T-Shirt Quilt, a Wallet, and the Number 9

A week or so before Christmas I finally finished Maria's tee shirt quilt using her WVU tees from each year's Marching Band shirts and others that she accumulated in her four years of fun in Morgantown....

...and appropriately enough she picked out some Stonehenge in Old Gold and Blue for the backing and binding....goes good with the Mountaineer theme!

Wanted to make something for James too...so I found this tutorial online...

...I added an extra set of pockets....easy peasy!! Thanks Allisa!!

The number nine you ask..... ....starting next week....hope you can join us in the fun...and a few giveaways!!

~d

Holiday Views and my Wish for You...

Views through the tree....
...views from a sled...

...views with a little hop...

...and brightened by the snow...

...only two more days to go....

...here's wishing you some of nature's bright lights....

...but mostly wishing you....sock sentiments!:)

xo

~d

Tree Chopping!

We came, we saw, we chopped!!
Yep, a Charlie Brown Christmas tree if I ever saw one...boy, I need to add some more button stars to my tree forest!

Tonight was our shop Christmas Party at Carly's place, we had to bring a pot luck dish (I brought Curried Rice and Coconut Cupcakes) and a White Elephant gift. Since I work in a quilt shop I thought someone would like a pin cushion....

....with a few special pins!:)

~d

Just a little something for the Shop...and a Tuba Christmas!

I just had to make it....it had to come out of my fingers...that tree on the right just willed itself to be made out of a scrap of green batik. Gonna hang it at work to demonstrate this magnetic mini quilt hanger....think I might sell the quilt too. Do you think I should....$25 too much?
After I made the mini we went to Harper's Ferry for a little Christmas cheer and enjoyed a Tuba Christmas. These performances happen all over the US and a few places overseas, low brass peeps getting together once a year, practicing for one hour then perform Christmas music for our pleasure!

What a beautiful backdrop. Go check out their site and see if there is a performance near you...it's free! I was a bit meloncoly because this is the first one we have seen with out Maria there playing her tuba. Maybe next year!

For some more free music the boy's band Hold Tight! released a new LP....you can download it for free...or a couple of bucks if you want. His Uncle Peter said that was silly because then they would never make any money....first person to download it bought it for $10!:) If you like the music pass their link on to your friends....or at least their kids!!;)

Lastly...I'm trying one more time. Mailed this wee wallhanging to Maria with a few other items...hopefully this one will make it!

Her Halloween one is still lost.

~d

Oh Little....Stonehenge Tree!

This is what it will look like on December 1st...see the

buttons....

... this is what it will look like on December 25th to welcome Maria and James home!!:) Blocks for the ornaments came from the Advent Calendar block Swap . I just made numbers 9, 21 and 25. Right now they are in order starting from the bottom...but I think I'll just put them up randomly.

I used four different Stonehenge "Celebration" cut into 5" squares and the leftovers for the binding and quilted it to sort of look like branches. On the back there are two little pockets at the bottom to slide a dowel in to keep the tree spread out while it hangs on our door.

Added a Merry Christmas twill tape for a hook...

...and a wee Longaberger basket to hold the ornaments...in order!

Slate has given it his kitty approval.

~d

I Only Made Three of these....

...the rest were made by some fellow ROCKING crafters in the Advent Calendar Block Swap . Eleven fellow stitchers making twelve 3.5" blocks for two assigned days and our own 25th day. I decided to make mine into little ornaments....

...that will hang off of these buttons.

The dino buttons are from when the boy was....

a boy.

They're Christmasy aren't they?!

I have no idea why I bought the other buttons but now I do!

So I'm chugging along on it....hope to show you soon.

~d

I Love Eye Candy....

....especially since it is non-caloric....
.....especially since it's scraps....
....that I get from the generosity of my boss....
....and co-workers....
Vegan coconut cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies for the boy!

...but some real calories are good too!:)

~d

I'm Such a Dingbat.....

....thank you Wendy for reminding me that I was going to pick TWO winners for my 1st Bloggiversary giveaway! So...Random Gen was put to work again and the lucky number this time was 8.....Rafael's Mum!! Yeah Marg...now you have to pick something!;)

Here is a wee bit of eye candy, it is the Halloween/Fall runner I made for Dana. I have another pile of stuff to bind...hope to have some photos soon but I leave you with this....

"The world is round so that friendship may encircle it."

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

Our bloggie world sure has embraced that thought!!

~d

Were You Luckier Than This Guy?

Can you believe this is actually 3.5"x 2.5"?! It's an ACEO card that our son drew. I didn't have any finished projects to show you so I thought I would share some of the boy's stuff.....and announce the winner of my 1st year bloggiversary giveaway!

My pal Random Gen picked lucky number 11.....WENDY!!:) Congrats!! Thanks for playing and thanks again to all you wonderful online pals for making my first years so, so fun!

Here are a couple more of the boy's drawings. These are bigger than the ACEO card....8x10ish so some of the edges didn't scan.

To get him to color these was a miracle, he likes B & W the best. It's not all puppies and rainbows but he sure can draw flowers and skulls!;)
~d

And Drive We Did!!

From Virginia to Tennessee, through North Carolina, South Carolina and finally to....

... Atlanta Motor Speedway!!!

Lunch, a chat with the man, Dale Jarrett, and of course photos.

Then my guy suited up, waited his turn...

and drove the M&M's car....FAST!

This tryptic is mine!!

My biggest thrill of the week....meeting Dana of ORBC fame!!

I miss her already! Her girls are fabulous...wish we could have met Razor!

She gave us some major goodness....soap, hand/face scrub, a FQ of some lovely fabric (what is it Dana?) all in this adorable decorated container.

Of course when you camp you have to have a fire...and quesadillas!

The weather was amazing...so was hanging with Don's family in North Carolina....our life is full of wonderfulness!

~d