11 in '11

My goal was 11 quilts in 2011.

Tomorrow is Dec 29, 2011.

And #11 is under my sewing machine!

That gives me 3 days to finish this last one.

I think I can, I think I can!

The binding is on and done, yes out of order, I know.

The borders have been quilted.

And I have the inside quilting done about a third of the way.

It'll get done,

I just never imagined it would take me to the last days of 2011 to get it done!

I need to add all my christmas sewing to my tally list,

but early next year I hope to have an approximation for how many projects I completed in 2011.

I hope Santa was good to all of you, my blog friends!

He was definitely good to my house.

The kids got the usual number of electronics and toys.

But the mama? WOW, I impressed someone this year I guess.

• My new Kindle Fire? I LOVE IT!
• 2 jelly rolls....Blueberry Crumb Cake and Always & Forever are begging for an idea
• Matching charm packs will make excellent small things to go with
• Another charm pack...this one of Ruby, will make throw pillows to match my king size Swoon quilt that is at the top of my list for 2012
• 3 new quilt books

In case I don't make it back,

which I definitely will, to share my #11,

but just in case,

Have a happy, safe New Years Eve!



Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."


Merry Christmas, my friends, may God bless you this night.

FNSI Results

I think the FNSI is a bad sign in my house.

It seems like something always comes up,

or something happens to make me not in the mood to sew.

Tonight was about that.

So, I did sew tonight, just not as much as I had hoped.

I got a quilty gift cut out.

I got 3 parts of it sewn together.

I got the center cut and the double borders sewn on.

Then, I got it layered and pinned.

I got 2 lines of quilting done around the whole square.

Tomorrow, I will start adding the 3 parts and quilting those.

Back to what I said last week:
Progress is progress.

Its more then I had done when I started.

FNSI

Tonight is the Friday Night Sew In.
I believe its the last one of the year!?!?!
Are you signed up?

I am! For me, the LAST possible mailing date to get things delivered by Christmas is Tuesday.
I have several projects that need done before then, so tonight and this weekend I will be spending a large amount of time in the cave.
Luckily, my mom isn't arriving here until the 28th. Why is that lucky? Hehe, cause it gives me extra time to get her things done!

Apparently there was some confusion when Jen made me what I called a lap quilt. She thought it was a table square, but its huge. I thought it was a lap quilt, but its small. Funny how that works, huh? Anyway, I found the perfect place for it. I folded it so it looks more like a diamond with flat sides and put it over the back of my rocking chair.

Its the perfect size, don't you think?
Although, it would also be perfect to cover my legs while I am sewing. Hmmmmmm, I may have to think about that.
Hope to "see" you tonight at the Sew In :)

Santa Sack Gifts

OMGosh!!!! I am so excited! If my day is even half as good as my morning, it will be FAN-Tastic!!!

Jen, I can NOT thank you enough for a fabulous Santa Sack!
WOW!!!!

To say I love it all is an understatement!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

For those of you wondering what is so amazing, I present to you:
My Santa Sack gifts:

Overview of everything!

My son opened the first gift, 2 fat quarters and 4 baby charm packs.

I'm not even sure what these are called, so baby charm packs they are!
Lovely by Sandy Gervais and Buttercup by Fig Tree and Co.

Teen #2 opened the next one! This wonderful catch all bag that I just love the colors of!

And inside were these 2 little tins: 1 filled with pins and the other is a mini sewing kit!

Teen #1 opened this! OMGosh!!!!!! LOVE IT!

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, and this is such a fantastic addition to my decorations!

I LOVE IT!!!!!

And my quilting princess opened this lovely lap quilt!

Jen, its beautiful, thank you! Now, to find the exact right place to put it!

After that, Allie and I opened the rest together! This is a coupon organizer, with list and pen to go with it! Sorry, I should have taken a pic of the inside. Take my word for it, its great!

(Psst, Jen! When you blogged that you were making these, I thought "Oh, I need one of those, I'll have to make one." Guess I don't have to now!)

Next, came this little chicken pin cushion! Soooo cute! Allie is in love!

Next was this Strawberry Fields notebook holder.

Again, LOVE IT!!!

I am a list maker, so this is just perfect!

Hehe, watermelon and ants oven mits!

I have used this fabric in a runner, so obviously, I love it! These are great!

Halloween kitchen towels!!! Perfect!!

Mug Rug/Snack Mat and Best Press Starch Alternative.

The only question here is do I leave this next to the computer where I spend so much time, or do I put it next to the sewing machine, where I spend an equal amount of time? Decisions, decisions!

And last, but not least, this AMAZING bag!

I love it! The colors and fabric are great and its an awesome size!

I carry bags all the time and this one is going to the top of the stack!

And, if you didn't notice, it totally matches the smaller catch all that got opened earlier!

Jen, again, thank you! Everything is wonderful!

I know you are out of town, but hopefully you will see this soon.

I hope you like your things even half as much as I like mine.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Me and My Sister Designs

I won a prize!!! I am so excited!

Me and My Sister Designs were giving away boxes of Twirl scraps and I won! Yeah!

Thanks Barb!!!

So, the box arrived on my front porch and when I bent down to grab it, it was too heavy for one hand!
Holy cow, how much fabric is packed in here, I thought?!?!

The answer was ALOT!

Check out these pic's! You'd think Allie won instead of me!

We are both really excited and can't wait to find something to do with Twirl!

Pardon the messy living room, we were still in the getting ready for christmas mode! Its clean now!



Picture Perfect

Easter Roses

Quilt #10 of 11 in '11

Close up of quilting

......the story here is that I took a class on free motion quilting. The quilt top was supposed to be a plain piece of fabric. I decided that if I was going to the trouble of doing this amazing quilting, I wanted it to be on a pieced top. Problem was, I didn't have much time, so I settled on this simple design. I thought I would give the quilt away to a cousin who is having a girl in March, but decided to keep it as the first quilt I've free motioned. Since the colors are so Easter-y, that is when I'll display it.......

Christmas card holder

Peppermint Candy Pillow

FNSI Results

My FNSI Results are in:
Off and on all day I worked on my 12 days of christmas quilt.

Its coming along, that's all I can say.

I may enjoy the fleece on the back of it when its done,

but for now: I hate it.

Luckily, I tackled a few other projects as well:

Soft baby blocks for my nephew for christmas.

I had one done and finished up the other tonight.

I also finished up some pillowcases my daughter was making for her and her brother.

Not featured are the christmas gifts her and I worked on that she is giving each member of our family.

I feel like its not a large list, but any progress is still progress, right?



Santa Sack Swap

This post is long overdue, I am so sorry Jen!

My Santa Sack gifts arrived in the mail last week! Yeah!

Everything is extremely cushy cute and I can't wait to open it!
Dec 15th is the day! Not sure I can wait that long!!!

At least the chocolate was unwrapped, so I am

enjoying that already!