Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

We had a lovely Christmas with all my kids at home on Christmas morning, something that hasn't happened for a long time. My mother and her boyfriend were unable to make it over unfortunatly due to the heavy snow fall we had been having over the week. He is 83 and it is enirely understandable that he may not want to drive in lousy weather. It was the first Christmas for me in my 53 years of living that I was unable to spend with my mother. So I really missed her and so did the kids. Luckily Nicole and Ian were going into Vancouver to his grandparents so they were able to stop by and visit with my mom for a while. I sure she really enjoyed the visit. We had a small crowd at dinner, just six of us, where we usually have ten or more so we were able to have a sit down dinner, rather than balancing plates on our laps. That was kind of nice. We got spoiled from Santa as usual and it was a fun day.

Christmas stocking

A Christmas stocking for our dear Briar. He has been a part of our family for three Christmas's and this year he is getting his own stocking. I did the blocks slating them to be a leaders and enders quilt. They look better as a stocking. The leaders and enders quilt is actually a brilliant idea. See this link
http://www.quiltville.com/leadersenders.shtml
This is the best site I know for scrappy quilts.

I just go nuts at Christmas

This was the title of either a song or poem, I can't remember, but I do know it was spoken with a swedish accent. It describes me to a tee.
I have been very busy but I don't feel like I've made much head way. I have only a few gifts left to buy, I have some baking done, lots of sewing accomplished and no decorating at all. Hubby is out of town next week and I should be able to get everything finished.
I made three more bags, one for me, one for mom and one for hubbies mom.
The one with the block on the front is mine, made from an orphaned block slated for a quilt that I changed my mind about. They were all made from scraps, which feels good but didn't put a dent at all in my scrap pile. Actually it feels like its grown.

tote bag

One of my online groups is doing a Christmas swap. We have to include a container of some sort so I made a tote bag. The block is from a bunch of blocks I made a few years ago that I was going to make into a Christmas sampler quilt. I changed my mind. I would like to make a Christmas quilt, but the blocks would have to match better than these ones did.

Empty nester no more

Just as I was getting familiar with the peace and quiet, she's baaaack. Here's Nikki! And her cat. She will be going to school to get training in Medical Office Assistant which will be wonderful for her. It will make a big difference in her future and I am so glad she is doing it. But wow, hubby and I sure settled into the old foggie routine pretty quickly and now we have youngsters around again. (note the old foggie speak "youngsters" lol) So things are a bit livelier but for the better. This is her and her friends helping her move, they are sitting in the truck having a break. The smurf is her boyfriend.

another disappearing 9 patch

I am becoming obsessed with these 9 patches. But they make a fast and great looking quilt. And they are a great way to showcase a larger focus fabric. I am thinking my next one may have some pieced blocks in it. Anyway this is the one I made for my cousin's daughter. She had a new baby girl, and I started this one in September hoping she may have a girl. If she didn't I would have had to make some more blocks. But they are so easy, it wouldn't have mattered.

Scrap Busters

Last Saturday, my guild had a scrapbuster day. We precut all sizes of strips and squares as we were instructed out of scraps and brought them to the workshop. Our instructor gave us instructions for scrappy blocks, one at a time. When we were finished each block then we all put our blocks together to see what a full quilt would look like. There were about 20 of us and we did 8 different blocks in total. The great thing was that each block only took about 10 minutes or so to sew (having had our pieces all precut) and were very effective when put together. What a fun workshop it was and it got our creativity flowing.

Runners Club

I would hardly been physically running lol. It is a program through my guild. We sign up for the year and then 3 times through the year we get a pattern for a table runner. We got the 1st one which was called the poinsetta star, but I renamed mine Teddy Star, because I used Teddies instead of poinsettas. It is a very nice pattern and so far about 8 ladies have finished theirs and it is interesting to see them in the different fabrics.

A bag

I made a nice little tote bag for my Auntie for Christmas from an orphaned block I've had sitting around for about 15 years. It always feels good to use something up

Turkey Day

We had our Thanksgiving dinner on Monday and Michael and Briar's apartment. Briar cooked a wonderful dinner and my mom and I brought a bunch of side dishes. We were sure stuffed!
Photos
Nicole, Mom, Me. Arnie carving Turkey. Jim and me. Nicole and Ian. Briar, me and Ian. Grandma and Mike

Bobby's New Coat

I made a new coat for the dog as winter is fast approaching. It is a nice wool fabric with a B for Bobby on the back.

Happy Villages

I picked up a little kit for making this little wall hanging at the North Vancouver Quilt Show. It was a wonderful show, lots of very talented and inovative quilters. Lots of art type quilts. This little quilt was designed by a lady named Pippa Moore, who does a lot of work with women in Africa. The money that was spent by me on the kit goes directly to helping women in Africa. That made me feel good. The fabric is African mud cloth. The colours are so vibrant. There is a leaf button on it that was part of a little fridge magnet hand out advertising the North Van. show. The fringe is from the home dec department at Fabricland. The finished size of the quilt is 9" x 13".

New Baby Quilt

This baby quilt was made for a young mom, that I have known since she was 7. She was in my brownie group and as her parents are friends of ours, I have watched her grow into a fine young lady and now a mother. Her baby's name is Joey and he was born at the end of August. She hasn't gotten the quilt yet, I had to show it at guild and the retreat. Now that it has made the rounds, I had better get it to her.

The retreat

I organized a retreat for 22 ladies last weekend at Hatzic Lake. What a wonderful retreat center they have there. We had all our meals cooked and served and we had very nice rooms, with 2 or 3 to a room and each with their own bathroom that included a bathtub and shower. Our main room for quilting was quite big with room to spread out. Its a short walk to the lake with a nice beach and a dock.
We did lots of sewing with a couple of ladies doing mysteries, one was a nice bag and the other a cute little basket.

The dykes

Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows have a beautiful dyke area where many people walk, jog and ride bikes. Some people take horses along there too, although they are not supposed to. The dyke follows the Allouette River which eventually empties into the Pitt River which then flows to Pitt Lake, which is the largest tidal lake in the world. (So they say) It is a very interesting place and here is more info:
http://www.pittmeadows.bc.ca/EN/main/residents/2897/1671.html
and of course as always, pictures of the day.

More Birthdays

From April to September my family is baraged with Birthdays. It was my Mom and Mother in Law in Mid August. Here is my mom on right, mother in law on left in me in middle.

Rusty fabric

Can you beleive I did this on purpose. I had a bunch of rusty metal, a file, some hinges and some metal bookcase sides that I wrapped in muslin soaked in salt and vinegar. UMM that would have been good on some french fries. I then sat it outside for 3 days. I had to keep throwing water and vinegar on to it because it was warm and the fabric kept drying. I have some very neat fabic that I am going to do something with, but I don't know what yet. Inspiration will come. lol.

What flavour popsicle are you

You Are a Chocolate Flavored Popsicle

You are hedonistic. For you, summer is all about indulging your five senses. Some people may call you spoiled, but your simply the type of person who knows what they want. You have sophisticated tastes. You like sweet things as much as the next person, but you don't like cheap treats. You're much more drawn to the dramatic in all aspects of life - including dramatic desserts.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatflavorpopsicleareyouquiz/">What Flavor Popsicle Are You?

Golden Ears Park

Maple Ridge has so beautiful spots to visit. One of them is the waterfall at Golden Ears Park. We hiked up there on Monday with Mike and Briar. I haven't had a workout like that for a while and I felt pretty when I was finished. It's 2.7 Kilometers each way and is mostly uphill going there. It took us almost 3 hours in total, because we stopped for lunch by the river on the way back.

Nicole and Jim's Birthdays

My oldest children's Birthdays are a week apart. Nicole was due on Jim's Birthday, but she came a week late, and has had a problem being on time ever since. We gave Jim camping equipment for his Birthday. He loves the outdoors, just like his father. And Nicole received tickets for Pat Benatar who I went to see when I was her age. She tried to talk me into going with her, but I saw Pat Benatar almost 30 years ago so I think it would be a let down. Here is a picture of them on their shared family Birthday. How did they get so gorgeous.

More quilt show

Some more pictures from Ridge Meadows Guild quilt show. The first picture is some very artsy quilts. The pears one is mine. The second picture is the viewers choice winner with her quilt. Way to go Denise! The third picture is my butterfly stained glass, showcasing fabrics dyed by my friend Maya and the last picture is some more pained quilts.

Quilt show

Ridge Meadows Guild had our quilt show in conjunction with the agri fair this weekend. We had a huge building and had lots of quilts on display. Here are a couple of favs including a picture of me. The flowers were done by Laura Koch, and just love that one.