Merry Christmas Eve Eve

We had a little gathering at a local watering hole last evening for the bridge job I am on. There was pizza, nachos, salad, pretzel bites stuff with cheese, and these HUGE tader tots that had cheese and bacon in them. They were so good! Here is my plate with a couple pretzel bites and a cut open tot. I did go back for more!

I received one of the fabulous handmade postcards from Vicki! Here is my collection hung on the top of one of my design walls, so I get to enjoy seeing them all year long.

I also received a package from the Fabric Shack.

I am going to be off work thru January 7th. It will be a nice long break and hopefully I can get some work around the house and some sewing done. I don't have any plans of going anywhere - too much to do at home! Have a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season!

Trying

After work I had to run some errands. Tonight, I have to go to another company Xmas party so that puts a serious dent into what I need to get done. I did go get snacks for Saturday's Christmas event at my house. I found at a great price for a little crock pot so the queso will stay nice and warm.

I was glad the two stores I went to were not crazy busy, but it was dark by the time I got home. I finally put up the ceramic tree. I still need to put the lights up around the window.

When I was cleaning out one of the closets, I found a bag of materials leftover from making sock monkeys many years ago. I have enough stocks to make many more although I have no plans right now to make any. I sorted thru the stuff, pulled out the ribbon, and put everything back into a box.

Snow, rye bread, and card samplers

These days are going by too fast. I had a dentist appointment Monday morning, and it was a rough one. Had to have a crown removed to fix a cavity. The dentist had a heck of a time getting the old crown off. It's all good until I have an issue with the tooth again. There is not much left of the tooth and the next phase would have to be an implant. No more chewing caramels on the left side! LOL!! We did get about 2" of snow Monday night. I took a few pics of the trees in the backyard; they were so pretty.

I stopped at a quilt shop on my way back to work from the dentist. I need a spool of pink thread to alter a pair of pants for someone. They only carried quilting thread - not a spool of sewing thread on site! I did pick up this end of bolt for only $6.00 a yard.

My brother sent me two loaves of that rye bread from California. You can't believe the smell when I opened the box! Yum!

I did get the blue and the green card samplers done. The blue one is for someone who is a big Michigan fan and the green one is for someone who is an Indy car racing fan. Now I just need to get these trimmed and slipped into the cards.  I did include my signature skull; I stitched it over one!  

I think I will save the red ones for next year and try to make more throughout the year so I have a nice stock of them for sending.

I've been busy!

The tutu is made and in the mail. My brother ordered the bells he wanted and after they arrived on Saturday, I sewed those on, boxed everything up and headed to the post office at the grocery store. I am sure my brother will send me a picture of Joie in her tutu and Christmas sweater which I will post for you all to see.

I also made for my brother and SIL a small project bag for charging cords. I use one for my phone cord and my Apple watch charger. My SIL like the idea of it when she saw my cord pouch during my visit.  They measure 8" x 9 1/2".

I also made my SIL two of those pouches I have me making lately. One more small wall hanging gone!

I am still working on finishing up a couple gifts. I had cross stitched these 2 2/4" monogram pieces so I finally got them stuffed. I decided to make a little tassel for each out of the matching floss. I attached them to the project bags, but they could be easily removed and hung on a tree or whatever.

I made another tassel out of the other half of the floss and tied those on the boxy pouches.

Last week I had gathered up some more boxes from work and used them to wrap more of the goofy stuff I have collected for the What-a-palozza and got the Christmas cards ready to mail.

Lastly I cut up another larger wall hanging on Sunday and made 8 more pouches and two scissor pouches. I have a feeling I was going to need more pouches for quick little gifts.

I was told on Saturday by my son that Christmas was going to be at my house on Saturday instead of me going to their house. Then Sunday they would go to his dad's and Monday the in-laws. Well, ok. I now have to refigure the baking schedule and what gets done, gets done; what doesn't, doesn't.

Today's sewing crisis

I got the project bags done finally. They seem a bit bulky to me, but they will hold up to about anything they are stuffed with! I am not sure I will be making to may more of these. My sister says she prefers the vinyl front ones. The ladies that these are for prefer this style.

I needed to get a label on a baby quilt to gift today. The baby is a couple months old, but I didn't find out about her until recently. I need to make some baby quilts while I am off for the holidays. My stash is running very low.

Then my brother called me with today's sewing crisis. He let me know he put a box in the mail for me. I don't know what he is sending me; maybe more rye bread? He then asked me if I could make a Christmas tutu for the dog like the one I made her for Halloween. He said he was out walking Joie, and one of the neighbors asked if she was going to have a Christmas tutu. My brother said it would go nice with her Christmas sweater. On my way home from work I will have to get some tulle and elastic. I found ribbon in my stash and some jingle bells which my brother requested I sew a couple on the tutu. The tutu won't take long to make. I need to get it in the mail as soon as I can so you know what I will be doing tonight! LOL!!

Have a great weekend!

Fun afternoon and an emergency stocking

My friend arrived and we headed out to visit an antique mall. First we stopped for lunch at P F Chang's and then Target to take back the iron I bought on 11/21/23. I plugged the iron in, and it would not heat up. I had saved the box and my receipt so there were no issue taking it back and getting another one. I really like the iron so that is why I got another one. I again saved the box and receipt just in case!

We didn't buy anything at the antique mall. My friend was looking for a mirror and I just looked. We got back to my house and made a stocking for her new son-in-law.

We exchanged Xmas presents. She gave me some homemade cookies,

a beautiful canvas with lavender (I need to find a special place to hang it!)

and an amaryllis bulb that is wearing a Christmas sweater! How about that Wanda! Every amaryllis bulk needs a Christmas sweater!  LOL!!  It is one of those wax bulbs that don't need watering or anything. Now I will have to pick Wanda's brain on how to save the bulb once it flowers and the foliage dies back.

After my friend left about 6 P.M., I turned my attention to the project bags. I am using light gray thread on both so it makes the assembling quicker. The zippers are now top stitched

and I have all the pieces stacked ready for pinning and sewing. I am going to watch the video one more time to make sure I have everything in the correct order. I wrote the directions down, but I would feel better to watch the video one more time.

Cleaning, wrapping, and progress on the project bags

I was running around the house like a crazy person trying to get things more orderly since I am having company today. The bathrooms and the kitchen needed a quick once over and I needed to vacuum the studio. Today is trash and recycle day so all of that got hauled out. I needed to gather up all the boxes I had been collecting for the Xmas What-a-palooza and do something with them. They were taking up a lot of space and were just messy looking. I made room on my big table and started to wrap all the stuff I had been buying for the What-a-palooza. I ran out of brown kraft paper, but I had a roll of black wrapping paper and just switched to that. It doesn't look like much but here is what I got done. This made a big difference and condensed the presents and the boxes into one nice, neat group. I need more boxes and now I know about what sizes to drag home.

I had a few minutes to iron on the fusible fleece for the project bags. This is my first time making this style as I usually make the ones with the vinyl fronts.

I got one zipper installed. With all the practice I have had lately sewing in zippers, it doesn't take me long at all. I think this bag will go together quick.

Two weeks before Xmas and I am scrambling!

I try every year not to get behind on things related to the holidays. This year I have some things in great shape and others I am running to catch up. One item I am running on is getting something together to gift a friend. We are meeting up this week and now I am scrambling! They will get a pint jar of taco seasoning plus the recipes. Then I decided last night to cut up another wall hanging and make a couple pouches in two different sizes. In this picture the navy and orange will be their gift. It's a start. I found a lavender zipper for the other pouch so I went ahead and sewed it together. This pouch is for someone else.

That took a big chunk of the evening along with cooking some dinner and doing a load of laundry. I then went on to stitch a back onto these two smalls. I will stuff them, add a ribbon so they can be tied on to something and add a little tassel to fancy them up a bit. They measure 2 3/4" square. I had cross stitched them earlier this past summer, but hadn't gotten around to finishing them.  Yes, they go with the other items I have been working on. 

This morning I had a few minutes and so I cut the iron-on fleece interfacing for the two project bags that I had cut out this past weekend. Now I just have to get them made!

I hope you all are in better shape than I am!

Weekend sewing

After getting the grocery shopping done I headed to the studio to sew. I ended up working on  cross stitch for a card until noon then finally started on sewing. I finished sewing together the last three boxy pouches.

Next I started cutting fabric for some Christmas presents. I got the fabric quilted and made 8 placemats

Then I quilted some more fabric to make these pouches. From this angle you can't tell that they are two sizes and the one in front will fit into the bigger one.

Made two more boxy pouches

I have fabric cut for project bags out of the same fabric that need to be sewn together. I thought I would have gotten more done.

Boxy pouches and Christmas lunch

After work I got 15 boxy pouches done. I had three more almost done, but I went to bed and finished them this morning. Here are the 15

These two did not get done

Here is the first one I completed and three that I had sitting around so they will go in the bag. So the woman I work with has 21 to pick from. She asked if she could sell the other ones to anyone else in the office that might want one and of course I said yes please!

I will drop off these 14 project bags with the boxy pouches and she can sell those too.

I didn't have time to make sure the waste hit the trash bucket so here is what is waiting for me to clean up. I just keeping it real!

We had the women's Christmas lunch yesterday. I had sushi, edamame, and chocolate mousse cake. Everyone like their pouches and the gifts inside. I received lots and lots of thank yous. We did play a couple games and I won the first one. Here is my prize

I also got a Yeti tumbler handed to me that was from the Operations Department.

Well, it is Friday and I have a full weekend planned, but first I have to get thru today. I am busy at work and this afternoon I have to go to mandatory first aid training - geeze! Really? I do have some sewing projects for gifts I want to get done, I need to address Christmas cards, and I have to get the dishes caught up. I probably will have to hit the grocery store and who know what else I will be getting into. The weather forecast said we could get a nasty storm so it will be a good weekend to stay inside and get something done. Have a great weekend!

Pouch progress and emergency sewing

I got the seams zig zagged last evening.

I had to switch to the emergency sewing project. One of the ladies I work with has a elderly mother with Demetia. She has a favorite bathrobe and will not wear the new one. Her bathrobe needed multiple repairs. I have repaired it before. The fabric is in perfect shape; it is the thread that is detearating. The hem had mostly fallen out, the facing thread was completely gone, the piped edging was coming apart, the one sleeve seam was coming apart, etc.

I fixed everything and resewed every seam so it will not be coming apart any time soon. It took me two hours. I know her mom is unsettled without her robe in the evenings, so this way she will have been without it only one evening. I will get back to the pouches tonight to see how many I can get done so I can drop them off at the home office tomorrow.

I also gathered up some can goods for a food drive and packaged up the excess marigold and coneflower seeds to give to a guy at work for his chickens.