Bright Star

The days are winding down and I'm starting to really hope that some deliveries are made here soon otherwise Christmas may be a little sparse as far as gifts go.  And then there is the wrapping.  I'm not going to worry about it or think about it until next Friday night...or maybe Thursday.  At any rate there will be no stress here...just making of the blocks.

This is a different block, I'm not sure I see the star, but I think it will grow on me.  As I was working on it it made me think of the song "We Three Kings of Orient Are" and the words "Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to your perfect light."  This is number 348 of 366 and it is a 12-inch block. Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Tennessee Pine

No more applique or pine trees for the rest of the year, and yes I did a quick flip through just to make sure.  These half-square triangles were not made the way I like to do them, they were made with squares cut into four triangles and then sewn together which makes for a whole lot of bias sewing.  

I like this one, and I definitely think it looks like a pine tree. :)  This is number 347 of 366 and it is a 12-inch block.  Happy 12-12-12 and Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Proud Pine

This is definitely a different tree block.  I am not quite sure what to think about it yet....

Maybe the best way to place it in a quilt is on point.  Or, I just got an idea...hmmm...I need to think about this.  Don't you hate it when you get an idea too late at night to do anything about it? :)  This is number 346 of 366 (only 20 left!!!) and it is a 12-inch block.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Advent Wreath

The block for today was not an advent wreath, it was a Menorah.  As I am not Jewish I honestly would not have had a use for it.  I do have many friends who are Jewish, but I'm not sure they would have enjoyed receiving a single block.  So today I decided to do something different.

I made an advent wreath block.  I did use some of the same measurements for the candles, but the flames are different sizes than the Menorah, and the Menorah used the dreaded template for all nine candles.  It isn't perfect, there is probably a lot more I could have done with it and still plan to do with it, but it was fun to draw it out and sew it up.  This is number 345 of 366.

Here is the calendar block for today (see those template flames).  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Here Comes Santa Claus and the Winners

I have sent emails to the winners of the Ott Lights, so make sure to check yours to see if you are the winner.  If I do not hear back by Tuesday, I will be choosing different names.  Thank you all for the wonderful comments.  It seems we are all looking for more time to spend on our projects...even if it is on the run.

There are a lot of tiny, tiny pieces for this one.  I chose the blue background as it kind of looks like snow falling.  This is a 6-inch block and it is number 344 of 366.  We had quite the day with all the snow and now the kids are all hoping for a snow day tomorrow (or at least a late start).  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Blog Hop Party With Giveaways!

Quilting Gallery is celebrating their 5th birthday and what a fun way to celebrate with a blog hop and giveaways.  There are tons of giveaways with this blog hop so make sure you check them out here.













We had a wonderful snowy day here in Minnesota so I of course spent it doing some finishing work.  There is nothing like being cozy and warm inside while huge white snowflakes are falling outside.

My first project for today was to take the Angelsong block (number 312) and make it into an ornament for our Christmas tree.  I added the year to it, a 3/4-inch border, quilted it, added a hanging ribbon, stuffed it, and hung it on the tree.  And although I doubt I will ever forget that I made it in 2012, it is always nice to remember the year an ornament was finished, as it seems the older I get the faster the years fly by.

I then decided to quilt my Drop quilt.  This time I did not use my BSR,  I just turned the speed up on my machine so I could quilt the way I have in the past.  It was fun to compare the two as I just quilted a larger quilt using the BSR.  I think for smaller quilts I will definitely not us it as I can get smaller stitches and go fast.  The bigger quilts I think are definitely for the BESR, especially when there is so much more fabric to work with.

Now for the giveaway...I will be giving away the two fat quarter bundles shown above.  One is Parrot Flock and the other Seagull Flock by Thomas Knauer for Andover Fabrics.  After laying these out I was wishing I had purchased another one for me.  To enter the giveaway leave me a comment letting me know what you would work on if you had one entire uninterrupted day to do nothing but work on a project.  Would you piece, quilt, or work on a binding.  Would you applique or embroider something or do something entirely different?  For a second chance, as always, leave me a comment stating you are a follower or a new follower.  This giveaway will be open until Monday, December 15 at 7 p.m.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Christmas Wreath

So, I'm a little late this evening...seems a whole day of a basketball tournament wore me out more than I expected.  I think next time I had better get to bed a whole lot earlier that I did last night.  We are supposed to be getting some SNOW tonight so maybe that will make for a stay at home day tomorrow.  :)

This fun block is the perfect place for this button I found in my stash the other day while working on another project...yes, I have a button stash too (gasp imagine that).  If I get that stay at home day tomorrow I'm hoping to get this made into a little wall hanging or pillow.  It all depends on how I feel once I get some borders on it.  This is number 343 of 366 and it is a 7 x 11-inch block.  We are now as a family counting down the block numbers.  This has been so much fun this year, especially when the whole family has been into it.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen