I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

With Daughter 1's wedding less than three weeks away, I wanted to veer away from the usual red and green Christmas decorations. Her wedding colors will be silver and ivory, so I wanted to stick to that theme. So I took all the red stuff of our door wreath, including the big red bow. I wired silver ornaments around and about. I was planning to try to buy some big white bows at a craft store, but then I had a light bulb moment. Roc Lon Multipurpose Cloth!!!

It was easy peasy. I pulled out my scissors and a stapler and voila! I had a wonderful big white bow!

House is Done!

All our remodeling is complete (yay!), both the inside and outside are decorated for Christmas (yay yay!!), and Daughter 2 is coming coming home from Italy this week (yay yay yay!!!) It was a wonderful and busy weekend. Thursday was for stuffing ourselves. Friday was for football. Saturday was for shopping and tree trimming. And today we finished up with the outside decorations. Whew!

Above is the house block I made for Love Laugh Quilt's challenge. I couldn't resist. All I had to do was make a 12 inch house block and mail it to her by January 1. It only took 15 minutes to make, and it was quite fun. I'd love to make more funky houses. She's going to draw names after the first of the year and a few lucky quilters will receive a nice pile of house blocks. It's not to late to join in - just leave her a comment and she'll e-mail her mailing address. Just make sure to put your name or blog name on the block.
Here's a partial shot of the latest t-shirt quilt project. Fun and done! I also got the binding on my flutterby quilt last week.
And a quick shop of Oliver and Prince: Ollie is getting older and more awkward. Friday he attempted to lie down on his bed in front of the fireplace. Somehow he misjudged, planting his rear on said fireplace.
He actually stayed like this for several minutes. Funny dog!

Tomorrow I'll show a pic of some of our outside decorations. I got creative with Roc Lon Multi-purpose Cloth!

Wedding Shower and Another Block of the Month

Here's a pic from Emily and Tommy's wedding shower Sunday - it was a Christmas ornament shower. What a great idea! They got some really nice ornaments to hang on their tree. That's me on the left, with Tommy and Emily, and my 86 year old father. It's a miracle that Dad is smiling - he never smiles!

Ever since our girls were born, I've been getting them each an ornament every Christmas. Emily was born on Mickey Mouse's birthday (Nov. 18) so she has always received a Mickey ornament. When Elizabeth was little, she wanted to know whose birthday she shared, since Emily had such a fun b-day partner. I thought a bit and told her she was born on an angel's birthday; so she gets an angel ornament every year.

Okay, so you want to see my second block-of-the-month project for 2011. This is it! This will certainly be an adventure! I'm getting all the fabrics, threads, etc., delivered to me each month. I noticed that it's now sold out, but they are taking a waiting list, just in case someone backs out. According to the delivery schedule, I will not get my kit until the fourth week of every month. So I"ll try to do the Xmas BOM during the first part of the month. Sounds like a plan!

How to Brine a Turkey

My camera is MIA; I know it's around here somewhere, but I couldn't put my hands on it this morning. And I have quilty things I wanted to show! Hopefully, Mr. Camera will turn up later today and I can get some photos posted.

I haven't shared a recipe in some time, and felt this was the perfect time to share my Turkey Brine recipe. Last year was the first time I'd ever tried this. And I must say, it was the most delicious, moist, and flavorful turkey I have ever roasted! Who knew that this could make such a difference! I've always preferred the side dishes over the turkey at Thanksgiving because every roasted turkey I'd ever tasted was dry and bland. But now I know the secret!

Here's the recipe I use.

I put the brine and turkey in the biggest bowl I have, and I usually brine it for a couple of days instead of the 12 hours they suggest. Make sure the turkey is already thawed, if you bought it frozen. I also flip the turkey over in the brine half way through the brining time.

This year, I'm only roasting a turkey breast since we aren't having a crowd: just hubby, me, and Daughter 1. So the meal will be a bit pared down and simple. But we are all looking forward to a nice, quiet Thanksgiving.

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?