Christmas Quilt Show

Sew Cal Gal is up to her old Christmas tricks!

Yup, it’s that time of year again…it’s her annual Christmas Quilt Show…and here I am with no Christmas Quilts to show…BUT I did just finish the ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’ pillow…I wonder if that will do?…or will I get tossed out of the show on my ear?  Shhhh…if you don’t say anything, neither will I and maybe Darlene won’t notice!  It does have a Christmas theme…and it IS a warm pillow…

Zooming in for a close-up…My girl seems surprised to be in the Show!

As luck would have it, I found this red and green plaid wool in the remnant bin at JoAnn’s today…SEW I was able to finish this baby off and in plenty of time for Christmas!

Sorry Rylie…I didn’t mean to wake you…

We have TWO VERY tired poopies on our hands tonight…must have been that LONG and steep hike up to see Bob Hope’s house this morning..

FYI~This is a JoAnn Mullaly (JAM) pattern and you can order it from the Country Loft Quilt Shop.  While you are there have a look around…LOTS of eye candy!!

The pillow is wool applique stitched onto a wool pillow.

Sew Cal Gal’s Quilt Shows are always lots of fun to enter with lots of Christmas Quilts (and pillows:) to see and tons of inspiration to get you motivate for your next Christmas project…Hurry over now…enter and view…YOU KNOW YOU WANNA!

Before I go I just HAVE to show you Bob Hope’s house which sits high on a mountain overlooking the Palm Springs area…looks like a space ship, doesn’t it!

Resting…and enjoying the view…

It took us an hour to get to Bob Hope’s house…see the trail…narrow and zigzags up the side of the mountain…

You go around one mountain and suddenly see it…perched on top…KING of the Mountain!  Apparently Bob Hope hated this house and used it only for entertaining.  He lived in a modest bungalow in an older subdivision behind Palm springs.

It was a great hike…a little strenuous at times but definitely worth the view!

Have a Wicked Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Gingerbread Man 101…

Here are TEN EASY STEPS to make a Gingerbread Man…and this one is guaranteed NOT to add anything to the waistline!  All you need are two pieces of brown wool and some white yarn/embroidery floss…or whatever thread you have..or you could use buttons.

Step 1~ Draw a Gingerbread Man Shape onto a piece of Freezer Paper and cut it out. 

Step 2~ Iron this shape (shiny side down) on to a piece of brown wool.  Pin another piece of wool to the back of the wool…see how there are two layers of brown wool sandwiched under the template.

Step 4~ Machine Sew all around the paper shape being careful not to sew onto the paper.  Leave a small opening…see his left leg..This picture shows the side without the paper as I wanted you to see the stitching…

Step 5~ Carefully cut the GBM out leaving a scant 1/4” from the stitching line. (see picture) Use the paper as a guide…

Step 6~  Do NOT trim the area around the opening as you will trim it after your GBM is stuffed.

Step 7~ Stuff your GBM.

I used this stuffing…super soft and easy to handle.  I bought it at my new BFF’s, JoAnn’s!

Step 8~ Hand stitch the hole closed and then trim…you can’t even see where the hole was. Looks like he’s about to run away, doesn’t he?

 

Step 9~ Blanket Stitch (by hand) using wool thread or perle cotton right around your GBM…this will hide your machine stitching and will give your GBM a nice finished look…add the eyes and X for buttons…or use buttons (I didn’t have any…:(  Remember to bury your knots.

Step 10~ Arrange your greenery, berries and GBM in your flour sieve or jar/Christmas tin. 

DANG cute, don’t you think!  And DANG easy!

Thanks Anne…for the idea and the inspiration!! 

This morning we are hiking to Bob Hope’s house…too bad he’s no longer ‘with us’ or we would stop by for a cold drink and a visit…share a laugh or two..just for the memories…Guess what I will be singing all the way up…and all the way down…and probably for the rest of the day!   

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

And….Thanks for the Memories….

A FINISH (NOT mine)…and FREE PATTERNS!!

Yes, there has been a FINISH reported from ‘back home’…Delores was working on this sweet little stitchery when I left and now it’s completed…and even framed!! 

It is SEW dang cute!!  AND Delores being a master GSer…bought the frame for pennies!!  SCORE!

Let’s zoom in for a close-up…yup Delores’ stitching is exquisite!!  Sheer perfection!

The pattern for this snowman was taken out of the Redwork Book…called Winter Twitterings.  I love this book as there are tons of cute winter stitcheries in it!!

Delores’ sister is going to be thrilled when she receives this as a gift!!  What a great sister you are, Delores!!

FREE PATTERNS!!  Let the STAMPEDE BEGIN!! 

Karen from Log Cabin Quilter sent me the links to two blogs  as she thought I would like the patterns that both these bloggers design and then GIVE AWAY…well she was WRONG!!  I LOVE their patterns!!  You will too…

The blogs are called Yo también tengo un blog and Stof-Nest Blog and both are written in different languages but as Karen said..the language of Quilting is Universal!! haha  I was also given the option of the translation button (at the top of one of the blog page) so if you click on that it turns her blog into English…now I just need to figure out how to download Yo Tambien Tengo’s patterns….  On Stof-Nest Blog click on the picture of the quilts to get to the pattern.  Happy Browsing…lovely stuff!! 

Thanks so much ladies for your generosity…and thanks Karen for alerting us to these two wonderful designers!!

Have a marvellous Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

A Spot of Tea Anyone?

Yesterday I had every intention of finishing off this little pillow…but when I teamed it up with the background fabric…the white wool was just TOOOO white…I wanted it off white and stained..sort of like Molly!

So I made up a pot of tea (with 5 bags)…scrunched up the wool pillow top…and set it to steep a bit…

Then I rinced it and towel dried it till damp…

..and set it outside to catch a few rays…(the Christmas girl looks a little shocked, don’t you think?)

Now for the final test…aaahhhh…much better!  It is a nice mottled off white…just like Molly! (and we didn’t even interrupt her sleep!)

Maybe I will get this finished TODAY??  But first we are off to the COD and then it’s laundry day…

Last night we went to a Mexican FEAST prepare by our wonderful neighbours, Al and Lolita…blogging friends of my husband!  I have to tell you that the food was OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious!!

Have a look…but be prepared to drool…

YIKES!!  We better plan lots of HIKES this week…just look at those desserts!!  But a gal’s got to keep up her strength…right? 

Thanks SO much, Al and Lolita!  I am still full this morning!(…that’s what happens when you eat TWO…of EVERYTHING!)

Have a SUNNY SUNDAY and happy Quilting!

OMGosh!!!!!

Black Friday was AWESOME!!  It more than exceeded our expectations!! We had a blast, picked up some fabulous bargooons and arrived home tired but happy with a lot lighter wallets!

When I picked up Kim and Karen, my partners in crime, it was still dark…but by the time we arrived at our FIRST STOP, JoAnn’s Fabrics, it was light out..and sunny…promising to a gorgeous day…not that we cared!! haha

Here we are…the Happy (Giddy) Canadians in search of a bargooon or two or three!!  See our buggies (mine has the big red box on top)!!  EUREKA!!  MOTHER LODE!  We had an hours wait to have fabric cut but we really didn’t care…we were having way too much fun!

There were some SERIOUS sewers in the line-up!!

Kim was fondling Karen’s fabric…Karen was getting a little worried!

Then it was off to Kohl’s where Kim was the big winner…followed closely by Karen!  I brought up the rear…but man what a rear it was!!  Kim, being a first time grandma, bought a TON of Oshkosh baby clothes that Kohls was practically GIVING AWAY!  That is going to one well dressed little man!

We fuelled up on bananas and water in the truck while we drove onto Westfield Mall…where we hit Macy’s next!  Macy’s got a failing grade from the Canadians…sorry but 20% OFF does not cut it!

Kim and Karen spotted a Nails Spa advertising Pedicures for $14 so I dropped them off there (sheesh…not TRUE shoppers in my books…but then I’m an experienced Boxing Day Saler!:-)  SO I headed for JC Penny!!  MOTHER LODE!!  The whole store was 60% off, with further reductions at the till!!  (Insert a HAPPY DANCE here!!) I bought two REALLY cute tops (reg. $48 for $12!!) and a  dress for my daughter (which she will probably hate…but I do try (to my daughters’ dismay!)

I DRAGGED myself out of JC Penny’s to pick up the TWO Bailers to find not only did they have gorgeous toes but they also had manicures and massages….  BUT I still came away the winner…I spent less and got MORE!!  Mind you my hands could use major work….(I thought I took a picture of the girls having their nails done…but guess not…I must have been hallucinating by this time…)

Yup…we did have FUN!

Karen and her loot!!  Her husband, Ken…doesn’t want to look!!  Breath deep, Ken…breath deep!

Now Kim says she’s NOT a shopper but I’m telling you she was down right GIDDY at Kohls!! 

And ME…yup…I had fun!!  Sorry pups…it’s all for mama!!

Oh…and I have to tell you…we weren’t shot at, robbed or pepper sprayed once!!  Would we do Black Friday again?  In a heart beat!

Have a SUNNY Saturday and Happy Quilting!~P

BLACK FRIDAY!!

 

Well I am off to pick to up fellow shopppers, Karen and Kim for our very FIRST Black Friday!!  Blast off time is 6:00 am!!  First stop…JoAnn’s Fabrics of course!!  We have our coupons in hand…and a full tank of gas and our route all mapped out!!  SEW on your mark, get set…GO!

Hope you have a FUN Black Friday too…and Happy Quilting!~P

Our Club House Quilting ..

..Group has grown in size, with the welcomed addition of Deb from Alberta and Kim from BC!!  SEW wonderful to see both of these gals!!  (Deb was the driver for our last year’s Shop Hop…you may remember our FLAT TIRE escapade!!  Yup that was HER truck!  You can read about THAT HERE!  I called that post Hop From Hell..haha)  Kim had to leave The Sands to go to Quartzsite BEFORE the Road to California so she couldn’t go!!  Her hubby wanted to buy solar panels for the RV…she has made his life a living hell since!  (Just kidding…sorta’) 

Deb was camera shy today…but the fabric she was working with wasn’t!  Gorgeous fabric…that she has finished cutting out and started piecing (apparently Deb has a hard time CUTTING fabric…she is ‘one of those’ who likes to look and feel her fabric…for many YEARS… before she actually cuts!!  This fabric was bought at the Road to California last year so she is doing fairly well with THOSE issues!)

Kim…also camera shy…(they will get over that SOON!) finished whipping up this sweet little number…which will be a gift for a good friend back home!  It is an Anni Downs’ Stitchery…love her stuff!  I THINK it’s from Anni’s book ‘Garden Angels’!

Kim’s friend is going to be THRILLED!

Then Kim took out a Charm Pack and started to sew the charms together…screeching to a STOP when she saw THIS!!  Well she snatched Lil’Twister off MY table and banishing a rotary cutter went to work like a Mad Quilter Possessed…I thought we’d need to bring in a Priest…

…Fabric FLEW…but look what she MADE!!  Now EVERYONE want to make one!!  Thanks..KIM!!

Gwen was madly fighting with the beast…getting it quilted so that it could go on the Raffle Table by this weekend!!  Go..Gwen…Go!  I’m happy to report that Gwen WON the battle…such a beautiful quilt and going to such a worthy cause!!

Grandma Karen is continuing to work on her grand-daughter’s quilt…it’s getting BIGGER and BETTER with each row…two more rows to go! The perfect colours for a little/big girl’s room!   We all put in our two cents worth on border selection and this is what we came up with!! 

Anne is starting to TALK to the Animals!!  But she is slowly getting there!!  Have a gander at THOSE threads!!  I ohhhh and ahhhh every time I pass her table!!

Isn’t this quilt incredible!!  Just love it!!

What was I doing? A little of This and  and a lot of That…got the binding sewn on my SECRET project…and a couple other projects which I will share another day…YOGA is calling MEEEEEEEeeee!!

It’s Turkey Day at the Club House!!  TWO Thanksgiving dinners in ONE year…I am SEW thankful!!

Hope you have a Thankful Thanksgiving and Happy Quilting!!~P