a long debriefing (and a giveaway) . . .

So it's that time of year when you *blink* and two (or more) days weeks have passed.  LOL!  Can I get an amen on that?!  I always struggle, when I finally make my way back to the ol' blog (which I always do), with what to post. Do I go back and fill in the blanks?  Or just pick up at 'today' and pretend nothing happened?

Because I use my blog primarily for me ... as a means to remember events, projects, and life, over the course of the year ... my tendency is to go ahead and fill in the blanks.  Case in point:  I just stopped blogging after my May 13 post this year.  Until October (when I got the itch).  And then I went back and BACK DATED at least twenty posts. <insert sheepish grin here>  That, my friends, is how I roll.  Which I guess answers my original question.  Buckle up . . . there are a LOT of photos!  ;)

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my folk's house this year.  It was Joc's year to celebrate on the day with her in-laws, so we chose to celebrate together on Friday. Since it's more about the giving thanks than the date, it wasn't a problem for us! One of my sisters was even able to fly in with her youngest, and celebrate with us.  

The more the merrier, right? Plus it was great-grandpa's first time to meet/hold Ezra!

Four generations . . . oldest and youngest of our family (for the time-being, anyway)! Ezra wanted to spend time with his Pawpaw, though . . .

He really wanted to get a fistful of that beard! Maybe he thought he was being held in Santa's lap??!

We missed our California crew, but they checked in from a Thanksgiving morning walk! ♥

That Sunday evening a group of us traveled out to see the light show at the Toyota Field Stadium.  It was a first for me and it was lots of fun!

We would have had a bigger crew, but Everley had stepped on a pencil earlier in the day, and broke 1/2" off in her poor little foot! She's fine ... after a trip to the pediatric ER.  Whew!

So the transition from Fall to Christmas kicked off with the lights. Next was the RV decor . . .

I love decorating our little space for the holidays!

I also love this darling little chub-a-lub!

On December 2, we had our Christmas Open House at work. Not only am I on staff, but Todd is volunteer staff, so it's a family affair. 

We didn't do it last year (covid), so we were excited to be able to advertise it this year -- but there were still some concerns for keeping it safe.  We decided to pre-bag everything we weren't serving pre-packaged. 

We did a good job (if I say so myself) and a number of guests commented how much they appreciated our efforts in that regard.  My favorite was the pretty little fruit cups . . .

I had the vision for these.  Kind of like the jar-cuterie, only done with just fruit. They were very festive looking and a big hit, plus we found we had a lot less (of everything) leftover this year!

Friday we had a most unseasonally beautiful day.  In the 70s with no winds, sunshine with just a tad of cloud cover ... we had planned to hit the lake (in DECEMBER!) but Todd was not feeling well, so we decided to stay home and I headed to the Nook.

I had stitched up a couple of the simple snowman stitchery I'd created for Ellie, and while I'd made a wall-hanging with one, the other was just sitting in the hoop.  Rather than leave him there, I decided to use him to make the center of a pillow cover for the completely-out-of-place brown pillow (see RV holiday picture above).

It looks really cute (again, if I do say so myself)!  Ellie has decided this is how she's going to finish her project, too!

I feel like we jumped into the season with both feet! Two days later we had our Stitcher's Etc. Christmas party. (This group is different from our guild group; this is a smaller subset.) We had a great group of women gathered—twenty-four in total—which is the biggest gathering we've had in a while!

There was stitching, lunch, an ornament exchange, desserts, show 'n tell and more stitching!  Grand time.  

And both my "affirmation sisters" were there, too, which was the cherry on top!

These two are precious to me.  :)

Then came late Saturday afternoon ... time for the SEC Conference Championship game.  

I won't say I wasn't a tad bit anxious going into this game (I mean -- we were the underdog!), but I sure was super-excited about the outcome!

Sunday morning was the second Sunday of Advent. My old Advent wreath was looking a little shabby and covered in candle wax, so I decided to do something a little different this year . . .

The Nativity candle will, appropriately, be my Christ candle. I think it looks pretty and fun and outside the box, which I believe Jesus was (at least as far as the Pharisees were concerned), so totally appropriate!  

If you've hung in all the way through this post ... way to go, you! To reward you, leave a comment (make sure if you're a no-reply blogger that you leave some way for me to contact you) and I'll choose one lucky winner to be the recipient of one of the sweet ornaments the girls have made this year:

This is Ellie and Evey's 6th annual ornament fundraiser! The girls made yarn angel ornaments and sold them for $5. I bought four! All proceeds go to Food for the Hungry, to purchase things like seeds, animals, tools, medication, water purification, shoes, Bibles, and more!  The girls select the items and then [Jocelyn makes] Ellie call the order in herself.  This sweet little handcrafted angel represents the fulfillment of a basic need. ♥ So I'll make a pick and announce it on Monday!

Whew ... this was long. I need to do a better job of staying on top of this thing!!

:)

a repeat stitcher . . .

What a great weekend I enjoyed in Hendersonville, TN!  We went up early Thursday morning for a Lifeway Women's Leadership event.  Three days packed full of fabulous speakers, great teaching, encouragement, fellowship and fun.  But whew!  I was worn out.  Hence my slow stitching post didn't get written for yesterday, and that's a shame, because I have some fun stitchy stuff to share!  So Monday it is.  ;)

Ellie (oldest granddaughter) had shown some interest in embroidery.  For Christmas two years ago I gifted her with a sampler kit that I put together for her.  Once we started working on it, she finished it in record time! I asked if she wanted another stitchery, and she said yes -- she wanted a monkey.  So I found a cute monkey coloring page for her, kitted it up, and handed it over.  I've blogged about all of this, but I don't think I ever shared a finished picture of her monkey stitchery . . .

She was very proud of her finish.  She did a great job!

We put it in a wood hoop and made it ready to hang on the wall over her bed. So cute!

I told her when she finished that she should let me know when she was ready and I'd prep another project for her.  I didn't press . . . I didn't want her to feel obligated . . . so I was thrilled when she approached me two weeks ago and said she was ready for another stitchery project! I asked what she wanted to work on and suggested something seasonal, and she decided on a snowman.  She even drew out a concept drawing!

I love how she included the hoop! She had a vision ... so I put it together . . .

And kitted it out for her.  I even got a spool of metallic light blue by Au Ver à Soie from The French Needle, which is perfect for snowflakes -- the asterisk snowflakes ... not the french knot snowflakes! If it were just me, for such a small piece, I'll probably be okay using a DMC metallic—but I wanted Ellie to be able to use a super easy to work with metallic floss!

Within a couple of days of receiving the kit, Ellie sent me this picture her mama had taken:

The girl really loves to stitch!  She still had the french knots to stitch, but she needed some hands-on tutoring for those! I did ask if she'd like to finish it out in a patchwork setting, instead of just in the hoop, like her prior two finishes. She was really excited about that idea!

I decided I needed to test the whole thing before I put it in her lap, so I stitched up the design for myself (taking a few liberties, like satin stitching his nose, and using metallic floss for the holly and berries, as well as the snowflakes):

Y'all, I'm so glad I tested this out, first. Yikes! But I worked through the design issues and it turned out okay. I stitched-in-the-ditch quilted it, and then quilted simple snowflakes in the corners. 

Super cute! Well, I think so, anyway.  :)

Ellie's picked out the prints she would like to use to frame her stitchery:

The blue (Fairy Frost) print will be the star, the snowflakes will be the background, and the dark, starry night will be for the backing/binding. All of them have a little bling. Not only can the girl stitch, she can pick fabrics, too! I gave her the option of hand-stitching the patchwork or machine stitching it.  She's still contemplating!  If I can publish this in time, I'll go ahead and link up to the slow stitching linky party at Kathy's Quilts!

Sawyer had his last soccer game of the season.  I love this action shot . . .

He's kicking the winning goal ... Go Sawyer!  He was voted MVP for this game!  What a great way to finish the season!!  (All the exclamation points!!!)

From oldest grandson to youngest . . .

Isn't this precious?!  Such a sweet baby boy!  He's growing, growing!! ♥

Have a fabulous week!

:)

forwards and backwards . . .

Because this post covers a lot of time, current and past!  

I finally finished up Ellie's bicycle embroidery, which was a good thing ... her (8th) birthday was Friday and we celebrated last night! It's a simple finish because I didn't want the fabric or the quilting to take away from the piece it was showcasing.  Mission accomplished!  *smirk*  Ellie had her first slumber party on Friday night, so we did family dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Edo's.  Her choice!

I love the complexity of this sweet girl.  For all that she loves girlie things (check out her new sparkly, dangly earrings).

She's also rocking her "Star Wars" necklace (which is just out of the first picture) and wanted a red velvet Star Wars cake (featuring Darth Vader).  Go Ellie!

I had two fun prizes late in 2019 that I forgot to share.  The first was a giveaway from Jacquelynne Steves's Happy Little Things blog hop.  

The book is filled with all sorts of hidden message possibilities, and aren't those little pins darling??

The second was a birthday giveaway from Lyndsey at Sew Many Yarns!

The grunge (*swoon*) was the prize and the pretty Regent Street was a bonus!  Lyndsey had to ship it overseas, so she wasn't sure when it would get to the states.  Her Christmas card of the magi was perfect, because (though it came the day I left for California) I received it just in time for Epiphany!  Thanks, Lyndsey!

Coming a little farther forward, I did want to share my fun haul from the two iconic shops I got to visit whilst in California.  From Temecula Quilt Co. I went a little crazy . . .

Both of her books, a pattern, a kit, some lovely fabrics (including a little cheddar), and some notions.  The sweet little ruler box was gifted to me by Kim (my daughter-in-law)!

From Primitive Gatherings, I got a darling wool kit for ornaments, a wool pattern for a crazy stitched stocking (full sized), some (more) fabric and some more notions . . .

Scissors.  I have a thing for scissors.  And since I had the pussy-cat pair, I decided I needed the owl pair, too!

Tah-dah!  The Owl and the Pussy-Cat! Someday I need to do a post exclusively about that poem and why it's so personal to me! Back to scissors, though . . .

I really do love little scissors.  They are a *needful* thing to me.  *grin* 

Our last trip of that shop-hopping day was a visit to a little tea room called, The Liquid Leaf.  Sweet little place with a marvelous selection of teas *and* freshly baked goodies (in house).

It was Kim's first visit, too, so we ordered and ate/drank (and cheesed around) in the shop.

I came away with two lovely teas (both of which smell as heavenly as they taste).

Vanilla Coconut black tea and Elixir #2 which is a camomile tea.  Yummy!

Now going backwards a LOT (and yet looking to the future, too).  Barbara Brackman is re-introducing Grandmother's Choice BOM, which she did originally in 2012.  I hung with her through almost half the blocks, but then I had my second ankle surgery and it 'crippled' my sewing foot for a while.

So I'm excited to have the nudge to do something with these blocks and get the second half of them finished! I'd purchased Block Base (which has all the blocks in it) to do this BOM, so it's only right that I should complete it.  

Bringing it current . . . 

Slow progress, but progress *is* progress.  This is what I'll be stitching on today, getting in some slow stitching on a Sunday afternoon!  Linking it up with Kathy's Quilts--be sure to check out what the other stitchers are working on.

Happy Sunday!

:)

snowflakes and snowmen . . .

Last week we had snow overnight . . . this week we had tornadoes.  Weather in North Alabama is always a bit crazy.  We were very lucky and didn't experience any storm damage, and we were able to ride out the warning in the storm shelter under the new cabin in the campground.  It's the first time we've needed to put it to the test since it was build this past spring.  And the first time in the ten years we've lived at the camp that we haven't had to leave the premises to find shelter!  Phew!

I haven't really had much time to do much of anything besides go to parties and wrap presents.  I know, poor, poor, pitiful me, right?!  LOL!  I got a couple of minutes in to stitch on my Christmas snowflake:

I can't decide if I like the Sulky Stick 'n Stitch stabilizer yet. It's probably user error.  Anyone have any experience with it?

I can say that I love this in the metallics!  I'm using DMC's Diamant metallic floss for this one.

I love the green and the red and the shiny!! It's eye candy . . . hence the candy bowl.  Purdy! ♥

Joc has lamented on the lack of 'homemade' ornaments of Edith. She's the only one that hasn't gone to/needed to go to preschool, where they do those things!  So I helped out a little . . .

These will look sweet on their family Christmas tree!  I love playing with the die cuts and the laminating machine!

One party I'm really looking forward to is our annual Christmas Dessert Social at guild! 

This is tomorrow night -- and for the first time in forever, since I'm not on the board, I just get to show up!  (The board members provide the desserts.)  Plus I'm planning on bringing the three newly finished Christmas lap quilts in for Show 'n Tell!  Whoop!

Finally, I have a winner from last week's snowman giveway!  

The winner is Barbara Black, who commented, These are adorable! I would love to add a snowman to my quilt-y tree. So she totally will get to add it (the pink one) to her quilt-y tree!  Thank you to everyone who participated and especially those who became Pearl's Pegs followers!  :)

It's hump day ... yay for that!  Have a great rest of the week!

:)

virtual cookie exchange, day two . . .

That's MEEEEEE!

I love hops . . . it's such an easy-peasey way to visit other bloggers and gain new ideas on a central theme.  Fresh perspective, if you will!  I especially enjoy participating in blog hops that Carol, over at Just Let Me Quilt organizes.   She does such a great job!  Thanks, Carol!

Our family has always baked our way through the holidays.  We love the tried and true, but we also love to experiment and try new, fun things.  I'm always looking for ways to include the grandgirls so that they grow up appreciating the baking traditions and have fun memories in the kitchen, too!  So that's what I went for when trying to decide what I'd share today . . . 

Melted Snowman Sugar Cookies!

These were almost as much a craft as they were a cookie and the girls, especially Ellie, had a blast decorating them. I kept it simple.  I used Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough (the large package of 30 oz.).  I brought it to room temperature, then plopped it into the mixer along with two egg yolks, 1 cup of flour, and a teaspoon of vanilla.  I mixed it on medium high until the dough was smooth.

Then I had my very capable helper use the large scoop and plop the cookies onto a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.

While the cookies baked in a 350°F oven for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned, Ellie and I assembled our 'tools'.

Regular marshmallows, white cookie icing, decorator gel in red and black, and edible marking pens. When we realized that we had more than enough dough for two full trays of cookies, but not quite enough for a third, Ellie suggested that we use the smaller scoop, get out the miniature marshmallows, and make baby snowmen.  

So we did!

Evey had to get in on the decorating ... who knew how much fun it would be to draw snowman faces on marshmallows?!? 

I did the carrot noses, but that was it ... Ellie and Evey did the rest of the decorating.

Ellie really thought outside the box.  She added the arms, buttons and scarfs to each snowman, but she also added a sprig of holly to the 'mama' snowmen (oh, and note the eyelashes, too) . . .

And a paci and blankie to the 'baby' snowmen . . .

Aren't they cute?? 

She told Evey that it didn't really matter if they were a little messy; they were melting, for heaven's sake! I mean, she makes a solid point!

Truly, we all had a blast, and it was super easy cleanup, to boot, which is always a bonus!  And the little girls didn't have to wait long to sample their wares . . .

Littlest bit had no desire to 'help', but was definitely in on the sampling!

As much fun to eat as they were to make!

I hope you enjoyed our fun ... if you make them, let me know!  And be sure to check out the rest of today's participants!

December 3^rd

MooseStashQuilting

Stitchin At Home

Barb – Hosted by Just Let Me Quilt

Hill Valley Quilter

Little Penguin Quilts

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Selina Quilts

Count it *all* JOY!  this is me!

Purring Cottage

:)