An end of the year finish

Many of you have seen this quilt before.  It has been sitting around here for years with no binding.  I finally pulled it out and got it bound so that I could gift it to my brother for his January Birthday.  It is made from Block Lotto blocks from years ago.

I also got some new block lotto blocks done...

There are a total of 8 for me.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for this one because I LOVE scrappy quilts!

Some last minute projects

A white elephant gift for tomorrow night...Star Wars apron, tea towels, and muffin cups.  Made the towels this morning- just a strip of fabric sewn across (edges pressed under).  Sorry it's hard to see the ones on the right.

One thing my teenage kids are getting for Christmas is a Spring Break trip to Disneyland- which they already know about.  So, here is part of the gift preparation.  I will write the number of days on before it goes under the tree.
It started as an unfinished piece from Michael's.  The mouse ears on the metal are magnets thanks to my glue gun.  I will hopefully get a better picture on Christmas morning.

They each have a Disney gift bag filled with Disney themed goodies and a balloon attached.
Below are their "Tickets".

Getting ready for Christmas...

Honestly, I am not making much progress on any one thing.  There is just so much to do.  But I did get a present made yesterday.  One of the cousins said she was painting her room yellow and needed room decor to match so this is what she is getting along with some non yellow gifts...

It took more time than I thought it would- as is usually the case-ALL DAY LONG!  Which means I am that much farther behind today.  So, I guess I better get moving...

Catch Up

I am catching up on blogs today.  I am so far behind, have done NO SEWING and almost no crochet.  However, I have lost 25 pounds since August, so that is something...
Here is what is happening around our house in the last few days.

Jack stakes his claim in front of the Christmas Tree before it is even decorated.  Last year we only had 2 very small trees, up on top of the piano because he was a puppy.

The tree gets some completely unbreakable (Except for the Angel) decorations in case Jack decides to topple the whole thing.

Last year's purchased manger scene decs the doll quilt...

The Nutcracker collection marches out...

The small tree on the piano holds the treasured can't do without ornaments- lovebirds through out the years- I try to get one for us every year but they are sometimes hard to find- and some special family ones.  Safe from the bull like poodle.

I can't believe it is already that time of year again.  I have been very un-crafty this year so there won't be many, if any, handmade gifts this year.  Perhaps next year will be better.  The trick will be getting my sewing room cleaned out enough for me to get in the door.

I still need to finish that Halloween costume sweater I have been working on...

Happy sewing everyone,

Crochet

Some late night learning...

Ok, so its not fabulous but it is ok and that is good enough. 
The teachers at my school have all decided to dress up as a Harry Potter characters for Halloween.  Being the librarian, I can't skip out on a book/movie themed plan, so, I decided I wanted to be Mrs. Weasley.  I love her!
So, in searching for ideas for my costume, I came a cross these pictures...

YES!  That is the perfect costume!  I LOVE that sweater.  I knew I would not be able to buy one from a store so I started looking on ETSY.  You definitely can buy one on ETSY to the tune of about $400 and the time for the person to make it.  So, I decided it was past time for me to learn this crochet stuff.  I have yet to finish a crochet project that I have started!
My husband just kinda laughed at me when I said I was ordering the pattern from ravelry.com. 

Not only do I have to finish the sweater by October 30th to wear to school, I also have to make me one of those fabulous aprons! And wash it about 50 times to make it look worn out :) 

I am still wondering if I will get a wig or if Mrs. Weasley will have a nice short haircut.  My hair is currently about that color- a little more brown, but it is short.  I will have to think about that one because I do not like wigs!

I bought the fabric for my Oklahoma Backroads border today.  Maybe you will see a picture of the flimsy soon...

Saturday Stitching

I basically locked myself in the sewing room today.  Turned on the 80s tunes and jammed. 

I cranked out these 9 BlockLotto blocks, using my Tri-Rec rulers.  It went smoother than I thought it would.  I only made two mistakes the whole time!

Here are some of them up close.  I am amazed that the points all look great!  YAY!

I also worked on my Oklahoma Back Roads quilt, hoping to get the top put together.  I thought I had all the blocks sewn together.  However, after sewing lots of rows, I found that I was three rows short!  That's 30 blocks!  What happened to 30 of my blocks???  I started making them after searching for them with no luck.  I am pretty sure they are hiding in a corner of my sewing room somewhere but I couldn't find them.  No top finished today after all, darn-it!

Sunday Stitching

Sorry for the dark picture- an effect of the sun coming in...
I finally got my kitchen curtains hemmed so the kitchen refresh is complete.  I actually want some curtain tie backs but until I find just what I want, this will have to do...

Working on putting rows together for a quilt for my bed but got antsy.  I may go cut out a new leader/ender project...

I have a busy week at work since school starts Wednesday and I am in charge of the textbooks as well as my usual library responsibilities.  Wish I had about another month of pure patchwork & quilting time!