My Quilty World: December Quilt Update

Welcome to the Monthly Update. What does that mean? Well, it's just little ol me trying to recap what took place during the month so that I can keep track. I kind of use it like a journal. Please sit back and enjoy a peek into a month of my life.

Any links that you click in this post will open in a DIFFERENT window, allowing you to continue reading this without losing the page.

The previous 2017 monthly update links are located at the end of this entry. I hope that you make it that far.

Goals: I have removed these this month as I wish to ENJOY December without any crazy, self-imposed pressure. They'll be back in a more reasonable form next month.

1st - This month is starting out perfect! We are in the middle of a mini-vacation in Atlanta and time with my sweetheart is the best kind of time I know. From an early morning flight yesterday straight to shopping, a bitters tasting, FOOD, the CDC, the Federal Reserve, Botanical Gardens and a tiny German Market, we are having so much fun. If you would like to follow our adventures, here is the Days 1 and 2 LINK.

2nd - Today we are testing our youth a bit. Come follow along on the fun with this Days 3 and 4 LINK. It includes hiking to the top of Stone Mountain. Yep, told you we were testing.

3rd - Ah, the Atlanta Zoo is first thing this morning as I wish to see the pandas. We have just so much fun even though it is our last day here - mini-vacations need to happen much more often.

4th - Home from Atlanta by 7:30 a.m. Yep, you read that right. A truly early morning flight. As with any vacation, a recovery day is required and thus today consists of relaxing, with some book-work and party-planning taking place as well.

5th - Mister and I both made it out to the studio today. Leveling the mid-arm is on the agenda and I have high hopes that all of her issues will be fixed with that one move. Most are and while I am under the frame wiping it all down, guess what? I see the problem. My carriage has slightly jumped the track. Woohoo. I am back in business. Back into the house to work on trip pictures and start decorating for Christmas. All the tubs are out of the attic and my sweet man has made homemade eggnog. Ahhhh, there's that spirit I want to keep for the whole month and into next year as long as I possibly can. Peace.

For the first time EVER, I help with the outdoor decoration and we have everything finished within an hour. It feels so good to work as a team and I need to focus on this more. Don't we all? It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

6th - Ten days and so much to do. Do you ever just have moments of revelation? Just such a thing has happened to me. I LOVE quilting. Never mistake that. However, I'm feeling as though I have dumped all kinds of self-imposed crazy deadlines on myself and am taking the joy right smack dab out of it. I also LOVE to cook, bake, crochet, do ceramics, be social, go to movies, walk the lake and just enjoy all that life has to offer. I feel as though I have let those areas slide - a LOT. Additionally, ever since I moved to Texas, I have struggled with the holidays. Having family so far away is very difficult for me, made even more so at this time of year and it is impossible for my sweetheart to take vacation during mid-December to mid-January. I've decided that I need to start some new traditions and bring the joy back again. With that in mind, I am throwing a party on the 16th -- and now I need to get busy preparing for it. One of the things I want to do at the party is have everyone make ornaments - today I should probably make my own sample one. It's studio time.

I just start cleaning out the Christmas fabric tub and am shocked at how much there is. I even discover a panel tablecloth and have absolutely no idea where it came from. However, perhaps it can be hemmed on the side and pressed (hahaha) into service for the party. Soon, all the parts for my ornament are ready and I move onto making kits for my guests. Once all the squares are cut, into the house I go and half an hour later, look what I have. Oooooh, I like it. Perfect red/white for my little sewing tree.

Oh -- I'm also already behind on the Bonnie Hunter mystery - On Ringo Lake - so take the time to start cutting on clue 2. I'm going to do this, but it is not going to be an obsession. I've given myself bits of time to work on it throughout the month. We'll see how that goes and if I enjoy it a bit more.

7th - You know those boring household days? Today is one of them. Laundry and bills call and must be attended to. Even the decorating is being done in an enjoyable way. Today - 4 tubs are emptied and placed in their temporary homes around the house. Ahhh, I am loving it.

Now for some fun. It's studio time!! First up -- Clue 2 for the mystery and with it's finish, I am ready for another clue tomorrow. Here is the LINK if you wish to follow the mystery.

I still have some time today and finishing the kits for the party is next. All the squares get pressed and tied into bundles (haha --the ties are the hangers). Next, the only machine sewing on these is to sew two white circles together so I quickly do that 10 times and my tray is looking great. It just needs needles and thread.

One of the rooms I worked on today is the master bedroom. Back in January - WOW - I had started the shams and a small pillow to go with my Christmas Quilt. Today, it is getting stuffed and on the bed.

Ahhh, isn't it lovely? It took me a whole year and Christmas again, to finish these shams and pillows. If you are interested in how the shams came together, here is a LINK from last January. I think this counts as a completed UFO. That's all I have time for today. It's a Mom night up in Irving and Dart is on the way.

8th - It's Friday! Fridays in December mean only one thing. A new clue. It is also the coldest day of the year so far. I sneak out to the studio and started cutting for Clue 3 but Mister wants me back in the house and not freezing. I DO know how to turn on the heat out here, but throw up my hands and say oh, well --- It'll get done later. Here is the LINK for my whole Clue 3 journey -- yes, it takes awhile.

Now that I'm back in the house, I guess I'll continue decorating. There are still quite a few tubs and my new little tree has arrived. I always have a small tree that contains all my dog ear ornaments. Does that sound strange? I'll explain in a minute. The little tree stays in my room but my ornaments have outgrown it so I ordered a new, slightly larger tree and it's here. First, my room receives her holiday treatment. I only own one finished Christmas quilt, so this room still has white.

Now, back to that tree. I put her up in the den and add the dog ear ornaments. Do you see them? Each clear ball holds the dog ears to a previous Bonnie Hunter mystery. I have 12 so far and a new one in the works. My new ornament for the party becomes the tree topper. Perfect.

With a bit more time, I work on the recipe books for the party. It's computer work and lots of typing, but I'm still getting things done and losing track of time. Hey Mister, will you order a pizza for dinner? So much for cooking today.

9th - I have an event today and am not even remotely close to being ready for it. At one point last night, I even considered staying up all night to make a new outfit. Crazy redhead. At any rate, Mister takes me shopping bright and early this morning and voila, problem solved. I have a Red Hat Event event today and you can see all the fun in this Red Hat Post

After the event, Mister and I do some shopping and Chinese food is the dinner for tonight. Still no cooking. How do I lose track of the day so quickly? I think being out and about changes it all though -- we are super late getting home and have been running since 8:00 a.m. Time to relax a bit.

10th - We are shopping like crazy today - there's a party coming up. Tuesday Morning, Dollar Store, Harbor Freight, Tuesday Morning, JoAnn's, Michaels (most of that for party stuff or decorations - well except Harbor Freight - Mister needed to return something). We get through those and then Mister drops me off at Suzanne's Party for a few hours. What a great time and I've never been to Pinot's Palette before and it sure looks like fun - I can't paint AT ALL, but I bet others have a great time here. Yes, there is a LINK to Party Post.

After the party, back to shopping -- Pier One (yay, found a new decoration for the dining room), Penney's, Kohl's, Target, (Mister is on a hunt for a certain cologne for his mother - without luck) and ending with dinner at Lake House. Still no cooking but a lot of errands cranked out today.

11th - It's a baking day!! I do love being in the kitchen. Honest. I do scones and cookies while Mister makes biscotti. At this point I realize how dry it is outside - no humidity - and quick, run -- let's get some peanut brittle made too. The evening caps off with homemade turkey soup. Fun day.

12th - Due to some freak change in Mister's vacation days, we have an extra 5 days to use up. He took one yesterday and today is day 2. Let's do some car shopping and we make a trip up to Frisco for a second look at the Volkswagen. Before making a decision, one more peek at the Subaru should take place and we decide to drive there. On the way, our car starts misbehaving and we wind up at the repair shop. They take us home and that is the end of driving for today. Mister goes out to start cleaning up the leaf mess in the yard and I do some blogging and make shopping lists for Saturday's groceries. What do YOU think? The Volkswagen?

13th - With the arrival of my new pillow covers, the decorating is finally finished and all tubs have been returned to the attic a few days ago. I love the house and if you want a peek at the whole thing, here is a Christmas Spirit in Every Room post. As for the rest of the day - shopping. Several hours of grocery shopping.

14th - Today is kitchen day. I am cooking, baking, and prepping as much as I can for Saturday. A couple of breads get made and I've given you the recipes in these links.

Peanutty Chocolate Banana Bread

Holiday Cherry Eggnog Tea Bread - I have to tell you, this is the most aromatic dough I have ever made. Oh my goodness AND it tastes as good as it smells.

A couple more types of biscotti come from the oven too and I am so thrilled. Mister and I will have tea and biscotti for the rest of the month as we enjoy our time together.

Now, I need to get the recipe notebooks put together for all the ladies on Saturday. It's a cookie exchange and everyone has given me their recipes, thus the massive amount of typing the other day. Mister and I formatted them so they could be printed. He brought them back from work (where Stephannie made all my copies) and now I need to put these books together. It requires me to cut all the recipes to fit in the sleeves and yes, I have a rotary cutter that is paper only. It works slick. Those rulers and mats come into use in many ways.

Next, a front page to put together and that means some fun, creative time. Next year, each person is to bring their notebook back with the front page decorated and I can't wait to see them all. Here's mine. The notebook has a protective cover on the front and this just slides right in. I love it. They are all put together and tied up with bows. One more thing checked off the list.

15th - Clue 4 is released and I haven't touched Clue 3. Well that's a first for me and guess what? I am so cool with it all. My entire is spent day prepping for party and cleaning the house. Jen arrives in the evening and it's off to bed. No pictures today.

16th - Hello Party Day. There is lots of cooking going on and last minute preparations. Thankfully, Jen is here for an extra set of hands and I'd have never pulled this off without my sweetheart in the kitchen. What a truly great day and here's your LINK to all the fun.

17th - After so much focus on MY stuff, today is a day with Mister. I do a bit of morning blogging and then we are off to a movie (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and some fun at Trinity Hall. Dark movie, but good times together.

18th - A bit of blogging in the morning and then off to check out the Subaru. WE BOUGHT IT! I am truly stunned that it happened. We will pick it up tomorrow so they can clean her all up nice and pretty. Wow. This is the one we looked at back in November. I am thrilled. What do you think?

We even follow that up with a trip to Costco where a new monitor for my sweetheart finds it's way into the cart. This IS a crazy day.

19th - It is a CRAZY RAIN day. We've opted not to pick up the car today so that it stays nice and pretty. The Christmas cards are finished and mailed - Blogging is caught up -- Mister braves the weather is goes shopping for cables for his new monitor and a water main breaks near our house. Water is literally bubbling up through the pavement in the street.

20th - Miser is in the office today and it's not as cold out -- I make a beeline for the studio and cut for clues 3 and 4. The house gets cleaned - yes, by me - and then it's time to DART to meet Mister after work and pick up our new baby.

21st -My allotted time in the studio finishes cutting clue #4 and starting to sew Clue #3. Now, because I just don't have enough irons in the fire, I located a ceramic nativity set that I started in 2004. Yep. It is now out and I'm hoping to complete it before the decorations come down mid to late January. This is day one and the bases along with Mary's blue were the only things already painted years ago. Today, more blue and some orange is added.

22nd - Clue 5 releases. Oh my. I am really behind now but still okay with the whole thing. I will give it 1-2 hours a day and see what happens. Mister is working from home today and offers to take a long lunch and go to the Tuba Christmas with me. I do so love it. You can share the moment in this Tubas in the Tunnels post that even includes videos.

Upon our return home, my time in the studio finds 1/2 clue #3 finished and clue #5. Back into the house to work on the nativity (purple and green added) and then for our evening we watch A Christmas Carol while I remove dog ears from my Clue 3 units. It's been another rainy day and I think that's good. So much for drought conditions in North Texas.

23rd - Cleaned the house again. Laundry. I am trying to get as much prepped for Christmas as I can. Everything is wrapped and ready. Music is playing, the lights are on. We are truly just enjoying this time. A little more painting takes place and a couple of the camels get their color. Oh my, there is a LOT of clean up that will need to take place later on these.

24th - Happy Christmas Eve! Mister and I are prepping for tomorrow's dinner, making Chex Mix, baking bread, making Cranberry Shiver, etc. Here are a couple of recipe links for you and some pictures of the finished products. YUM.

Italian Bread LINK

Shiver LINK

And to end our lovely day --- a nice cheeseboard with wine and shared time together. Priceless.

25th - Merry Christmas -

For us, it is a day of peace and love and family. We are truly blessed with the most amazing friends and family any two people could ask for in their lives. May your day be truly a "wonder" as well.

26th - A bit of blogging, working on Clue 4 and trying to trying to stay warm on a cold, drizzly day. Another lost love has been reading, so out came a book today and some time allotted each day to just quiet time with my mind. A truly perfect day after Christmas. No racing, no pressure, no fuss. Leftovers galore.

Oops.

27th - A celebratory shout. My time today has allowed for the finish Clue 4 AND half of half of 5 --- yes, you read that right. Here is your LINK to all that Clue 4 entailed.

Laundry once again under control and I met with Stacy at Rockin' Bobbin to plan some exiting news (well, to me anyway) for 2018. Hold on -- some fun is headed my way. Let's end the day with some quiet reading

28th - Oh yeah!! I'm on a roll and staying to my 1-2 hour limit. I have finished clue 5 -- Woohoo. Oh, you're looking for something? Well, here's your LINK. I DID it, I am current for tomorrow's clue and didn't stress out over it. Something has been learned here.

29th - With the Clue 6 release, I decide to spend my couple of hours first thing in the morning and am soon stopped in my tracks by a lack of fabric. Who knew that in this crazy stash, not another usable bit could be found. Well, I wanted to run some errands anyway and need to stop at Rockin' Bobbin to pick up a project. While there, I find two more fat quarters -- awesome -- these will finish up the clue for me.

While I'm out shopping, I am sticking to my "no new fabric" for 2018 and have a couple of retreat projects coming up that need supplies in addition to a Christmas quilt I want to start as a BOM. That means I need to pick up anything I don't have NOW, before the new year and the fabric fast begins.

Back at the house, I settle in and complete Clue 6. Just like that. Here's your LINK to the fun.

AND -- I have leader/enders back out again. Since I'm current, I can't just use the next clue as this so Nifty Thrifty is back in play and one block is finished.

30th - Bonnie surprises everyone with a new clue today. Mister is sleeping in and I dart out to the studio, returning 45 minutes later to him still snoring away. Press, press, press. Yay. Still caught up. Here is the Rapid Fire Clue 7 post.

31st - It's New Year's Eve and are Ya'll ready? 2018 is coming quick and I am excited for it to be here. This year had some rough spots, for sure, but overall I've been surrounded by some of the most amazing women on the planet. I am so thankful for each moment I am blessed to share with another.

This morning Bonnie has another Rapid Fire Clue and somehow I misunderstood her "short clues, one each day" statement in Clue 7. I mistakenly thought they would be short on time, not words. Silly me. Today we are given 50 blocks to put together. HAHAHAHAHA That's not going to happen so I will be behind once again tomorrow morning. That's just the way I'm rolling these days.

It's blessed cold out today to boot. That means it will take awhile for the studio to warm up so I settle in for some painting time. I have neglected this the last week and need to get back to it. Today's focus is on the animals. The last camel gets filled in along with the cow and donkey, sheep faces and hooves, etc. Tomorrow I will dry brush them and then move on. It'll start coming together quick after that.

Mister has to do some "winter preparedness" to the water pipes in the studio, so it seems like a good time to go sew and put in my hour and a half on the mystery. Getting to work quick, I am soon webbing away on my blocks and manage to complete 10 before time is up. If I can get that many each day, it'll take me less than a week. Sounds like a plan.

I need to get store samples cut for the classes I am teaching next month. The shop picked out the fabric and I think it's so funny that the colors are the same as the mystery -- well, close anyway.

Just a little over an hour in cutting time and I'm ready to sew tomorrow. I had a little glitch in the pattern, but soldiered through and will be saying "please" a lot tomorrow when it comes to quilting this.

Well, that's about it for this month and I guess this year as well. I have finished the yearly posts and the links to them are right here. Non-Quilt Finished Items and 2017 Finished Quilts. I'm ready to call it a night and most likely won't see the new year in. At any rate, Happy New Year to everyone and let's see what all 2018 brings our way.

As always, thank you so very much for checking in with me again this month. I do this for ME and appreciate you so much for peeking in now and then. Since it is for me, I keep it ad free and hope for it to stay that way. It's just a way of holding memories tight. Check back in now and then (or sign up for email notifications and you'll never miss a post) and please check out the link to OUR QUILT BLOGS at the top of the page for many of the quilt groups are starting to restrict the posting of blogs into the groups. If you want to still have a long monthly read and time for your tea, join the group. Thanks for sticking around this long -- I am grateful for everyone who reads each month.

Links to Previous 2017 Monthly Update Posts: