EVER CHANGING CHRISTMAS

 2023 Christmas in Upper Crabtree Valley in NC sure looks different than Christmas this year in the ever growing Heritage Placer Vineyards in Sacramento Valley.......What a difference a year can make!

EARLY CHRISTMAS SURPRISE

Christmas came early this weekend.....a dear friend (thank you Sheila) sent me one of her handmade books which will act as a journal for me. We met through another quilter (Judi) who worked at the bank in the small (very small) town of Brodhead, WI where we had a weekend home. During a visit to the bank, the teller (a quilter) recognized my name...and we 3 became friends. What a small world and how fortunate to still be in touch despite several relocations for Sheila and I. Sadly Judi passed away a number of years ago.

I just love the idea of taking time out of each day to document a great moment. 

NON-SLIP RULERS

 We found the weirdest items missing after our move......won't go into details because it doesn't make sense.....several things from the kitchen, some from garage, and a few from my sewing room.  It makes no sense.

One being a $$ non-slip 12" sq. ruler.  Upon pricing a replacement my jaw dropped.  Instead I purchased a ruler set of 5 clear, easy to see markings for half the price of one replacement item.  They were advertised as non-slip and I truly was not surprised that they weren't.

Ta-da......I did some research and purchased Odif Grippy spray from Amazon - $12.00.  IT WORKED!!!  I have enough to do older odd sized ruler that I don't use much but will appreciate not wasting fabric when I do use them.  Apparently I've lost my ability to press down hard enough to stop them from moving as I cut.

I don't know how long lasting this will be or if it will wear off but for now I'm a believer!  Thought I'd share this find......

LAST MINUTE GIFTS

 Need last minute gifts?? I have 4 fabric 11" diameter bowls (use for catch all, fruit, pine cones, glass holiday ornaments etc.) And two larger 'focus' Asian themed art quilts. Holler for details if you are interested.

FAMILY TIME

 After living across the country, days away by car from family, our relocation has gained us the opportunity to see each other more often.

With a short non-stop flight to Eugene, OR this past week, I enjoyed an early Christmas with my brother, SIL and some of their offsprings.

Their home was decorated to perfection, making it such a festive time.  Quilts I've made seemed to be in every room, including one of my well known whimsy embellished quilts....."Bacon & Eggs"..... (sorry for the bad lighting!)

Total bliss......

WRAPPING TIME

 Every year I decide on one theme used to wrap Christmas gifts.  This year I'm making gift bags, or large envelopes made with Christmas fabric.  It's nice that they will be reusable. My sewing room is filled with ribbons, fabric, homemade gift cards....fun!

 Each and every gift is wrapped using a single theme....looks really beautifully coordinated under the tree.  In the past I've chosen themes such as:

Newspaper comics (in the day they were available)

Solid red wrapping paper - the twist is using cellephane wrapped penny candy as ribbons/bows.  Think candy buttons paper strips, licorice ropes, gum ball strings, etc.

News print paper (white unprinted - I used to buy ends at the local newspaper publishing office).  White ribbons, laces, doilies etc. are featured as the ribbons.

Brown Kraft paper tied with brown twine.

White tissue paper (or doctor's exam table paper - rolls available at Amazon) and all ribbons, bows etc. are black and white.....stripes, polka dots, etc.

Hope this may give you some ideas for future use and more enjoyment to the wrapping task!

"ROSEVILLE"

NEW WORK NOW AVAILABE.....Text if interested.

                                               "ROSEVILLE" - 19.5" X 19.5"

Artist ice-dyed silk noil, hand-dyed cottons & batiks.  Fused and machine appliquéd floral motifs.  Hand stitching, machine quilted, & faced edges with hanging sleeve attached.

HAPPY HOMES

 It's a thrill to get photos of my work hanging in their new homes......tis the reason I make art quilts!!!

SEWING NOT SHOPPING

I've never been a Black Friday Shopper....in fact, except for antique primitive furniture searches, I don't care to shop.  

However, 'Small Business Saturday' shopping is encouraged. Please consider visiting my online gallery shop using the links on this page.  *** NOTE UPDATED BOWL PHOTO OF CURRENT INVENTORY -  These fabric bowls are not shown in the gallery, but you can order one by contacting me. ($30 plus shipping)  Use them to contain fresh fruit, like apples, oranges. Or as a catch all for your car keys, coins, sun glasses...instead of throwing them on your hard surface counter tops. Christmas ornaments, pine cones or evergreen branches would look lovely displayed in a bowl as well. 

UPDATED

So, what am I doing today......working on my "Roseville" art quilt.

After trial and error, my process to create flowers has evolved.  After tracing the shape onto tissue paper, I sew tight straight stitches, following the lines and then tear the paper away.  This photo shows the next step on the two remaining layers (fabric and a stabilizer).  Using a narrow, close zig zap stitch, I sew over all the design lines.

The really time consuming part is pulling threads to wrong side and tying each and every one to secure the threads. Next the fabric will be trimmed very close to the stitching.

The entire design is auditioned on the already stabilized and stitched ice-dyed silk noil background fabric.  Each flower will be attached to the background by stitching a wider zig-zag stitch through all the layers.  The black stitching helps to define the shape and allows the flowers to 'pop'.

GOBBLE, GOBBLE

 Happy Thanksgiving from CA, where we are still astonished to find ourselves living.  We are saying our thanks for being able to live closer to our son/family....being close to the 'grands' is wonderful.

Our Turkey Day was yesterday.....today there will be lots of leftovers and lots of football....do I need to say it???

GO PACK GO!!!  💚🏈💛