Monday, December 20, 2010

FIVE DAYS TO CHRISTMAS - yes, I am yelling!



Hasn't this year zipped right by? I'm almost ready for Christmas. The presents are made or bought ... most are wrapped ... the pile to go to Portland is gathered. Of course, there are a few last minute things I'd love to get - but the winter storm has settled in on us and we're not even leaving the condo, so much for a 'quick' trip to JoAnn's!! And, of course, the nearest JoAnn's is 2+ hours away!!

A quick trip into the grocery store to get one more bag of kisses and I'll make another batch of peanut butter kiss cookies to take up the the family. I made a batch last week and discovered "help" from a DH is different "help" from my girlfriend G!! DH unwrapped all the kisses ... that is help ... but then left for the golf course! Leaving me alone with the unwrapped, ready to pop in your mouth, kisses!! He was supposed to stand guard!! G always did!! We delivered those cookies to our favorite haunts - the swimming pool, Matties Pancake house and Poncho's Mexican. It was fun to give them the box and watch the staff 'sneak' by to get another and another!! They ARE good!

After the last of my Christmas presents were done - [yep, I'm bragging!! It doesn't happen that often - gotta celebrate!] - Last year I made a selvedge-used quilt for the shop-hop challenge and loved the look. I'd been saving selvedges for years and I wanted to make my notebook cover with them. I used a Sisters Quilt Show panel for the inside and started sewing on the selvedges.



What a mess that can make!! Piles of 'with words' and 'without words' everywhere! But very addicting! I even used selvedge for the binding! But I practiced putting that on to determine how wide to cut it [1 inch]! And I'm happy to announce that the notebook fit in with a skooch to spare!




Last year - I made notebook covers and had to go out to buy new notebooks to use in them - cuz the designated notebook would not squeeze into them! Don't want to relive that mess - so I have a hard time cutting it close!

After finishing the notebook cover - I had the fever!! So I started making 6" string blocks with them. Very addicting!! I found out last year that you don't have to have a seam allowance with selvedges. You just lay them flat, right side up, on the foundation and be sure to sew the selvedge edge over the last raw edge!


And when you 'just miss' catching the raw edge - sew it again with an embroidery stitch to catch it in place! And move on!! It was so much fun - I already have a wall-quilt in mind for these. Just what I needed - another UFO for next year's list!!



Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas. And a Quilt-y New Year!!

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