Quilting Christmas

Welcome to my blog!  

I hope your week has been fun, with not too much holiday stress.

As you can see above, Mrs. Pfaff and I are hard at work this week, quilting a top I finished last year.

This is last year's picture.  My Little Buddy rolled up in the top, and I ran to get the camera.  Do you think he knows he's cute?  He's a whole year older now, but just as much fun.

The top is a Bonnie Hunter pattern called Sticks and Stones.  It's not on her web page, but you can click HERE to get the free PDF.
I'm not doing Bonnie's mystery quilt this year, but I thought I'd finish this quilt inspired by her work.

The colors are off, here.  The photo with Little Buddy has more true colors, the standard Christmas red and green.
I'm ready to quilt the borders now, so there's a good chance I'll finish this one before New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, I've been slowly finishing the decorating.  Can you see the difference between these two brass candlesticks?  The one on the right has been polished, and the one on the left is waiting its turn.
 My grandmother gave me these candlesticks for my 25th birthday, and they are always displayed on our mantel.
Polishing them is the kind of thing our butler should be doing.  If we had a butler.  (Where is Carson when you need him?)  Oh, well, a butler would find it very boring around here--no footmen to supervise, no need to announce Lord and Lady whatnot, and only polishing the brass once a year.

Here's where the candlesticks ended up, clean once more with new candles.

I've been treating myself to new books--for free!  I requested these from our library last week.  When Little Buddy is playing after story hour, I'm looking up books on my phone.  If our library doesn't have them, they can get them from other libraries in the system.  When they come in, I get a call.  As long as I return them on time, it doesn't cost a cent.  Libraries are one of the best uses of tax money that I know of.  (This message brought to you by a retired school librarian.)

Speaking of free stuff, this is my "shopping" for today.  I shopped my basement stash for fabrics and notions for some Christmas gifts I'm making, and for the Antebellum Album quilt blocks.  I tend to forget what great stuff I have stored.  But it is definitely getting messy down there.  I will have to spend some time sorting this winter.

Does anybody recognize this fabric?  Is it a panel?  I'm sure I got it second hand somewhere, no idea where or when.  I think I'd like to make a small quilt with it, using some blue Christmas fabric I've had for a while and don't know what to do with.

This is the Antebellum Album block #11, Ever Widening Circle, from Barbara Brackman's Block of the Month for this year.  (Click HERE to go to this block pattern.)  It's a variation of a Square in a Square.  My version has an inked circle in the center, and says "May the circle be unbroken".
I am of course recalling the song.
In my head, I hear the Staple Singers voices singing Will the Circle Be Unbroken (click HERE to hear it on Youtube).
I'm wishing happy times for you this week--good memories, new traditions, and lots of quilting fun.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Linking up with:
Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts (for the last time?  She's signing off!  She will definitely be missed!)
Angela at Soscrappy
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
(OMG!  My quilt from last week was one of the featured quilts on the Busy Hands blog!!!)