Merry Christmas to All !!

It's Christmas Eve and I am tucked warmly into my sister in law's home ... my eldest niece has just left for church services with her boyfriend and his family, my DH and his mom have just left to go pick up the younger niece from a friend's house. Adding the teens back in to the house this evening will bring more holiday excitement aka noise into the house - which is so wonderful! Christmas is more funs with kids and of course my house is usually just boys so this year with my niece's will be special!

We have shopped and shopped and not because it is the season for spending but because we have searched out what we hope will make our loved ones most happy. I can't wait to see people's faces tomorrow morning. Tonight we will have an incredible dinner prepared by my SIL and then open just one gift before bed. Tomorrow will be presents and more food and family and fun.

#1 niece and I did a run to Hobby Lobby and picked up fabric and tools for her sewing machine that I sent down last year when they moved. The old Kenmore is probably from the 60's - but solid metal - no computers on board and is one of those machines that will never die! So later we will have the walk through of care and maintenance and sewing lessons. We picked out some really cool fabric and I think she wants to make a tote for me, but I got more of it and am going to make a quilt for her. She will be surprised.

#2 niece is interested 'maybe' in crocheting, so I have picked up a learning kit with hooks and some great purple yarn for her to try and see if she likes it. If not that's okay, she likes crafting so sooner or later something will 'stick'.

It's been a great trip -although I dread the long drive home. I drove right by MaryJo's fabrics in Gastonia and will probably go right by it on the way out also - only because I know in April I will be back with a gaggle of girls from the retreat and we will be going to MaryJo's at that time.

Well - signing of now - going to call my baby who is home alone this holiday - well he's with Merlin but mostly alone - and make sure he got his pizzas from Lou Malnati's and is safely home for the night. This is the first Christmas apart for us and although my brain tells me it's a natural part of letting them grow up and be independent.... my heart still misses him.

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, give thanks and love - Toby

Another quilt done and gone...

This is the twin sized quilt I made and sent to a friend in NC that was celebrating her big 5-0 birthday with a quilt donation. She challenged her BB friends to donate a quilt hoping to get 50 (the same as her age to be) which would then be donated to an orphanage in North Carolina.

This is actually made from a charm pack (5" squares - one from each print of a collection) and a lovely background fabric in a soft white with blue swirls. Much better in person than as seen here. Anyway - I bought the charm pack and the background on our trip to Texas almost 2 years ago. The pattern was something I just made up as I went along and resulted in staggered framed boxes of the focal fabrics set vertically with sashing. More of the strips are in the border surrounding the center. I really enjoyed making it and hope some young person will love it also!

I have been home just a week from a busines strip to Calgary AB where I did some Christmas shopping, and some crafting on some small needlework I brought from home. It was very cold and the ground was snowladen, so we stayed in a lot! This trip we decided to stay in a downtown B&B (at a fraction of the cost of a hotel) and it was really nice. We met several people at breakfast and then saw them each day of the stay and it was like visting with friends for that hour every morning! I think we'll look at doing this again when it makes sense.

I am just one week from going on vacation for the year end and cannot wait. It's been a very busy fall and there's still so much to get done... I am looking forward to the long quiet drive...okay maybe not so quiet I am going to have Mark make us a USB stick of sing a long christmas carols... and I am excited to see the girls (my nieces) and shop with them and cook with them and just enjoy being with the family. I will miss my own family but maybe next year we can be with them somewhere.

That's it for today - I'll try to get back soon with more quilt pictures!!