The Great Snow of 2014 and A Neutral Quilt

Just like a lot of the Midwest, we are snowed in. I took this photo last night through the dining room window because I was not stepping outside. I think the snow had taken a momentary break when I took this photo,  but then it got back to work and quite frankly it. is. still. snowing.  We were supposed to have our last family Christmas party yesterday and had to cancel due to the terrible roads. At this point Christmas in July is sounding pretty darn good.

I think we have about 14" so far and who knows when it will end?

These are the times that I am grateful for a full freezer, a well stocked pantry and getting the grocery shopping finished before the storm.

 Since I'm trapped inside I decided it was time to stir my bones from the post Christmas stupor and get busy. I have had a quilt for Victoria cut out and ready to go on my design board for about 4 months.  She chose the colors and fabrics and I really think it's going to be pretty when it's done. Believe it or not, I think one of the things that had me stalled was the color palate. Neutrals. Who am I? How many neutrals do you see on this blog? As I said, I think it's going to be lovely when it's done, but the colors kind of stalled me. The squares are also supposed to be on the diagonal in the finished quilt and even after consulting a quilting friend it seemed overly complicated to do it that way. I consulted with Victoria who assured me that it mattered not a bit to her if they were laid out that way and I breathed a sigh of relief and began.

I just got the first block of squares put together and I'm giving you a good close up. I am admitting here and now that I realize that the little black squares do not line up perfectly.  But I have to admit I'm still fairly new at this quilting thing and if perfection is required I won't do it at all.  Once quilted the imperfections seem to be less noticeable and I'm ok with that.  Imperfections and all, I'm thrilled to get this first block together and get back to the sewing machine and creating something.

I plan to finish taking care of the Christmas decor this week, I'm organizing and purging as I go, and get back to some design work and filling the etsy shop.  

What are you doing to fill January?

The Year in Review 2013

It's been a good year.

Happy times, positive changes and the great apple harvest of 2013!

Lots of good food, parties with friends and some sewing. What could be better than that?

I'm looking back at a year of blessings and I thank God for every one :>)

I just wanted to take a moment and thank every one of you for your visits, your kind comments and your friendship.

 I am wishing you and all your families the very best of blessings and happiness in 2014.

Are you looking forward to anything special in the coming year?

 

25 Days of Christmas ~ A Visit from the Ice Queen

Yesterday we woke up to an icy fairyland.  A winter ice storm had hit and everything was covered in a layer of glistening ice.

 The sun wasn't fully over the horizon or these would have been blinding!

 The bird netting that we had used in the garden was an intricate icy lace.

And unfortunately our White Pines were badly damaged. What a mess! We are thinking of having them taken down and this may be just the circumstance to make us finally decide to get rid of them. 

Fortunately the roads were not bad, it was above freezing, and although our power went off a few times for a couple minutes each time, we never lost it completely.

I am busy finishing up goodies for the rest of our food gifts, more cinnamon raisin bread, home made marshmallows and other treats.  So much to do and so very little time! 

I don't think I'm going to make it all the way to Christmas with my posts. I see many of you signing off to spend time with your loved ones, and I think that is a great idea!

I will leave you with a photo of my grandmother's beautiful nativity set, don't forget to take time to thank God for his many gifts, the greatest of these being that he sent Jesus to give us hope and grace and forgiveness :>)

♥ Merry Christmas to all my dear friends far and near! ♥



25 Days of Christmas ~ Make Something Delicious

We are waiting for the ice storm to hit. It's been raining all day and the temperature has started to drop so who knows what we will wake up to tomorrow?

So what did we do all day? Well, after our Saturday morning coffee date and some grocery shopping, we came home and I put my jammies back on and kicked back with my sweetie to watch Craft in America on PBS.  Love that show, and the next installment covers etsy sellers so I will be looking forward to seeing what it has to say. While we lounged around doing nothing, I had cinnamon bread raising in the kitchen. It's supposed to be cinnamon raisin bread but due to some health issues for one of the friends we are baking for we left out the raisins.  We are actually making this for our adult sunday school class tomorrow. Someone always brings in a little something to share and we will be using the bread to make chocolate and walnut bread pudding with a vanilla sauce.

Have mercy it looks good.

I'm also making some cinnamon raisin bread with raisins for some of our gift baskets for friends.

It's a very good recipe, moist and cinnamony.  A keeper I think, and it will go very well with the home made apple butter, marshmallows and white chocolate popcorn that will be included in the gift bags.

I hope you had a lazy Saturday before Christmas too.  It's been a very relaxed season for us and I really like that, how is your Christmas season going? Relaxed or not?

25 Days of Christmas ~ Sit By the Fire

It's a rainy, dreary day here. The perfect day to sit by a nice warm fire. Except...we don't have a fireplace.  No matter, I make up for it by building a fire in a bamboo tray. Birch log candles add a little more realism.  Why should I let no fireplace ruin my fun?

The soft plaid flannel pillows have migrated to the living room because they are just so darn snuggly and warm.  Who cares if they are red plaid on red plaid? Can you really get too much red plaid?

Really?

In these dark days of winter, (tomorrow is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year!) we all need a little more light and warmth.

Whether you have a fireplace or not, you can still enjoy the fire's glow:>)