What A Year!

 Another year has flown by.

It's time to look ahead to 2015

and think of all the possibilities that await.

But before we leave this past year too quickly,

I took a few moments to

gather all the quilts and projects

that were finished in 2014

and created a Smilebox of

what I accomplished.

I hope you enjoy a little

recap of the year.

Another free picture slideshow by Smilebox

 Until Next Time-

Maroon Bells

Sometimes you just have to do it.

Follow along simply for the fun of it, 

even when you don't know

exactly where you'll end up.

Maroon Bells
2014
22" x22"

That's what happened when

I decided to follow along

with a Mystery quilt

being lead by Lori over at 

Humble Quilts.

No fear.

Lori's quilt-alongs have always

produced awesome
 small vintage inspired quilts.

So when she introduced a mystery quilt

 I knew I was going to join in.

I used mid nineteenth century reproduction fabrics

and without realizing it,

the reds seemed to dominate

 

especially with the addition of a red border.

Lori called hers Cascade.

I decided to call mine Maroon Bells

  after a beautiful place

 in Aspen, Colorado,
which is a lot closer to home.

I had fun machine quilting it with

diagonal lines through the squares

and adding a feather pattern

 over the diagonally pieced 1" squares.

If you'd like to make one too

stop over at Lori's and find the directions
and see what others have done.

It won't be a mystery, but

still fun and when you're finished 

you'll have a fantastic

vintage quilt too.

Until Next Time-

O Christmas Tree

Christmas gifts can come in all shapes and sizes.

Our gift to each other this year

showed up this week
in a big ol' truck.

 What's
10 feet tall,
forever bluish green
and triangle shaped?
????

6 new blue spruce trees

It's a gift that will be long lasting.

The little birds that visit our yard

have already found the shelter

in their branches.

It's a gift that will keep giving and growing

each year.
Our backyard went from this

to this

And from this

 to this

 in just a couple of hours.

These trees were planted as saplings 

about 25 years ago by Paul,

a former graduate student of Running Man.

He still lives on their family ranch north of town.

As a kid he and his brother

planted over
2000

new trees.

From the distance of the window

the trees don't look too tall,

but they're over 10 feet tall.
Now they just have to settle in
and enjoy their new home.

I'm starting to envision

twinkle lights on them next year.

"Oh, Christmas tree

Thy leaves are so unchanging, 

Not only green when summer's here

But also when it's cold and drear."

Until Next Time-


 

Happy Christmas

My tinsel was hung

 without a tangle.

Everything went well,

No matter the angle.

The gifts were unwrapped

  with squeals of delight

 It was Christmas at my house,

 Oh, what a sight.

It's not the date that matters,

or the presents under the tree,

 it's just coming together

 and having fun

 as you can see.

There were new toys to play with,

for both the young and the old,

And fun Christmas jammies

 to keep away the cold.

Our excitement is over,

 

And the treats have been eaten,

 but
I just wanted to
Wish you,

a joyous holiday season.

(Photos by the talented
 Jessica Wolfe)

Until Next Time-
 

Simple Joys

Stitching time is going to

 be very limited

in the next couple of weeks.

The hustle and the bustle
just seems to take over,

and that's okay at least for a while.

So instead of thinking of complicated stitching ideas

I wanted to focus on something simple and fun.

So when I read Karen's blog

Moose Bay Muses

where she shared a tutorial for 

her favorite cute thread catcher,

 I knew I just had to make one.

When I stitch in the evenings

all the threads snippets make a nice 

little pile on the arm of the sofa,

but sometime they wander off on the sleeve 

of my sweater, which can be
 oh, so not so very cute.

This little thread catcher is just too sweet

and handy.

I had to take the time 

(less than 30 minutes)

to make one.

Need a quick gift for a quilty friend?

Check out Karen's blog for the instructions.

Make sure you also make one for yourself.

Maybe even more than one.

Even if my days are full,

It's still nice to sit down in the evenings and 

do a little handwork.  I've never been able

to just sit and watch TV.

Trying to coordinating with the season,

I pulled out a Crabapple Hill pattern

Simple Joys of Winter.

The pattern was already traced, so

 I could jump right into the fun part.

***

We're celebrating Christmas early

this year.

My Florida kids will be here next week,

 hoping for snow and a "Colorado Christmas".

It will be sweet to have them home.

But that hustle and bustle stuff can get in the way.

So at the end of the day,

take the time to

 remember and cherish the simple joys.

It's what really matters.

Until Next Time-