TREES IN JAPANESE!

I am not at my own computer, so I am having difficulty posting a photo of Leas's tree. Please follow the link to her blog.

Here we are, Christmas Eve Day, and I just had to make a quick post to show you a cute tree quilt from Japan! Lea found my pattern and has her cute tree quilt on her blog. Also, Lea has a darling primitive quilt for Christmas that you will love! And, be sure and click on her Flickr photos and see lots more of the cute primitive quilts she has made! Thank you for sharing, Lea!

I have been browsing blogs just a little, but there is a problem with the Internet here at my son's house. My darling 16 year old grandson was messing with their Internet hookup for his
X-Box (?) There has been no reception since then. Currently I am on line at my sister's house. Sigh. On top of that, the little genius killed my husband's new I-phone. Ah well. I don't want to minimize it, but what the heck can you do about it? He professes to know everything!

Chevy Chase and his Christmas Vacation is playing on the TV, and it is not easy to concentrate. That is one rediculous movie! Last night we watched Tim Allen and his Santa Clause movie. Cute stuff! Now I am ready for Jimmy Stewart and It's A Wonderful Life! In spite of the set backs and problems we all face from time to time, it really is a wonderful life. We are blessed beyond measure! I wish Christmas Blessings on you all! Thanks for reading my musings and for the sweet comments that you leave. Merry Christmas to all!

News flash: The I-phone is not broken! It's a Christmas Miracle! We are all on speaking terms again! LOL! What a relief!

TREES AROUND THE WORLD

I just posted a few Tree Quilts on my website, so if you haven't looked lately, wander over to Patchalot Patterns and click on the little tree quilt to go to the gallery. The newest ones are on page two. Nancy, from Indiana, just sent a photo today, so I am showing hers here as well. It is very nice! Her border is different from the others that were sent to me. I just love them all!

On page three I have placed the "unusual" ones. Kim and Judy both made tree skirts. They are different from each other, and both darling! Darlene posted a picture on her blog of her quilt on her table with a big jar or gingerbread men. It is so adorable that I had to have it! Well, sort of. I just borrowed her photo in case any of you missed seeing it on her blog. Eileen's is on page three also, because her quilting is so lovely that I wanted to show it off. I added links to blogs for all those that I knew. I hope I posted all the photos that were sent to me. I think I did!

I want to thank everyone who participated! Honestly, I have been thrilled at the response! I got and e-mail from a reader in Holland who posted it on a quilter's bulletin board there, so maybe a few little Tree Quilts will be sprouting over there as well. http://www.prikpagina.nl/read.php?f=1210&i=108960&t=108960 Check it out! Check out Anna's blog as well: Carpe Quiltem. How cute is that?!

Tomorrow I leave for Arizona and I haven't packed yet! I have been working on a new quilt design for spring and wanted it finished before I leave. I actually got the top done! Yea! I will show you in January. Sigh. I know, I know, but Christmas has to come first! I am looking forward to spending time with my family. My Dad is there, as well as my son and his family. My youngest son is driving down from Utah and will be introducing us to a girl he is dating. I can only hope he has finally found the right girl! We need to get him married! Do I sound desperate? Well he is pushing 30 and I am almost pushing daisies! I guess we can't rush these things.

I will probably continue blogging once I get to AZ, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

(Judy L. -don't delete me. I'll be back- lol!)

I MEANT TO DO THAT

In a previous post I mentioned that my friend Kathy, in San Diego, CA, sent me bundles of wool blanket pieces. At first I was perplexed because the wool is so thick, unlike what we normally buy for our craft projects. But after playing around with it I have really come to enjoy how nicely it handles and holds the stitches, etc. The crow on the basket was the first thing I tried. After I added the holly, it had to sit a while and ferment.

As that was stewing on the back burner of my brain, I decided that I could actually put things IN the basket! So I thought about gingerbread men. I didn't have quite the right color, so I asked my friend Joan if she had any gingerbread wool. "Oh I know I do", says Joan. So off I go to Joan's house while she digs through her wool stash. Joan pulls out TWO YARDS of the perfect camel colored wool that she bought to make a skirt. She never made the skirt, so she felted the wool and it was all to my good fortune! The gingerbread are about three inches high, so you can see there are many more gingerbread men we can make. I can see them dancing around penny rugs, etc. Don't I have the coolest friends? Well, this little crow is flying off to California for Christmas, and the gingerbread men are running as fast as they can to Joan's house! I know that Joan is not so sure about the little satin skirt at the bottom of the project, but she will come to love it, as I have. When I first showed the blanket project with the satin binding still on it, I was half way joking about leaving it on. So many of you liked it, and I have to say that I have come to like it a lot also. Sometimes things are so hokey that you have to love them. Remember shabby before it became chic?

I might also add that this type of project is so relaxing because it doesn't need to be perfect! In fact, you want it to look homespun and primitive. That means adding knots where they don't normally go and making imperfect stitches on purpose. I could get really good at this striving for imperfection thing!

So sorry Kim, Darlene and Angie, these already have a home. LOL!

GIVE IT OR KEEP IT?

I began sewing little Saffiote blocks from 301 Country Christmas Quilt Blocks, a few months ago. They are very primitive and so cute! Paula at A Latte Quilts showed a project she just completed from the same book. Hers is really adorable! By the way, isn't that the cutest blog name?

I have yet to compile my blocks into a quilt. I still want to do that, but need to make more blocks. In the meantime, I made three of this block, because I thought it was so cute (pg. 71 if you have the book). It is one of Cheri's "create it" blocks, where she just puts in a picture of the block as she made it and then you make your own version. I have this flag fabric from years ago and I keep cutting out little American flags for various projects. I added the border and stitched the words, and with a minimum of quilting, it is now a gift to share at the LQS Christmas party tomorrow night. Or maybe I will keep it. I can't decide. VBG! What would you do? (Yeah, I'll probably give it. Sigh.)