Felt Christmas Tree

There just aren't adequate words in the English language to describe exactly how I feel about crafting.  When I poured all these sparkly, colorful beads & sequins onto the saucer my heart skipped a beat.  Seriously.  I may have even squealed out loud a little. 

It's all just so ... so PRETTY!!!

Making things - especially pretty things for people I love - makes me really happy.

Major bonus when whatever it is turns out even better than I'd hoped! :)

The idea for this little ad-libbed 2011 label just came to me at the last minute.   All it took was a piece of unbleached muslin, pinking shears and a fine-tipped marker.

My husband said it looks like a price tag ... I nearly clocked him one.  He's also the same guy who thought this was a placemat.  See what I have to live with?  ;)

But now I need your advice ... to bow or not to bow?  That is the question.

What do you think?  I'll go with marjority rules as of bedtime tonite.

Pattern available here.

Felt Christmas Ornaments Progress

Well, that was easy ... I got all the pieces cut out!  Look out people, Mama's on a roll!  Haha :)

There was a moment of panic with this one ... I somehow lost the green for the top section of the tree.   I suppose that's what you get when you open a kit and then take all the things out several times and play around with them as you contemplate starting and then eventually change your mind and end up ignoring it for far too long. 

But I found a green felt scrap in my cupboard.  I don't think it's a PERFECT match to the original, but it's pretty darn close so it'll do.  I may change the floss color, though.

Ooooh, she's gonna be so cuuute ... I love the sequins and stitches on her hind quarters.

LOVE this one - even though it looks ... er ... more involved ... than the other two ornaments.

Now ... which one do I do first?  You'd be smart to bet on one of the easier ones.  I'm in the mood for more of the "instant" rather than "delayed" kind of gratification ... ;)

Oh, and by the way, does this "shrubbery" ...

remind anyone else of this ... ?

LOL!  It's been like over 20 years since the last time I saw "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (yes, seen it more than once ... cult classic when I was in University) and STILL that word cracks me up every.single.time.

Felt Christmas Ornaments

When I was growing up my mom always gave us a new ornament for Christmas - sometimes store bought, sometimes handmade by her. 

When she found a kit she liked, she'd make them and we'd each get a different one.

I never once saw her working on them - she was very sneaky stitching away while we were at school or in bed.  To this day, the ones she made remain among my most treasured ornaments. 

And I miss seeing the ones that belong to my siblings. 

Guess I'm uber sentimental about some things.

So when I found this kit (now available as a PDF) at Posy Gets Cozy a few years ago, I NEEDED to make them.

Well, I got as far as cutting out all the templates and then sorta lost steam. 

Not sure why. 

It's not like me to not finish something I'm so excited about. 

But I'm determined to finish them this year.  I'll keep you posted ... ;)

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 29

More Red, Green & White

#42 - Fruit Basket

This is another one of those blocks that needed just a hint of red.  When I read the name, "Fruit Basket", of course my basket was going to hold apples. 

Or in this case Christmas apples - also known as pomegranates. :)

#60 - Noon & Light

Well, this one didn't turn out QUITE the way I had in mind.  I was THINKING wreath with berries & little red blossoms.

But when I did the final press and turned it over, the wonky hot pink berries on a lime green wreath just seemed very ... Dr. Seuss-ish ... like it belonged to a Who down in Whoville!  Haha!

Lucky for me, I love Dr. Seuss and I especially love "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - watching it on tv was a family tradition when I was growing up and it continues to be one with my girls.  But since the invention of DVDs, they don't have to haunt the TV Guide to find out when it's going to air only once a year ...

So this block is going to stay exactly the way it is - with all its Grinchy green-ness - and I will giggle every time I see it. :)

Humility Bootcamp?

If you're not a parent but plan to become one some day, take my advice and practice humility.  You're going to need it.

For example if you live in a cold climate, your child might make an announcement that goes something like this ...

"Hey Mom, I just farted in my snowpants and now I'm all extra warm!"

... followed by hysterical laughter ... in the produce department of a grocery store ... with lots of people around. 

Just sayin'.

Mystery Block Of the Month

Thanks to those of you who commented on my framed blocks in yesterday's post.  FYI, they fit a 5" (finished) block and I got them from Ikea a few years ago.  I'm pretty sure they're still available for something like $6 / pair.

And also thanks to everyone who shared their delinquent holiday decorating habits.  I feel better. :)

                    *               *               *               *               * 

Wohoo!  Halfway for my Fat Quarter Shop's Designer Mystery Block of the Month project!

I confess I breathed a sigh of relief when I opened this package.  Thank goodness it was an easy peasy lemon squeezy design.  Things are a little hectic around here with Christmas etc. and I needed a break!

This is the first block (for this project) where I did some fabric swapping.

Each block in this quilt is a flower head with stems & leaves under each block.  The finishing kit comes with the same green as the bottom of this flower (shown on the pattern), but I prefer the blue-ish green color (on my block) so I switched it. 

Which created another problem ... I don't like it when the same color bleeds into each other so I had to switch both of the blue prints.

Then I switched the large red floral for the smaller print - I think this small floral is my favorite print in this fabric collection. :)

MAN these mosaics are fun! :)

Making Room for Christmas

So, does anyone else have to take down Valentine's Day decorations ...

and/or (in my case AND) Easter decorations ...

to make room for the Christmas stuff?

Somebody?

Anybody?

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Midway Mosaic

It didn't occur to me until mid afternoon yesterday that I could make a nice midway mosaic of my FW blocks.  (Well, I snuck in next week's blocks too ... ) 

What do you think?  This is just a random arrangement via Flickr.  I didn't feel like manually sorting them.

Yep, that "Bat Wings" block (top right corner) is definitely too red.  I'll have to redo it. 

I've never made a quilt like this before and I'm loving the entire process. 

Do you ever look at a quilt in progress and wonder where it will be 100 years from now?  Will it be preserved as a family heirloom and end up behind glass in a museum with a sign saying "maker unknown" because I was too lazy to label it?

Will it perish in a fire or a flood?

Or will it be loved and cuddled with and snuggled under and maybe even barfed on by a sick child and end up all stained & thread-bare in someone's attic? 

And will someone ever look at this quilt and wonder about me?  And will they know that I started making it to have fun with a wonderful online community of blogging quilters?  And will they have any inkling of just how.much.joy I had making it and sharing it with you? 

Sometimes I wonder about these things.  But I always come to the same conclusion.  I honestly don't care what happens to it after I'm done making it and maybe enjoying it for a while.

One thing that would absolutely devastate me is if one of my daughters felt obligated to keep something I've made, even though they don't like/want or need it.  I know what it feels like to not be able to get rid of something I think is absolutely hideous just because someone I loved made it.  I hope my daughters understand that getting rid of something I made doesn't mean they're getting rid of me or my love for them.

I think I'm going to make them pinkie-swear on that. 

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 28

THE OFFICIAL HALFWAY MARK!!!  These are blocks 55 & 56 out of 111! :)

Red, White & Green

Considering the stores have been playing Christmas Carols since like EASTER, I thought I'd show a little restraint by waiting until DECEMBER to make Christmas-themed FW blocks.

#97 - Waste Not

I L.O.V.E love this block.  The first time I saw it in the book I KNEW the windmilly thing needed to be red.  Because the red pieces are so skinny, I fussy cut the fabric to avoid blotchiness.  I think the solid red (well, there IS a very tiny dark dot for interest) is fabulous. 

See, I've had it in my mind's eye all along that red would just be an accent color here and there in this quilt.  This block is EXACTLY what I had in mind.  Nice, strong, crisp contrast, but not too much red.

#85 - Square Dance

This Flower Sugar print is responsible for all the gingham I've been using. 

I love this panel type print - especially when you fussy cut ... its like 2 prints for the price of one.  But until now I hadn't found a way to use these pretty little wreaths.  I was SO happy to find this block with such a big square in the middle. 

PLUS, I like how the wreath sort of references my Christmas theme for this block too.  Almost like it was planned ... ;)

Daisychain Sampler "I"

I is a cute flower made almost entirely with lazy daisy stitches.  Love it.

Whenever I mark out a lazy daisy stitch, I ALWAYS use just 2 dots.

One for where the needle goes DOWN and one for where the needle comes UP.

See?  This way, if I pull the stitch too tight (or not tight enough) there are no markings underneath to tell on me.

Nifty, eh? (And yes, those are 3 Colonial Knots - not French Knots - in the flower center.)

My daughter just walked into the room as I was writing this post and "informed me" that 'hi' is a word in the alphabet.

"Did you know that, Mummy?"

Love her.  :)