Reversible Drawstring Bags

I found this great reversible patchwork bag tutorial at Pink Penguin awhile ago. I love that the bag is totally reversible and it's so fast and easy to make! I used "cheater fabric" for mine, which made it even faster and easier to make. I think I'll be making a few more before Christmas...they will be great for those "hard to wrap" presents!

Blogging Friends Forever Award

Melanie at jellybeanangel awarded me this Blogging Friends Forever Award.

The rules are as follows:

1. 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 dedicated followers
3. 1 new follower to your blog who lives in another part of the world
4. Please link back to the person who gave you this award.

I will give this award to:

1. Julz of Julz Dezign

Julz lives in New Zealand and is a fairly new follower of my blog.

2. Anya at Hills Creek Quilter

Anya is the one who talked me into the idea of starting a blog...without her, I wouldn't have a blog to follow!

3. Barb at *We* Quilt

Barb was one of the first people to comment on my blog and has been a faithful follower from the beginning.

4. Kathy at Creative Urges

Kathy is another one who found my blog early on and has also been a faithful follower.

5. Kutiekare at Quilting With Grace

"Kutiekare" has been following my blog for awhile and always has a kind word to share.

And The Stockings Were Hung

I'm a little slow posting my report for the second half of Judy's quiltathon, but the new grandbaby needed to be snuggled today and a grandmama has to have priorities.
Last year daughter-in-law #2 asked for a tree skirt and stockings for Christmas and I was more than happy to make them for her. I had fabric left over from that project, so I thought that I would make another stocking to match the others for the little cowboy who will be arriving around Christmas time. The pattern that I used is from Eleanor Burns' book Christmas at Bear Paw Ranch, but a similar smaller version is also offered for free online on the Quilt In a Day Free Pattern Page.

Quiltathon Progress Report

Judy Laquidara is hosting a quiltathon this weekend. I fully intended to spend the whole weekend sewing right along with her, but I got sidetracked yesterday by a shopping trip to the mall. I did manage to sew a few more burp cloths last night after I got home. I finished up the ones that I had started for the new grandbaby, made a couple for the holidays and even a couple for the little cowboy who will be here in just a few short weeks!

Let The Holiday Baking Begin!

It's the time of year for some serious cookie baking! It's tradition here to have an assortment of cookies for our annual Christmas eve celebration. I normally bake a batch or two each week starting right after Thanksgiving and put them in the freezer (under lock and key) until Christmas eve. I have a couple of cookie recipes that are only made at Christmas time, but most of them are my regular cookie recipes "dressed up" for the holidays. The cookies shown in the photo are my Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with the only difference being that I used 1 cup of mini chocolate chips instead of a whole package of milk chocolate chips and then as soon as they came out of the oven I pressed a junior mint into the center of the cookie. Mmmmm!

She's Here!

We have been waiting for such a long time, but our little Miss Four was certainly worth the wait! She is absolutely perfect and instantly won the hearts of the whole family. We are truly blessed to have this little one join our family!

Kreativ Blogger Award

Much to my surprise, my blogging friend, Kathy, from Creative Urges has passed the Kreativ Blogger Award on to me! It's quite an honor...thanks Kathy!

The rules of the award are:

1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.

2. Put a link to the person you got the award from in your blog.

3. Nominate 5 blogs.

4. Put links to the blogs.

5. Leave a message for your nominees.

My five nominees are (in no particular order)...

Anya at Hills Creek Quilter

Deb at The Angel and the Pukeko

Barb at *We* Quilt

Karen at Journey of a Quilter

Melanie at jellybeanangel

All of these ladies have wonderful blogs full of inspiration for quilters! Visit their blogs and I guarantee that you will be impressed with their talent.

Dear Jane, I've Missed You!

You all know that my life has been consumed with baby quilts lately and my Dear Jane project has been packed away in the back of the sewing room closet for much too long! Yesterday was the monthly meeting of our Dear Jane group, so I packed up my reproduction fabrics, sewing machine, and my cell phone (in case the stork should call) and spent the day sewing with the other Laurel Janes. It was wonderful to get out for the day with my friends and no, the stork didn't call.

The blocks that I completed yesterday (Shoe Fly, Yankee Puzzle, Log Cabin, and Churn Dash) are not in the original Dear Jane quilt, but I love the classic blocks and have decided to include some favorites in my quilt. The patterns for these blocks (and many others) are included in the Dear Jane software and can be found in the Block Library menu under "Good for Alternate Blocks".

Quick And Easy Burp Cloths

I found this tutorial for Quick and Easy Burp Cloths at Piper's Girls and thought it was a wonderful way to dress up the plain cloth diapers that we normally end up using for burp cloths. I tried the ribbon edging as shown in the tutorial, but the satin ribbon that I had was too slippery and I couldn't get it to line up straight no matter how many pins I used. Instead of ribbon, I sewed a contrasting 2" strip of fabric to each side of the main fabric, folded the edges under and top stitched it to look as if it were ribbon. Then I decided that I didn't like the surged edges of the diaper showing, so I put matching binding on each end to finish it off. I think I'll make a couple more using holiday fabrics and of course I'll have to make some for the little cowboy too!