It's Raining

Hi Everyone,

It is gloomy and rainy here and has been for several days now.  I think we should get some sun maybe tomorrow or the next, and then it is going to rain again for the weekend.  We have not had the extreme cold that much of the rest of the country has had, so I won't complain too much.

If you have left a comment in the past week or so, you may have noticed that I had to put the verification on the comments.  I was getting quite a bit of spam, so I needed to tighten things up a bit.  Also, a while ago, I added the "follow by email" button in case that works out better for you.

Yesterday was fun.  I have a new quilting friend who moved to this army post.  We briefly met for the first time at a luncheon before Thanksgiving, and then yesterday we met for lunch and then went to a quilt shop for dessert.  Isn't amazing how quilters (and to a lesser extent, military people) can just meet up and become friends?  I know many of you are my friends, even if we have never actually met in person!

How about some more Christmas decoration pictures?

This is my collection of Santas.  Dominating the photo, though is my new Schnibble snowman quilt.  I must confess that it is bugging me a bit to have the snowman quilt in the "Santa area."  It should be in the "snowman area."  However, if you look the the "before photo" of the same place, you can see that there is another quilt in the same spot.

This Land of the Free quilt is just a tiny bit larger than the snowman quilt, so I was able to hang the snowman one right on top of the patriotic one!  That way I didn't have to take it down and put the other one up, measuring and leveling, etc.  The snowman quilt sits perfectly inside the binding so that both bindings show with a sliver of the tan background of the patriotic one.  It looks like a fancy, double binding.

See?  Here is a close-up.

Anyway, it is up and staying put for the season.  Even if it is still bugging me...

Some of the Santas were made by me back around the "turn of the century."  (Ha ha, isn't it weird to say that?!)  

They were designed by Jean Lepper, who used to design with Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries.  I believe Jean owned or worked at the Mainstreet Cotton Shop in Minnesota.  I made them all with Thimbleberries fabrics and they were fun to do.

The pattern for this "holly" Santa was in a APQ issue years ago.  It was the first one that I made.

This gingerbread one (oops, a little blurry) is similar to the holly one.  They have small coffee cans inside them, filled with sand or something to give them weight.

This one is actually a cover for a wine bottle.  The pattern is by someone else, and I have no idea who.  I love it though.

Finally, this was not made by me.  We found it in an antique shop this summer in North Dakota.  Santa is sewing a flag!  How perfect is he for me?  The Santas, the trees from yesterday, and my snowmen (yet to be shown this year) are collections that I'm not really actively acquiring.  If I see something perfect (like this guy) I will get a new one, but I really have plenty more than enough!

There is nothing like the reality of all of those bins full of holiday decorations to remind me of that fact each year.  Last year I purged all of the ones that weren't sentimental, meant something, or that I loved.  And it is still way too much!

Have a great day!  Keep warm, dry, and cozy!
JoAnne