Merry Christmas!

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,

and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."  Luke 2:7

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

Sunday Scripture

Christmas House Part Two

I can hardly believe that Christmas is next week.  Just when I think I'm done with the shopping, I think of something else I forgot to pick up.  The weather here has been rainy and on the warm side and I love it!  We can skip snow altogether.  The house is all decked out and ready.  The beautiful green button tree is a gift I just received from my daughter's best friend Hannah.  She made it herself for me and I adore it.  Another cherished decoration I will love putting out every year.  I hope you are all having a great week!

Christmas House Part One

The decorations are up and most of the gifts are purchased and wrapped, just a few stragglers.  One child is home and one has finals this week, soon to be here as well.  I have so many pictures to share that I thought I would break them into a couple of posts.  I've really cut back on trees since the move. Before I had seven of all sizes.  Now I am down to three.  Our home is smaller and I like to leave some breathing room.  It seems the older I get the more special and more meaningful decorations move front and center.  From the cross stitch items from my Mother to the children's handmade Christmas ornaments on the tree, the more memories...the most cherished.  I think that is why I am so drawn to all things vintage, each item has a history and a story all its own to tell.  One faded pink mercury glass ornament once shined brightly in a home ages past where the face of a small child admired it by candlelight.  I wish touching it could take us back there just for a few minutes.  It's so good to hear laughter and chatter in the house.  I'm off to listen while the kids are here because I know how fast it will go by.  Have a blessed Monday!

Sunday Scripture

Have Yourself a Quilty Little Christmas Quilt Finish

I can't remember the last time I had this much fun making a quilt.  Much of the fun was the anticipation of waiting for the directions for the next block on IG.  It felt like Christmas morning each time one was revealed.  I'm very happy with my color choices because it fits in with my home perfectly.  I quilted it using a tight wavy stitch and the whole time I was sewing I felt like I was putting the frosting on a gingerbread house!  It's such a happy quilt and will certainly help keep the gray winter days of Michigan at bay (at least for a little while!).  I am so happy to have the quilt label all done and stitched on as well.  Lori is continuing the quilt along with a mini quilt of this snowman block and I can't wait to get started.

I want to take a moment to thank Lori for her generosity in hosting this quilt along.  It is a lot of work to put one together and to photograph each step and upload to IG daily.  Lori is a busy lady with a business and family and managed to keep us going with the quilt along all through Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all that you do!

Quilty Fun Sewing

I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know I ate way too much, as always, but it sure was yummy!  I've been working hard on getting my Christmas quilt top finished.  The pieced border was the last thing to put on and I am in love with the scrappy prettiness of it.  I especially like the touch of black with the other colors.  It just gives it a bit of a pop! Have you been following the fun on Instagram? Checkout the hashtag #haveyourselfaquiltylittlechristmas to see all of the gorgeous quilts and the new snowman label block Lori posted.  Wherever I go, I keep picking up pretty Christmas fabric and yarn. This is my favorite time of year for sewing and though it gets crazy, I love it!  When the kids were growing up I would purchase a new Christmas book each year.  I fell away from this tradition once they got into high school.  I decided to start the tradition up again and purchased this Richard Scarry book.  The kids may be in college and grad school, but we still enjoy these stories and hopefully, someday, I will have grandbabies!  A happy Monday to you!