Our Christmas Miracle...

In January when we went to take apart our Christmas Tree, I found a bird's nest sitting in the branches !!!  It had held on through being cut down, loaded onto a big truck, shipped to Palatine, Illinois, driven home on the top of my husband's car and then setup in our house.

I have been trying to figure out if this is some kind of sign... but nothing has come to me.  My husband pulled the nest from the tree before it went into the garbage and I am trying to think of something fun to do with it. Any ideas would be welcome.....

Just wanted to share the wonder of God's nature.... it is beautiful and yet simple ... small and yet has me overwhelmed with the miracle.....

2012 UFO #5 - Done !!

Finished up the binding and added my label today to 2012 UFO #5

This is my successful Jelly Roll Quilt.  I did not use a Jelly Roll but cut two WOF strips from each of 20 materials in my stash.  Scary to think how many more of these I could make with the fabric in my closet !!!

Second picture shows the pieced backing that I decided to make.  As stated before, I have become a big fan of piecing the backing  - it seems to make better use of the fabric and makes the back somewhat as interesting as the front

This quilt is going to be given away as a baby gift so hopefully will be well used and loved.

2012 UFO Progress already !!!

I finished sewing together the second of my Diamond Patch quilts for our new guest room on Saturday afternoon and then yesterday got the backing and binding materials done.  Here are pictures of both quilts with their backing material.  I decided to put a horizontal band using 5" squares and 2" pieces from the quilt top - I love making backings with different bands of fabric - it makes the backing as fun as the top. 
Some of the fabrics are the same between the two quilts - such as the border fabric - but I had to dig through my stash when I decided to make the second quilt.  Luckily I still have fabric that I inherited from my mom and I have no problem adding to the stash myself!!!!

Quilt #1

Quilt #2

Took these pictures on the beds that they will eventually be used on.  Now all I have to do is box them up and send them out to the long-arm quilter.  Can hardly wait to get them back!!!

Merry Christmas !!!!!

Merry Christmas to all!!!  In honor of my mother, Lucia Beth Robinson and her father Pastor Steve, I would like to share the poem 'Everywhere Christmas' that he used to read each Christmas Eve. 

I pray that this poem helps us all to remember that Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season!!!

UFO List for 2012

Been sick all week and have not done my Christmas decorating yet so no picture of the stockings.  Probably not until later this week when I get fully back on my feet at home and at work!!

In the meantime, I am seeing other blogs talking about their 2012 UFO lists and decided it was time to take inventory....

1) Sew together 2nd Diamond Patch Quilt - get quilted and then bind
2) Get 1st Diamond Patch Quilt quilted and bound (making these for the beds in our newly decorated guest room- our son's old room)
3) Bind Four-Patch Heart Quilt
4) Layer, Tie and Bind Scrappy Patch Quilt
4A) Sew Together and Complete Emma's Star Quilt (added 12-5-2011)
5) Layer, Tie and Bind Pink Jelly Roll Quilt
6) Layer, Tie and Bind Blue Jelly Roll Quilt
7) Layer, Tie and Bind Nine-Patch Baby Quilt
8) Layer, Tie and Bind Becky's Design Baby Quilt
9) Cut out, Sew and Complete Weave it to Me Quilt
10) Cut out, Sew and Complete Criss-Cross Applesauce Quilt
11) Cut out, Sew and Complete Polka Dots, Prints and Pinwheels Quilt
12) Cut out, Sew and Complete Striking scrappy Quilt

Wow!!!!  Guess I better get moving on this.... don't think I will get much done between now and the end of the year between work, family, church and holiday gatherings.... but anything I do get done will be a bonus.

They are all ready for Christmas !!!!

I have been making Counted Cross-Stitch Stockings for my family using the Better Homes and Garden Heirloom Stockings book (published in 1995).  I originally made them for myself, my husband Ron and our children Stefanie and Kevin.  Then Stefanie married Kyle and I made one for him.  Then Stefanie and Kyle had our granddaughter Madelynn and I made one for her (finished earlier this year).  Then Kevin married Stephanie (yes, our daughter and daughter-in-law have the same name - different spelling!!!) and I made one for her (just finished this last Sunday night). 

Here they are:

For myself -> Stitcher's Studio                      For my Husband Ron -> North Woods

 For Stefanie -> Home for Christmas                  For Kevin -> Holiday Workshop

For Kyle -> Toys and Games                            For Stephanie -> Holiday Kitchen

And for our Granddaugher Madelynn ->  Sugar and Spice

Once we get our Christmas decorations up, I will take a picture of them all at the fireplace and post it out here.

The Jennifer's Quilts

Wanted to share pictures of the quilts I made for two Jennifer's in my life....

Nine-Patch for Jennifer G -> This quilt kind of started my quilting craze and still is one of my favorites. Found the pattern on the Hancock Fabrics website and most of the fabric was bought on clearance for $1 a yard!I even made a couple of small pillows out of the leftover fabric. 

Jungle Fever for Jennifer T -> This quilt was made from a kit by Karen Montgomerty purchased from Keepsake Quilting.  However, I added 3 inch sashing and cornerstones to make the quilt a little bigger. Want to use this pattern again but it just has not made it to the top of my project list.