Decorating the Christmas Tree

Last night after my parents settled in from their travel from Nuernberg, my dad unpacked a box of chocolates. This was a special box of chocolates. You see, when he was a boy his parents would always get one of these chocolates boxes and decorate the tree with it. 

So we did the same and had a lot of fun doing so!

After we were done, we settled down and watched the movie that's a must-see during Christmas: "Der kleine Lord"! I don't think that there is a German that has not seen this movie!

Oh, and while we decorated the tree with chocolates and watched tv, Martin filled the stockings!

Can one have too much fun? :-)

Take care,

Me

Christmas Eve

Today was the most beautiful day! 

I woke up with Martin bringing me tea and chocolate Lebkuchen for breakfast in bed.

He actually looks sleepy but he had just gotten in from a walk with Jake!

My parents, Steffi, Pasha and I got dressed and we walked downtown for some last minute shopping. It wasn't bad at all! But that's the joy of living in a small town...

We skipped lunch in favor of our upcoming huge Christmas Eve dinner. Pasha and I spent the afternoon wrapping up presents...

... dancing next to the Christmas tree...

... posing for some photos ...

... and setting the table.

Finally at 18.00 hrs we sat down for dinner and enjoyed a wonderful meal. We had Schnitzel, fish, and potato salad.

And then, finally, the long awaited moment: the "Bescherung"!

Lots of "thank you" kisses and hugs were exchanged!

This was our aftermath!

Now it is 22.42 hrs and my parents and Steffi said good night. Pasha is still playing in her room. I don't have the heart to tell her to get ready for bed. She may play until tomorrow morning for all I care :-)

Martin is watching some political show on Apple TV, and I am writing this post for you to let you be part of our most wonderful day! :-)

I have many more things to tell you like the gift that made a grown man cry, the gift that made everyone first gasp and then laugh, the gift that everyone wishes they would have gotten! We also got a couple of surprise packages in the mail!

But that will have to wait until I can find some more time...

Take care,

Me

Status Update

It is now the 24th of December and I bet you are curious on how much I got done on my to-do list!? I haven't been able to take pictures of all the things I finished but promise to do so a bit later...

First the "done" stuff:

I was able to get the red and black quilt done for my sister! 

I was also able to finish my nephew's green and white quilt!

I also finished my present for Martin, and I finished (and got paid for it!) Pasha's present for him!

I am also able to cross off the stocking stuffers of my list! Yeah!

Now for the hope-to-get-done-soon stuff:

I was able to quilt the grey and burgundy quilt. I also attached the binding but wasn't able to sew it down. I also didn't get to finish the binding on the baby quilt!

But overall, I am quite pleased with my productiveness of 1.5 days. Don't ask how much sleep I got though :-)

Take care,

Me

I have nothing...

... to show you at all! The last 10 days have been super busy! I have been to 4 choir performances! One of them was at the PASS Marshall Center Graduation... the kids did such a wonderful job!...

... another one was the Winter Program at at school...

and two were at the Edelweiss!

We also went to Vienna for three days....

(more pictures are coming!)

We just got home late last night to this:

My has-to-get-done-somehow-before-Christmas list is super long! I still have to sandwich, quilt and bind by hand one twin size top (top of the stack), trim and put the binding on by hand on on a large lap size (bottom of stack) and put the binding on by hand on a baby quilt (middle of the stack). I haven't even pieced the backing yet for the twin size top! I am hoping to find some super large sheets that I could use as a backing. But that means I have to go down town and I really don't feel like it

And I just remembered that I also have to finish my older sisters lap sized quilt!

I have to find a present for my brother. I need to sew up a couple of stocking stuffers or buy stocking stuffers that won't break my wallet in two! I also have to get a B-day present for Steffi! My baby sister is turning 30 on the 28th!

I have to bake some cookies! I also have to sit down with Pasha and assist her in creating Martin's Christmas present! I have to finish one of his as well!  Oh, and did I tell you that I have to get all this done by tomorrow evening? Why you ask? Because I am picking up my parents and my brother that day and they will be with us for 10 days! Yeah!!!!

Am I insane for thinking that I can do this?

Jeez, I am freaking out now just thinking about it... I basically have 1.5 days left to get everything done! 

Maybe we could reschedule Christmas for sometime in January? LOL

Take care,

Me

Ruby Pillow Case

After I cut my fat quarter bundle Ruby into layer cakes and charm packs I still had 5"x1.5" scrap pieces left. I didn't want to toss them away so I sewed up a pillow case for my bed.

This is a fairly quick project. I quilted straight lines on the inside and meandered on the grey "frame". It took me 2.5 hours from start to finish.

I need to make more pillow cases for my bed :-)

What do you do with your scraps?

Take care,

Me

What I am working on now!

I found this tutorial from the Missouri Quilt company.

I had this fat quarter bundle that made me itch to make something. So I cut it up in a couple of layer cakes (10" squares) and follow this tutorial.

This is how far I got:

I love it! Martin thinks it is too scrappy though! What do you think?

I hope to sew it together and maybe even quilt it this week!

Have you started a new quilt yet?

Take care,

Me

Topic of the Day: Mail a.k.a. Review of Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders

 It seems like that “mail” is a wonderful thing today! Since I already showed you what I sent off in the mail today, I thought it would be fun to show you what I got in the mail today. (Talk about perfect timing!)

It’s the new Fabric-by-Fabric One –Yard Wonders! 

I am so excited by it! It is chockfull of wonderful projects! I have already marked the following as must-have's:

Retro Bag by Sue Kim; I love the clean lines and the wonderful pleats. It also looks like it can carry what I use on a daily basis. 

Personalized Garment Bag by Lisa Cox; I need to make a couple for everyone in my family! We all have seasonal clothing that needs to be stored for at least a few months each year.

Hanging Book Display by Katherine Donaldson; I love this! I always pile up my books on my night stand. So I am going to make one (maybe even two!) for myself. I think that this will be my first project that I am going to sew out of this book!

Eight-Bottle Tote by Susan Byrd; What a genius design! And so easy! At least according to the instructions! LOL  I need to make one for my mom and for myself!

Farmers’ market Tote by Michelle Fante; No special reasoning behind it except that I love it! LOL

Pajama Boots by Sue Kim; Pasha showed those type of fleece boots at a store down town. So I know she wants some. Actually if I hurry up I could make those as a stocking stuffer! If I shorten it then it might work for my mom and sisters and even me (I hate cold feet...)! Hmmm, maybe this will be my first project instead since I have fun fleece on hand!

Bunny Pillow by Marlene Gaige; It’s just too cute not to make it!

Last-Minute Tunic by Heidi Massingill; I want one but I am going to add sleeves short ones or maybe even long ones since it’s cold outside!

Speedy Ruffle Scarf by Jenna Lou Odegard; I am a scarf fanatic… enough said!

Cool Season Clutch by Leigh Ann Tennant; It’s a bag that looks pretty! I am a sucker for pretty!

Wave Illusions Pillow by Caroline Sanchez; I don’t love making pleats but I love pleats! Does that make sense?

Of course, it also had some dress up clothes for “tiny” kids. But I don’t have those at home. But I thought that you might want to see a few of them...

The book also has a bunch of things that I really don’t have a use for it right now but I would never say never!

One project that I would definitely have to revise something on though is the Organizer Wallet. One of the materials needed is a magnetic snap! I don’t think that’s very smart though. Don’t banks and other places that give you those credit cards and membership cards tell you to keep your card away from anything magnetic because it messes up the magnetic stripe on the bag? So I would probably use a regular snap or Velcro. But maybe I am wrong about that?

Do you see a couple of projects that you might like?

Take care,

Me

P.S. I can't say how accurate or easy-to-read the instructions are. But I'll let you know as I am sewing them up! :-)