Quick Gifts to Make

Happy Thanksgiving to all. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents farm. We have so much to be thankful for -Dad's broken leg is healed, Mom is cancer free and we have added a new daughter-in-law to the family. Life is good.

I am comfortably settled into my fat jeans

and ready to take on the Thanksgiving feast.
12:30 cannot come quick enough. Yummy!

Now that Thanksgiving is here, we all know how quickly it will be Christmas. (Just 30 days away!)
Do you need a quick Christmas item for your house or a quick gift? (I think we would all agree...handmade gifts are the best to give and receive.)
Although there probably is not time to make an elaborate pieced quilt I have plenty of projects that are doable. Pictured below are several gift or decorating items that can be made in 1 day or less.

My newest pattern - just designed yesterday.
#WA 122 Cheers!
This pattern features three different wine bottle covers.
It only takes about an hour to make each one.
They would make great hostess' gifts.

#109 Christmas Hang-Ups
You could make one of these tags to tie around the wine bottle
or make some to use as gift tags.


Kit 501 Owlivia
We have kits available to make this little cutie.
Everything to make Owlivia is included except the stuffing.

WA 103 January

PB1026 Holly Jolly





PB1026 Holly Jolly






#247 Snowbound



#194 Merry Merry


#274 Criss-cross

#301 Jitters


#406 Not for Napping
These pillows use some fun vintage pins.
You can find the pins at thrift shops, on ebay or etsy.



#502 Oopsie Daisy

#510 Cherry Season

Here is hoping you all are having a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Hope you find time to make a few handmade gifts this holiday season.

From my heart,

Sandy

The Wedding Quilt

Two of Anthony's cousins were married before him. Grandma Fisher made a wedding quilt for each of them. When Anthony and Deb shared the news of their engagement, Grandma's reply was, well looks like I will get to make another wedding quilt.

Then in May mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. As she lay so very sick in the hospital for twenty two days, I really thought she probably would never sew again. Finally she was released from the hospital and started the long slow road to recovery. Nothing was said about a wedding quilt for quite sometime. I was sure there would never be a wedding quilt. Then along about July she called to asked if I could pick out some fabric for the wedding quilt. I asked if she was up to it. I think from her reply that possibly I had offended her. Oh course she was up to it. Did I think she was an invalid?

The wedding quilt.

The pattern is a simplified block from Pumpkins Gone Wild.
Notice the odd block???

Remember Anthony and Deb's romantic (????)

proposal in the ice fishing house?

Grandma decided to turn one of the blocks

into a little ice fishing shack. How cute!

Also, a word about my wedding necklace. I have had many emails about my wedding necklace. Is it old? Is it new?

It is a new necklace made out of old jewelry.
My necklace was made by Christina Conrad of Rhys Cameron Designs.

She also made this one for me using some of my old vintage jewelry.

Have a great day and I hope you find time to quilt today.

From my heart,
Sandy

37 Years and Counting

November 3, 1973

37 years and counting

Happy Anniversary to my DH.

Market Set-up Day and My Virtual Booth

Greetings from Iowa.
I know what you are thinking - Iowa?, did you mean Texas?
Actually, I am in Iowa. I am sitting out this market.
If you remember last Fall I prepared for market from a hospital room, waiting room and a tiny hotel room that I was sharing with my mom and two sisters, as my Dad recovered from a broken leg followed by complications.

Come spring, I prepared for market with the same scenario - just a different hospital, as my mother recovered from colon cancer surgery, followed by complications.

Along about the time our booth contracts were due, I had a third family member with a medical crises.
I immediately decided I did not want to prepare for another market from a hospital.
I took it as a sign I should sit this one out.
As it turned out, the crises was not as serious as first diagnosed, but by the time we found this out, the deadline had passed.

I still had the stress of making five quilts, two aprons and a tablerunner in just 11 days.
But I must say it was really nice not to throw booth designing into the craziness.

I also did not have to find time to pretty myself up, or clothes shop -

although I am disappointed that I did not have

an excuse to buy cute - somewhat uncomfortable - shoes.

Moda will be debuting my Lovely line of fabric at market.
If I were going to market, my booth would have to be...lovely.

I think I will start by covering my walls in this yellow fabric,

it's nice and neutral.

I always need a place to hide "stuff". The stuff that really is not a part of my booth but I need:
extra staples
tape gun
extra sell sheets
chocolate

I would use an old dresser for my "stuff"
And I would fill the top drawer with fresh flowers,
because I think that would be lovely.

I like to put a door in the corner of my booth to make a "closet".
Again to hide "stuff" like:
ladder
boxes
dolly cart

I would use the Accu Quilt Fabric Cutter machine

and charm squares to make a wreath to hang on my door.
(This is a computer generated one.)

If I was really good at Photoshop you would be able

to see just how cool it could be.

It is also very nice to have a table at market.
A place to sit and write orders.

I would put this table runner on the table.

Pattern #515 Kitchen-maids.

I would wear my green sweater dress with the apron on the left.
Bruce would reluctantly wear the one on the right.
He would NOT wear this shirt.
I wanted him to change but he did not have time,
as the boys were waiting outside in the car to head to Canada fishing.
He asked why HE had to wear the apron.
I said "because I have to take the picture".
It never dawned on him that I could wear the apron
and HE could take the picture????
I will give him a break, he had fishing on his mind.
You can make both aprons and the tablerunner on my table,
with one Jelly Roll™. #515 Kitchen-maids

I wanted Bruce to wear this cool vintage corsage I found in an antique shop,
but he REFUSED.

It looks just like the flowers in the large print from my Lovely line.

It is perfect with the apron.
You could shop until you dropped
and never find a pin that is more perfect than this one,
wouldn't your agree. (With Photoshop you can do most anything.)

I always have a picture of my kids in my booth.

I think I will use this picture

Abby, Deb and Anthony

I also would hang all of my Lovely quilts on the walls in my booth.
Unfortunately, these are the computer generated pictures.
If you are going to market you can see the real quilts; all quilted, bound and looking their best, in the Moda booth.

#513 Lovely
Panel pattern

#514 Perfect Arrangement

Charm Pack™ Pattern

#516 Best of Show

Layer Cake ™

#517 Eggs-tra Special

#518 Four O'clocks

All my quilts are hung, my booth is done and it is only 10:00 in the morning.

Record time!
It usually takes me two days to assemble a real booth.

I will miss seeing all of you at market.
But more than missing you, I will be most bummed about not getting to eat at Vic and Anthony's Steakhouse, my favorite place to dine in Houston.
If you are one of my followers who will be attending market, your should eat there. Order the Chicken Paige Scaloppine. Yummy!
In fact order me the following to go.
Appetizer:
Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
Salad:
Pear and Saga Blue Cheese Salad
Entrée:
Chicken Paige Scaloppine
Vegetable:
Potatoes Lyonnaise
Dessert:
Chocolate Collection
Key Lime Pie
Carrot Cake
Well maybe not all three desserts… I would probably just choose one.
Hmmm scratch the order to go...probably would not travel through the UPS system all that well.
But you should go there and order all of my favorite things. Think of me while you are dining.

Do you know what the VERY best thing about not going to market is?...

This will not be left behind in Oklahoma.

Have a Lovely day.

From my heart,
Sandy

A Perfect Day

The weather forecast in Ankeny, Iowa on September 4th was:
High of 75 degrees.
Sunny.
Zero percent chance of rain.
A perfect day for an outdoor wedding.

A perfect Day.
A lovely ceremony.
And a beautiful couple.
Congratulations Anthony and Deb Gervais!

Deb's maiden name was Lampe.
After the wedding she went about the business of having her name changed on her bank accounts, credit cards, etc.

She received her new credit card and this is how her name was spelled:
Deb Gervaif

Remember my first blog? The one about my name.
If you don't remember, go here to read it.


Welcome to the family Deb, and welcome to our world, the world where you will forever say:
Deb Gervais - followed by this lingo - Gervais - G as in George e, r, - V as in Victor a, i - S as in Sam.

And even still you will get this - Gervaif.

The price you have to pay to be married to a wonderful guy named Gervais.

From my heart,
Sandy

Better Than Santa

I had somebody better than Santa come to my studio.

Who could be better than Santa?
I will give you some hints.
He wears a suit like Santa.
He drives a special vehicle like Santa.
He brings packages like Santa.
He has a broad face and a little round belly, that shakes when he laughs like a bowlful of jelly. Just like Santa
So you ask, how could he be better than Santa.

Instead of a sleigh he drives a brown truck.





Instead of packages with big red bows.
He brings plain brown boxes taped with blue and white tape.

Instead of a red suit he wears a brown suit.
He is our trusty UPS driver and his name is Al.
(Bleach that mustache and he could almost pass for Santa.)
Just like Christmas Morning,

I tore open those packages as quickly as I could.

This is what I found in the packages.
Isn't it lovely?
Well it is Lovely. (The name of the line is Lovely.)
Lovely will be debuting at fall market.

I am off to create quilts and patterns for this lovely line.
Market set-up is in 11 days!
We have 6 quilts to make in 11 days...and nights.
Pray for me.

From my heart,
Sandy

Fall-oween Blog Hop Winners

Hello fellow Fall-o-ween blog followers.
First of all I would like to thank all of you for following our blog hop.
It was so much fun to read all of the comments.

And even more fun was seeing the finished projects on Flickr.

We have pulled winners out of a hat and cross checked with all 10 designer's blogs to make sure that the winners commented on all of the blogs.
This was quite a task.
We had to pull about 13 names before we could find 3 people who were really persistent and visited and commented at least once on each of the 10 blogs. Congratulations Jane, Polly and Shannon. Your persistence paid off!
1st Prize: Sew Create It - Jane

2nd Prize: Polly Aunt Polly's Porch

3rd Prize: Shannon Nunu's Quilt World

Gudrun will be sending off your prizes shortly.

I hope you all come back to visit my blog often.
Have a happy Fall,
From my heart,
Sandy