It's Christmas!!!! While we don't do a lot for Christmas these days because it's just the two of us, we still have traditions! They are just different. Like all of you, I have so many Christmas memories, but one in particular that I'm sure my parents will never forget.
I was pretty young and was fast asleep in my bed when something woke me up. Likely, my mom was putting out the presents. I sprang from my bed and ran into the living room, shouting, "he's here, he's here!" Yep -- I thought Santa had arrived and I wanted to meet him.
Sadly, I was told that Santa had not yet arrived, and somehow I managed to go back to bed and fall asleep!
With M, our bedtime story on Christmas Eve was reading The Night Before Christmas. It's the same book we read as kids on the farm. The poor book is falling apart, but I still have it! I sent her a text last night as she celebrated with her adopted family!
DH made onion soup (and croutons) from scratch last night, so we ate like kings and queens. Only once yesterday, and I don't even know what made me think of it, did I think of all the Christmas candy and cookies that I have eaten over the years. Did I miss it? For about 10 seconds, and then I was over that and thinking about something else.
Christmas doesn't have to be all fuss or over-the-top. Christmas is about spending time together, chatting with loved ones, and doing something that you enjoy! It's about PRESENCE, not presents! And that's what happens in our house!
I decided to tackle the jigsaw puzzle in the morning, when I can open the blinds and let in some natural light without the sun glaring on the pieces. This is what it looked like after my morning session. Santa is starting to take form.
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| Progress on the jigsaw puzzle |
Then after I walked to the grocery store (again!), I ate my snack and worked on the puzzle instead of reading. Oh my --- the natural light sure makes a difference, especially for this puzzle. It's still NOT an easy puzzle as each piece appears to be a completely different shape. And you can't just identify a shape and find a piece to match, because sometimes, that opening requires two shapes to fill it! But I"m making good progress and I think I'll tackle it again this morning after I walk the girls.
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| Even more progress |
Last night, we decided that we NEEDED to complete that EXIT Game that has been languishing on the table for weeks. We were basically stuck on a puzzle, so we decided to look at the clues. There are three clues for each puzzle, and we had figured out everything they mentioned in Clues One and Two. But when we got to Clue Three with the answer, we still had no clue how they got to that answer. NONE!!
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| The current EXIT Game |
There is a guy in the UK (I think) who films all the puzzles while he and someone else solve them. So I looked up the episode. Hmmm --- Just a random thought got them to the answer. But I wonder how much of the film is edited out. How long did it really take for them to come up with that? These games have 10 puzzles, and we were totally stumped on TWO of them. But it's done and will get passed along.
Now the big question is - will we start another one right away?
Yesterday, we had a Virtual Retreat, and some of us stayed until 3 PM. What a great way to spend time with friends, even if they just popped in to say Hi. It's such a great way to stay connected, and it kept me motivated to do a mindless job.
Oh shoot—I forgot to take a picture of the quilt I was working on. Well, you'll have to wait until I get more work done on it. But I had a lot of flying geese to make. I calculated the square sizes for the no-waste method and cut a bunch of squares. But only after I did a sample to make sure they would be the correct size.
I hadn't really paid attention to how many squares I had cut, and so I was hoping that when I finished all these, I would have enough. I think this is where I ended last night.
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| Making flying geese at the Virtual Retreat |
And this is how many I was able to finish with what I had cut. I was short by ten units.
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| 96 flying geese units |
Well, I'm sure slacking on taking photos this morning. I did get all 106 made! Yeah!!! But then I realized this quilt has FOUR borders! Well, the worst one is the flying geese one, and I've made tremendous progress on it! I can't work too fast - this is on the list of things to complete in 2026, and I can't possibly finish it BEFORE!
I see my large spool of thread is almost finished! Time to dig out a new one. There are no worries: the bucket of neutral thread contains multiple spools of thread from various brands, so it's no big deal to get a new spool started. But I haven't run out yet!!
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| Going to need a new spool of thread |
As I was working yesterday and this morning, I'm planning and prepping the next small project to write about. And I needed some buttons. Actually, during our Monday Sewing, someone asked if anyone had anything suitable for a snowman's nose. WAIT -- I have buttons. Well, when I dug out my extensive button collection (of course - it's extensive - I used to buy a lot of buttons), I found FOUR bags of snowman nose buttons. I sold one bag to the person who needed the noses, leaving three left.
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| Part of the button collection |
Well, imagine my surprise when I dug back through the button boxes this morning for different types of buttons and found ONE more package! Good grief - I'll never have to buy button noses again!
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| FOUR packs of buttons, after selling one! |
So if you're ever looking for a random button, ask, because I might just have one I can spare~ I am NOT actively getting rid of the buttons, so don't ask if you don't need one!
I picked up the mail yesterday and got my copy of
A Needle Pulling Thread. I've been preparing a project for them for quite some time. This is the current issue - Number 71.
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| A Needle Pulling Thread |
The theme for that issue was to remake one of our previous projects. Someone had suggested a quilt that I had made, and I was all excited, but for some reason, no inspiration came to mind. It just wasn't going to happen. So I rethought the project and picked this one instead. A fabric tub made from recycled wool that came from Eaton's!!!
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| My first idea from Issue 50 |
I kept with the recycled theme, but this time I used denim. And instead of making a fabric tub, I made a fabric BOX!!!
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| My fabric box |
The tub had machine applique on it, the box had machine embroidery - a technique called FRINGE Embroidery. I LOVE the box - it's so bright and cheery and perfect to put stuff in that sits on the sewing or cutting table. I hope to swap the tray with the half-square triangles and such for the box when it arrives back home.
I love being able to create ANYTHING that I want. And this had some tricky spots, but I McGivered it to work, and I show you how in the magazine article. If you don't want to purchase the magazine (in Chapters/Indigo, or online),
you can also just buy the pattern. And if you don't have an embroidery machine, why not embellish the box with hand embroidery, applique, or whatever you wish? But the box is very sturdy, and it's gorgeous!!!!
It's the time of year when every service you use is sending you a recap of the year. I got this from WeTransfer, which I use to transfer large files. I'm not done with all my transfers yet this year, and there's still a week, but here's what they sent in the recap.
Of course, there's the total amount of GB, which is quite a bit, I suppose.
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| Total amount of data moved |
Which, I guess, it is, when you see it broken down like this!
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| HMMM -- now that I can relate to! |
But this is the one that gets me. I use the free version of WeTransfer and don't think I send many files. But they make me feel important by saying I'm in the top 5% of users. Hmmm --- is that for real, or is that a marketing gimmick to make me feel like I should buy a subscription to the service?
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| Am I really in the top ten? |
Oh well, I'll never know!
OH -- the good news, I found a CANADIAN company that I can purchase the KAM snaps from! It's incredible how much I can learn by asking questions at the Virtual Retreats!! Someone out there knows the answer to everything!
Remember, we have a Virtual Retreat on Saturday, December 27th, starting at 6 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82693702241?pwd=QpQkm8Ppppy1XwCPOqva1bcgJCWKdP.1
Meeting ID: 826 9370 2241
Passcode: 795071
And on Sunday, December 28th, starting at 3 PM.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1
Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838
And on that note - enjoy your Christmas Day, whether you are with family or friends, or choose to spend a quiet day at home. Eat cookies and chocolate today! I'm going to the movies, mainly for the popcorn!
Have a super day!!
Ciao!!
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