Tis the Season

I must confess, this used to be me.  I was a Grinch at Christmas.  Mainly, this was because I was a working mom with a job I obsessed over (school librarian, K-8, at two schools), living with a family that still wasn't used to me being back at work and not home all the time.
My life was already maxed out.  Christmas just made everything ten times worse.  Every one of my three kids needed a present and/or cookies for everything they belonged to--scouts, sports, clubs, etc., and nobody seemed to be able to tell me these things until the night before they were due.  And then there was the decorating, the shopping, the wrapping, Christmas cards, and all the crazy pressure to make the holidays "perfect".
Well, I'm not perfect.  I cracked.  I complained.  I even said I hated Christmas.  Definitely a grinch.  Maybe my heart shrunk, I don't know.
Eventually,  I learned to slow it down a little, and to skip some things and delegate others.  My kids grew up, and instead of everybody stressing out and spending a fortune, we decided to draw names among the adults and limit the amount of money spent on the present (we're up to $25 as of this year).  Our focus is on spending time celebrating together.  Oh, and eating.  Lots of eating. 
Things are better, and I'm enjoying the holidays again.  I now think of Christmastime as a season, not just one day, and we do little fun things as we go along from Thanksgiving to New Years Day.

This week, we finally put up the tree.  Little Buddy loved helping.  (A few ornaments may have been slightly harmed in the process, but we're okay with that.)  The first thing he does when he gets here in the morning is flip the switch to turn on the tree lights, even if it's bright and sunny outside.

Can you guess what this is?

It's a tea wallet!  I made it as one of several little gifts for my Mom (I drew her name this year), and put in some of her favorite decaf teas.  I got the free tutorial online from Fanny Lu Designs HERE.  It was very fast and easy.  Now I need to make one for me!

On Monday, I decided my apple core vinegar was ready.  It has been smelling very vinegar-y for several weeks, tucked away in a dark cupboard.

I got these three bottles of vinegar from it.  They will be useful in cooking and baking this winter, and they cost practically nothing, being made from apple cores, water, and a little sugar to get the fermentation started.

Good news!  I finished the Christmas quilt this afternoon, after Little Buddy went home.  It feels so good to have this one done before Christmas this year, since the top was left over from last year.

It's a big quilt, 83 in. x 93 in., which is just gigantic for me.  I did the quilting with Mrs. Pfaff, she of the built in walking foot, and made all the markings with soap slivers.

On the left you can see the backing, a wide back I ordered from Connecting Threads last year. I quilted a gentle cable in the outer border, an easy one I've done several times.  The binding is completely by machine, which is now my go-to method.
Everything isn't done yet for our holiday celebrations, but we're making progress.
Better still, we're enjoying the journey.
I'm wishing you the joy of the season (and none of the stress!)
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Linking up with:
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at Soscrappy

All Wrapped Up

Look who's getting wrapped up in my work!  My little buddy is helping me show my "finish" for this week, the first of four Christmas quilts.  It's only a flimsy so far.

Here it is on the bed, complete with baby model.
I started this quilt just before the Ties that Bind retreat two weeks ago, and made the rest of the blocks at the retreat.  I set the blocks together and added borders during my grandson's naps this week.

Now for a closeup.  The pattern is Sticks and Stones, by Bonnie Hunter, available HERE for free.  I made a total of 56 blocks, half with red squares, the other half with green.  My version is slightly bigger than Bonnie's.
I'll take better pictures when it's quilted.

This is the box of cut pieces I took to the retreat.  Three future quilts are hiding in here.

This was my station at the retreat.  I used the Jones hand crank to make the 4 pointed star blocks.  I got all 42 done at the retreat, and am working on setting them together.
I'm excited to have at least this much done, especially since things have really changed in my life.  My daughter got a full time job, so now I have a full time babysitting gig with a 17 month old.  Going from part time to full time is a challenge, but very much worth it.  We're finding new fun things to do, like taking pictures of grandma's quilt and rearranging the blocks in the star quilt.  He has an absolutely maniacal laugh, and I can't help laughing too, even when he's taking off down the hall with a row of quilt blocks.

Guess what else happened--I WON a lovely stack of fat quarters from Brooke at Silly Mama Quilts!  The Fed Ex man brought them just as I was packing up the car for the retreat.  Here they are, laid out by my featherweight.
Now what am I going to make out of these lovelies?
Can't wait to find out.
Have a fun filled week.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
I'm linking up as usual with Crazy Mom Quilts and Busy Hands Quilts.

Some Assembly Required

Thank goodness, I finally finished canning the bushel of pears I bought at the orchard!  I saved out about a dozen for eating, and put up halves and slices to have all winter.
With that "homework" out of the way, I can work on getting ready to go on a quilting retreat next weekend.

Believe it or not, there are 3 quilts in this box.  Some assembly required, of course.
A couple of weeks ago I started taming down my wild Christmas scraps, which looked like this:

I also cut into what Christmas yardage I had.
Here's what I'm going to make:
1.  Sticks and Stones quilt

This is a free pattern, designed by Bonnie Hunter but not on her web page.  You can find it HERE.  It takes 5 in. squares, 1.5 x 5 in. rectangles, and 1.5 in. squares for the center.  I'm making red blocks and green blocks.  They are 10 in. square finished.
2.  Four pointed Christmas stars

I'm adapting a Bonnie Hunter pattern here.  Yes, Bonnie again, but for scrappy quilts you can't go wrong with Bonnie Hunter.  This one is Star Struck, and you can get the free pattern HERE.  I changed it slightly, leaving out the triangles on the background rectangles.  Again, I'll be making half the blocks red and the other half green.  All the pieces are cut from 2.5 in. strips.

3.  Classic triple rail fence

I've only got 3 blocks done so far, but there are just dozens of pieces this size.  The rectangles are cut 2 in. x 5 in., so they'll finish as 4.5 in. squares.  I'm going to make all of them with one green strip, one red strip, and one light strip in the center.  Turned the right way, they look a little like the Italian flag.
But wait, there's more!
It is so hard for me to cut out quilts and delay sewing them!  Setting these aside for the retreat has been like torture.  I finally broke down and started yet ANOTHER Christmas quilt, using the triangles left over from the Four Pointed Christmas stars.

They're cute, they're scrappy, and they're making me happy!  There were a lot of 2.5 in. squares in that pile of scrap, which make great 4 patch centers for the stars.  All the triangles I've used so far came from the Four Pointed Christmas stars.  I cut the larger triangles with the Companion Angle ruler from 2.5 in. strips.  The corner squares are also cut from those strips, or from 5 in. squares I have on hand.
So, not a lot finished this week, aside from the pears.
But a whole lot started!
Also, this:

He's a very willing worker, but Grandpa and I have to remind him not to eat the leaves.
I hope your week is filled with love and laughter.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Link ups today:
Busy Hands Quilts
Crazy Mom Quilts