John's Calendar Quilt

I can now post about the calendar quilt I designed for my son. It was part of his Christmas and I didn't want to spoil the surprise by posting earlier. I knew that I wanted to make a calendar for his office but wasn't sure how to incorporate my quilting into the project. I decided to make a quilted holder for the calendar. I called my friend Susan, a fellow quilter, and asked for suggestions that would be "manly". She suggested this puzzle design. I arranged all the names as if it was a crossword puzzle and amazingly they fit in the desired size. Each letter is a 2 1/2" square. I used my Janome to embroidery each letter. I did multiple letters in each hooping allowing room for trimming to 2 1/2". The remaining part of the puzzle is 2 1/2" black squares. The bottom portion holds a heavy plastic pocket for the calendar pages. Calendar pages were made in Photoshop Elements.

John was very pleased and surprised by his Calendar Quilt. I'm so glad I took time to design a unique quilt for my wonderful son. He can display it in his office. I think you could also use the pocket to display the granddaughters art work or other items. It wouldn't have to be a calendar.

In Loving Memory

Paul Thomas Snow

December 30, 1985

May 12, 2007

We miss you every day. I can vividly remember how delighted your dad and I were when you finally arrived that December morning, the excitement of the entire family, and the time capsule our friends made for you to open on your 21st birthday. When you opened that capsule on December 30, 2006, we had no idea this would be your last birthday on earth. You will always be in our hearts. Happy Birthday Son.

Happy Pink Saturday

I'm posting my Pink Saturday early. I've been busy with Christmas events but wanted to do a post for Pink Saturday. We will be busy until next week with family and fun.

The bear in the photo was delivered by Santa on Christmas 1949. He is now 60 and is a genuine Senior citizen. His name is Mr. Bear. Don't know when he got his name since I was only 18 months old when he arrived in my life. I don't think I had a large vocabulary at that time (but my parents often said I was born talking and never quit!) He is missing an eye and his stitches are very loose. He is still my "Mr. Bear" and resides on the bed in the guest bedroom. I think he is a very lovely bear and I'm so glad Santa choose to deliver such a fine fellow 60 years ago! Thanks Santa. Your elves did a great job.

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Birthday Mr. Bear. Be sure to check out other Pink Saturday posts. Just visit Beverly's blog. Holiday greeting to all. I'll be back next year!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Las Noches de las Luminarias

Friday evening my DH treated me to a lovely evening at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. We attended Las Noches de las Luminarias. We had a wonderful buffet dinner and then strolled the gardens listening to various musical groups along Luminaria lit pathways. The weather was lovely with only a light jacket required. We especially enjoyed The Hey Boyz (country western bluegrass) and the Bad Cactus Brass Band. All the other groups (total of 12) were also wonderful.

What a lovely way to spend a Holiday evening in the Valley of the Sun when many others were experiencing a white Christmas.

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday

Holiday Traditions

Why the photo of these lovely girls in pink? What do they have to do with Holiday traditions?

Christmas Brunch

My beautiful granddaughters are the reason that our holiday traditions now include a Christmas Day brunch at Mema's and Papa's. As a family, we decided that it was important for the girls to have time with the gifts Santa left under their tree. By having a brunch, the girls have time to play with Santa's gifts for a few hours before leaving for Mema's house and our family gift exchange. (They do Christmas Eve at the other grandma's.)

One of the family's favorite Christmas brunch items is the Green Chili Casserole. The recipe is posted below. Sorry I don't have photo of this wonderful (and easy) brunch dish.

Green Chili Casserole

1/4 cup butter or margarine

2 4 oz. cans chopped green chilies

1 16 oz. pkg Finely Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese (available at WalMart)

2 cups milk

3 eggs

1 cup Bisquick

1/2 tsp. salt

1. Melt butter in large casserole dish. Put green chilies over the margarine. Layer cheese over the green chilies.

2. Beat eggs and milk together in a bowl.

3. Combine Bisquick and salt. Stir into egg mixture. Pour over the layer of cheese.

4. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

5. Cool slightly. Cut into serving pieces.

6. ENJOY!

Thanks for visiting today. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas. For more holiday traditions visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Vintage Christmas Apron

Matilda is ready for Christmas entertaining. Isn't she a lucky lady (mannequin) to be wearing this lovely apron! I found this wonderful vintage apron at Goodwill. I just love it. I think it must have been a kit. Kit probably included the netting, felt, ribbon, rickrack, beads and sequins. I hope my photos show the detail of the bell embellishments. It's obvious that someone spent hours and hours attaching sequins with beads. There is also a piece of the silver rickrack on each bell.

I always wonder about the history of things I find at thrift stores. Do you think someone actually wore this lovely little apron? Did someone spend all those hours making it as a gift? Did the recipient appreciated the hours it took to make it? How did it end up at Goodwill with a 99 cent price tag?

Chalkware/Plaster Nativity

Look what I found at Goodwill today. I love the pieces. They are rather large and heavy chalkware or plaster. Don't have any idea of their age. Joseph had an accident at some time and lost his head. It has been glued back and you can see the breakline if you look closely. Since they are to be displayed on the front porch, I'm not worried. Both Mary and Joseph had a few chips. I repaired them with Sharpie pen. What we do without our Sharpies!

Snowflakes in the Studio

I've been busy watching my Janome 11000 as it makes these lovely snowflakes. I am able to get four snowflakes in each hooping with the 8" square hoop. Now I will soak them in water to remove the wash-away stabilizer and air dry. They will be included in a few of our Christmas cards this year.

Monogram Pillowcases

I continue to work on Christmas gifts. This is a set of monogram pillowcase for my niece and her hubby. This year one of my goals was to make better use of my embroidery machine. Many on my Christmas list will receive items that are embellished with machine embroidery. I have both an older Bernina embroidery machine and a Janome 11000. I love the Janome because it allows me to download directly from the computer. My Bernina does excellent embroidery but I'm limited to a design card.

Grocery Totes

My friend found this pattern at a quilt shop recently. I spent a few hours this weekend making these Reversible Grocery Totes. The pattern is by Penny Sturges and goes together quickly. The pattern calls for either Cotton Twill Tape handles or fabric handles. I didn't have any twill tape so I made the fabric handles. Tote can be made from 4 fat quarters if you have twill tape. If you make fabric handles, you will need 1 1/2 yards of one fabric.

These are perfect for those little gifts that require mailing. My friend mailed one for less than $2.00.

Happy Pink Saturday

Beverly of How Sweet the Sound has selected the theme for this week's Pink Saturday - "Favorite Holiday Decoration". This little angel was on the top of my very first "family" Christmas tree in 1970. I believe I purchased her at Revco Drug Store. When new she had lights attached. Over the years the lights quit working. I took them off but saved the angel. As I was looking through my decorations, I realized that she is one of the oldest family ornaments in my collection. She will be passed on to my son at some time in the future.

To see more Favorite Holiday Decorations check Beverly's blog. Merry Christmas and thanks for visiting my blog on Pink Saturday.

Joy Full Tree

Our tree is now decorated. I finished this lovely tree yesterday afternoon. I decided to use off white poinsettias and copper ornaments. I purchased some of the ornaments at JoAnn's 60% off sale and others at Dollar Store. Berry Garlands were also from JoAnn's. It is our JoyFull Tree. No arrangement would be complete without a few "Snowmen". The snowman on the wall is painted on a cabinet door. I purchased him at a boutique a few years ago.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

It's beginning to look like Christmas at our house. The snowmen are now on display. Over the years my collection of snowmen has grown to include a variety of the little men (and some women). Many are gifts and others were purchased by our family. This year most of the snowmen are displayed on the hutch by the t.v. Others are sitting around the room. I still haven't decorated the tree. I'm trying to decide on a theme. I'll probably go with red and white like last year. Decision will be made by Thursday. For now the tree sits with lights only.

Christmas Kitchen and New Curtains

This year I decided to decorate my kitchen and breakfast nook in a red and white snowflake scheme. I purchased the fabric at Hancock's in E-town, Kentucky. I sewed the curtains last week. They look great with the vintage green tile behind the sink. The bowls were a gift from my sister and the tins are from JoAnns.

Decorations in the breakfast nook continue the snowflake scheme. The potholders and towels were pruchased at Old Time Pottery in Indiana. I visited the store for the first time in the fall. What a wonderful store filled with all kinds of great holiday items. Many of the other items were purchased at JoAnns. Of course Queen Julia reigns over the entire table from her perch on the wall. You can read about Julia here.

Fabric Chirstmas Cookies Arrived

This year Norma of Fabric in Altered Art 2 hosted a fabric Christmas cookie exchange. You can read about my cookies here. Our cookies were mailed to Norma and she packaged the cookies and mailed back to us. She included the following recipe:

Hot Batch of Christmas Cookies

Made with delicious cotton fabric dough, appetizing frosting of gel medium and acrylic paint, sprinkles of lovely little beads, paper dots and paper words. Then baked to perfection with a nutmeg or brown acrylic paint.

Fat Free, Calorie Free and Sugar Free! Enjoy

Thanks to Norma for a wonderful swap. They are the perfect addition to my tablescape in the breakfast nook.

Holiday Flat Doll Trade

My Last Trade in 2009

This is my flat doll for the Holiday Flat Doll Trade on F.A.T. (Fiber Art Traders). She is a combination of three different images. Arms are from one, and face and legs are from Dover images. The inspiration for this doll was the delicate green leaves that I received recently from Gretchen (also a FATie). They reminded me of skirt. I then set to work designing the doll. The bodice is a piece of vintage jewelry. Requirements for the swap were that the doll include something green, metal, and a button. There is metal on the jewelry, the button is in her hair, and her skirt is green. Now I wait until the first of the week to find out the name of my trade partner.

I displayed her on my breakfast nook tree just to see how she would look. She was fun to make. Maybe next year I will make some ornaments from my collection of vintage jewelry.

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday.

Don't you just love this little Pink Melody Tote by Deb-u-Teen! I couldn't resist it when I saw it at a local thriftstore. It brought memories of growing up with my older cousins and aunt. They wore bobbie socks and penny loafers, listened to their 45's, and danced in my grandma's parlor.

Which brings me to my "Favorite Holiday Memory". Each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas our large extended family would go to Mama's and Papa's for the day. The women would cook a huge meal, the men would do men things (go rabbit hunting or talk about farming) and the cousins (all 20 of us) would entertain ourselves. The younger ones would play games. Some would slide down the banister or bang on the piano in the hallway and some of us would get to watch the older cousins while they listened to their record player and danced. I was only in elementary school and they were in high school. I would sit and watch as they danced thinking that someday I would be old enough to wear a poodle skirt, loafers and dance!

I'm so thankful that I grew up in a large family. Family was important and we took time to be together as a family. I miss my mama and papa and my mom and dad. Now our family is making our own memories with the two dear granddaughters.

Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for inviting us to describe our favorite holiday tradition as we celebrate Pink Saturday.

Christmas Santa Cookie Jar

I've decided to feature some of my favorite Christmas items. I found this vintage cookie jar at a thrift store in Payson, Arizona. He was dusty and dirty but I knew I just had to have him. I brought him home and gave him a good cleaning. Now he looks like new. He is manufactured by Carolina Enterprises and dated 1973. He looks great on the table in my breakfast nook.

"Julia" Queen of the Kitchen

I received this lovely doll from my friend Norma. She was part of my wonderful Stocking Swap package from Norma. The Stocking Swap was arranged by Cathy on Fabric in Altered Arts 2. In addition to my stocking, I received this doll and many more wonderful fabric-related items. I have named my doll "Julia" Queen of the Kitchen. She is currently displayed among the red and white snowflake items on the wall in my breakfast nook. She reigns over the kitchen in her lovely red and silver outfit. I am extremely lucky to have received a doll made by Norma. I will cherish her. To see Norma's post of the swap click here.

Block of the Month with Terri Stegmiller

This is my Block 2 for the Block of the Month Club with Terri Stegmiller of Two Creative Studio. This is actually the October block but since we were out of town in October, I am just making the block. We already have the pattern for the November Block 3 and I hope to complete it this week. New blocks are available around the 15th of the month. If you are interested you will find a link on my side bar.

You can see my Block 1 here.

Emma's Tree

I signed up for this pattern recently with LearningFA Yahoo group. It's made of 2 1/2" squares. It's a great way to use up that scraps of Christmas fabric. It was very easy to make. I did this one last evening. I still need to whip stitch the area of the truck where quilt was turned. I'm also planning to edge stitch around the entire tree. The directions don't call for quilting but I may decided to stitch in the ditch of each square. I think these will make great Christmas presents for family and friends.

The Story of Emma's Tree

This little quilt is called Emma's Tree in the memory of Miriam's daughter who died of breast cancer at age 29. During her daughter's illness, Miriam had difficulty sleeping and spent many hours in her sewing room making these little quilts for family and friends. Now they are called Emma's Trees and are being made by people in many countries around the world. What a great tribute to Miriam and her daughter, Emma.

Snowy Sahuary

I designed this little sahuaro cacti a few months ago. The cacti body is painted batting. I didn't have the correct green for the sahuaro, so I mixed acrylic paint and painted the batting. I really liked the resulting fabric with a wonderful texture and the perfect color. I drew my cacti shaped pattern and cut the front and back from the painted batting. I then stitched the spines with my sewing machine. I used a decorative stitch and silver thread. I then cut out the mouth and added brown fabric with a reverse applique technique. The snow is white novelty yarns that were attached with my embellishing machine. The two pieces were stitched together with wrong sides together. Sahuary was stuffed with batting and a base of painted batting was added. Buttons were added for eyes. Last a chili pepper necklace was placed around his neck. I've very fond of my Snowy Sahuary. He will be added to my Christmas collection.

Pink Saturday

Vintage Pink Check

I love to find vintage sewing patterns at thrift stores and use them in my altered fabric art. They bring back so many memories. This little pink check reminds me of my high school days. (Darts, fitted waist, big skirts, petticoats, and bows in my hair) Those days are long gone and so is my 23" waist!!!!!!!

Thank you for visiting my Pink Saturday post this week. To find out more about Pink Saturday, check out How Sweet the Sound.

Montezuma's Castle

Our granddaughter's First Grade class has been studying Native Americans. Today we did a day trip in the motorhome with her family to see where Native Americans had lived in the Verde Valley of Arizona. The weather was lovely and we had a great time. Traveling in the motorhome (even just for a day) is wonderful. The two granddaughters loved being able to play games and eat snacks as we traveled along I-17. Both girls became Junior Rangers and received a certificate and a badge.

Christmas Purple

This is a stocking I made for a stocking swap in one of my yahoo groups. My partner likes the color purple. I found this light purple fabric in my stash of Christmas fabrics. I made placemats and napkins from the fabric a few years ago. There was just enough to make the stocking front and lining. I made my own pattern and used fusible fleece as the batting in the stocking. I'm very pleased with the results. The stocking will be stuffed with purple items for Kathie to use in her altered fabric art projects.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Wishing each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for family and friends. They have provided me with so much love and support these past few years. During the most difficult of times, friends have been there for me. Thank you.

I am also thankful for all that God has provided for our family. As we sit at the Thanksgiving table and count our blessings, we realize just how blessed we are.

Shirley Temple Girls

I don't usually post about family or personal life but had to brag on my granddaughter. She participated in her school's fall play last week. She was one of the Shirley Temple girls (third from the left). She is a first grader and loves to perform in front of an audience. We are so proud of her. The entire show was done by First through Third graders.

Black and White Trench

This is the article from Belle Armoire magazine that I told you about earlier. The article is written by Amanda Crabtree. My trench is the top one with the white pockets and trim. This is one of the first items I submitted to Somerset magazines. Since I hadn't heard from them for over a year and a half. I assumed they weren't going to use the trench. I was surprised when I received the email telling me that it was going to be published. The article is actually three pages. The last page has two photos of details of my coat. The trench is made from a thrifted vintage designer trench and a white formal gown. It really looks great in the magazine, don't you think?

Pink Saturday

This is my very first Pink Saturday post.

I discovered Pink Saturday last week and decided to join. My Think Pink is this lovely little vintage planter. I found this beautiful pink planter at a local thrift store. Written on the bottom is " Julie '47 from Gram Til". I just wonder where Julie is today and why she discarded this little gem. Click here to find out more about Pink Saturday.

Fabric Christmas Cookie Swap

Norma is hosting a Fabric Christmas Cookie Swap on Fabric in Altered Arts 2. The inspiration was an article in the 2009 holiday issue of quilting Arts Gifts (No Bake Treats). I found the most difficult part was clipping and turning the edges to the back of the cookie before attaching the back. I tried three glues and didn't find any of them to do a great job. My Ultimate Glue usually works on all projects but didn't stick well on this one. I think the issue may have been that gel medium was applied to the fabric and it become almost plastic-like. And we all know how much fun it is to glue plastic.

I am however pleased with the results. This is the 6 cookies that will be mailed to Norma. I made a dozen cookies plan to use the others I made a gift tags.

"F" is for Face Quiltie

In the Fabric in Altered Arts 2 group this month's letter for our alphabet quiltie is "F". I decided to use one of my sketches from the Faces on Fabric class. I completed the class recently and had a number of sketches to choose from. My "F" includes a Face and Flowers on Fabric. Guess that qualifies as an "F" quiltie. I sized the sketch to the correct size and printed on an ink jet fabric sheet. Color was added with colored pencils. I added a spray finish to the fabric before adding backing and batting.

Felt Like Fall Fabric Postcard

This is my Felt Like Fall Fabric Postcard for a trade on Fiber Art Traders (FAT). This is the final postcard in a set of the four seasons. You can find my winter and spring here, and summer here. The trade is hosted by Gretchen. She promises a goodie bag to those of us who have participated in all four trades. This has been a fun trade. I've used my Husky Star ER 10 for some of the postcards. This postcard has a layered felt leaf. It gives it a 3-D effect. I then sprinkled mica chips on the top layer to represent the sparkle of frost early in the morning.

Eat Beef Fabric Postcard

This is my November postcard for Fabric in Altered Arts 2. My partner this month is Norma. I used an image of a vintage Thanksgiving card. It's difficult to read the message but it says "I'm the popular birdie. All right! All right!" I decided to stamp the words EAT BEEF along the side of the card. Black snaps were used as the final embellishment. Hope Norma enjoys the card.

Altered Couture "Apron-All"

This is my second item in the Winter Altered Couture magazine. The Apron-All was made from a pair of thrifted child's overalls and a vintage apron. I removed the pocket from the apron and added to the bib of the overall. When I purchased the apron, I thought it was a child's apron but I've since learned that many vintage aprons are smaller than those of today. I did make the waistband smaller to fit the waistband of the overall. I also used a red sharpie to add detail to the buttons. This item will be available in my Etsy store when it is returned from Stampington's.

Altered Couture "No Sew Sweater"

I just returned from vacation to find my complimentary copy of the Winter issue of Altered Couture magazine. I have two items in the magazine. This is one. The 100% wool sweater has been embellished using a Embellishing (felting) machine. The flower petals are wool fabric that has been felted to the sweater. I them added the strips of a multicolored wool fabric and novelty yarn with the felting machine. The entire upcycled sweater was done with the felting machine. No sewing involved. The sweater and wool fabric were purchased at the thrift store. The novelty yarn was from my stash. I used my Huskystar ER 10 embellishing machine.