MERRY CHRISTMAS

A Little Christmas Cheer and Last Minute Gifts

Just click the link :tutorials  
And you will get a list of tutorials from my blog from an itty bitty biscornu to stockings and a sock critter.

All all pretty quick of you have any last minute sewing/crafting before the big day.

Now, the Christmas Cheer

FRAMED

They actually lined up.......I am thrilled beyond belief.

Got one more set of three and I am d o n e with cross-eyed stitch.

Gratuitous granddot shot

Seriously...... thee cutest thing ev er!

Another Finish

Part two of my cross-eyed stitch adventure....

Next Gen....

It's a finish

Well, my first, and possibly my last, cross-eyed stitch project is done.
I'm glad I did it, but I prefer surface embroidery and lines I can follow....counting, not so much. 

I can't wait to frame it and get a cross stitching champion to finish the 6 other uniforms that I want.....are you reading this Karen????? 

The stitching sure needs some work, but it looks better in person and not in macro camera mode. LOL

That is two finishes for me..... this month....I rarely seem to sew for me and it felt good...real good.

Now, onto Christmas sewing with my eyes on sewing more than a couple of things for me in 2016.  

Enjoy the last 'Ber of the year......December!

Happy almost Christmas!!

It's a start

Started the cross stitch. Hated the first 30 minutes and 5 rows.
The next 30 minutes and next 5 rows......not so bad.

Progress......

The first few rows......hooped and hated it.

Tonight...not hooped and not hating it.

Yep, I got this.

Quick-ish Table Runner

Was at Joanns for one thing, left with something entirely different. LOL 
Happens a lot...this time it was for me and I actually finished it!! 
wooo and hooooo

108" inches long, hemmed on both sides. Pressing took for-ev-er

Did a row of machine stitching to anchor everything, then started pulling.

It really is a more natural color with gray stripes....looks brown/burlapy in this pic...  It's rustic cotton toweling. If there was one with red stripes and a natural background, I would've got that too!!

Granddot shot...legos fun time

Someday I will start that cross stitch project. LOL

DOOMED

Well, that is an attention grabber, ain't it? LOL

I am not DOOMED, but the new cross-stitch pattern I just got is. Wait, did I type cross-stitch? Yep.

Saw this little beauty on etsy a lllooonnngggggg time ago.

doomed redshirts

I am not a cross-stitcher. The thought of my old lady eyes counting all those tiny little squares....no. thank. you. 

But I just love this little piece of, dare I say it, art.

Wwwweeelllllll, etsy has a way of getting you....that 'what's new' feed, oy. This pattern has been updated in a fantabulous way....next gen...

How could I not? Needless to say, this will be my first ever cross-stitching venture.

I will do the original version first, then a next-gen version. 

Not even sure where to start counting or how to plan the threading...but I will get 'er done!

Supplies at the ready............Engage!

I may change those bright blues out for teal. Noooo, not the uniform blue.

Gratuitous granddot shot

My daughter, who she calls Mo-mo (korean-ish for auntie) wears these footed bunny jamjams.

I know, right...ah-dorbs!

Time to "make is sew"

THE FINISHED FILES

I give you a quilt and a craft....

Thought I had a better shot of this

The MIL saw this and had to have one for her table. Of course they are no longer made.  

Shhhhh, don't tell anyone, but I just don't see the beauty in it she does. No, no I don't.

Started with this as a base

Bought a stalk of flocked leaves at Michael's

Peeled off the stems...that took awhile

Good ol' white glue and something to keep it flat until it dried....voila'

She loves it. And someone wanted me to make more.

I declined.

Did some thimble adjusting

Gratuitous granddot shot

 Gratuitous granddog shot

Now, back to getting a blog worthy life. LOL

RED CUP GATE

Sometimes you just gotta do it......put your hand on your belly, laugh long and hard, all the while, shaking your head in disbelief. Yep, you must occasionally bow down to the absurd.

I give you....the absurd.........

I would blame the news person who broke the story for putting such a stupid thing in print, but as it turned out, that newsie was right......that stinkin' throwaway item has caused an uproar allllll over the place. Can you say Christmas bonus...sure, I knew you could. LOL
ps...I still don't think putting the comments of a handful of gripey gusses in the news is news worthy, just sayin'.

To those of you who don't drink Starbucks, go on about your day, enjoy life, ignore the rest of this post. You don't care, you never did, why start now? That being said, if you don't do Starbucks and you are all over this.....why? Move on.

To the Starbucks lovers who didn't even notice the cup change.....yay you!

To the Starbucks design team...... sorry, your attempt not to upset people with your simple design backfired. As you can see, being PC just ain't workin' on any level. However, the amount of free advertising.........does it get any better than this???  Again, can you say Christmas bonus?

To the handful of people freakin' out about the attack on Christmas that got their petty comments alllll over the place: get a grip. It's a throw away item...let it gooooooooo
If it helps you holier than thou types sleep at night, think of the cup as being the color of the blood that Jesus spilled to save us from ourselves and satan.
I can't believe I just typed that.....forget I said that.....it's a paper cup people...get. over. it. already. It's not like it says "death to christians" or "deep fried puppies are yummy".. It is, ultimately a vessel to hold a beverage that gets tossed in the trash. Oy

To the chirstian/religion haters and non believers: this really doesn't prove any point other than people are people and we all do dumb things once in awhile. Some things are more dumb than others.

To the new christians: think of this as a learning moment. We are just flawed people with a lot to learn. Grace is the best medicine. Don't get caught up in the fluff...just go and get the substance.

To my fellow Christians: I am all for the teaching moments that can come from this insanity.

• First, learn what is and isn't an affront. 
• Christmas is a holiday we made up to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. It isn't our Lord and Savior. When we let that fact slip away, we are making the holiday an idol.  Sin city
• Unlike the red cup, our christian beliefs are not throwaway items. Do not confuse symbols with real faith. Again, that idol thing.
• For those of you at the other end of the spectrum, spouting-out how you support a suffering child or some other noble venture and don't do Starbucks and proudly put your christian merit badges on display, pride is also a sin. Bragging about your good deeds to shame people into changing their ways is not biblical.....time to read 1 Corinthians again.
• Grace and love......that should be our only modus operandi . WWJD
• Don't throw rocks. Ya know, that whole "he who is without sin" thing. Practice it.
• Reindeer and snowflakes and a string of lights....not christian symbols..hellooooooo

Yes, I can lecture for days. LOL

This holiday season, take a long, hard look at what offends you. Our society has become a bunch of whiny babies that takes every teeny, tiny thing and blows it up to gigantic proportions. I just saw a new word for that...catastrophizing. It is the mental disease du jour. Mostly it means you are a spoiled brat and you want what you want, when you want it, how you want it or somebody is gonna pay. How dare you have to be subjected to an opinion other than your own, Learn something that might change your perspective? Never! Yes, those words are dripping with sarcasm and a little eye rolling. 

If someone doesn't share your exact opinion and their actions will not endanger others...guess what? It's okay. It is the price of living in a free society. It's the first amendment. It's necessary. It's American.

Soooooooooo, if what you are all tied up in knots over is not something you'd like to see on your headstone and all you are willing to give it is attitude and lip service.....just stop, really. 

Go out and live your life...be an example of what you would like to see the world become.

By all means, if you want the world to be full of whiny babies and sour pusses, keep it up, it's working. But I intend to buck that trend.

Back to prepping for the holiday season, sewing, having sleepovers with my grandbaby, and flirting with the hubs. Oh, and drinking hot tea from my ceramic starbuck's travel mug. Snark rules!!

Here comes a little machine quilting

Well, I need to quilt a baby quilt. I was going to big stitch it with some lovly pink pearl cotton, but every time I went to pick it up, I just couldn't get motivated. It wasn't calling to me, as it were.

I have decided on machine quilting. but I didn't want to free-motion and I didn't want straight lines.  What's a girl to do?

I decided to play around with some of my utility stitches. I saw at blurb about it quite some time ago when someone was talking about mugrugs. I don't know if I remembered correctly, but the play time looks promising.

Here's what I have come up with...

• Machine...Bernina 440qw
• needle...schmetz 80-12 microtex
• thread..upper....pink mettler serger thread cone...bobbin..aurifil 50wt
• cotton quilt top
• backing...kona printed from spoon flower 
• warm and natural batting

Machine settings:

• stitch number 4...stretch/stepped zigzag
• length 3.5
• width 5.5
• walking foot

You can see where I fiddled with all the settings

 I like the one toward the middles on the right

Can't wait to give it a go!!

September is..........................................

What will you that look like for you?  

I just started a baby quilt last night. 

I plan on sewing a little bit everyday; even if that means sewing only one seam or one tiny bit of embroidery or hand quilting, I am going to make it happen.

My last project was a lovely little ring pillow for a cute little pair of gamers.

  I thought I had a pic of the finished item.....the back is the same except for the ribbon.



Started Take A Stitch Tuesdays...first round of stitching complete

Life has just been being lived and blogging has taken a back seat.

Guess what, that's okay.

The hubs and I have vacationed, the grand dot has played, the sewing room is coming along but still has a ways to go. It's all good.

A short picture show.........

Did Summer #DOSummer2015

Started organizing my sewing room 

A couple of virtual runs

Family fun with my mom and the granddot 

underground gardens tour 

Patched a nuu-muu

Went to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum 

Snuck into the parked shuttle 

Yep, I was a bbbaaadddddd girl LOL 

 Me and the hubs

wild blackberry pickin











I wonder what the 'Bers will bring?