What happened to Christmas?

What happened to Christmas? I was working on it for days, even weeks. I think it was here. I remember waking up and thinking it is finally Christmas today. But when was that? It seems so long ago. All those cookies I baked are gone. All those ornaments I stitched are gone. What happened? I think I have the post Christmas blues. I like the build up, but the afterwards is such a letdown. But, two bright spots on the horizon were the surprise packages I received in the mail. One was from Angie. It contained two wonderfully purple pot holders, and a darling purple pincushion. I saw some pincushions on her blog that she had made. I asked if she sold them, but she does not. I whined and pleaded and offered a swap for a pincushion. It came in the mail just before Christmas day (that is how come I can remember there really was a Christmas this year).

Yesterday I received a cute wonky star from Julie. I swapped her one of my ornaments for one of her wonky stars. Isn't it great? I can keep it up all year. I have met so many wonderful women through blogging. Thank you all for adding to the fun!

Since Christmas has come and gone, I feel safe in posting a picture of my SSCS that I sent to Jenny in Australia. I had so much fun making this quilt. Two other quilting buddies and I get together on Monday nights. This is one of the projects we did together.

Well, I finished all the dishes from my cookie frenzy. I cleaned out one of my dish cupboards. I have some dishes I am packing away to give to a charity. I am working on my exchange blocks for the exchange next month. DH put the new running boards on the Pilot. He said they were my Christmas present. I refuse to accept parts for a vehicle as a Christmas present, although I am very glad to have them (and installed so quickly). So, I guess I am getting ready for the new year. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Happy Quilting

New Grandpuppy - Honey is Her Name

This is our newest Grandpuppy, Honey. Our youngest son and his wife decided they needed a dog since they have moved into a house. She is so cute! We went by and met her last weekend. She was asleep the whole time we were there. When she is finished sleeping, I am told, she runs around the house, expends lots of energy, then falls asleep again. She has already pulled down their Christmas tree. She got a hold of the garland, pulled on it, and down came the tree! She certainly is cute when she is asleep, though!

Yes indeed, I finished all the mini quilts (aka ornaments) and gifted them to staff on Friday. I went to bed at 2:00 a.m., so I did get four hours sleep. The day was a fun day, giving and receiving gifts. One of the teachers always gives us some fudge from a shop in Alameda. She gave it to us on Thursday since she did not work on Friday. I had eaten all of mine before I went home on Friday! It was delicious. My co-worker also gave me some delicious fudge (she makes the best), and a Willie Nelson CD, Stardust. I had told her that I had the cassette, and that I wanted to find out if there was a CD. I like that album so much, and used to play it a lot when I had a cassette player. Now everything is disk oriented. The kids gave me a small CD player for Christmas a few years ago. I play my CDs all the time when I am in my sewing room. Well, she and her husband searched, and found, this CD. I love it!

A few of the staff came to me and thanked me for the ornaments. But I was quite astounded when one said, "Thank you for the pot holder." Never did I consider the fact that a non-quilter would look at the mini quilts and think of them as a pot holder. I said that they were not potholders since there was no thermal insulation in them, just regular quilt batting. If they used them as a potholder, they would probably get burned. It is interesting how different people perceive things, especially crafty things. If they are not crafters, they have no concept of the time and energy put into these items, nor the "giving from the heart" concept of a handmade item. But I enjoy the giving anyway.

I did get to my Friday night UFO party at the One Quilt at a Time quilt shop. We did a gift exchange. I came home with a darling teapot that is designed to look like an old sewing machine. I took a pair of Gingher stork scissors. It was a lively exchange, believe me. There were some items that were stolen many times. I actually stole my teapot from someone who had stolen it from the original recipient. We also had a potluck. DH made a pot of Firehouse Beans for me to take, and they were a big hit. All the ladies liked them. When I came home and told him, he was very pleased. That makes points for me, because then when I ask him again if he will make something for me, he will be more inclined to deliver!

Saturday I did get to LAFS. I worked on some binding on a quilt that needs finishing. I am already into my "finishing" year, I think. I believe it is a good omen to end the year and start the new year with a "finish".

Last night I finally sat down and wrote out my Christmas cards. I had sent a few cards, ones that were addressed for places far away. I hope they will be delivered by Christmas (I have faith in the US mail system).

Now that I am on break, maybe I can get some time to read some blogs. The last couple of weeks I have been so occupied with sewing my ornaments, I have not taken time to get on the computer other than to answer a couple of emails. My next effort is to bake my Christmas cookies, then on to sewing my 12 exchange blocks (which are actually more than just one block). Then there are all those books that I want to read! I must remember to squeeze in some time to rest.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and a prosperous Happy New Year.

Happy quilting - Pam

Mini Quilts Everywhere!

There are mini quilts everywhere in my sewing room. I have finished about 10 of my ornaments. I think they are so cute. You might not be able to see it in the picture, but I am lightly quilting each little picture. I bought several panels of this snowman design. I have cut out as many of the individual pieces as I could. Unfortunately, some of the pictures were not usable because I had to cut seam allowance for each picture, and that took away from some of the other designs. But I managed to get about 20 pictures from each panel.

I am having so much fun with these ornaments. They are a little big for the tree, but they can be hung on a door knob or the wall. If I have one left, I am going to hang it on my potholder hook in the kitchen. My goal is to have them done by this Thursday since the last day of school is Friday. Then we have two weeks off for winter break. Whoopee!!!

During those two weeks, I must get 12 exchange blocks sewn that are due in January. Actually, they were due last summer, and I was totally ready to get them done. Then the date was moved to this coming January, so I didn't start sewing them during the summer because I wasn't under a tight enough deadline! (It seems that I work better with a tight deadline!) Two days of that first week I will be baking my Christmas cookies, maybe Tuesday and Wednesday. Then there is Christmas. So maybe I will get going on the 26th of December. What better way to end the year than with an block exchange date looming on the horizon!

I think I am my own worst enemy when it comes to getting things done. My mother used to get so upset with me because I had so many things to do, but would never get them done ahead of time. She would say that I always waited until the last minute to do things, but I always would get them done. That is the part that would drive her crazy! She always did things in a more timely manner. I think I like the adrenaline rush that comes with the process. It's like cramming for an exam, or the final for your grade. You pull an all-nighter, and just get it done! Although, I am getting too old for pulling an all-nighter. Maybe I should call it a late-nighter. Since I have to work the next day, I must get some sleep. I remember one year I sewed until 4:30 a.m. Went to bed for an hour and a half, then got up at 6:00 a.m. and started getting ready for work. I was functional most of the day, but I started to wind down about 2:00 p.m. that afternoon. I was making Santa stars for my ornaments that year. They really turned out great. The staff really liked them.

Several staff members have told me this year that they have thought of me as they decorated their Christmas trees. They kept pulling out ornaments I had made and given to them. Ladies (and I say ladies, because I do not think any men are reading my blog), that is why I do this crazy thing. I like the idea that I am participating in their Christmas with them. They will remember me for years to come. OMG, does that mean I am becoming a legend, sort of? Maybe someone will write a book about me and I will be called, "The Ornament Office Manager, A Christmas Legend"! Oh dear, my heart is all a flutter! (I hope that doesn't mean something medical is about to happen!)

Well, back to reality. I need to return to my sewing machine, flutter or not. I have only 50 more to go, so I must find my speedy mode. Also, I want to take a quick trip to Oakland today to the Gift Gallery. I want to get a pair of "insect" earrings for my Secret Santa person. We are into our Secret Santa week at work, and my person wants something insect related. I know the Gift Gallery has lots of unique gifts, and I consider that something quite unique. I also want to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies to take to a birthday party we are going to this evening. Then tomorrow I want to go to In Between Stitches in Livermore and get what I think is the last block of the month for my Mary Engelbreit dots quilt. Of course while we (DH and I) are there, we will have breakfast at our most favorite place, the Railroad Cafe, which is next door to the quilt shop. Convenient, huh?

Next week I have a doctor's appointment, Friday night is the UFO/Christmas party at One Quilt at a Time in Newark, then Saturday is LAFS (Ladies Academy Finishing School, or UFO night) at the church for Piecemakers Quilt Guild, three Secret Santa gifts to get ready, 50 more ornaments to finish, and five days of work. Seems like another busy week. Thank goodness winter break is coming soon! If you don't hear from me until next weekend, you will know why!

Have a great weekend ladies, and get those sewing machines humming. After all, there are only 11 days before Christmas!

Happy Quilting

A Wonderful Package Delivery

In today's mail delivery, I received a wonderful package from Australia. I participated in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap 2008. I sent my package off to my person before Thanksgiving. Today I received my SSCS package. My Secret Santa is Fiona who lives in Australia. Not only did I receive this beautiful tote bag, I also received a magazine, some purple fabric, a credit card holder, and two kits to make greeting cards. I could have waited until Christmas to open my package, but DH said he wanted to see what was inside. That was all the incentive I needed to rip that honey open. It was delightful! Such fun, opening packages. There is the most beautiful embroidery patch on the front. Fiona does such tiny, delicate stitches. Also inside is a beautiful card with a picture of the Big River Country, Murray River SA on the front.

I went to my tote bag class last night. I have a couple of seams to finish, and my tote bag will be complete. When it is done, I will get a picture and post it in my blog. I wish I would have had my SSCS bag last night to share at my class. The ladies drooled over the purple bag that I received earlier this year. Now, this beautiful embroidered bag will set them over the edge. Last month we did a Christmas bag with an embroidered front pocket. I have not finished mine yet, but I will post a picture when it is done as well. My embroidery is not as fine as Fiona's. Her embroidery stitches are so small and perfect. I am so thrilled to have received such a nice gift. Thank you Fiona.

I am still working on my ornaments. They are going to be so cute when they are finished. And the key word here is FINISHED! I have two more weeks to go. The countdown is near! Are you all working on your Christmas gifts? We haven't put up a Christmas tree yet. Maybe this weekend we can find the perfect one, or else a good substitute. I was reading Bonnie's Quiltville blog today and we have the same problem. No one else at our house helps decorate. When our children were home, we all decorated together. Now that they are gone, no one helps me with the decorations. Well, DH does put the lights up outside, that is if he cannot find someone else to do it for him! He says he does not help decorate the tree because he does not want to rob me of the enjoyment of decorating it!

It is getting late, and I have not done any sewing today, so I'd best get busy. Have a great weekend.

Happy Quilting