Christmas morning...

I miss Christmas mornings...  I remember when the kids were small and would jump on our bed and attempt to wake us up at the crack of dawn.  We would always pretend to be asleep and moan and groan and that of course would encourage them to make more noise.  Then they would all run and get their stockings to open while we got hot tea and coffee and somewhat presentable ...

Then the chaos would begin...  Wrapping paper would be everywhere...kids screaming and shouting and gifts opened and thrown aside while more gifts were grabbed and opened.

I really miss those days.  Today the son got up, looked out the window and said "you're kidding me...right? It's snowing? I still have to do all my Christmas shopping".  So instead of sending him off in his car, we decided to drive him and his girlfriend to the next nearest town to shop.  Apparently she had left some shopping til the last minute also.. So we dropped them off at Walmart and went to Target...picked them up and took them to Target and we went to Petsmart and then picked them up from Target and came home. 

I spent all day cooking and chopping for tomorrow...and made that famous homemade spaghetti sauce.  I was going to make manicotti, but they decided they just wanted regular spaghetti...

Now all the cooking is done, wrapping is finished and we are sitting here watching Christmas Vacation with the Griswold's...

Tomorrow we will have to set the alarm as there are no small kids to jump into bed with us...   I still miss that...

Merry Christmas to you...
Nancy

Merry Christmas...

May you have a Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year...

Nancy

brown bags...and scrabble...and electric

I've been working on my brown bag challenge for the St Louis Modern Quilt Guild...  We each put up to a 1/2 yard of fabric in any increments...and added our names..  We could add the same amount of fabric and make something for them..  I was stumped.  Some of the fabrics I got were not to my taste and it's hard to work with something you don't "love"... right?  I finally decided what to do and got going...the day before yesterday.  Did I mention they are due this Saturday?  And the kitchen cabinets will be delivered sometime either tomorrow or Friday...  I finally got it done.  Can't show anything but a sneak peak...

But oh boy...it's cute...if I do say so myself...  ok, enough of that...

Last night the son and his girlfriend stayed for dinner...I had some spaghetti sauce frozen and made hot rolls (which didn't rise until way later so we had french bread...) and then we played some scrabble.

sorry it's fuzzy...i had to snap it quick..

This is as far as we got before the electric flickered and then went out.  We don't have a flashlight cause we took them all out to the other house.  So the son took out his iPhone...luckily he had downloaded an App that allows his camera to become a flashlight, so we used that to search for the emergency electric number.  No luck...  so after about 30 minutes, we decided to leave and go into town, run by the electric company and see if there was an emergency number on the door.  Well, we weren't the only neighborhood without electric.  The whole south side of the main road into town was without power... that's 7 miles of neighborhood...Still don't know what happened, but by the time we had turned around to come home..the power was on. Of course by then, the kids were gone so the scrabble game was put away for another time.

We finally got our Christmas Tree up... it's not the one we usually put up...cause that's in storage...so this one is pitiful looking.  Because along with the tree in storage?  All the decorations are also in storage... bah.. it will be easier to go to the local box store than go to the storage unit and dig for them...lol   So later today, I guess I will head out and get some lights... and maybe some ornaments...

Want to see the pitiful tree?   I warned you...  We bought this many years ago when we finished out the basement in our old house and the hubby couldn't stand the tree being upstairs and us being downstairs...  It wasn't expensive and it shows...

Nancy

well...

Apparently....

If I take a blog break, I find all kinds of things to tell you all....

Today I had to pick up the hubby from the airport...I sat on the cell phone lot waiting for his call and decided to surprise him and take him out to breakfast at IHOP.. 

Wasn't that nice of me?  Of course, right down the road is Hobby Lobby and I had a coupon burning a hole in my pocket..

I needed buttons and tulle and elastic...sounds weird huh...

Well, the buttons were for my black coat.  My coat is in really good shape but a bit dated looking with the  gold/black buttons on it.  I found some great black and white striped ones and it makes the old coat look new again..

The tulle and elastic?  They were for these...

Two little tutu's for two little granddaughters...  

Fast, Quick and cheap using this tutorial...

Of course it would have helped if I would have read the directions all the way through.  The lilac one is a  larger circumference than the pink one.. BUT I had enough tulle on one roll to finish it.  The pink one needs another roll of tulle..   Went back and read the directions again and yep...it says buy TWO rolls for each tutu.. ah live and learn...and back to Hobby Lobby..

These might be the biggest hit at Christmas...

Nancy

blog break...

Well, that didn't last long did it? 

Wish you could see the huge SMILE on my face..

This is why....

And where did these beauties come from?

HERE!!

and you can get some too...just click on that link...

But, I didn't have to do that...

WHY?

Because random.org picked my number 12 

and

I WON THEM

he he... it pays to follow blogs...

I might follow a wee bit too many.. like maybe 450...  

I know...that's a lot of blog reading... but really...I read every post of every blog I follow

I get so much inspiration, good ideas, free tutorials, patterns  and tips.  I have met and talked to people on line

I would never have met any other way.  Some live in Australia, some live in Delaware 

and then there are those that live closer... like in the same city...

One of the inspirational blogs I read is Bloom Creek.. 

I would read her blog even if she didn't have giveaways... and I would win...

But, that does make her my favorite blog...

 

today...

Thanks Vicki...I can't wait to fondle see them in person.

A bit of a blog break....

  Yep, I am going to jump on the band wagon and do a little blog break.  I need to get some stuff around here done for, you know, CHRISTMAS!!

  Tomorrow is our 39th wedding anniversary and we are going to go out to dinner with our daughter and family after working all day in the other house.   Our new kitchen cabinets are to be delivered this Thursday or Friday and we need to shake a leg on the plumbing this weekend..

  I have some Christmas sewing to get done...a brown bag swap that is due next Saturday and I haven't even started it.  Although I do know what I am doing...it's all in my head...but I'm pretty sure my partner expects something tangible......lol

  So everyone have a  Merry Christmas...and great New Year with family and friends and I will see you all in 2011...

 

a little cooking...

Are you starting to do a little Christmas baking?  I usually make a few things to give away to the post office ladies and my mail lady Marilyn and some to take to my sisters Christmas and maybe this year I will give some to the neighbors...who knows...

Here are some links to ideas from previous years...

My Illegal Fudge...


Quick Hot Chocolate in a Jar (with a sugar-free version)

Need to take an appetizer somewhere?  Try these Chicken Wings

Now...some help needed...  My quilt guild Christmas Party is next Monday.  We decided on a salad dinner this year...  So I need a salad recipe...it can be anything...fruit salad, green salad, turkey salad...any kind of salad....  Any recipes you have out there that I can steal?  I am embarrassed to say that the last time we had a salad lunch I screwed up. Never having heard of a salad lunch before I took hard boiled eggs...uh huh...I THOUGHT there would be a whole big bowl of green salad and then everyone would bring something to add to their salad...you know...like a salad bar!!  nope... I am so stupid...  So this year I would like to take a
real salad... can you help?

Nancy

To all my friends....

Happy Thanksgiving

Some Acknowledgements....

I have been fairly not-busy-sewing lately...  I have a third Christmas present almost done and can't get up the energy to get back in there and finish...  I think the weekends working 10 hours a day is slowing me down during the week... although it shouldn't...lol
Of course not sewing doesn't mean that I'm not out there reading my blogs...and entering some great contests...

The other day I was lucky enough to win one...  Little Lady Patchwork is a great blog..Stefanie has been featured on Moda Bake Shop, she writes wonderful blog posts and is very inspiring...   A couple of weeks ago she did a great interview with Melanie of Above All Fabric and Melanie was nice enough to offer a FQ bundle of PURE by Sweetwater for Moda...  Yes..you read that right..a FQ BUNDLE!!  As in a lot of fabric...
Guess who won?  Yep...little ol' me...

So far I have gazed at it, fondled it and smelled it...hey..don't judge!! 

Then there was my guild meeting last Saturday...  We have an attendance drawing and there are two tiers of prizes... If you have a paper sticker name tag you pick from one table...if you have a handmade name tag you get to pick from the good table...OR the second table... he he...we are "encouraged" to make a name tag..lol

We pick a card from a deck and then she uses another deck to pick cards.  I was the last winner, but boy did I luck out...no one had picked this 1/2 yard of American Jane...

I had some of this in my stash a long time ago and was so happy to have some more...

And our guild has a co-op and I was the winner of some great fabric squares...

This photo isn't the best...but they are a beautiful brown and blue and I think will make some great pillows...or I have another idea I might try...

And here are some great show-and-tell photos from Saturdays meeting... ENJOY!!

Cindy Lammons with her 60 degree wedge quilt

art quilter

and another one on hand painted fabric

the back of Cara's manly quilt

and the front of her manly quilt

 Cara  is having a quilt along on her blog..  It is NOT to late to join...

Her first quilt....she said she was afraid to wash it since the circles are raw edge applique... we all told her to "go for it"

9-patch using OhFransson tutorial here

Rachel's very first quilt...and her MOM owns the shop where we met...

band quilt for her daughter....It's called a band quilt as it goes on the bus with her daughter to all her band competitions

Jamie Mueller made this for the MODA Bake Shop and it hung in the MODA booth during Market and the Houston Quilt Show..

Marsha made this for her mother... She said the front fabrics are pastels like her mom, but she used a wild batik on the back for her! lol

Marsha made this for her daughter to hang in her classroom...before it was finished, her daughter had taught for one year and quilt...lol 

Mary Claire  was inspired to make a quilt from a weather pattern and made this Warm Front and was very proud until her sister told her it really is a COLD FRONT....  Hence the large laugh from Mary Claire...

Jamie who stalked Michael Miller fabrics at Market to have this fabric reprinted...

Nancy made this...  She will use it as her Spring purse when she goes to Australia this Christmas...

and this will be her travel purse..

made by the lady on the right and quilted by the shop where we met..

President Kristy made this for a swap...can't remember which one and couldn't tell you if I did...

And that is it for show-n-tell.... aren't we a great group?


Nancy

NTM blog and giveaway....

Just a quick post to alert you to a fabulous giveaway....  Retromummy is giving away a fq pack of Sweet Broderie...   just click and enter...

Today is my second meeting of the St Louis Modern Quilt Guild..  Today we are voting on officers and doing a brown bag challenge.  I have my brown bag all ready to go...

The sewing front is slow around here.  I am working on a few Christmas presents that I can't show until after...and a lot of time is spent on the internet and flickr looking up things like "seamless guttering" and "white kitchens with stainless appliances" and "dark oak floors in bedrooms" and trying to get things going on the other house.  Want to follow along?  There is a button up there on the right side bar to take you there and you can watch us practically kill ourselves working every weekend...

Well off to have some breakfast and get packed...

Nancy

rare sighting...

Having coffee, in the family room, with the parents.

Even rarer is the little half smile...

Made my day...

Nancy

pick up tips...

I have been a quilter for about 12 years. We got a flyer in the mail one day from the local technical school and I was intrigued by a log cabin class. I sent in my registration fee and received a class list. Scissors, ruler, needles and something called a rotary cutter. it was the beginning of a love of sewing. My son sleeps under that quilt every night. I keep wanting to make him another, but he insist it be as soft as one that has been washed every month for 12 years. I don't think there is batting quite that soft out there...lol

In the midst of all this sewing I have learned a lot. I am always willing to take another class because inevitably I will learn something...and every so often I teach someone something..

Yesterday I started working on my second Christmas "thingy"...I can't say what it is as relatives read my blog...(you know who you are!) During construction of this secret project I needed to sew Velcro onto my fabric. And that's when one of my "pick up tips" came in handy.

This is the kind of Velcro I use. The sew-on kind.. not the sticky kind...

and this.. plain ol'Elmers school glue..bought when school supplies go on sale..

this is how I "used" to sew on my Velcro.. but the pin kept getting in the way and my Velcro would always end up crooked..

Now, I slap a little school glue down the center of the back of the Velcro and stick it down.
the Velcro on the right is glued down, left isn't...

and it gets sewn on straight...

So, hope that helps you as you make some great Christmas presents... this one is done and I will start another ???? today.

Off to order some cabinets today...and counter tops...

Nancy

Civil War Love Letters....

Last night was the final meeting of our Civil War Love Letters quilt group. We started meeting in January and in September we lost our fearless leader when she moved to Buffalo, New York. She told us she would get someone to replace her for the last meeting, but by 7:10pm last night we realized that no one was showing up... Oh well. We are adults after all, so we ran our own meeting...which consisted of just show-n-tell.

We had lots of quilts that were finished into tops and one that was already quilted and bound.

I don't have names for all these women, but will comment about the quilts if I can...

Miss Nancy's first two rows.

A FIRST quilt for this lady. She decided to make and donate it to her
daughters fifth grade class.

This one will be hand quilted at some point in the future..

This lady said that although she liked the white, she is going to trim it down so it's not so stark.

This lady is using her 121 blocks to make two wall hangings. One for her and one (below) for her son and his new home...

This is just two rows of his so far. When she went to divide the stacks into two, her stack kept getting bigger and his stayed very small. She realized that she didn't want to give up very many of her blocks, so she is making her's larger and making some duplicate blocks for him.

This is Pat's quilt. She owns two long arm machines so it was quilted and bound..

and this photo shows some of the quilting...

After looking at all the quilts last night I have decided to remove the sashing from the 4 rows I have put together and add cornerstones. Of course it will be awhile til I get back to work on it, but I think I will be happier with it...

Nancy