simple little ghost
and he was able to stitch it up in no time.  I was
very proud of him and his Mother framed it for him.
Now he wants to do a turkey.  I'll have to get busy
checking clip art for a simple design. 

It is so much fun to sit and stitch together. 

I Love Snowmen!

I must be hooked on snowmen because everything
I am working on, with the exception of a table
runner, involves snowmen!  They are either
pieced or stitched!

Today I was able to prep my snowman ornaments
so I can start stitching them.  

Over the years I have collected patterns from
magazines, etc. and put them in a file thinking
I would either make ornaments or a little wall
hanging. 

Recently I came across them and decided this
was the year.  I need new ornaments! I do love
handmade ornaments and I think these little
snow people will be perfect for my tree. 
Will have to decide what I want to go with
them.

While chatting on the phone this afternoon,
I was able to stitch this little guy.  They
will all be done in redwork.

A little running stitch will be done around
each snowman when I add the backing
and they are washed.  The edges will be
pinked.  I used transfer-ez to save time tracing. 

Well, I'm off to do more stitching!

What Is This?

I can't believe how fast the weather has changed today...
from sunny to this:

No, that is not smoke from a fire....

...actually I'm not sure what it is.  It may be salt from

the Great Salt Lake Blowing in, but whatever it is,

it's a MESS!  It isn't the usual brown air when dirt

is floating around in it.

Just came back from my son's and visibility was

almost zero.  Mixed in with this is a few drops of

rain which has made my car windows almost

impossible to see out of.  Everyone needed their

headlights on.

We had been told by the weatherman that we would

probably get a little storm and strong winds.  Well,

the winds came during the night and blew off all the

leaves from my tree in the backyard spreading them

all over.  So, deciding it was a nice morning I 

worked with my blower and mulcher gathering up

leaves.  Ended up taking several bags to my son's

for his garbage pick up just as this dust storm or

whatever hit.

Sadly, now my neighbors leaves have filled up my

backyard and I'll need to start all over again.  

Haven't even moved to the front yard yet.  Maybe

the wind will blow them away and I won't have

to go out.

This past week was the Beehive Shop Hop and

although I didn't visit all the shops, I did stop by

my local shop and was able to pick up a little

kit for this snowman block: 

The kit was just $2.50.  Thought he'd look sweet
on my 12" quilt stand and would go with my
snowman table topper.  Now to get him done!

Finished another little Christmas gift today.  I will
have to show it later, but I'm very pleased how it
turned out. One more gift project can now be
crossed off my list!  Only two more tea towels to
stitch and they'll be finished.  Think I'm making
progress!

Finally! A Little Motivation!

I'm not sure just what it is that has got me motivated
to get back to sewing.  Perhaps it is the cooler weather
and the realization that time is passing me by so
quickly.  But, whatever it is, I'm happy to be back
working on projects other than fall housecleaning
and getting the yard ready for winter.

Since some of these have been given to family and
friends, I can share what I've been working on.

While searching through my files for a Halloween
project, I found this pattern and thought it would
be great to stitch up for Thanksgiving.

The pattern is from Pine Bough by Holly Draney.  I'm
not sure how long I have had it but I love the verse
from the Book of Mormon and it is one I will probably
leave out most of the year.  It is a wonderful
reminder to me to be grateful for all that I have and
to express gratitude daily for my many blessings.

This little pumpkin design is a freebie from Bird
Brain Designs.  I found these towels already to
stitch from last year.  Apparently I never got to them
so they were finished and given as gifts this year.

This delightful little turkey came from Fons and
Porter's  "Quilting Quickly" Fall 2013 issue. The
fabric used is "Posh Pumpkins".  I have
always wanted to do a little turkey and thought
he would be perfect in a frame for Thanksgiving.
The pattern is for a table runner.  Maybe next
year I'll get the table runner done.

This little snowman is from Crab-apple Hill.
Can't believe how quickly he stitched up.
This is just the first of several tea towels that
are prepped and ready to be stitched for
Christmas gifts. 

It will be nice having projects to work on
when the time changes and the evenings
are so long.

Last weekend was the neighborhood
Halloween Carnival at my son's.  This is
a tradition for us.  The family that hosts it
has been doing this for about 8-9 years
and it just gets bigger and bigger each year.

My granddaughter on the left and two grandsons in
front.  The sun was still a little bright as you can
tell.

Hailey in the cheerleading out fit with her two
best friends.

It was a perfect evening to be out until the sun
went down and then it turned really chilly.  So
glad Brian had us all back to his house for
hot chocolate!

Fall Colors and Quilts

Last weekend I went hiking with my daughter and her
family up to Snow Basin, a local ski resort.  It is
a tradition we have done for a few years now.  We
take a lunch and munch on it while we hike the
trails and enjoy the beautiful fall leaves.  This year
due to the hot, dry summer the leaves have not
been as vibrant, but they're still pretty.  Sadly, many
had dropped their leaves early.

My grandsons--anxious to be off

My sweet daughter with her family on the trail

Love walking through the fallen leaves

Grandsons having fun climbing on fallen trees

Taking a brief time out

All though colors are not as brilliant as past years, it's is still beautiful

Ty anxiously waiting for us to catch up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Little Project

Gosh, I can't believe it has been a month since I
last posted.  Where does the time go?  Seems
like I've been busy...but my busy has been with
my family.  It has been so hot here that I just
can't make myself do any sewing or stitching.

But, I did make one little item that was really
fun.  Saw the idea on Pinterest and decided
I wanted to make a cute little sign as a gift.
All it took was an artists' canvas, wood letters,
white spray paint and buttons.

It was so simple and easy to do, that I think I may
make a few more, using different words or phrases,
as gifts.

The Celebration Contiues

WARNING:  This post is full of pictures!

Yesterday my family and I spent the day at
Snowbird Summer/Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood
Canyon playing and continuing my birthday
celebration.  And, what fun we had!  Left
early in the morning and didn't get home until
about 8:30 that night.  Thought I'd share a
few pictures of the family and some of the
fun things we did.

My daughter Kerri, SIL Rob and sons

Kerri, boys and me.  We're in line for the Alpine Slide

My son Brian and his daughter Hailey, friend Karyn and the Stuart "Boys"

Karyn, Brian and Hailey

Kerri and Ty with Ian in front

Kohler with Grandma

My cute Ty

Hanging out with my grandsons!  So happy all the grandkids wanted to go with me on the rides

"May I take your order?"

Awesome, Kohler!

Rode the tram to the top of the world

My son, Brian and daughter Kerri with Ty

Karyn and Brian racing down the Alpine Slide

Ian and Hailey on the Mountain Flyer which replaced the zip line

Waiting in line for the Alpine Slide