Year in Review

The year started off with a broken wrist, 

but along the way I completed several quilts.  

My goal for 2014 is to finish the UFO's that are stacking up.  What are your goals for the New Year??

2014 Goals

Joy to the World

JOY to the World! the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart, prepare Him room,

And heav'n and nature sing, And heav'n and nature sing,

And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.

JOY to the earth! the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ,

While fields and floods,rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

HE rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders of His love.

JOY TO THE WORLD!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Tea with a friend

If you had a friend visiting, how would you set your table?

I love my red china.  It makes for such a festive table any time of the year.

Come, sit a spell, and enjoy a cup of tea with me.

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.  ~Henry James

Make it Pretty Monday

Cottage Style Party
Let's Dish

Sunday Morning

Almost done

Getting closer to the finish line!  I've been working on getting these two quilts finished in time for Christmas.  I'm not very happy with some of the quilting, but it is what it is.

Are you getting all of your projects done???

Happy Quilting!

Really Random Thursday

Finish it up Friday
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!
Linky Tuesday

Holiday Party Cookies

My very favorite cookies to bake for the holidays

Holiday Party Cookies -

Cast of Characters

1 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 cup sugar

Blend together, then add

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon Wheat Germ (optional)
1 Tablespoon Flax seeds (optional)

Blend everything together and add 1 1/2 cups M&M's or Chocolate Chips

Drop by teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Aren't they pretty :-) I do place the M&M's on the top. I hope you enjoy them.

Cookie Exchange Party
Sew Darn Crafty

Free Motion

Free motion quilting on my DSM has always been a bit of a challenge for me.  I keep practicing and working on trying new pathways.  But the other day I came across a video that gave me a little more help.  You can find it on Amy's Free Motion Quilting blog.

I discovered that I may be going too fast when I am quilting.  As I watched Amy's video I could see how she has much more control then I have, and it is mostly because she is going at a slower speed.

Here is what I've done since watching the video.

I know it's a little hard to see the stitching on this fabric, but I did feel a lot more control by slowing down.  I hope Amy's video will help you too!

Happy Stitching.

Happy Days

Wasn't the SewMamaSew Giveaway Day awesome!!  What an amazing group of generous bloggers.  It's a great way to meet new bloggers and get reacquainted with old friends as well.  So now it's time to announce the winners!!

The winner of the International prize is Wild Irish.

Sweet Roasted Nuts

Today I want to share these goodies. They are delicious for a snack, but they make very nice little gifts as well.

My niece made these Sweet Roasted Nuts for us last year and of course we all loved them and wanted the recipe. Well, she basically said she did not have a recipe but told me how to make them.

The cast of characters

1 bag of pecan halves (or 1 1/2 cups)
1 bag of walnuts (or 1 1/2 cups)

I see Lynn, and Celia, and Maria, and Sandy, and Alice..........

but unfortunately I cannot respond to them!

The SewMamSew Giveaway Day is in full swing!  But sadly to say over 100 of the comments left on my blog are no-reply comments!!  Have you ever wondered why you never win a giveaway?  Or get a response to your comment?  Do you know that every single comment you have left on the SMS Giveaway Day will not count because the blogger cannot get a hold of you?  If you have not received a response from me, you may want to check and see if you are a no-reply blogger!  There are so many ways to check.  Here are several blogs posts with directions on how to solve this problem.

Hartwood Roses

A Mom's Point of View

More From Your Blog

Happy Hour Projects

Fluster Buster

Venus Trapped in Mars - for those who have Google+

El Blog de Isabel - Spanish

Most of these may say the same thing, but if you can't get help on one site, maybe it helps to read it in a different way.

............. and Sigrid, Kim, Amanda, Terri, Liz, Lissa, Reign, Susan, Kelly, Misty, Julie, Michele and ...............

Deck the Halls

Are you decking the halls??

We are not totally decked out, but we are working on it.

SMS Giveaway Day

I am so excited to once again be participating in SewMamaSew Giveaway Day.  It's something I look forward to every year.  Visiting with old friends and meeting new ones.  If this is your first visit to my blog, welcome!  Are you ready to visit all the blogs that are giving away some fun goodies??

This year I'm doing something a little different.  I am actually hosting two giveaways.  One for those living in the US, and the second one for International readers.  

For my US readers...........

a winter wonderland of fabric.  There are two half yard cuts, a 1/4 yard, and two fat quarters.  All ready for your favorite Christmas project.

For my International readers, I thought I would share these Schnibbles patterns that are now duplicated in the books by Miss Rosie Quilts.

Six Schnibbles patterns that I can stick into a flat rate envelope :-)

Please leave a comment on this post letting me know if you live in the US or if you are an International reader.   Giveaway will be open until December 13th at which time I will close the comments. Winner will be contacted by email, so please BE SURE that you have a way to be contacted.  If you are a no-reply, I'm afraid you will not qualify.  Take a minute to see if you are a no-reply blogger by going to THIS LINK.

*** PLEASE NOTE *** I have had over 100 comments that are no-reply!!  Please check your settings.  If I cannot contact you, you cannot win!! ****

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoy the SewMamaSew Giveaway Day!  And please come back and visit again.

Happy Quilting.

She made me do it!

Miss Rosie, you made me do it.  Well actually it was Izzy from Dizzy Quilts who enticed me.  Izzy posted a beautiful quilt on her blog Dizzy Quilts and it happened to be a Miss Rosie Quilt pattern.  "Two Percent" as a matter of fact.  You want to take a look??  Go ahead, I'll wait til you come back.

Isn't it beautiful?  Izzy used an amazing array of color.  So I left a comment asking if it was a single pattern or in a book. I have books and patterns by Miss Rosie, so maybe all I had to do was track it down :-)

But it turns out that I did not find it in any of my books or patterns :-(  But I loved the quilt!  Two Percent would make a beautiful project.

36 Beautiful Quilt Patterns

for FREE!!

Here is a great resource for Quilt patterns and tutorials.  Hop over to U Create.  They have listed not only the patterns but a beautiful snap shot of each quilt too.  Last year I made the Hour Glass Quilt by Cluck Cluck Sew.

It's a great pattern to work with.

Isn't it great to have all these patterns right at your fingertips??

Happy Quilting!

Quilt Along

Okay, so they got my attention!!  Have you seen the quilt Tone it Down for the AP&Q Quilt Along?  I was going to resist.  R.E.S.I.S.T!!!  But there I was, at the grocery store, and I pass by the magazine section, which happens to be right next to the milk section...... and well...... all I can say is

THIS.............

jumped into my shopping cart, before I could even accelerate out of the way!

Tone it Down

So I guess I am going to be blog hopping for the next few months.

Do you want to know which rock stars are participating??

Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side

Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs

Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms

Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

Jane Davidson of Quilt Jane

Jennifer Keltner of AP&Q

Kimberly Jolly of Fat Quarter Shop

Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings

Lissa Alexander at Moda Lissa

Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

Talk about an amazing line up!!  

Now the hard part.  Choosing the fabrics.  

Decisions......... decisions......

Happy quilting!!

A taste of Tradition

Have you ever figured out why it is that paying a visit to your Local Quilt Shop gives you a shot in the arm??  Like taking in a deep breath of fresh air??

That's what happens when we visit this place.