More Tutorials And Where Is My Brain?

Have you seen it?  Wandering around in the cold and rain?  Send it home, please.

I've known my mother all my life.  And every year she has a birthday.  Do you think I could remember it?  I KNOW when it is, December 20th, yet somehow I managed to forget this year.  When I remembered the other night, I panicked - somehow I had forgotten about making her a gift!

I took her to get her new meds the other night, and she was scrambling in her tiny wallet for her medical cards, cash, etc.  I had made her that wallet, and it's far too small for all she has in it.  She had cards falling everywhere, trying to get to just one. I found this tutorial online, from ThatDarnKat, and decided to make it last night.




I LOVE IT!  It has 8 credit [or other] card slots on the bottom, a bill pocket and two extra pockets on top.  This might work for her.  I had a heck of a time figuring out the pockets from the instructions - in the end, I just did it my way, and it worked out.  I went into the comment section and looked at other blogs that had made it, and one said the bottom pockets needed to be 4 inches from top to bottom, so I made my folds according to that.

And now, more tutorials.  Amanda at Krafty Panda made the cutest little wreaths!

And Val Spiers has some applique drawings for you, they're so sweet - boy has she been busy, check out her other posts!

Debbie from Woolensails has two adorable cross-stitch designs for you!

And Stephanie from Peas in a Pod has the most brilliant link for hot chocolate on a stick - love the packaging and it sounds delicious!

From Completely Coastal, she shows how to make a beach ornament - I have some pink sand from Bermuda, and I would love to make this - you'll have to click the link, I forgot to ask permission to use her pic.

So how are you coming with your Christmas gifts?  All done?  Close?  I'm pretty close myself, just have a couple of small things to quilt and bind.  I've been slacking - either mum or my oldest son has given me a cold, and I'm taking it easy.

I read a post last night that really spoke to me, on Paratus Familia blog.  Money is so very tight for so very many of us, and this post reminded me that gifts are not what Christmas is about.  She shares a very touching [and humorous] story, check it out if you find yourself panicking about gifts!

Til next time, be well, be happy, be blessed!

Snapshots From My Mailbox

Hi everyone, I hope you've been busy, I know I have - although I have to confess, I took some things I was making off of my list, crossed them out and wrote "cookies" instead.  WHAT a relief.  I did promise I wouldn't panic this year, didn't I?

After re-writing my list, I took a few days off.  I thought I would sort through my totes and find all the gifts I'd made this year.  Um, they weren't there!  I was missing FIVE. Which meant nothing for my aunt.  Horrors!  That was a bad few days.  I'm happy to report that I remembered my son had taken one of my totes to use as a footstool - sure enough, they were there!

Other than a few days off from sewing, I've been getting the mail.  And I want to show you what some lovely friends have sent.

The first is from my dear sweet friend Carrie from A Passion For Applique.  Look at this lovely bundle, all wrapped in vintage Christmas paper!



Gorgeous vintage cookie cutter, a lovely potholder, and vintage Santa fabric....




When I emailed Carrie to thank her, I told her I'd been looking for something to hold my Christmas cards, and the holder she designed for me was perfect!  She emailed me back that it was actually a potholder, lol, but it would work for Christmas cards too.  Yes, I am notoriously incompetent in the kitchen, and now everyone knows it.  Bet I'm the only person in the world who hangs her Christmas cards in a potholder, lol!  But hey, that gorgeous potholder won't get dirty!  I would have to hurt anyone who got a drip on it.  Thank you Carrie!

Next is from the Swap Queen Cheryll, at Gone Stitchin', what a doll -



Two really gorgeous and clever ornaments, and a calender diary for the next two years, that fits in my purse!  She wanted to thank me for hosting the Christmas Through The Year.  Thank YOU Cheryll, you're so sweet!!

And then my precious O'Faigh, from Oldbury Cottage.  She said she found this fabric and thought of me....



Well I love anything ocean and mermaids, and when I saw it, I immediately thought of these vintage mermaid designs I have - how perfect is this!!



Thank you sweetie, it's just perfect and I can't wait to get started!

This one came today, and brightened up my day like you wouldn't believe.  From my dear friend Shell at The Raspberry Rabbits....



Thank you Shell, I adore this fabric, and I'm going to design something perfect for it!  You are a sweetheart!

So other than getting the mail, and frantically searching for lost gifts, I haven't done much.  Mum is sick again, she had to call the dr. to get some antibiotics today.  Meijer's has a list of FREE antibiotics, so we went there....and the doctor called in the wrong one.  We'll be going back tomorrow.  As I was drying my hair, getting ready to go, I decided my hair was getting too scraggly at the ends and I was going to cut it.  I only meant to cut an inch....but cut five....there's a bit of going back and forth from side to side to even things up, you know?  That's ok, it's better than it was!

I hope to have a few completed gifts to show you in a few days.  I've also been picking up pencil and paper - I have five new projects in my notebook.  Applique quilts, and stitcheries both.  Gosh I'd better get busy!!

I'll be back in a couple of days with more tutorials for you, it's not too late!

More Tutorials

I've joined in the Pink Chalk Studios' Holiday Tutorial Contest, if you've made a tutorial post in 2011, do go link up!  Lots and lots of good stuff there, all picture links to the tutorials.  I'm going to have to browse them later!  I'm sure you'll find something you'll like there, so many ideas of things to make.

Em's Scrapbag has a darling tutorial for a personalized type key bracelet!  How cute is this!

Karen from The House of Wilson has a tutorial for a darling Santa Sack!  Very quick and I'll take two!

My adorable friend Jenny from Elefantz shared a darling design last year...

that she made into a door hanger for her daughter this year...

And the pattern is still available, scroll down through her post to see!


Kaaren from The Painted Quilt has shared a darling Santa stitchery, you'll have to go look as I forgot to get her permission to use her pic.  I'll be whipping this one up for sure!

And Gail Pan has a new Christmas design, it's so sweet!  Again, no pic, you'll have to go look!

Dolores from True Blue Canadian has completed a gift already, can you believe it?  She made this sweet beret...

Good job Dolores!  I'm still working hard on my stitcheries.  I'm going to a Ladies Christmas party at my cousin's church tonight, all the men wait on the ladies, lol.  It's always fun and has become a tradition.  Mum is going too.  I'll try to get some pics - better read my book to see which settings to use on my camera!  I hope you're all having a wonderful and snow-free day!

Everybody saw "AWWWW"!!!

My sweet friend Midge from Soggibottom is having a give-away, the sweetest little bear you've ever seen....he's 3 inches tall and comes dressed for winter!  This give-away is in honor of her birthday, so go join in and wish her lots of happy birthday wishes too!

I haven't been blogging much, I've been very busy stitching away - stitched myself right into a migraine today, lol.  Have to remember to take breaks!  Here's what I've been working on...I made a pillowcase for my brother,



And I'm working on some redwork stitcheries.




These stitcheries are from this book,



which I bought several years ago and forgot I had.  I found it the other day and as soon as I opened it, remembered why I'd had to have it!  Aren't they darling?  Maybe I should look at my books more often, lol.  I hope your stitching is going along fine too!

December Christmas Through The Year

It's our last month, and a short one at that!  Remember, anyone can join in, all you have to do is make one gift to be entered in our monthly give-away.  It can be something you sew, or jewelry, or baked, anything, as long as it's handmade.

Our cut-off this month is December 21.  At midnight of that day, I will pick our winner.

I have some tutorials for you, starting with Mary, from Quilting in the Sunshine State. Remember the gorgeous Sewing Mat she made?

Mary has generously created a pdf of the pattern, and sent it to me to share with you!  You can get the pattern here, and please do go thank Mary!  What a sweetie!!  Thank you Mary!

Val Spiers has created a darling journal cover, love the kitty cat!

She also has two more kitty designs!  Scroll back through her blog, and don't forget to click on her My Designs tab at the top of her blog - she has lots of great stuff there!

Linda from Buzzing and Bumbling has a very sweet owl ornament tutorial!

Caroll from Attic Window Quilt Shop designed the cutest rooster wallhanging!  I really love this little guy!

Jenny from Elefantz has shared some really gorgeous tree designs, this one is made into a table runner!

I dearly love Jenny's designs!!!!

And finally, Michelle from L7 Quilt Co. has some of the best ideas I've seen yet for gifts.  Not handmade, but all about buying local and keeping jobs in America.  I LOVE this post!

So there it is, kicking off our last month in our Christmas Club.  If this is your first month joining us, welcome!  And if you've been here all along, thank you!  You have kept me inspired to keep going, and I hope you have a nice pile of gifts ready. At the end of the year, AFTER everyone has received their gifts, I would love for you to do a post showing everything you've made this year.    You can also upload your pics to our flickr group, found here.  Now go get busy, time is running out!!!

November Christmas Through The Year GiveAway Winner!

Wow, it's midnight on the last day of November...where did this year go!  We have less than one month left til the big day.  If you've been playing along with me all year, you should be almost ready for it!

Sandra from Sandra Sews sent me some pics of gifts she couldn't post on her blog, so I'm going to show them here - boy has she been busy!  Look at these!

Makes me feel like a slacker, for sure. WTG Sandra!  Sandra has an embroidery machine, and made some stitch-outs for people to use in projects.  Love that idea!  And I love that bag!

 I suppose you want to know our winner?  Well then, I'll pop our numbers into Mr. Random and see......[cue Jeopardy music...]

Number two, which is....Mary, from Quilting In the Sunshine State!  Congratulations Mary, I'll be emailing you in a bit!

Now.  What about December?  I think we'll make the cut-off for gifts December 21st, and do our give-away at midnight of that day.  Any closer to Christmas and I may totally forget.  So if you want to join in, get your stitching engines into high gear, and you can be in the give-away!  Remember, it doesn't have to be stitched, it can be anything you make...jewelry, baked goods for a gift, etc.  I just found out that I'll be going to a cousin's house on Christmas Eve, so I'll need more gifts than I thought - yes, panic has commenced - but not as much panic as there would be if I hadn't started in January.

I'll be back tomorrow or the next day, I have a few tutorials to share!