Baltimore Christmas

Here is one of my 2011 Block of the Month projects. Can you see why I fell in love with it? Click on the picture to see it close up. And, one of the biggest anomalies of doing this? I never, NEVER make Christmas quilts! I've never been able to justify spending time on making a quilt for only one season. BUT, times are a-changing!

I love all the detail in each block. I adore the gingerbread house! And the reindeer dancing in a circle!

I bought the entire pattern set, along with the buttons that are used thoughout the quilt for embellishment, in Houston. I didn't get the fabric (though it was available as a kit) because I thought part of the fun would be picking out fabrics from my stash. So that is my challenge to myself - making the entire quilt from my stash. Okay, so I did buy the background fabric in Houston - some assorted cream batiks. But for everything else - I'll be stash shopping.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

You deserve fireworks!

Guess what I'm doing tomorrow....
SEWING!
I've been away from my studio far too long. I'm ready to start something new. I'm ready to fondle fabric. I'm ready to create.

I've been designing some patterns, so I'm anxious to start working on them. But next year will also be the year of the Block of the Month. I'm going to be doing two different BOM projects. I know. Really? I've never been a block of the month type person. I'm more of a go-with-the-flow kind of quilter. Not a follow-a-pattern kind of quilter. And certainly not a follow-a-pattern and finish-a-block-every-month kind of quilter.

But I happened to have fallen in love with two different BOM quilts! Totally, head-over-heels-in-love. And I couldn't resist the lure. And they are totally different from each other, though both are going to be done by hand. I know. Crazy, huh!

I think I'm becoming a hand-sewing kind of quilter.

Keep Looking Up

I was trying to find the appropriate photo to express my feelings today and this is what I came up with - another Houston picture to remind me to keep looking up. Today was not the best of days. I was disappointed in someone that I don't know very well. And my honesty did not sit well with this person. I know I did the right thing, but I don't like having to confront difficult issues. Sometimes, though, it is necessary.

So I will keep looking up, looking forward, looking ahead. The wedding - can't wait! I know it will be awesome! I was really hoping to lose some weight before the big event, but that hasn't happened. I've decided to enjoy the next month and our special holiday season, loving myself no matter what the scales say.

And Daughter Two will be home from Italy so, so soon! I can't wait to give her a great big hug, and tip toe around the house in the mornings so she can sleep late. I expect her to be exhausted!

And the wonderful Christmas season! I'm especially looking for to this Holy time. How could I not keep looking up?

Snuggled Up

Here's how Prince (on the left) and Mickey like to sleep: snuggled up. If you'll notice, the door to the crate is open, so they could get out if they wanted. They were made to snuggle with each other, I think. In the corner of the crate is their quilt; they must be special because it has some Kaffe Fasset fabric in it. They are worth it!

I spent today quilting at Thimbles, working on a t-shirt quilt. I didn't finish, but hopefully I will complete it tomorrow. I'm ready to finish so I can dig into my Houston purchases!

There are little things that need to be done in our hall bathrrom before the remodeling is finished. Okay, so one is not so little - we need the faucet and showerhead in the tub. But once it comes in, it will only take minutes for the plumber to install. Maybe tomorrow? I hope so.

And our last wedding shower is this weekend - a Christmas ornament brunch in Georgia. Should be fun. We're talking my parents with us, hoping my 86 year old Dad can handle the trip. He really wants to go.

My Belated Birthday Present

The Studio Fabric Cutter is designed specifically for quilt shop retailers, kit makers and avid home quilters.

• • Cuts accurate shapes
  • More than 350 quilting shapes
  • Up to 90% faster than rotary
    cutters or scissors
• • Lifetime warranty
  • Design your own dies
  • Cuts up to 10 layers of
    fabric at a time

So here's my b'day present, only a few months late. I succumbed and got a fabric cutter! Accuquilt really pushes the GO! cutter for the average quilter. The reasons I got the Studio version are because it is able to use bigger dies, it has tons of dies available (much more than the GO!), and it cuts through so many layers of fabric at one time. I've tried it out and love it!

Of course the disadvantage with the Studio version is that it is HEAVY! It weighs in at 50 pounds, so it has to have its own dedicated space. You're not going to move it thereafter! So I found a nice little space for it in my studio, and there it will stay.

With the sale they were running, I got a terrific deal. I started out by purchasing 3 dies for it, all circular. I'm working on a series of quilts now that require circles. Oh, how much time it will save me! I figure additional dies will make good Christmas presents for me!

We are now counting down from 5 weeks until the wedding! Daughter 1 and I met with the reception venue yesterday to make the final arrangements there. And since the wedding is getting closer, it also means it's not long until Daughter 2 will be home from her studies abroad in Italy!

Our New Rug

As part of all our remodeling around here, we bought some new furniture. We have hardwood floors in our main family room, but we haven't had a rug in there for years. I've been looking for months for the perfect rug. It had to have a dark enough background to hide spills and spots. I wanted it to go with any colors, in case I decided to change my color scheme in a few years. I wanted something unique and not too formal. I wanted something with a bit of whimsy and maybe with a touch of funkiness.
I found it! I had to order it from a local store, and it came in a couple of weeks ago. We'd left it rolled up in its box until yesterday though. I didn't want it to get ruined prematurely by workmen's feet, sheetrock dust, and dripped grout.
Imagine my surprise over the weekend while in Houston - I was reading blogs one night and discovered this post on Material Obsession in Australia. Scroll down the post until you get to the rugs. I'll wait.....
Twiddling thumbs while you look....

NO WONDER I LOVE THIS RUG!!!! It was designed by Kaffe Fasset!!!!

I must say, it wasn't too expensive either, especially for a wool rug. It was only a bit over $500 for an 8 by 10 foot rug. I'm thrilled with it! Hubby's fine with it (he's not as excited about the Kaffe connection as I am), and the dogs love it. Mickey spent part of the evening last night rolling around on his back to break it in.

I know it seems that all we're doing around here is spending money. But the remodeling, even with some new furniture here and there, has been so much less expensive than moving to a brand new house would have been. And now we do have our dream home.
In quilty news, I got my birthday present from my dear hubby last week. I know, my birthday was way back in July. But don't think he's an awful hubby! He wanted to give me something quilty, but didn't know where to begin. (I wouldn't know where to begin to buy him something golfy.) He suggested a new sewing machine. This year we both turned 50, so he wanted to get me a "milestone" gift. Well, I didn't want or need a new sewing machine.

So I've been doing some thinking for a few months. And a bit of research. I decided what I really wanted, but I've been busy and didn't get around to ordering it. Then I saw where it was on sale for a few days only for $100 off! That got me moving!

Can you guess what it is? Obviously, some assembly was required. The reveal tomorrow...

A Tree Grows in Houston

Meet my friend, the Houston tree. This is where I caught the bus at my hotel to the Convention Center each day. Might I add, it was very windy in Houston. Very, very windy. Poor tree. One day it was bent sideways. I think it has a permanent lean to the right.
Here's another shot of Sharon Schamber's Best of Show quilt. A-MAZE-ING! But I must correct an earlier post where I mentioned that the back of the quilt has mirrors sewn on. Boy, was I wrong. I guess it was the way the light was shining.
What I though was mirrors, was actually open work, connecting areas of the quilts. I cannot even imagine the time and intricacies involved. Wow.
Here I am with friends, Judy C. and Margaret M., who were nice enough to include me in their dinner plans.
And here I am with fellow bloggers, Victoria, Shelly, and Shelly. We arranged to meet for a few minutes Saturday morning. It was so great to meet them in person after reading their blogs for so long.

Guess what? This is the last week of our remodeling project. Yay! Yay Yay! The last bathroom will be complete by the end of week, thank goodness. We'll have our house back!

And the wedding countdown begins - less than six weeks to go! I'm getting very excited - I still need shoes, but Emily found some on-line at Zappo's. I think I'll order them.