A Big, Bright Quilt

This cheerful quilt wins the prize for big and bright. Lisa made the quilt for Nancy, who loves anything as long as it is orange or yellow. Needless to say, she was delighted.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday time with your families! We have been celebrating (and still are) with our son Andy. He arrived here on Christmas Eve from San Francisco after a flight delay of only three and a half hours. Compared to many travelers he was lucky. I felt so sorry for the people spending the holiday stuck in an airport somewhere.

On Christmas day we enjoyed a lovely brunch and a nice visit with Jerry's brother Jeff and his family, and in the evening I made lasagna for dinner. Somehow in the year he has lived away, my son has become a huge fan of the food network, so yesterday we shopped and spent the afternoon cooking together. At the market we found gorgeous peppers of every hue at a good price, so we made a lovely bruschetta appetizer with peppers, tomato and pesto. After that we made gnocchi from scratch and served it with tiny meatballs made of hot Italian sausage, topped with a basil cream sauce and asiago cheese. It was all easier than I thought it would be. Richer too. I think my hope of not gaining weight during the holidays is disappearing fast.

Our family celebrating is far from over. Today we have our BIG family Christmas party. It will be a lot of fun and even better, I am NOT the hostess :) My only duties for this one are to bring green salad (for 50) and some beautifully wrapped white elephant gifts. This year should be lots of fun since there will be more children at the party and someone will be arriving dressed as Santa.

Merry Christmas!

Of all the many gifts of Christmas, we are most grateful for those we love. Merry Christmas!

Quilt Number 3

Here is the third quilt of the exchange, one made by Carla for Gayle. Love these fabrics!

Another Beautiful Quilt

I know you are here to see more party quilts so...Here is a close view of the quilt "State of Grace", made by Cindy for Carla. The pattern is one of the "strip club" patterns put out by Cozy Quilt, (right down the street from me), and the fabric is one of the Moda "jelly roll" strip sets.

It is a lovely quilt, and clearly Carla is delighted with it. I have the book with the pattern and may have to make it some time. A lot of impact for a quilt that is not too difficult to make. My kind of pattern.

Here are some of my friends, Kathy and Pam Tobias. This past year was one of big change for both of them (weight loss wise.) I am proud of them and take encouragement from their huge accomplishments. I will show "before and after" pictures in some future post.

Friends Barbara and Pam B., both quilters extraordinaire. Barbara has a long arm business and Pam T. does amazing work on a domestic machine. I take great inspiration from both of them.
I cannot begin to imagine reaching their level of expertise, but practice makes perfect, right? I got just a few more pictures into the camera before the battery died, so I will share at least a few more quilts in the days to come. Hope you are all enjoying these days of holiday preparation! I love Christmas, almost as much as Thanksgiving, so it is a happy time for me.

Quilters' Christmas Party

A toast to each other, and to another wonderful holiday party.

A lovely table set for our Christmas party banquet.

This past weekend was the best Christmas party of the season, our "Quilt Posse" quilt exchange. My friend Carla's house was "dressed for Christmas" to the nines, and we had a wonderful meal in a lovely setting. Along with our quilt exchange, we traded gift bags and everyone felt truly special to receive so many lovely small gifts. I got an AMAZING quilt which I will share with you later, and I am happy to report that Joan LOVED the quilt I made for her. Unfortunately my camera did not hold a charge for the duration of the party, so I will not be able to share pictures of all the quilts until others share them with me.



Here is the first beautiful quilt. It is actually big enough for Cindy's bed, but it was made for her by her dear friend Gayle who went far beyond the call of duty in making a bed sized quilt. Cindy was delighted, and the quilt is perfect for her master bedroom.
That's enough to get us started. I will share a few more pictures next time.

I am working only a couple of days next week and then I will be OFF until the new year. Our son Andy will be back to visit for Christmas and we have lots of family activities planned. 'Tis the season.

Still Thankful

Our Thanksgiving holiday was a whirlwind, lots of company, good food and laughter. We had so much fun with our family and friends, we were reminded once again just how lucky we are, and how much we have to be grateful for. Worries over the world's unrest and an unstable economy seemed distant as we enjoyed the company and the feast we all helped to prepare.

Even though Andy has gone home and we are back to work now, I am still smiling from having had his company for the holiday. It was just this time last year that he set out to seek his fortune in San Francisco, and left the family home as a place of residence. He still hasn't found the fortune, but he works enough to keep things going and he loves his new urban life. We talk each week and keep in touch with all the ups and downs, but there is nothing quite like an "in person" visit. Best of all, he will be home again in just three short weeks for Christmas.

The women in the family braved the crowds, somewhat less this year, for a little "Black Friday" shopping. I am not a shopper, but I hate to miss the fun times with the girls, so I dragged out the walking shoes and prepared to spend the day in stores. As usual, I had the most fun seeing all the displays in Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn. It put me right in the mood for the Christmas decorating I tackled the next day. The tree is up and the house is "dressed for Christmas", one more thing to cross off the list.

Next on the agenda is to bind the quilt I am giving at our quilt group's Christmas party. It is back from Barbara's, and as usual she has done a lovely job with her longarm. To make it perfect, I also have a lovely label from Debra, which I will show along with the quilt when I get it finished. I am not a speedy binder and this quilt is a pretty good size. Guess I'd better get busy!