Are You Ready For Christmas

Who would think this wreath was ugly! Well it was. My mom sent it to me a few years ago. she had just stuffed a bunch of hodgepodge things into the green wreath part including little sports balls of all kinds, plastic candy canes, cardboard ornaments, the red and silver berries and the bow. I actually hung it like that for a couple of years and since she did not actually attach anyting things began to slide out. Well this is a good thing. I had made the wreath in the previous post from scratch and was on a roll so I decided to redo this one. It sat on the table a few days with just the greenery and the pine cones (those were actually attached. I had some of the plastic red bulbs left over from the other wreath so I attached those. Then I used floral wire to attach the silver and red berries. I took the bow apart and retied it. Voila! I sure looks nice now hanging on the front door. I forgot how much I liked making wreaths and think I need to do one for spring. I think I actually have all the stuff I need with the exception of the frame. Guess it is time to go to Hobby Lobby and see what I can find there.

We got snow again yesterday and it looks like a winter wonderland again! It is a wet snow so the pines and juniper are pretty much covered with thick snow on their branches with the needles poking thru. This morning we took a walk around the yard and saw lots of deer tracks, coyote track, mouse tracks and rabbit tracks. It is amazing how may animals are out there and also fun to see their comings and goings.

Holiday Cheer

The wreath in the photo is the one that I made to go on the gate. Well it hangs out in the living room now insead of outside. It just looks too nice not to have it somewhere where I can enjoy it all the time instead of just a welcome home. The wreat is made out of a wire frame for wreaths, floral wire to attach everything and keep things in place and secure, pinecones, fake red berries, cheap plastic Christmas ornaments, a premade bow, and one and a half of those garlands from Hobby Lobby. I think I spent about 2 hours putting it all togher. I think I need to hit the after Christmas sale and see what supplies I can find for 90% off and store away for next year.

I did not work on that pesky quilt yesterday. I did however get 3 more flowers appliqued to my log cabin quilt and have one more to do on the 3rd corner and then I get to put on the leaves. I love appliqueing on the leaves as they are just so simple and there are no inside points. Once those are on I can begin on the 4th border.

Now to get back to getting stuff ready for Christmas. I still have gifts to wrap, some cleaning to do and a few details I need to get done. Yep there are still a few cards to write.

This time of year it would be nice to just take a long soak in the tub with a brand new quilt book or magazine with tons of great photos.

Counting Down

Well if I had a really cool blog I would have lots of cool photos of what I have been up to. Actually I just tried to photograph my wreath I made the other night but the light was so bad that the photo did not come out. Maybe I should try again when it is daylight.

The other day I decided that our gate needed a wreath this year so I went off to Hobby Lobby to find one. Well they did have some really nice premade ones all ready to go but even at 50% off I decided I was not gonna invest so much in a wreath that was gonna be outside in the snow, wind and maybe rain if the temp went up (you just never know). I finally decided to make one and found all the stuff to make one for less that the cost of the really nice ones. Well I made a really beautiful wreath with great plastic ornaments (which were really quite pretty and also on sale). I also put red berries on it not sure what those were made of but they were pretty cheap so I got em. I just used a garland that I went around the large frame twice with. Everything was attached with floral wire. There was the big red bow at the top and real pine cones that I had in a basket in the bathroom (figure I can always get more of those. Well I wanted to admire my work so I put my wreath where I usually hang the one I put up in the living room every year. Hummm this wreath looked better than the other one so guess what................it is still there. Guess I will have to make another wreath for the gate..................next year. I also took the time to redo the wreath I had and now with the makeover it looks wonderful. Garlands are hung over the balcony with ribbons made from the after Christmas sale from last year. The tree is cut from the yard and all decorated. I even got about half of my cards done today. Most of the gifts are purchased but I still need to wrap. I am starting to think I might just get thru Christmas this year without a huge last minute rush.

Today I even worked on a quilt I have been trying to finish like forever. Bad news is that it is still not finished but the good news is that I was working on the border which is mostly the last thing to be done. I do have to go back a do a tiny bit more detail in a few of the blocks but since I need to change thread color I went for the border first. Who knows I might actually get this quilt finished before New Year! Now that would be wonderful.

Seems nobody has been by my blog or at least nobody is making any comments. Wonder if everyone is just busy or if I need to get more glitzy photos going :)

Getting Close

Have you ever had a project, in this case a quilt, that seems to just never end. Yep we have likley all had those. Right now for me is is my friend's quilt. I have had the top forever now and finally began quilting it a few months ago. The top was so beautiful that I was scared to touch it at first. It is an awesome sampler. In any case I finally got it loaded on the machine only to have problems with the thread; bottom line. After struggling with that I called the company that makes that thread and they told me some changes to make on threading my machine and adjusting the tenision. Then the thread seemed to jsut disapear in the print of the fabric so I could not really see it when I was quilting. Yes this is indeed a problem as I cannot visualize where I am going. Again problem solved by useing my husbands shop light on a stand shinng from the side and the rest of the room is in darkness.

Mind you this quilt deserved something special so of course that means custom heirloom quilting. So I have been working away on this for a couple of months between other quilts. I try to work on it a few hours at a time when I can. Now is the time to just get it done and out of my studio. I have been making this my main focus this week and it is finally starting to get to the end stages. I have a few more things to quilt on just a few of the 13 blocks. The sashing needs a little thread ripped and requitled where I was having the initial thread problems and then the border needs to be quilted.

I wish I could wave the wand and have it done but figure if I really try it will get done in a couple more sessions on the machine. Now why do some things take forever like this one and others just get done in a snap?

I have decided to also work on my log cabin applique border again. It had been set down for a few weeks and the past three days I have picked it up again and have made some good progress. A little each day will get it done eventually!

Suzanne's Christmas Meme

I saw this on Threadtails blog and thought I would do it as it looked like fun. Feel free to comment and then do your own on your blog. If you read this consider yourself tagged!


1 Apple cider, eggnog or hot chocolate? Are you kidding.................how about a latte with some Bailey's!

2 Turkey or Ham? Well it could be either depending on the year but this year I think I am gonna opt for a stuffed pork loin roast this year.

3 Does Santa wrap or just set them under the tree? Santa always wraps every gift here.

4 Colored or white lights on the tree? I love the white lights. I have a ton of them and this year I am gonna put them on the garlands that go on the balcony too.

5 Fake or real-cut-it-yourself-tree? We cut a tree out of our yard..........they are not always the most spectacular but we enjoy picking one out as much as anything.
.
6 Favorite Christmas song? Whatever I can sing along to. I think I love them all!

7 How do you feel about Christmas movies? I love them. My very favorite is Its a Wonderful Life.............but then I am a huge Jimmy Stewart fan.

8 Favorite Holiday dish? I love the cookies especially the ones with ground nuts.

9 When is it too early to start the Christmas music? Figure any time after Thanksgiving. I usually enjoy putting it on when decorating as it is a good way to set the mood.

10 What is your favorite holiday smell? The smell of the fresh pine of the Christmas tree.

11 How did you learn the truth about Santa? What do you mean? He brings gifts here so I think that he must be real.

12 What kind of decorations are on your tree? The tree is a hodgepodge of ornaments. Some very nice and others homemade. It is a tree of memories.

13 Open presents Christmas Eve or Day? Both. We usually open on gift on Christmas Eve because nobody here can wait that long.

14 Go to someone else’s house or have them at yours? This year we are gonna stay here.

15 Giving or receiving? I Love giving gifts. The look on someones face when they open a gift that the love is better than anything else.

Time To Get Back To Work

Well the Thanksgiving holidays are over and it was great. I think I spent more time in the kitchen than anything else. Now mind you there was not just the "big" dinner but then there was all the cleanup afterwards. Leftovers to put away and then trying to come up with things to do with those leftovers. I spent half a day just making turkey soup. It sure was good though and there is still some in the freezer for lunches.

Kind of reminds me of quiltmaking. You make the quilt and then have to clean up afterwards. Then there are all the scraps to deal with. I don't know about you but I save anything big enough to make a triangle that will make a half square triangle that will be 1" finished size in a block................that is pretty small. Then you have to spend the time to use those scraps as well.

Now that all that feasting and cooking are over it is time to get back to quilting. I did a UFO yesterday. Yep I actually put one of my own tops on the longarm. It was a mystery quilt that I did a couple of years ago. I was not crazy about it so it has been languishing on my pile of tops. Well I just acquired the Koko panot by Jodi Bemish and decided to try it on this top and give it to my mom for Christmas. The quilt is much improved with the little Kokopelli's dancing all over the surface of it now.

While I am waiting for the next Christmas quilt to arrive I will be working on the binding of my mom's quilt. Hopefully that top will arrive in today's mail as I need to get to it ASAP
when it does so I dare not load anything else as all the quilts left here at this point are custom with no deadlines and they will each take some time to quilt. My extra leaders are already on a custom job which requires different thread than my usual so I have to play with tension..............ok so I am not gonna quilt today.

Last Weeks Work

I know this is not the best photo but you can see the interlocking swirls of my new Quilt EZ spiral template. Now do not be fooled as it only looks quick. See that interlocking part........well there is a trick to that and it means stop and start, stop and start and then at the end there are thread tails to tie and bury. I calculated that there were over 1000 thread tails in the queen sized quilt! This design is well worth doing for the beauty but be prepared to spend the time to deal with the stops and starts. There are many other things that can be done with the template and hopefully I will get to play with it again soon. This quilt and the two others are now on their way back home to their owner in a pretty big box. Considering that I also did one other quilt last week that is not bad for getting alot accomplished!

This week it is back to that custom heirloom. I made some good progress on it again yesterday and hope someday soon it will come off the frame finished. It is satisfying to see the beautiful design from the quilting evolve and emerge. I am doing alot of small McTavish and some pebble fill as well in the 13 blocks. The setting triangles are all finished as well as the sashing. I have a couple more blocks for the fill and then I can go back and do larger details in the blocks like little feathers, straight lines and such. Then the border and it will be done.

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is almost here. This week I am making a menu of dishes and getting all the recipes lined up. Then to make a shopping list to ensure I have everything I need. Then I always make a schedule of what to do when so all the dishes are done at the same time with the exception of the pie which goes in the oven as the food goes on the table. Another thing I do the night before is lay out all the utensils, bowls etc each dish needs in its own counter space along with all the non perishable ingredients I will be needing. Then I have the perishable items all organized in the fridge so I know where each is. The worst part of the entire feast is the realization that I spend all day in the kitchen preparing and then it is all eaten in about an hour with about half and hour after for dessert.........................then there is the cleanup! This year my daughters will each be in charge of at least one dish so they will make a contribution and hopefully will have some fun as well.

My New Favorite Toy

I like to do a variety of things on my longarm so when a customer has a request for something I need a new tool or panto for and I like that tool I will get it for their quilt. Ths is how I recentley aquired the Baptist fan templates from the Quilt EZ company. Kinda pricey but I wanted them and figured I would be able to pay for them with a few quilts. Yep they are now paid for as of this week.

Well someone had a beautiful batik quilt and wanted to know what I thought would be a good design so I did my usual research which consists of looking at photos of quilts on the web. I found a really cool swirl and the more I looked the more different things I saw that could be done with that swirl. Quilt EZ made a template for that so I got it. Well I am using it on that batik quilt today and it is my new favorite toy. Boy does this tool make an awesome design. Well the problem is now I will need to make quilt just so I can use this tool for myself. I will post some photos of this quilt and a few others when I get a chance. Likely next week or if I am lucky over the weekend.

Boy do I love my job. How many people can work at home in their jammies (well I am not wearing my jammies today but some days I do) doing something they love. For me quilting is what I love!

Dancing With My Longarm

I am usually a partime Longarm quilter but this last couple of weeks I have gone fulltime! Whoo Hoo the holiday rush has finally arrived for me. I could not be happier at all the business this last couple of weeks! This week I am trying to get 3 large quitls finished and I have done 2 of them already and one charity quilt as well (had to practice that new panto before I tried it for the first time on a customer quilt). I have the 3rd quilt loaded and ready to go tommorow. It is a Quilt EZ swirl and it will be my first try at this pattern...............I jsut love the design and am excited to try this one.

Hopefully next week I will have some photos of the new quilts to share.

Too Much Information

This is our cat Thomas. He is King Cat and resides over the house over all other living creatures that dwell therein. He rules over the dogs and keeps them in line not to mention the people. Mostly he sits up on his cat perch where he can keep an eye on the comings and goings thruout the day. At night he roams the house or curls up on a bed. On cold nights when the house cools off he will borrow under the blankets and curl up quite content with his life.

Wish I could be more like Thomas. Well actually I would likely get bored after the first few days of that. Nope my life if full of activity and things that are in need of being done. I am wife, mother, housekeeper, chauffeur, cook, laundry girl, secretary, counselor, tutor, personal assistant. Oh yes and did I forget to mention Professional Longarm Quilter. Well life is sure full and busy with two growing girls and a husband that is most used to referring to me as stay at home mom since the youngest was about one year old. After reading another blog this morning, well I have read quite a few other blogs this morning, not to mention a few quilting websites and I have not even visited all of them yet I came across some real wisdom.

We do live in an age of information. Just think here I sit in rural New Mexico and only wave at my neighbors but never actually speak to them but I converse daily with people from all over the globe without leaving the house. I can while away tons of time in front of (not the TV) but the computer. In fact I do not watch much TV. Nope I am a computer addict.....................ok see there I have said it! The fact is that I go to someones blog and they are describing something. New fabric, new supplies, or some gadget so off I go in search of that on the Internet. Then something else attracts my attention, and on and on. I can just waste away tons of time seeing all sorts of wonderful things on the Internet. I can sit here in my rural house, in my jammies, uncombed hair, and see the whole world. Amazing!

Now I vow to get off this computer and go work on that wonderful sampler on the frame. Yesterday I got the sashing done and had to order more thread. Today I am gonna quilt till I wilt.............................at least that is the plan!

I Changed The Colors of My Blog

Being a person that is all about colors and seeing colors in different ways I was messing around (now I should actually be off quilting). I have been playing with color combinations and features of my blog and came up with this new combo. I would like to hear from you if you like it or hate it, or even if you just don't care either way. Likely I will get bored with these colors and change them again in the comming months. Maybe you remember I began with a black background but soon realized that was too hard on my eyes so went for a softer look. Ok tell me what you think!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been hoping for more quilts and seems like everyone is coming out of the woodwork asking for quilting lately. I am so excited! I think I am gonna be pretty busy this month and likely next month as well. I am beginning to feel like people are finding me.

There are gonna be some decisions along the way as I have been getting requests for some (quilts from scratch) lately. One person only gave me colors and she wants something traditional.............nothing else. Now that is gonna be a challenge but then I love challenges. Figure I will get on my thinking cap and come up with a few options from simple to somewhat more complex in a variety of prices and see which one she likes.

My big challenge is going to be trying to get something ready for Machine Quilters Showcase. I downloaded the entry forms from the shows after seeing the links on Suzanne's site. Figure if I keep a schedule and get going now I will be ready. I do have a pile of my tops so just need to quilt something...................now that is easier said than done because my last quilt logged 40 hours of quilting time on the longarm. Thank goodness for zippered leaders so I was able to work between customer quilts. Now to decide on a top!