This ornament was one of a series that I made in 1988. I would love to try these again someday. The only thing that I would do differently would be to use some form of stabilizer that could either be dissolved or heated away. That way there wouldn’t be the little threads along the edge.
This ornament was another one that I received in a ornament swap in my quilt group. It was made by Shirley E. and always makes me smile when I look at it!!
Today I was able to finish up the second of projects for the week…..this time a lap quilt for a wedding present. As I mentioned when I showed the beginning of this quilt, it was made from two sets of Bali-Pops.
It is a very simple design using the 2-1/2 inch strips found in the Bali pops. Although I was really excited about these batiks when I purchased them, I found that making a quilt completely of batiks is kind of boring. Having said that, I am pleased with the final results and hope that it will be a blessing to this young couple.
Today I worked on the third of my projects, but it wont be finished for a couple of weeks. I found out this morning that I am going to have to make a trip to Texas to attend a funeral so will be out of the quilting loop for most of next week. Right now I am desperately trying to think of something to take to work on….at times like this I wish that I did more handwork!!!!
Now onto the decoration of the day…….
When I was six years old, I began taking piano lessons from the High School girl who lived next door to me.
I was the first student that she had ever taught and Susan proved to be a wonderful teacher. She gave this little book as a Christmas present the first year that I was with her. It is called “Miss Flora McFlimsey’s Christmas Eve” and was one of Susan’s favorite Christmas books. I have enjoyed it over the years and, as with many of these decorations, I think of her when I set it out.
I have now finished the first of the projects that were on my list for the week. This is the November offering for the British Quilt List calendar challenge. I didn’t finish the October challenge in time to get the instructions, so I had to guess about the technique. Because I was in a hurry, I opted to simply use Wonder-Under to fuse the circles and then to use machine embroidery stitches around the edges.
Now onto the ornament of the day……
I won this ornament in an exchange that our guild had a lot of years ago. It was made by an older woman named Kathryn Hancock and it is very special to me. A few years before she passed away, she bought a UFO of mine at a garage sale. When I asked her WHY in the world she wanted it, she explained that this way she would have something that I made!!
That comment has always stuck with me and seeing this ornament each year gives me a warm and wonderful feeling.
…..Thank you Kathryn and I miss you!!!!…….
I haven’t done much sewing this past week as we had company for a week and have also spent a lot of time decorating the house for Christmas. BUT, all of the decorations are up and I have three free days so am hoping to get a LOT done. Hopefully, you will be seeing new and completed projects in the next week.
I also decided to show a few of my favorite holiday ornaments. This is one of the first ornaments that I ever received…..it was stuck to the top of a box of chocolates that my Dad bought for me when I was a little girl. When I was still at home, it always nestled at the top of our tree and the tradition has continued to today.
Lots to come in the next few days (I hope)…….