Christmas Wishes

Wishing you a Christmas filled with good memories, old friends, family & LOVE!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Wishing you

much warmth 

on this 

Winter Solstice!  

love, faith.

Merry Everything!

If you're like me, making something special for everyone you care about is especially important this time of year.  Also, if you're like me, you kind of ignore reality for as long as possible. 
Until ... you look up from your stitchin' & the calendar comes into focus!  OMG!! 

That's when I go to Plan C (for Christmas):  
1.  Make everyone the same thing, 
2.  Keep it small & 
3.  Hope they don't compare!  

Hope is a reoccurring theme in my world.  So is staying on budget.  And, keeping it personal.  GETTING DONE is always good, too :)  

So, I designed some "Christmas-Holiday-Winter Message Boxes" for us "last-minute" types. These Message Boxes fit perfectly in the center of my Heart Mug Rug Pattern - called "Love Notes".  Here's a little sample of some of the 48 Messages available:

Merry Christmas! -- Joyeux Noel! -- Happy New Year -- Have a Cool Yule! -- Warm Wishes -- Believe in Magic -- Peace on Earth -- Ho Ho Ho! -- Bah Humbug! -- I "Heart" Santa -- Snow Happens! -- Just Add Marshmallows -- Let it Snow + more!  

In the Spirit of the Season, I'm offering the Christmas Message Boxes to you FREE until 12/25/2015 (the freebie applies to just the Message Boxes - not the Pattern).  Click on the link above or HERE & you'll be getting done in plenty of time to bake cookies for Santa!  Oh yeah - that one's in there, too!  Merry Everything!  faith.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm THANKFUL for lots of things people in my life!  Family, friends, puppy dogs & stuffing top the list :)  And, here's a little thank YOU my quilting friends - free download of Thanksgiving Message Boxes on Craftsy.  These are designed to fit in the center of the "Love Notes" Pattern, but you can use them however you like!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving & don't forget to "Gobble 'till you Wobble"!  love, faith.                                       

P.S.  I'll be posting Christmas - New Year's Message Boxes in a more timely manner!

FREE Download Thanksgiving Message Boxes

Thank You Vets!

Thank you Daddy and my brother, Bill and my sister-in-law, Dawn and my father-in-law Bobby & my Uncle Andy & my brothers-in-law in Florida!  And THANK YOU to each & every one of the Vets out there & their loved ones - we are grateful for your service & sacrifice!  

As a quilter, I'm familiar with the wonderful programs, such as Quilts of Valor & Wounded Warriors where groups of dedicated quilters get together to sew items of comfort - not just quilts, but little pillows & fleece blankets.  Every skill level is welcome - even if you can "just" press fabric!  (Believe me, they will LOVE you!)

But, lately I've been reading heart-warming stories about a different kind of program.  One where prisoners train dogs for wounded Vets. Best of all, these programs seem to be popping up everywhere!  Here is just one wonderful story about the healing power of dogs:  Milton Prisoners Train Dogs for Vets.  I don't know who came up with this great idea, but they deserve something BIG!  Or, maybe something little - just to say Thank You!  faith.

Left:  Doggie Embroidery from "Little Stitches" by Aneela Hoey (highly recommended!).
Right:  Scrappy Mug Rug idea from Modern Patchwork Magazine, Winter 2015 Issue, Susan Liu, Designer.  

Leaves, leaves ... everywhere!

Leaves are everywhere you look this time of year.  And, they come in lots of different sizes, too. Isn't Fall wonderful?!

Row-By-Row Wall Hanging

The Row-By-Row Experience has really taken off this year all across Canada & the U.S.  There are SO many wonderful designs out there from quilt shops that you really need a Quilt Shop Map to keep it all straight!  Quilters are reconnecting with long-lost relatives & friends (& even sympathetic strangers) to get just the right Row - how cool is that ?

Here's my Row-By-Row design for First Stitches Quilt Shop in Canon City, Colorado (thank you Kim!).  I added a strip of sky above & a leftover strip of green below to turn it into a wall hanging.  It still looked like something was missing, so I added coordinating fabrics from Northcott's Artisan Spirit Sandscapes line & went a little crazy on the quilting.  Makes me feel like I'm camping out in the Flat Tops Wilderness area, which was the inspiration for this design.  Mission accomplished ... except I might just add some embroidered wildflowers here & there ...  faith.

Row-By-Row First Stitches Quilt Shop, Canon City, Colorado

Honoring the Fallen

My most vivid memory of the cost of Freedom is trying to count the crosses near the entrance to Clark AFB, Philippines.  Even with Mom driving very, very slowly (you don't speed on a military base), it wasn't possible.  There were too many.  Even if I practiced my multiplication tables instead of counting one-by-one.  Many had succumbed during WWII & in the Bataan Death March which was ancient history in my short life.  But, the Vietnam War was taking place.  The wounded were at the snack bars - planes were flying overhead continuously (or, so it seemed).  I remember going to a mock Viet Cong Village with machine gun demos - trying to pick up the huge spent cartridges.  These are childhood lessons on the price of Freedom that I'll never forget - thanks to those we honor today.  Thank you from the bottom of my Heart.  love, faith.

 

Patriotic Love Notes - Memorial Day

We have many patriotic holidays in the USA & rightly so - we have a LOT to be grateful for :)  With Memorial Day in mind, I've created some Patriotic sayings for the center of your "Love Notes" Heart Mug Rug.  Here's what a few look like:

 So far, I have one page of Patriotic Message Boxes (12 per page):

God Bless America                       God Bless the USA
Land of the Free                            Home of the Brave
Sweet Land of Liberty                   Let Freedom Ring
Stars & Stripes Forever                 Home, Sweet Home
Thank You for Your Service          Thank You for Your Service
Red, White & Blue                          Red, White & Brew

This is just a start!  If you have some Patriotic favorites you wouldn't mind sharing, please let me know in the comments section - the more, the merrier!  If you'd like to make up a few Love Notes Mug Rugs, download the free Patriotic Message Boxes here:  DTD-Love Notes Extra-Patriotic  Please be sure to let me know what you think & send photo(s)!   With gratitude to those who serve(d) & those who love them, faith.

P.S.  Note that the Patriotic Message Boxes are a "Love Notes" pattern "Extra" designed to be sewn (paper-pieced) into the center of your Heart Mug Rug.  See Love Notes Pattern for complete details on how to use Message Boxes.  Pattern contains 58 Messages & is available for purchase at your favorite local quilt shop (First Stitches & Stitchers Garden) & also online at:
Craftsy:  Loves Notes Pattern on Craftsy
Etsy:      Loves Notes Pattern on Etsy 

Flowers for Mom

Do you remember picking flowers out of the yard & saying:  "Here Mom - these are for YOU!"  Me, too ....  Happy Mother's Day!  Love, faith.

 

58 Love Notes Pattern (Heart Mug Rug)!

It's finally a pattern!  And, it's coming very soon to your favorite local quilt shop or available as a download at my DTD Etsy Store or DTD Craftsy Store!  "Love Notes" is a paper-pieced design with 58 different ways to say what you feel - even if it's:  I ª Chocolate!  Messages for every occasion & every one on your list!     

By the way, 5 Fat Quarters + 3/4 Yard Backing = 12 (or more) Love Notes!  Be sure to cut 8 - 2 1/2" Strips Sets, lengthwise (20" = 8 x 2.5") to make the most of your fat quarters.  Then, Just Add Cookies ª !   love, faith.

Nature Boy's Quilt

Doodle Time Designs - 5 Yard Everyday Quilt

Finally finished the binding on this 5-Yard Everyday Quilt made especially for my dh (hereafter referred to as "Nature Boy").  I took great care in fussy-cutting the main blocks from fabric called Among the Pines.  

It's full of neat messages like:  Embark, Discover, Search, Escape ... - which I like.  And, it's got elk, fox, deer, fish, rabbits, pine cones, dragonflies, owls ... which he likes.  

And, the Batik coordinates are the color of deep water & dark earth.  You can almost smell the pine trees & late summer grasses.  It has a wildness to it - worthy of many adventures. Or, dreaming of them.