I Have Notion...a NEW ONE!

I had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you did too!  We have all been gathered around together eating and playing, and eating, and visiting, and eating, etc.  We missed one of our daughters and her cute family, but everyone else was here, so we have had a houseful of fun.  I love to have all the family here.  When they go to their own homes, we are so lonely, even though there are still 5 of us here.  Weird. 
I guess I am just used to a lot of people.

I need to get back to quilting on Monday.  There are orders to fill and still some work to do before the end of the year.  I have been working really hard on the Poke-A-Dots.  You will love these little dots.  They are great.  They are still in production, so I don't have a final photo of the finished product, but I will soon. 

What is a POKE-A-DOT?!?!

• They are little sticky thimbles that you place on your fingertip.  Place them anywhere you need them so you don't get poked!

• Everyone needs a POKE-A-DOT when hand sewing--stitching on that binding, or sewing on a button,  hand applique and embroidery, etc, etc.  They push the needle through.

• They stick in place until you take them off.
• You can re-stick them several times, then just throw them away and start a new one. 
• They come in fun colors.
• They come with 18  DOTS packaged in a cute little round tin.  (Great to put your needles and thread in there, too!)

• They have a cute design on the top to give texture so your needle won't slip.  (I think you may recognize the design.)

• They are made in the USA of durable polyurethane.
• They not only protect your finger, but they are "grippy" so they help you to pull your needle through the tough spots.

I can't sew without a POKE-A-DOT on my finger.  I am addicted.  I think you will be too-- soon.

I sure got a lot of orders at Market for these little wonders, so they will start showing up in quilt shops very soon.  Remember, the photos above are of prototypes only because I don't have any final products in my studio yet.  I am getting the new labels this week, so they will soon be packaged up and off to a shop near you.  As soon as I get the final products I will show you what to look for. 

PARTY!

Here's another easy/cheap Christmas decoration.  I do this every year and I never get tired of it. 

 Just take a tall glass vase.  Fill with clear, cold water.  Add a package of fresh cranberries.  They FLOAT.  Tuck in a small votive candle or two.  (What am I saying, I used three--but sometimes I use larger floating candles and just use one.  They aren't really necessary because the cranberries keep the candles afloat anyway.)  That's all there is to it!  You can add some greenery, or display several of these together in different sizes.  They are really striking and beautiful. 

We had a party last night.  I realized that although I had started my Christmas letter, it probably wasn't going to get finished or mailed.  So I invited a bunch of families over for a little Christmas Open House.  It was so fun just to say hello and Merry Christmas, and share a few snacks/treats. 
Did I say a few? 
Perhaps I should amend that.  I wish I had taken a picture.  The buffet table was loaded with yummy holiday food.  We made some, and everyone brought more..  so that make a lot!  It was wonderful.  (Just wish I had some of those stuffed mushrooms left!)

Here's photo of a few leftover cookies.  They were so cute that I wanted to show you.

Gingerbread Snowflakes

 My daughter-in-law, Erin made these yummy gingerbread cookies.  They were soft and spicy and oh-so-cute. 

 Next was a plate of these DARLING snowmen!  Daughter-in-law Katie made them.  Aren't they so cute!  She just frosted sugar cookies with white frosting and added a marshmallow and painted on the details.  I wish I had taken a better picture.  They were really fun.

Melting Snowmen

 There's only a few  of these left, but they were easy and yummy.  I just placed grated Parmesan Cheese in a wreath shape on parchment paper.  Added chopped parsley and some red bell pepper berries.  Melt and toast in the oven for a few minutes.  These would be great served floating on some soup or just to eat with all the other snacky foods.  (I finished these off this morning.)

Parmesan Wreaths

 We always make a few traditional Swiss dishes.  Here's a plate of Bratzeli.  It's a yummy egg-based cookie that I cook in a Bratzeli iron.  My mom always flavored it with Anise seeds, so it has a licorice flavor.  I also do a lemon variety with lemon zest.   These are a must with a cup of cocoa!

Well, no fabric in this post.  But food is a close second.  Don't you think?   

Oh, wait!  We did have some fabric:  After the party was over, JoJo was feeling a little stressed that everyone had gone and taken all of the favors with them, so I said, let's go make your Christmas pillow case quick.  And so we did.  It only took a few minutes, and he was so delighted that he went right to bed. 

JoJo's Christmas pillowcase

He has been napping on it off and on all day.  That's the life.

Shop Feature--First in a Series

I'm home from my little jaunt up north.  Not too far, and worth the drive, because that is a darling shop!  Fran and RoLayne at Village Dry Goods have really done it up good.  We had a great Christmas Party and talked about quilts and fabrics, and I got all these views of the shop to show to you.

 Here's Fran selling a kit of my "Daisy Dot" quilt.

 This little cupboard is stuffed full of wonderful fun, felty, needled things.

 Every corner is filled with great projects and ideas.

 I LOVE all these wool pin cushions!  They are so cute you just want to eat them!

 Another little cupboard on top of the fabric shelves.

                           Hey, there's my fabric, Thistledown sitting by some of my quilts.

 Stitchery, too!  Isn't that great.  I love embroidery, and I love all the threads.  Sometimes I buy them just for all the colors, and I never use them.  They are just plain pretty!

Right by the front register is this fun Christmas quilt using another Henry Glass fabric line.  This one is from Heather Mulder Petersen.  I see a kit there, too.

Thanks to all the folks that stopped by to see me and get a book signed.  We had a great time, and I loved sharing my quilts with you!

Come See Me!

 The girls at Village Dry Goods in Brigham City, Utah have a wonderful shop and are planning a party!
On Wednesday, Dec. 15 (that's tomorrow) they are having a Christmas Party complete with

cookies 

and 

wassail, 

and of course, 

FABRIC!

I will be there at 1:00 pm to show a bunch of quilts, and sign a bunch of books!

  If you live nearby please stop in and see us.  I'm not sure if anyone from Brigham City reads my blog, so let's just check and see.  If you read this and come to the party, tell me the secret code word:

Popcorn,

 and I will give you a free pattern!  I wonder how many I will need to take?

Snow and the Lucky One

Just now I got this message in my email box:

The We are happy to announce the grand prize winner of our Big Give-a-way!
Erica from Sweet Grass,  MT.   

To quote her she said "Oh my gosh!!!  I
am bouncing in my chair!!!"
We thank you all for playing our little word game, and wish all of you
the Happiest of Holiday's!!
A giant thank you to all of our designers that worked so hard to make
this Blog Hop a success!!

Henry Glass & Co.

That's exciting.  I will get my prize off to her tomorrow!  

I have a few pictures of the much requested room of snow flakes.  (Sorry, Minnesota, you are probably sick of snow.)  I hung them in my music room--it's just off the living room and the ceilings aren't vaulted, making it a little easier.  One house we lived in had high vaulted ceilings everywhere, so we hung the snowflakes in the main hallway.  It was still beautiful.

 I put up three small trees in here.  They are decorated very simply with just lights and silver jingle bells, and a few light green balls.  Some silver leaves here and there and shiny green ribbon finish it off.  Very simple.

This is a pretty small room, so it isn't hard to cover the ceiling with flakes.  But if you have a large room, you could try doing just around the border of the room, or maybe just above the Christmas tree, etc.

It really looks nice at night with the candles and twinkly lights, but my photo didn't work, so you have to see it in the day.  

The snowflakes don't just hang there still.  They turn slowly around with the air movement of people walking around, and heat off the candles, fireplace and the furnace.  Of course, pictures are never as good as the real thing.  But you get the idea.

Have you made any of the projects from the Holiday Project Parade?  I'd love to hear about it.

Sleepy Fabric

Here's a quick and fun little gift-- a pillowcase.  I know you have probably made several already for Christmas, but I just bought some fabric last night and whipped these up this morning.  Aren't they cute?  Who wouldn't have sweet Christmas dreams sleeping on these?

 And now, they are wrapped and ready to go...part of a 12 Days of Christmas thing I thought I would do for the Grandkids.  Just some dollar store finds, and Christmas candies.  They will love being able to open one thing each day.

 I still have a couple of pillowcases to make...

I love the little girly one, I think I will add a ruffle to that one.  And the one on the left is for JoJo.  He needs to open a present early, too.  He loves his Halloween pillow case, and he spends a lot of time with me in quilt shops, so naturally he always want to buy a little fabric now and then.  Especially if it is holiday or party related.  So I make him pillowcases.  (Otherwise he tries to sew something himself, and that is not good for my Bernina.)
Have a great weekend.  Hope it snows.  We need some fresh white.

QUILTS ALL AROUND THE HOUSE

I am mostly done with the Christmas decor.  Isn't this such a wonderful time of year?  Christmas decorating can be so messy.  Especially here.  I have a special son,  JoJo.  He is 26 now but he functions on a 2 or 3 year old level.  He is a delight.  Imagine seeing the world through a child's eyes all the time.  He LOVES Christmas. And he loves his family and parties.  He lives by the motto,  "If you decorate, they will come."  Therefore, he is always setting up for some party, waiting for everyone to come!  Usually he sneaks the Christmas decorations up to his room several times a month.  I have often come home in July to find the tree up in the front yard.  So it's great to get the decorations out and actually put them up right at the right time!   Here's a few pictures of what we've been doing.

In the entryway, I have a table full of candy jars.  All Christmas candy of course.  

 See those Cinnamon Santas.  That jar was full a few days ago.  Humm.  I really do like 

Cinnamon Santas.

 Of course there is always a garland on the stairs.

You have seen this spot before.  I hang various quilts from the rod iron hanger above my sofa.  Usually I have "Peppermint Twist" or "Carousel" up there, but I switched it out for "Christmas Village." 

Notice the beautiful nativity on the table.  It is carved out of olive wood.  My daughter, Talia, sent it from Israel.  She has been there doing a semester abroad at the Jerusalem Center.  I can't wait to see her--she gets home next week.  YEAH!!

I like to use quilts as table toppers.  They are so pretty.  I believe that quilts should be used.  If they get worn out, we'll make more!  I've had this reindeer candle holder for years.  It is still one of my favorite decorations, and has even managed to survive the JoJo.

 In the family room you will find lots of quilty influence. There's a quilt on the coffee table--I made it years ago with some friends at my quilt group.  It's not my pattern, and I'm not sure of the designer or name.  Maybe someone will remember.
There's always a stack of quilts to wrap up in when you're hanging out in this room. 

The stockings are from a pattern I had in American Patchwork and Quilting.  (Dec. 2008)  I still need to make some more for when everyone comes home.  There they are on the cover, so it will be easy for you to find them in your collection of magazines!

That's all for now.  I am going to finish the snowflakes today and get them up.  I need a tall person to help me hang them  (Son-Schuyler)  so I have to wait until after school.  (I don't know what I will do when all these kids are gone, which isn't far off .  I definitely won't be as productive!)

Label, Label, What Should I Label?

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!  It is a yard of fabric--printed to be my quilt labels!  

Isn't that cool?  

Each label has my logo and a space below it for me to write the name of the quilt and date, etc.  My wonderful sister-in-law had this made for me on Spoonflower.com.  (This is as very cool site, and you can all be designers!) I think she must have noticed that I have several quilts without labels, and she is trying to encourage me to get on the ball.

Tori Spencer is her name, and she is a long arm quilter--extraordinaire.  She does a lot of my stuff, if I get it done in time to ship to her, since she lives in a whole other state.  (Arizona)  Visit Tori on the web at That's So Quilt.

You can send her quilt tops and she will whip them up for you.  She quilted several that have been in American Patchwork and Quilting including "Blackberry Village," which you will see early next year.

Well, I better go, I have so much to do.  If I ever get done decorating, I will post some photos.
Have a great day!

WORD LIST!

Yikes!  Apparently we have had some of our lines crossed, because we have a few different versions of the "special word" list floating around.  Now those of you who know me are used to a few goof ups, but for the rest of you, you'll just have to get used to it!
So don't worry about it---We will accept  all versions of the word list that you post.  There are  2-3 word discrepancies, but the rest should be the same.
There is a word list on my last post, one on Miss Rosie's Quilt blog, and the one you get from each site is also a little different.  ANY of these word lists is acceptable!  SO SORRY--welcome to real life!

Oh, and I forgot to give you the link to the Project Cover, that you will want to print out!  Here you go.

THE FINAL DAY

Today is the last day of the Holiday Project Parade.  Hope you have been inspired and had some fun.

There are just two more designers to visit and then you need to enter the Grand Prize contest.  First, visit the Buggy Barn girls, Janet Nesbitt and Pam Soliday. I'm sure they will have some great ideas, they always do!

 Next go to the Henry Glass blog to hear from Kim Diehl.  She has written some great books and I know you will love her designs.







And now,  (drumroll) I have a special surprise for you.  It's just a little help in winning this GRAND PRIZE.  

About a bazillion yards of fabric with some notions and books, etc!!

You know how you were supposed to collect all the 'special words' from each designer's post?  Well I know that you have visited with all the designers and read all the posts, but you may have lost your list.  (This is speaking from experience)  Sooooo  (another drumroll) there's a little "reminder" of all the words you need in this special song I wrote for you.  (They are even in the right order, and that did present some poetic problems, but I accepted the challenge.)  
Please do not be bothered by my blatant promotion of Jillily Studio products.  I just couldn't resist when it actually rhymed.  After all, this is MY blog!

A Quilt-y Christmas

To be sung (in private) to the tune of "White Christmas"

I'm dreaming of a quilt-y Christmas
For you and all the quilting friends you know.
Where the CHRISTMAS TREE is glowing
With Ott Lights showing
The stipling on the STOCKINGS that you sewed.

I'm thinking that the quilting ANGELS
Could make a MERRY Christmas just for you.
If up at the NORTH POLE
RUDOLF and SANTA pack full
The sleigh with fabrics and some Appli-Glue.

You won't need CANDY CANES and HOLLY
If all your PRESENTS have a theme.
HO HO HO, it will be swell,
If all your gifts fit well
Into my "stock your quilt shelves" scheme.

From France, you get the word NOEL
And Bohin Needles--they're so fine.
I BELIEVE some needle threaders
and fabric--Elizabeth's Letters
Along with other Henry Glass designs.

I love to hear the CHRISTMAS CAROLS 
As background music when I sew.
When I'm putting on a binding
I won't even be minding
The points and seams that don't match in that row.

Here's wishing you a quilted TREE SKIRT
And POINSETTIAS fixed with applique 
On the quilt named Daisy Dot
(Poinsettias it's really not)
From Jillily Studio, hooray!


I'm dreaming of a quilt-y Christmas
With every WREATH the wind has blown
May your thread always be a full cone.....
And may all your Christmas' be sewn!

Now you can copy all the 'special words' and write a comment on the Grand Prize post at Henry Glass.

(Once you get to the Henry Glass site, you will need to click on the BLOG button.)  All you need in your comment is the words and your full name, so we can notify the right person!

Good Luck!  I hope one of my followers wins!

UPDATE

Just a quick note to let all you Parade watchers know that Dana at Lazy Daisy will have her post up this afternoon.  She ran into a little snag, and is a bit delayed, but it will appear ASAP!  Keep watching, the Parade is almost over!

DAY 6 and my Winners

I have some winners.  Picked them last night, but was too tired to post.

Blog winners:

Liz, who posted:
I love the sock pattern. Thanks! AND the snowflakes-- how fun, I might have to start a tradition such as that with my grandkids.

December 3, 2010 11:00 AM

AND,

Lynn Weathers, who posted:

I would love to win some of your fabric. The snowflakes on the ceiling is a really fun idea. I may need a craft project this weekend to pass some time with my 8 year old and this sounds like the perfect project!

I became a follower!

December 3, 2010 9:33 PM

the Facebook winner was Ruth Oblinski

Liz, Lynn and Ruth, email me your address so I can send your prize!

Today is the 6th day of our Holiday Project Parade.  Hop on over to see Leanne Anderson of The Whole Country Caboodle.  Leanne was so helpful to me when I first started designing fabrics.  She is always cheerful and her designs are darling!

 

 And Dana Brooks from Lazy Daisy Cottage.   Dana lives in Utah, too---she's about 4 hours away from me, but 2 of my sisters live right by her.  Consequently we run into each other a bit and always have a good time.  Her cute little store has hosted my retreats several times and Dana is the best hostess!  She and her husband were at Market this year, and we seemed to spend a lot of time eating together.  (This is a common theme.)

Be sure to get the special words at their blog to add to your list.  If you have missed any words, check back at the blog post on these days to get them all:

Day 1--December 1
Linda Lum DeBono
Heather Mulder Peterson  Anka's Treasures
Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts
Day 2--December 2
Amy Hamberlin Katie Cupcake
Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.
Kari Ramsay of Fresh Cut Quilts
Day 3--December 3
Jacquelynne Steves of the Noble Wife
Jill Finley of Jillily Studio
Day 4 December 4
Laurie Bird of Rose Cottage
Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup
Liz and Beth Hawkins of Lizzie B Cre8ive
Day 5--December 5
Chelsea Anderson of Pink Fig
Brenda Pinnick of Brenda Pinnick Designs
Day 6--December 6
Leanne Anderson of The Whole Contry Caboodle
Dana Brooks of Lazy Daisy Cottage
Day 7--December 7
Kim Diehl
Janet Nesbitt and Pam Soliday of Buggy Barn

Tomorrow is the last day!  This has been so much fun. I have loved all the great projects.  I think I will whip some up myself.  Please keep visiting me...I have so much to tell  you.

Snowflake Tutorial

Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for all your comments on my blog!  Today is the last day to comment on my post of Dec. 3 to enter the prize drawings.  So if you have not yet, scroll down to my post and read all about it, make a comment and enter to WIN!
I love hearing from you.  I hope you are getting your questions answered here, or in the comments.  I had so many inquiries about how to do snowflakes, that here is a quick lesson. We use just regular white computer paper.  Start with a square.  You can do any size, but larger is easier to start with.

 

 Fold the square in half diagonally to make a triangle.  

Fold the triangle in half again, and just crease a little bit to mark the center.

 Open the  triangle back up so you can see the center crease.

 

 Starting from that center crease, fold in thirds.  This may take some adjusting.

 Fold the second third over, and adjust so that all the edges meet.

 Fold in half.

Cut the top points off so that you have 6 points inside.  If you cut straight across, you will have more of a circle.  The more slanted you cut, the pointier your snowflake will be.  

 Cut various shapes from both sides of the folded triangle, but don't cut all the way from one side to the other.

 Open it up, and it's a snowflake!

 Here's a few of us cutting.

After we open the snowflakes up, I take them to the ironing board, and lightly spray with spray starch, then press with a hot iron.  The starch helps to give them a little stiffness, and hold together better.  Don't get them too wet, and don't slide your iron, just press it down, lift and press.  Keep it there long enough to dry the starch.

 And here is what we cut.  So many different styles and sizes,  just like real snowflakes!

 Make some curvy,

,

 Some more pointy,

Some more round. 

Now for the hanging part.  We haven't gotten to that yet, so I don't have photo, but I can tell you what I do.  I tie a monofilament thread to each snowflake.  Use various lengths.  Stick it through one of the cut out holes, and tie it in several knots.  Attach to the ceiling with small pieces of scotch tape.  I used to use poster tack, that putty-like stuff that holds posters on the wall.  It works great if you can find the color that matches your ceiling.  (I haven't been able to find the right color lately, so I am stuck with  scotch tape--literally.)  

Hang them all together for impact.  I usually pick just one room to cover in snowflakes.  That makes it really special.  (You can also spray them with glitter, if you like, but that leads to "sparklies" all over everything. )

I will post a photo after we get them all hung up.  Well, now that was easy, wasn't it!  By the way, that's how I made the pattern for the Snowdrift Stocking.  (Downloadable here)  You could make your own snowflake pattern, or make each stocking different!

Today is the 5th day of our Holiday Project Parade.  Collect all those special words!  Today you will want to go see:

Chelsea Andersen of Pink Fig Patterns 

                                                  

and Brenda Pinnick of Brenda Pinnick Designs.

I don't know either one of these gals personally, but I have been looking at all their designs, and they certainly are talented!  I can't wait to see their projects. 

I have had so much fun so far on this Parade!  Isn't it fun to get to know so many designers and see all their good ideas!  Keep hopping, and we will talk again tomorrow.