Almost time!

The tree is trimmed...



Candles are glowing...



There's still some candy left...



Bits of Christmas tucked here and there...





But who is this?



A short, plump little reindeer--all ready for his big night. You know the guys: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Melvin!



Merry, Merry Christmas everyone!

Cold

When it is cold and you have a cold, what do you do?
Relax with a new quilt magazine, of course!



It's a really neat magazine with projects by Irish designers as well as quilts by some familiar names--like Tammy Tadd, Anna Maria Horner, and that Sweetbrier Rose quilt? That looks familiar!

Obviously Rosie's not impressed. Comfy, but not impressed.

Girlie Stuff

Yippee! The scarf sets are finished! And I'm sure you'll agree that Pam did the best job on her set. I love it!
If you want to have some scarf decorating fun of your own, click on the button and print out some instructions!



Oh and there's one detail I need to mention...I've been asked about the crocheted flower on the hat. Yes, I actually did that myself and I am NOT a crocheter. Here's the book I used for the instructions and believe me--if I can make that flower, your dog could make that flower.

Speaking of...

It's been a busy time around here...so many distractions to keep me from keeping up with things. Got an email yesterday letting me know that a certain Miss Chelsea has run out of patience waiting for pictures of my new little distraction.



So for Chelsea and everyone else, meet Jane!



Jane is 11 months old and is part Chihuahua and part, uh, ummm...any thoughts?

I am totally NOT a tiny dog person. If someone had told me that someday a dog with even a molecule of Chihuahua blood would be living in my house I'd have told them they're crazy.

My youngest son Jeff and I had gone to a pet rescue place in San Jose looking for a particular dog we'd seen online. When we got there, we were told the dog had already been adopted and that her new owner was on her way to pick her up. Sigh. But next to that cage was Jane. She put her little paws up on the bars of her cage and whimpered. That was all it took.



I've been in contact with her previous owner and know quite a bit of her history. She'd been taken away from her mother at 3 weeks of age and had been abused. She was a wreck when her previous owner adopted her. Over time she became a loving, devoted dog to her owner but was terrified of men. All men.



Seems like maybe our house is the wrong place for such a little girl? Well, no! Jane's absolute favorite person on the planet is Jeff. She adores him and it's awesome to see my shaggy-headed, metal band tshirt wearing kid melt when she cuddles up to him.
She's still nervous around my husband and son Nick, but is making progress. And I can say that she's the sweetest little bundle of love I've ever seen.



As you can see, she likes arranging her bat ears in different poses. And yes, she already has her own quilt (but more on that later!)

Sewing Fun

There's no getting around it, it really is December. And that means we need to be making cute stuff, right?
Pam and I always have so much fun when we get together--with the exception of her sneezing because of Presley (who you can spot in the background). That makes me feel terrible so I try to make up for it with cookies. I'd make coffee for her but I don't know how.



Side note--did you know that the cheapo Betty Crocker sugar cookie mixes are really good if you use real butter, roll the dough balls into cinnamon and sugar and bake for just a smidge less time than the instructions say?



Anyway, yeah, I made it to Target in record time--and hey, if I'd counted on her to drive we wouldn't have the last aqua set!

And that's the set I'll be playing with.



Here's a sneak peek of the mittens we embellished when we got together, and what's that they're on top of? A quilt, perhaps?
Yes, it is, and it's a fast quilt that I'll be sharing the instructions for just as soon as the binding is finished.

So stay tuned!