One of my most treasured Christmas presents!

Sara Kelly gave this to me for Christmas.  I am so totally in love with this.  Thank you, Sara, I will always treasure this.  There is nothing like a gift from the heart and hands.

Christmas 2012

This was the quietest Christmas we have ever had.  In all our time together, Jeff and I have never not celebrated with any kind of family.  We spent Christmas Eve with "The Hobbit" and then dinner at BJ's Brewery.  Christmas day was us sharing a few gifts with each other and talking to the kids on the phone.  I think next year we should just go on a cruise!

We did have some friends over on the 21st and I made 20 coasters to have for the party.  It looks like I'll be teaching some of the ladies how to make these.  I feel like I cooked for days and if you know me you know I really don't cook much.  It was a great party and we all had a good time. 

I taught a half day class at Bolts in the Bathtub and stayed to take the Magic Stocking class.  

Here are some aprons I made for some friends for Christmas.

I made all the grand kids (5) aprons too.  Of course, I was in such a hurry to mail them I didn't get any pictures.  Here are Keira and Ephram (wearing his backwards) with theirs.  Ephram is not so sure about it but I tried to explain that they are not only for cooking but art work too. 

I also made bags for each of the kids.  I layered fun goodies on canvas then covered the front and back with plastic and quilted through it.

Here is Becky hugging her bag.

A friend of mine, Mary, makes these wonderful caps and I just had to get one for each of the kids.

 Keira loves hers.

And so does Daniel.

 

Here are Serena and Lexi getting ready to open presents.  Christmas this year was lonely but we are so thankful for the health of our children and grandchildren and that is what is important.

Here are the great shoes Serena got me for Christmas.  They are Ed Hardy shoes with crystals!  I am in love with them.  

Needle Divas Christmas Party

Our friendship group, Needle Divas, met one Monday in December for a great Christmas party.  We were only missing Kathy who has moved to Colorado but we were able to talk to her on the phone.  As you will see we had a great time.

This is the quilt I made for the name I pulled.  It's called "Peace Like a River".  Look below to see who it was made for!

We played more than one joke on Linda. 

Leslie received the most decorated bag. 

And these are Leslie's socks.  She has a great sense of humor. 

We enjoyed Grace's hospitality. 

                                                              Linda loves puzzles.

 Little did Susie know she would receive Steeler goodies from Grace.

Carol received this wall hanging from Leslie. 

Barbara received a basket of goodies.

And here is Sara receiving her quilt from me.  This quilt has been forming in my mind for sometime and it was always meant to be Sara's.  So glad I got her name.

Quilting Therapy gets me through the hard times!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We were home without family so we invited a couple from church.  Wednesday I got it into my head to make this table runner, place mats, and napkins.  I had this fabric from last year hoping it would cheer us up in the apartment but we went to San Diego instead.  So now was the time to make them.  I like them and think they are cheerful but it is time to put them away already and get set for Christmas.

So I have been busy.  This was a panel Serena picked out from Bolts in the Bathtub and wanted a quilt.  Panels really are a pain.  What to do and they are never printed straight.  Everything except the panel was from my stash.

Here is another quilt from my stash.  I love this pattern and am already planning another one  This is a Christmas present and I won't say for who.

Instead of killing myself to make new quilts for Christmas presents I found this top and quilted it.  I think it will make a great gift.  For the life of me I can't remember making it.

I made two of these snowman advent calendars.  I think I had these panels for a few years.  I'm really trying to finish things!

When Serena and Andrew where here, Andrew fell in love with this Advent calendar panel and asked if I could make it.  Every date is a little pocket to put goodies in.  I'm mailing these advent calendars tomorrow and hope that they will get there by the December 1st. 

If any of you know my family you know who this is for.  Serena again picked out this material.  She wanted a purse with a zipper.  It's a Lazy Girl pattern and wasn't really too hard to make.  

More panel projects.  I really wish they would print them straight!

Tomorrow is Christmas shopping and somewhere in this next week I need to get some Christmas decorations up.  Last year we moved in during the week of Christmas so the only decorations we had was the tree with just lights.  Right now that is the only thing up also.  Jeff took it out this evening.  I thought it would make me sad since it is only going to be the two of us for yet another holiday but the lights are cheerful.  As we grow older our lives seem to be taking us in a different direction.  Not always easy but quilting always seems to get me through the hard times.  Quilting therapy available here!

Charm Bag Class results!

I taught a class this past Saturday at Bolts in the Bathtub for the Charm Bag.  This is my class sample.

I had a great group of ladies.  Three were returning students!  That is always exciting.  Here are their bags.

This last bag would have been finished if it wasn't for major machine problems.

I'm teaching there again this next Saturday.  Keep your eyes open for more projects.  

Back from Houston

We all had a great time at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas.

This is the length of the convention center.  No wonder my legs still ache! (photo by Kathy Morrison)

I took two classes.  This one was using fabric inks.  I need a lot of practice.

These are the samples I made in the Heavy Metals class.

Here is my moth on copper sheeting.

Here is my great teacher Judy Coates Perez. I can hardly wait to take her class at Road to Ca in January.

I've been working on two quilts for Christmas presents and they are just about done.  Hope to have pictures early next week.

A Few More Things

Place mats, napkins, and coasters for Katrina

The dresses I made for Keira 

and Becky.

Dog Days of Summer

Acton Summer Skies

Loose Threads Art Group challenge - Dog Days of Summer

Off To Houston but a little something first

I've been working for two hours to get something posted but having major problems with this piece of junk computer and internet.  So you get this one pic for now.
This is our Material Girl Triangle Exchange Challenge.  It's a queen size and was a nightmare to quilt because like an idiot I decided to stitch in the ditch.  Whatever was I thinking?  But it is done and goes in our trailer.  I finished it months ago but I'm showing it now since I can't show it at the Christmas party, I'll be in Vegas!  Sorry girls but Vegas is calling.

Was Good Morning now Good Afternoon

Do you have days when everything run by computers doesn't want to work for you.  Well, today is that day!  It has taken me two hours just to download these pictures to my blog, can't get my iPhone to download to my computer because I need a newer version of iTunes and can't download that because I don't have enough memory.  So thought I would quilt.  But my machine is acting up yet again and it keeps skipping stitches no matter how many different needles I try.

But I do have some finishes that I want to share.

This is a commission quilt.  It's a gift for my sister-in-laws employee who is retiring at 80.  She loves purple.  I really love this quilt but if I ever do another one I'm rewriting the directions.

This is a charity quilt I finished.  I used leftovers from my stash.  I have two more started and hope to have them done in the next few weeks. They are for the Antelope Valley Guilds Veterans project.

Lexi came to visit and we were kept very busy for two weeks.  I made her this dress (not the cape) from fabric she picked out.  I made one for both Becky and Keira but I don't have pictures of them yet.

Here they all are.  Ephram (6), Daniel (2 1/2), Lexi (3 1/2), Becky (4), Keira (4).  I just love this picture.  They all had a great and we miss them so much.  After they all left it took two days to get the house back in order.  It was hard washing all the fingerprints off the windows but we still have our memories.

I'm trying to keep busy so I don't get so lonely in this big empty house.  I went back to Hanford to sew with the Needle Divas.

 I don't know what I would do without these lovely ladies.  It's amazing how quilting has brought such wonderful people in my life.

I'm still working on my Loose Threads "Dog Days of Summer" quilt.  I have less than a week and the quilting is not going well.  Maybe I'll just go down to Bolts in the Bathtub before the guild meeting tonight and buy some material.  I have some quilts to make for classes I'm teaching there in the next few months.  More later.