The Final Finish

Yep...squeezed one in there, didn't I?  This is "Deck the Halls" by The Birdhouse Designs.  I received this as part of my Christmas gift from Anne Marieke.  Of course, it has reindeer and sheep...so you know what happened, right?  I had to start work on it right away!  I had gone to Bears Paw Fabrics yesterday and thought this fabric would be just perfect for the finishing on this.   I put the last button on this cutie about ten minutes ago.  I have a feeling that this is not going to be the last one for me from The Birdhouse!

I can hear it now....

"Well, it is about time!!"  (right, Anne Marieke?)  Here is my picture of my completed Snowbound quilt top.  (Design by Bunny Hill Designs).  I always have such a difficult time trying to get a picture of an entire quilt top.  Now if there was someone here when I am trying to take the pictures, I could get a little help.  Seems like I am always trying to take the pictures when no one is around!  I am just thankful it is not a queen or king size!

He did good!

Usually I have to spell out exactly what it is and where to get it and how much it costs for my Christmas present(s) from DH Dave.  But this year, he told me (and a week before Christmas, too, not Christmas Eve!), he had bought me a "thoughtful" gift.  And then he kept bugging me to try and guess it..of course, saying the whole time I would never guess it in a million years.  (aren't DH's the craziest sometimes?).  I, naturely, took the high road, and said "No...'cause I know you will get upset if I do guess it." LOL!  Well, he was right.  I would have never guessed that he went and got me this without me being there with him.

How great is this?  Of course, it is quite old and does have a little damage to the top surface.  I spent a good two hours yesterday morning cleaning up those screws in the little knobs (which had oxidized black) and generally giving it an overall cleaning and polishing.  You can see on the inside of the drawers where the glue was to hold the dividers for the needle packets.  Unfortunately, none of the dividers are there in either drawer 

This will be a fun chest to hold a few of my favorite stitching treasures. 

I took a few pictures of some of the projects I worked on right before Christmas....2 more blocks for Postcard Cuties for Winter by Bunny Hill Designs and Nine Ladies Dancing by Nora Corbett Designs.

~ Merry, Merry Christmas!! ~

 
A very, Merry Christmas to one and all! 

Sending lots of wishes for wonderful gifts with threads galore, fabrics wondrous and all those fantastic gadgets we all love!

Oh, My!

Look!  Just look at what I have received....lots and lots of goodies from my friend, Anne Marieke, for Christmas.  First, check out the little stitched birdies on the heart-shaped pillow!  Wonderful!  Then how about those little snowmen ornaments?  Too cute.  I put one of the new ornament hangers I purchased yesterday on one, since I cannot wait to hang them on my tree.  Ribbons, buttons and bows..Oh, my!
And the stitchery kit with not one of my favorite things, but two....reindeer and sheep!  Too cute!   and look at all those little tiny green, red and white felt reindeer!  Too much fun! 

Thank you, Anne Marieke, for all your great choices of gifts for me, but especially for the beautiful hand-stitched birdies!

Blocks 4 and 5

Two at once!  Here are Blocks #4 and #5 for Postcard Cuties for Winter by Bunny Hill Designs. 

More of this little snowball guys on the garland....where I realized when taking the picture, I totally forgot to stitch all the leaves!  Ooops!  Have to go back and fix that. :)

Block #5 - I love his little star garland!



Another Snow Angel

Remember my Snow Angel from the Snowbound quilt?  Postcard Cuties has its very own Snow Angel, too.  In fact, Anne (Bunny Hill Designs) may have "borrowed" this one from Postcard Cuties.  These patchwork and applique blocks  have captured me in their simplicity.  Here she is my Postcard Cutie Snow Angel:

And don't you  think that snowball garland is the cutest?  Sorry ;)...I generally am not a person who gushes about "cuteness."  I just cannot help it....the cuteness factors in this quilt are overwhelming.:))

The second postcard!

Block #2 of Bunny Hill's Postcard Cuties for Winter.  Just what I need today ~ a nice warm cup of hot chocolate, or it could be coffee, too!  It's been pretty brisk and windy all day.  The little snowguy is only about an inch and a half to two inches tall!

I have pieced all the patchwork pieces for Block #3.  Now onto the little snow angel and snowball ornaments for that block. :)  

Happy! Happy!

I had ordered Bunny Hill's Postcard Cuties for Winter kit and pattern about two weeks ago.  When it came, I set it aside in the hopes that I might finish another larger WIP.   But...now that the Snowbound quilt BOM is done, I was starting to miss the little snowguys.  Last night I pulled out the kit and looked it over.  A lot more piecework than there was in Snowbound, but it has twelve more little snow buddies!  The other good thing is that the applique portion for each block is the size of a postcard (4 1/2" x 6 1/2").  Quite small, hence the quick finish for Block #1:

(The seams in the block are straight, it is the angle at which I took the picture that makes it seem slanted.)

Too cute, huh?

A visit to Tiny Town

Once again we visit my little Tiny Town.  A little late, but here is Block #5. 

I thought it rather funny that there were two "crafty" type stores, but also one food store...I guess a girl's gotta eat to keep up her energy level to keep stitching!

And the Andirondack type chairs at the top...lots of little pieces, but they did turn out cute!

Last Block

Here she is!! A cute little snow angel all dressed up and ready to go...I am thinking maybe she has her purse 'cause she is getting ready to do a little Christmas shopping! ;)

I am going to miss receiving my little snowbuddies each month from Anne at Bunny Hill Designs.  But, hold on...Anne says she has something in the works for another freebie Block of the Month next year.  

I almost forgot to post a picture of this one, since she has been finished since November. It was just by chance that I saw a little blurb  from Anne on the Snowbound Flickr group that we could request the December block early. Anne had asked that anyone who finished wait until the last block was released.

A little Santa

He is only 9 inches all. Believe it or not...the kit for this Santa was purchased way back in 1993-1994!  Now that is a long time to complete something...but he wasn't a WIP...just never got started on him.  He is a kit by Gail Wilson.  Since this kit was created there have been a lot of new wool felt products.  The red felt is the only thing I changed in the kit.  She had a piece of red flannel that you were to overdye to tone it down a bit.

I looked at Gail Wilson's website yesterday and she has a lot of her doll patterns/kits on sale at 50% off.

I think this one is going to be the last "doll" for a while.  Although fun to make, they do take quite a bit of time.  So back to some stitching or quilting!

H O M E

Isn't it funny what different visions this simple little word can bring to mind?

 Another cute block for my Born To Quilt.....that's three completed blocks!

My nutcracker has a new friend!

My nutcracker looks very happy to have a new friend!:))

  Count me happy, too, with a fun finish! My new Advent Angel by Robin Betterley for Wilmington Fabrics.  http://greatamericanquilt.com/store/choirofangels.html  She starts out as a flat panel of fabric.  Pretty much everything is included, except for her hair, chenille stems, interfacing and stuffing. (A few of the extras are what I visited Joanne Fabrics for yesterday.)   For approximately $15-$20 (I did get the panel fabric on sale for about $7.00), all that turns into this:

She has 24 little pockets to hold candies, trinkets and treasures for Advent.  She is holding #25 made into a little bag in her hands.  She is not a complete doll.  Her lower body rests in the top of a quart Mason jar (which, I am thinking, would be a good place to keep all that extra candy!)

I am thrilled with how she turned out.  Since today is the first of December, I better get cracking and fill her up with some treats! 

Happy December!