Christmas Fun

I don't know about all of you, but I have been having a lot of trouble with Blogger.  More often than not it won't let me comment and I can't get to all of the posts that I haven't read yet.  So...if you haven't heard from me, that's why.  I've also been afraid that it won't let me post, so I'm going to try to keep this short, in case it starts giving me fits.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year yet to come.  Do you all have big plans for tonight?  No plans for us - we both prefer to stay home and will be fast asleep when the new year rings in. 

I know I haven't posted anything about Christmas yet (I'm so behind!).  We had everyone at our house on Christmas night - and had such a great time.  My 3 year old grandson, Kaden, was so much fun!  He loved all of his gifts and was just so cute the whole time. 

I had a very big surprise on Christmas morning from the hubby. 

Isn't it cute?  My husband had seen these last summer but had a hard time getting in touch with the people who made them.  When he did finally talk to them, they had sold them all!  Finally he stopped one day and found this one.  I think it will make a wonderful little garden shed.  I've always wanted to have an outhouse in the yard (not for real use!!).  I wish I had taken a picture, but he had wrapped up 2 rolls of toilet paper and a drawing of an outhouse, with a note that said more info to come.  He had it hidden out in the shed and brought it in the garage for me to see.  We have some funny pictures of Jessica and I in it later, but they are on Facebook, which is also not playing nice, and I can't get on there right now either! (Hmmm...maybe operator error?)

And...look at this...I recently won a giveaway on this blog.
I was so excited when Dan contacted me to say that I had won.  I have heard such good things about Aurifil thread, but have not used it.  There is an assortment of colors and weights in this package, so now I need to figure out the proper use for each of them (I'm somewhat thread-ignorant).

I also won these awesome slippers on Facebook!  These are from Teresa at Olde Grunged Primitives - check out her website at www.oldegrungedprimitives.com.   She has lots of cool stuff and I'm so excited about my new slippers!

One more awesome squishy that came in the mail...

This cute little guy came from none other than...Aunt Nancy!  She always makes the best stuff.  I just love him!


Ok, I'm going to stop here...Blogger is giving me fits when I'm trying to download pictures - I will try again in a few days!

Happy New Year to you all - have a fun and safe New Years Eve!!

Cookie Day

Every year our family gets together at our house to make Christmas cookies and candy.  This year was no exception!  We started earlier this year and we got lots done. Above, Mom is showing Jessica how to use the cookie press.  And below she was on her own.  She did a fine job!

Then Johnna took a turn...

Here's me making no-bake cookies (sorry about the sideways pic!).  That was one treat that DH remembers his mom making each year - so we made them in honor of her.

Lots of treats finished...

One family tradition is making anise cookies.  My grandma used to make tons of these ever year and send them to friends and family.  We always helped - but she was very particular and really didn't let us do much!  But the kids each got to make a fish - she let us press the dough into the molds and cut out around them by ourselves.  Here are bunches of pics of our anise cookies.  I think they taste terrible!!  But I love to look at them. They have such tiny, perfect detail - it's amazing.

The girls took a break to work off some of the cookies they munched on...

DH taught them how to do a line dance!

The cookie-making gang (except for my SIL who does not like to have her pic taken and is BEHIND the camera!)...We are showing off our candy cane cookies - another one that Grandma made each year.

It was a busy, productive, and very fun day!  Oh...and the hubby made us lunch!  He is very helpful and helped with all the cookies and got us anything we needed. 

Have a great day!!

Yard Sale Saturday!

If you read Bonnie Hunter's blog, you saw her post last week about Yard Sale Saturday.  I think it's a great idea, and wanted to get in on the fun.  I hope some of you will do the same.  I'm going to copy the very few guidelines that Bonnie layed out:

There will be some ground rules…These items need to be QUILT RELATED. Patterns, Books, Fabric, Notions, Partial UFOs…whatever you want. This is for gently used –white elephant type items, not new-sell-at-retail-stuff or new crafts you have made to sell for Christmas. Understood? Think YARD SALE. When your item has sold, mark it sold on your blog page so people know.

You must link your post back to THIS POST, not the whole blog --- The url to use is http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2011/12/yard-sale-saturday.html

You write the post on your blog, you come back here and link it up. It is up to you to decide how you are going to interact with your buyers. I’m going to use paypal, and the selling price does not include the shipping. The shipping price will be figured depending on where the person lives, and the shipping price will be added to the purchase price.

 Simple enough? I am also going to use PayPal.  If you want to buy any items that I post, the first person to e-mail me (at this e-mail address: julie@meandmystitches.com) will be the buyer.  I will send you an invoice via PayPal that can be paid by credit card or PayPal.  As Bonnie stated - there will be an additional charge for shipping when noted - sometimes I will include it in the total price, as you can see below.

This first week, I have found a couple of patterns that I know I will never use.  The first one is called "Hens on Heels" by Carol Bruce of Needlesongs.  Some friends and I bought this pattern with the intention of making it for another mutual friend, but it didn't ever happen!  I still remember the shop sample - and it really was very cute and very funny!  The price on the pattern is $11.00, but I am asking $8.00 which INCLUDES shipping (sorry...USA only).

The second pattern is "3-6-9-Quilt" by P3 Designs.  I actually did make this one - it was in a kit that I bought from The Quilt Merchant in Winfield, IL (LOVE that shop!).  The kit was wonderful - it was a baby quilt with the cutest old-timey fabrics.  The pattern gives instructions and fabric requirements for five different sizes, from lap to king size.  It is a quick and easy pattern - good for a beginner or for someone who wants to whip something up in a hurry.  The price on this pattern is $8.00, but I am asking $6.00 which includes shipping (again...USA only).

 If you have some of your own Yard Sale items to sell, post them on your blog, and be sure to link back to Bonnie, so you get more exposure!  This is gonna be fun!

EDIT - Yard Sale Saturday is going to officially start up after the first of the year (be sure to keep an eye on Bonnie's blog) - but since I had this post all ready I've decided to go ahead and give it a try.  So...this week, don't look for anything on Quiltville - but be on the lookout in the coming weeks!

Have a great day!

More exciting news!

Guess what I got in the mail today????  Are you guessing?????  That's right...the new January/February 2012 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine.  Here's what it looks like...

Make sure you take a close look...you will want to be able to spot it on the newsstands.  And what's inside, you might ask?

ME!!!

Isn't that exciting?  I sure think so. My pincushions are the pineapple and the flag.  Don't look to close at the picture of me - I look like I am grimacing (probably because I hate having my picture taken).  This was the only one I could find to send them - kind of makes me laugh.  Anyway...they had contacted me about the time I was getting ready to vend the show in Galena.  I had just finished making about 30 pincushions to sell at the show, so it was perfect timing. I don't think the magazine is out yet, but it should be in a few days, so make sure you look for it and take one home.

While I'm self-promoting I might as well also mention that there are new items posted on my website - so make sure you check it out and don't forget to do your Christmas shopping while you are there (and your husband called, he said it's ok to get a little something for yourself too)!

Have a great day!!

Troublemakers

I'm sure all of you cat owners can relate to this post.  I put up two Christmas trees - a big one in the living room and a tall, skinny pencil tree in my sewing room.  It took me a couple of days to decorate the big tree, because the cats WOULD NOT leave me alone.  Callie would climb half way up the tree and lay on a branch and just look at me.  And of course, they can't leave the ornaments alone - constantly batting at them and trying to get them off of the tree.  They seem to think it's a tree full of new toys for them!  I can't keep the tree skirt straightened out because they all like to go running through there and messing it up - getting under it and just being generally wild.  Grrrrr!!!!!  They don't seem to bother my pencil tree as much - of course it doesn't have long branches to lay on or under.  But...here is what is going on in my sewing room this morning...

See her batting at that ornament?  And that is not Callie...it's CC (the one who is usually a good kitty!).  Well, Callie heard all of the commotion (CC getting in trouble) and had to come and see what was going on.  What's worse than one calico attacking your tree?  Yes...that would be two calicoes attacking your tree!

The only good news is that Ozzie is off sleeping somewhere, and he's too lazy to join in!


While I had the camera out, I took a picture of my angel...isn't she cute?

She has little wire curlicues for hair.  Of course, Mom made the stained glass piece you see hanging in the window.  You can also see what a dreary day it is outside.  But - you can still see grass...no snow! 

Can you see the Noel ornament below...this was always one of my favorites growing up - the letters are made of fabric and stuffed and the little stars are buttons - (maybe I had a love of fabric before I even realized it?) so when I moved out of Mom and Dad's I felt the need to take this ornament with me!

I hear tree ornaments jingling on the living room tree - guess I better go chase off a couple of bad kitties!!

Have a great day!