'Twas the Night Before Christmas . . .

and I'm glued to the tree.

Wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?

Or even quilt kit? (with a grin on my face)

And that's when I heard him -- "Hi Santa" I said.

"You know, good little girls should be in their bed."

"I know I should Santa and now I've been caught,

but I was just so excited to see what you've brought."

"Well let's take a look in this room where you work."

He took a quick peek, then turned with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear,

"You've got way too much stuff, I'll see you next year!"

I found this cute little poem posted by Natalia on her delightful blog called Piece N Quilt. I know not everyone sews (gasp!) but if you do, you should check her out. She has charming projects with LOTS of tutorials.

I have lots of "Santa stuff" to work on today. While remembering of course the real reason for our celebration -- Happy Birthday Jesus! Blessings to you and may your Christmas be magical.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

I know -- long time, no post! It's been crazy around our house. My dad is home but very needy in terms of time and attention. Throw in a couple of sewing deadlines and deliveries to Jackman's and I've been quite busy. We also have house guests for several weeks -- my stepson, his wife and almost 2-yr old son - who arrived with a whopper of a cold and a racking cough. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a germ magnet so it is a minor miracle that I managed more than two weeks before I came down with it. But oh yes, I do have it now.

So what a blessing it is that I managed to get my decorating done last weekend. Here are a few of my favorite decorations this year . . .

I have a dear young friend who always gifts me with the most delightful pieces to brighten my home. Doesn't this jolly fellow make you feel whimsical?!

Who knew the Cricut would be this much fun? This is cut from white vinyl (alright, it's actually cheap contact paper!). But what a perfect accent to this french door which is visible from the three rooms we use most. (The text cut is from the Simply Sweet font cartridge, the snowflakes from Winter Woodland.)

These cute little snowflakes were die cut with a Sizzix Originals die. I think they add so much to these ornaments hanging in my front window.

And last but not least, I needed a couple of cards for early December birthdays. Although it doesn't show up in the photo, the white insert is embossed with Happy Birthday sayings.

Wherever you are, I hope you are safe and warm and making good progress towards a very happy Christmas.

I'll catch you later. Sooner this time, I promise.

Wedding bells ring, are you listening?

Ashley's finger is a-glistening!

Oh happy day! Our 24-year old baby Kyle is engaged to the most wonderful, sweetest girl in the whole entire world! Does everyone have those feelings of something you "just know"? Ashley was one of those. I just knew she was my daughter! Over these four years since I met her we have bonded. We share interests and traits and hopes and fears and faith -- what can I say, except that I love them both and I'm SO HAPPY! This is the best Christmas ever!(Can you believe Kyle was worried about how his fingernails looked for this pic?! Now that's a first!!! )

Here's my sister Deb, our enthusiastic family cheerleader with her official family welcome. This is so Deb. (Of course, the spontaneous real one was a little better than this staged repeat but still fun nevertheless.) A special family moment. Families are good. Ashley has an incredible family too. Real people - kind, friendly, down-to-earth, no pretenses. People you enjoy being around. I hope she can say the same for our zany family. Ashley is an amazing person in more ways than I can tell you. We are truly blessed.

Oh Happy Day!

I made my first Etsy sale and will ship a Christmas jumper to Massachusetts today - can you believe it!? I still marvel at how the internet makes such things possible. A few short years ago I couldn’t have dreamed of such a thing. It makes the world smaller, don’t you think? When I see that I’ve had visits (and comments) from exotic, far-away places like Australia (!!!) I am humbled!

Well, it was another busy weekend for us, I‘ll bet yours was too. Another Christmas party, this one sponsored by my husband’s place of part-time employment and so graciously hosted at the home of the managing owner and his wife. Mid-afternoon it dawned on me that a hostess gift would be nice . . .


So I whipped up this kitchen towel. With the addition of a box of chocolates, we thought we should have all bases covered (husband and wife).



I had a request for a couple of tiles expressing this sentiment. With the words being the focus, I kept them pretty simple in design. I like simple. I think simple should be my middle name. For a lot of reasons. :)





And a monstrance cover. In white satin. Satin works up so beautifully, you can hardly go wrong.


I added covered piping and an embroidery design I digitized myself. Simple elegance. Again with the simple!



That's all for now. Have a good day. We're in line for our first winter storm; I'll let you know how that goes.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

. . . in our little neck of the woods. Yesterday as I dreamed up a Christmas doggy stocking in my warm and cozy sewing studio (doesn't that sound hotzy-totzy!), Randy had to dodge snowflakes as he cleaned up leaves in the yard! Not that he minds. He likes snow. He likes Christmas. Sometimes I call him "Rudy-Lou-Who". You have to be a fan of the Grinch to get that humor.

Even I who fret and worry over the holidays can't help but catch a little whimsical Christmas spirit with fun projects like last week's bibs and this week's doggy stocking for Isaac & Avery's pup.

Now you know, sweet Rusty is going to want one like this too . . .

And a close-up 'cause you've gotta check out the ribbon.

(Darn, I don't have any more of that.)

Then, the diaper bag I promised from last week . . .

And finally a shirt for my husband. This was inspired by my friend Tammy's youngest, Tyler, who wanted something Fire Dept. related to honor the memory of his uncle Todd. Tyler has a lot of qualities passed on from his mom and Todd. He has a creative mind and oh-my, can he build things with wood! At 16 he has created some amazing outdoor furniture pieces like hexagon picnic tables and Adirondack chairs. He even sold a few this past summer. He got his business drive from his dad! Now I'm rambling (my husband says I do that) . . . here's the shirt.

My husband is pleased and that makes me happy too. A somber loving happy.

Today I'm thankful for:

~ a warm home and well stocked cupboard

~ sweet puppy kisses

~ the beautiful fox couple who visits our yard daily reminding me to live life simply, in faith that our needs will be met

What are you thankful for today?