Wake Up to Kona - Sneek Peek

I'm diligently working on my Wake Up to Kona Blog Hop project.  Started on it after dinner on Christmas. See the button to the right  for more details.

I made 224 of these

Which turned into these.

Which gave me a container of these small guys

and an almost finished  project using the big guys.  No picture of them since I was using them as fast as I was turning them out. Way before I thought to take in progress pictures.  Only remembered to take out the camera when I was ready to cut up the last batch.

The final pictures can be seen on January 13, my day to participate in the hop.

See ya then.

It's Done - Let the Festivities begin

Back at Thanksgiving my nephew asked if I would make his current love  a quilt for Christmas. I am an easy mark and it was not only Thanksgiving but his birthday too.  This is what we started with.  You see he wanted a quilt highlighting his girl. Her mom picked out the assortment of old photos.

This is the second one of these he has asked for.  I trust that it will be the last.  I don't mind making quilts but I don't particularly like working with the photos. Do LOVE the results.

Since he is supposed to come sometime tonight to pick it up and I  only finished it about half an hour ago I took the pictures in the house.  Really don't have a good picture of the actual colors.

I need to thank Joan over at http://moosestashquilting.blogspot.com/2013/12/eye-spy.html

for posting her eye-spy quilt which gave me the inspiration I needed.  I saw her quilt and I knew I had to use the snow globe idea.  She linked to the pattern in her posting. 

this is the back. I had one extra picture and I loved it centered back there.  The fabric on the bottom is a beautiful batik that just didn't want to photograph.

It is also the fabric I used for the border of the piece.

The most difficult part of this project, before I started, was what could i do with so many old, real pictures of so many different sizes. The snow globes were the perfect answer because i could make them any size I needed.

It's now complete and I can now start writing out my Christmas cards.  Maybe, just maybe, some of them will get delivered on time, or not.  It is the after all the thought that counts, is it not.

One last little thing.  This is a set of dish towels I also made this week for a couple  of the girls I work with.  I used them in place of tissue paper when wrapping their gifts.

Don't know if I'll get back here before the big day so I will take this opportunity to wish you one and all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2014.

Productive pre Christmas week

I've been pretty busy this week.  I had a commission quilt to get done. it was requested for a surprise Christmas gift for the 8 year old grand daughter of one of my coworkers.

 10 years ago when her first grand daughter was born she had asked me to make a quilt.  When her second grand daughter was born we weren't working together and she never got around to asking for a quilt for her.

 Well apparently grand child #1 has been flaunting her quilt and the #2 started asking the question "where's myquilt grand ma".

Well this child loves the color pink and animals of all kinds.  I had purchased all of the cat fabric in the store for a previous project.  Grandma and I went to the LQS to pick out the other fabrics.

I actually have enough of the cat fabric left to make a pillow case, that should put her one up on her big sis.

Tried using the freshly fallen snow as a background.  It may be just too white for the quilt.

Next up,  just before Thanksgiving I saw a blog posting somewhere where they melted red and white mints to make things like platters and coasters.  Thought the idea was very cool and ran out and got the parchment paper and mints.  Both sat on the counter for the last 3 weeks.  Yesterday we were going to friends for our annual Christmas dinner and I was the dessert.   Now was my chance. 

Could I find the instructions anywhere???????????? of course not.  so going with my best memory of the plan I started.  I'm guessing that I got the temp wrong.   I thought I was supposed to use a 400 oven for 10 minutes.  After 4 minutes I heard the cookie sheet make that noise it makes when it warps.  well I can't say this was going to be a success before the warping but .....................

the whole thing was originally in the shape of a hexi. You can kinda sorta see that in the middle. Those really blurry ends and edges are where the mints got really thin and fragile and dripped off my cookie sheet.

I didn't get a picture of the end result but while the piece was still warm I was able to bend up the thin ends so that they looked vaguely like handles.  Once I covered the whole thing in 3 types of  brownies it looked wonderfully festive.  It also made for some great conversation and giggles over coffee.

Back to the sewing machine.  I have one more commissioned quilt to finish this week.  I really do need to learn to say no at this time of the year, but it's for my nephew and he is such a sweetie.

Christmas Postcard Swap

I participated in a Christmas  Post Card Swap coordinated by Sheila at  http://sheilasquiltworld.blogspot.com/  .  This is why I so love the blog WORLD.  I was fortunate enough to exchanged Post Cards internationally.

                   I was  matched up with Rachel  in Australia who sent me this wonderful little guy

                            and with Sharon in Nova Scotia who sent this wonderful winter scene

        My return postcard was of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I sent the same card to both ladies    cause I loved the way it came out.  He is a bit shiney because I took the photo after I put him in his mailing envelope.  I used the envelope to try and protect the beads from the machinery in the various Post Offices he would be visiting.
                                 

I'm really loving Post Cards.  I don't mind experimenting with small pieces. If I fail it just doesn't matter. I can start over with minimal loss of time and materials.   I am learning things like the fact that Rudolph's nose didn't make it intact to all of the people he has been sent to. Will need to use a less fragile type of bead in the future or do it as an applique or a stitch.  Learning, it's a good thing.

So Thanks Sheila, I'm sew looking forward to your next swapping event.

Presents for Cooper And the Winners ARe:

My niece called and asked if I could make a cover for some foam for a bed for her dog.  I'm a sucker for that dog.  He is a rescue who was originally found abandoned and tied to a street sign, malnourished and more than likely abused.

All I needed to do was make 2 pillow cases.  One for around the foam and one for over that.  I velcroed  the back clousure.  I had enough left over fabric to make a quilted pad for the top.

Cooper didnt' much like toys when he first arrived in the family but 3 years ago I brought him a duck for Thanksgiving.  He feel madly in love with it.  when I found that out I went out and got 4 more that I keep for replacement.

Here is Cooper and his buddy, the latest duck, last night after all the company went home.  I had intended that he sleep on the quilted pad.  Obviously my niece thought differently. I don't care so long as he's happy and safe.

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I have contacted the winners of my rogue chickens.  You know the ones, the guys who thought it was just a tad to crowded living here.

Congratulations to Barb Corbitt and Bonnie Browne. Hopefully they will get back to me this week and I can get them out to their new homes before the Christmas rush.