It's beginning to look a lot like...

Welcome to our home.


We enjoy decorating our home for Christmas.

I wish I could invite each of you to stop by for a cup of tea or egg nog.
I would thank you for inviting me into your lives by visiting here.

I have enjoyed every minute of it! 

 

Enjoy your Christmas season. 

(Day 9 of the 31 day Writing Challenge.)

Winter vacation

Day 8

I admit it. As a southerner, the winter is my least favorite time of year. I do not enjoy the cold weather, even though we have such a short season of it.

But last week, my hubby had some business in South Carolina, so I thought I'd ride along with him. As we made our way into the Carolina's we noticed there was still some evidence of fall colors around.

But as we ventured a little further north, we started to see fog setting in.  Oh, oh, cold air hitting warm air, creating land fog.

Taking our journey to yet another destination, we headed north and stopped in to visit this landmark in Hendersonville.

Wow they had a LOT of stuff!

And then this flat lander enjoyed the mountains.

It's pretty amazing to drive through these mountains. An engineering achievement. 

We crossed several large bodies of water.

But the morning when we were at the northernmost point of our trip, this is what greeted us.

SNOW!!! And 22 degree weather.

So what's a southern girl to do? Yep, that's right....head south :-)

Free patterns

 Day 7

Last week I listed some websites for scrap busting. Here is another 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.  A couple of years ago, I made the Hour Glass Quilt by Cluck Cluck Sew.

It's a great pattern to work with. I ended up making several quilts by this pattern. I find it is easy and I l love that I can use all kinds of fabric for a scrappy yet controlled look.

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

Happy Quilting!

My sewing machines

Day 6 -

I've shared this story before. But in light of the writing challenge, I thought it would be a good one to share about my sewing machine history. 

This is my little Featherweight. I love this little machine. She is not my first Featherweight though. My Mom had an old Featherweight that she used once in a while for mending. When I started sewing for Home Ec, I wrestled with her Featherweight to the point of frustration. It never seemed to run right. I passed the Home Ec class and one of the first things I purchased after high school was a Singer Stylist sewing machine. After my proud purchase my thoughts at the time were, why would I need that old black thing that gave me such a hard time!! So I sold it to a co-worker. For $10.

The new Singer was not a very cooperative machine. It was in constant need of repair. I felt so much frustration that I pretty much gave up garment sewing. As I began to quilt, I realized the need for a good straight stitch. A friend was getting a new sewing machine and she asked me if I would like her old Kenmore. I sewd many, many miles on that machine. It was sturdy and faithful.

But in the back of my mind, I mourned for that little black Featherweight. The more I heard of others sewing on Featherweights, the more I lamented. I was sure that my old co-worker was still sewing on that old black machine.

On Christmas morning in 2003, there was a little black box sitting under the Christmas tree. I wondered what in the world could be in that little box. At first I thought it was some kind of projector or camera. But when I opened the lid, there sat this little beauty. My dear sweet husband and son had been on a mission to buy me a new sewing machine. I was thrilled to say the least!! But that is not the end of the story. You see, my dear sweet husband and son had gone to a sewing machine repair store and asked questions. The store owner told my dh that the Featherweight had the best straight stitch, and that quilters everywhere covet them. Hummm, but it isn't a new machine. Oh, if you want a new sewing machine you need to go to the store down the road. So in addition to this little beauty, my dear sweet husband and son bought a Bernina Virtuosa 155. 

 

Can you imagine my surprise when I not only opened the Featherweight but the next box was this incredible Bernina! Two machines that I dearly love.

Do you have a sewing machine story to share?

The Peppermint Tree

 Day 5

 Many years ago a friend and I made Peppermint Tree table decorations for a Christmas luncheon. Over the years I've made the trees to give as gifts. They are great for co-workers, friends, teachers or for the person who has everything :-)

Start with these basics -

I've always used hairpins, but you can use straight pins too.  I like the hairpins best because you can just pull a candy off the tree and the pin stays in place. You don't have to worry about discarding a straight pin.

Start with the bottom layer

 You can make the candies as tight or loose as you prefer.  I like to leave a little space between rows.

The closer you get to the top, you will need to angle the pins into the styrofoam.  

Cut pieces of thin green ribbon and pull them into a knot (not too tight) 

 then insert another hairpin

 which goes right into the tree.

Put as many or as few ribbons into the tree as you like.  I loop ribbon into another hairpin and stick it into the top of the tree.

I've shared The Peppermint Tree before, but it seems to be a nice project for the Christmas season. Either as a centerpiece, a gift, or a fun treat to put on a desk in an office. Enjoy!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

Home and Garden Thursday  

 Friday Favorites 
  Grace at Home

 Home Sweet Home 
  Welcome to the Weekend
Saturday Sparks

Christmas Quilts

Christmas quilts always seem to pop up this time of year. I've finished a few, and then there are a couple that are still in the UFO pile.

Have you finished all of your Christmas projects? I've got to get busy and finish these!

Day 4 - Happy Quilting!

Day 3

Day 3 - So today I'm sharing a little bit about myself. I've been married to my best friend for a long time. So long, I tell people that we grew up together. We have three children and three grandchildren. I don't normally write much about my family, but you know how it is when you become a grandparent (and if you don't, you will one day, whether biological or with special little people ;-)
Anyway, we are late to bloom grandparents, as we went from zero to three in 15 months. And here are these precious little blessings.

This is Lilly and she is 2 1/2 years old.  She has a little brother  AJ and he just turned one.

He's a little bruiser.

Then there is Jonah. This boy knows how to smile.

He is 16 months old and smart as a whip. And so much fun.

So I will leave you with this little bit of my family. I'd love to get to know more about each one of you. I've been blogging for almost ten years, and in the new year I will be having a little celebration for the ten year mark. So I hope you will come back and visit often.

As always, Happy Quilting!

P.S. Apparently the link for the 31 day Writing Challenge didn't work on my last post. So I corrected it, and here it is again. www.muppin.com click on to Cheryl's blog. There's still time to join.