Earlier this week I was blessed to connect with three of my quilting buddies from my ‘previous lifetime’. 🙂

These ladies saw me through that first night of – “you’ll never believe what Gary says we’re going to do when the kids are out of college” discussion right up to the final prayer circle just days before we set out on this great adventure! And while I can’t say we’ve been in constant contact (though a couple of them are some of my most faithful blog followers!) over these last 8 years, there has never been a time that I didn’t think I could call any one of them and we would be right back in our Monday Night Quilter scenario. They are those kinds of friends – however long it’s been, you just pick right up and GO! And that’s how our rather chaotic speaker phone call was – full of laughter and listening, sharing and caring, and hugs through the phone. It was a wonderful reminder of how dear these friends are to me!
In honor of them – and because they asked about it – today’s post will be full of my Christmas sewing projects. No grand landscapes or travel tales today – it’s all about the fabric! 🙂
OK – Here goes!
1st up – Maddie’s Quilt.
Over the years, I’ve made quilts for each of the grand-girls when they moved into twin beds. Maddie was turning 5 this year, so to say I was a little behind schedule is putting it mildly! Get with it, Grams! Since Maddie and Hayley share a room, I wanted it to be similar so I stuck with the same pattern (Yellow Brick Road for you quilt geeks out there!) and just changed up the colors –
Here’s Hayley’s quilt from 2007-

And here’s Maddie’s –

Since the pattern was pretty straightforward, I had a good time practicing on some of my machine quilting skills –

 

 

 

 

I was very pleased that I got it done in time for her birthday – and here she is (almost blending in!)

Since it was so similar to Hayley’s quilt I decided to spruce up the back a bit, using some of the leftover blocks.

And of course, what’s a new quilt without a pillow to match!

 
OK – On to Christmas!
This year it was all about purses! I discovered a sweet little pattern that works great for carrying the bare essentials – like your cell phone and a wallet. Each of the grandgirls asked for one, and so did one of my sisters, so it was a no brainer!

  

 
Turns out it’s also the perfect size for their new Kindles, too!

For the other sister I went BIG –


(please ignore the very lived in look of my bedroom! :/)
I also made some of these gift card holders (or business card or credit card holders) which turned out pretty fun!

 Of course, the two grand-boys needed some homemade goodness, so when I spotted this “Quiet Book” idea on line, I couldn’t resist. They turned out a little bigger than I expected, but all it all I think the boys liked it OK. Now if Mom and Dad can keep them from eating the chalk!

 
Ok, we’re almost through….
Last but not least, I made the Ohio Conrads Christmas stockings!

These were fun to put together and I was delighted to find a little shop in Waco that took care of the embroidery! They seemed to be a big hit out in Columbus, too!

(Noah thought they should be worn – and I’m sure was wondering where the mate was!)
I even had enough leftover stocking fabric (that was already pieced together) to make some simple gift tags/tree ornaments!

So that’s about it for Christmas 2012. While I had the machine out (and pretty much took over the only table in the house!), I also took care of some other long overdue sewing tasks here too.
Like making new covers for some of our favorite pillows –
Before –

After –

Yes, while Gary was out being Mr. Handyman, I managed to keep myself busy! 🙂

One more thing – for the quilting girls, mostly – but also to give equal time to all the grandkids – here’s a favorite shot of our little Weston –

and one with his folks-

So that about wraps up the show and tell – both of sewing projects and more importantly, the grands. 🙂 We’re getting settled here in Edinburg, TX at Camp Loma De Vida, and we’ll be starting work on Monday morning. Hopefully by then the drizzly rain will have stopped and the temperatures will be out of the 40’s!!!! Brrrrrrr….