Just in time

I am posting pics of some of my Christmas decorations. I had intended to get this post up early enough to join some of the link parties. Oh, well. In fact I had intended to post sooner than 6 weeks from the last post. Oh, well. So directly from Halloween to Christmas we go.

This is one of my absolute favourite things I have ever found haunting the crafts gone bad aisle at the thrift store. Don't you love his wire ears -- like old wire coat hangers. With apologies to Joan Crawford I like them. Much of what I did this year I did like last year but some things are different and this is one area that is. The Santa sign was also thrifted. It is stick on letters, not paint, so it gives me hope that I, too, could make a wooden sign.

This is my mantle, or at least one end of it. I decided not to fight garland this year, so omitted it -- remember I am garland impaired. I like the patriotic bear with my own home made vaguely patriotic Santa against the flag background. I already have ideas how to add to this next year. Which I will probably forget by next year.....

Here is the entire mantel. Yes, I have 3 of those bear angels. I just love them. Part of my idea for next year does away with the topiaries. While I love the tins they sit in, topiaries are just not me. I think they will go tinless into the spring neighbourhood garage sale.

Here is the wooden box with its winter lid. I thought the little snowgirl went well with it. The stocking, not so much, but it did fit the space. It, too is a thrifted find. I like it lesss now than when it was purchased. But that's the beauty of thrifting -- it is inexpensive to change your mind!

This is actually quite different from it's usualy look. But I think I like the new look. Yes, another thrifted sign. You can pretty much figure that anything that is painted is thrifted because I have no artistic talent. Painting is definitely not my forte unless it is walls.

A couple of new little Christmas quilts by the front door and tree. My love affair with yellow green is showing.

Also by the front door. I was visiting some blogs via the link parties and one blogger was mentioning that she did not have much in the way of family things because her mother was not a saver. I can sure identify with that. My mother did not value anything old. But these little characters were hers and they go with some I have. She took them to the retirement community she lived in for her last several years so I was able to salvage them when she passed. This is there first visit to this shelf. I think it is a good fit.

This little marble table/stand is under the shelf. It came from my in-laws. They were always making things out of other things and this is one of their creations. My MIL loved this piece of marble -- with its bold colour. I like it too, it just needs to go in a safe place out of traffic because running into those marble corners leaves big bruises!

Since the tree goes by the front door in the dining room, the dining room gets is the main Christmas area. This is on the other side of the room. Don't you love the braided tree skirt? It came from Gooseberry Patch when they still had their catalog of stuff other than cookbooks. I wish they still did as they had so many cute things. It seems like an odd choice in the age of the internet recipe that you would make your business model only cookbooks. But what do I know? Anyway, I think the little tree skirt will stay out and become a table mat somewhere all year.

Also in the dining room, another little shelf.

The top of one of the cabinets Mr THQ built. This is a new little vignette. Both those sleds have been thrifted. They both would have been red but we ran out of red spray paint and it was so old we couldn't match the colour. So one became green. A lucky accident because they look good together paired in the traditional Christmas colours I think. And yes, I should have traded out that quilt for a Christmas one, but didn't think of it until everything was finished and the thought of one more trip of the ladder was a definite non-starter!

The other cabinet he built that sits in the corner of the dining room. Mr THQ gave me the little Coke crate wagon a few Christmas's ago and it is a favourite.

At last we move into the dining room table. I have noticed that lots of the bloggers on the link parties set their table for the holiday meal and then take that picture. I love to set the table so maybe I should do that. But I also love my box, my H O M E blocks, and my little fence. so it is hard to pass up making a new vignette for the table.

I have a baker's rack in the dining area of the kitchen that I don't usually take pics of because it is in front of a window and most of them come out very badly. In fact, the one I took of the higher shelves is just shadows. But this one of the bottom is okay. I changed this up a bit from normal. See that little chest? I was a doll clothes chest from when I was a kid. One of the few things I have. I refinished it years ago. It holds recipe clippings, coupons, little things like that now.

Over the cabinets in the eating area. I really love this little tree. It is really the top from a long gone artificial tree. I like my little gingerbread baking corner, too, although I think next year I will expand it further across the top -- maybe both corners.

Another little tree. Most of the ornaments came from my LQS a nubmer of years back. They all have an old fashioned look to me.

And for the finale a couple of shots of the tree. I took these pics on a really cloudy day because that is all we had for a while, so they are a little dark. I love to fill my tree with lots of things, many hand made (some even hand made by me). Basically no traditional Christmas balls. I like it to be really full, too. but no "kissies." This view is coming down the hall from the laundry room and garage, taken from the kitchen door.

This view is a bit brighter. It's the view from the front door. It is the "front" of the tree to me so it is the side with my favourite ornaments.

Well, that's the tour. Here is the part where I make all the normal promises about getting back to posting on a regular basis. And I mean it, too. Really. The intentions are good. Now maybe the reality will match.

Merry Christmas.

Gaposis

That's what my mother called that open gap between the buttons just in the wrong place on a button up blouse. I never wear button up blouses because of that gap.

So I have been suffering from blog gaposis. It has been awhile. I have the usual excuses -- busy, blah, blah, real life, blah, blah, etc. But I am back, so let's get on with the show. I still have lots of quilt show photos but since I have actually both decorated for fall and Halloween and completed some quilts I thought I would start with me, me, me.

So, let's start with decorations first. I think this little bear came from Avon a number of years ago. The sunflower box top didn't come with the box when I got it but I found it thrifting not to long ago and while it is not an exact fit it won't fall off and covers the box opening. I love the little orange witchy bear -- I have had him for a long time.

At Art in the Park, an annual festival here in Boise a woman always sells lots of little quilts like this one with various shapes. After we first moved here and I saw them I made this copy cat. I have a heart one for Valentine's day, too. This is its first year in this spot and I kind of like it.

Do you always put your holiday decorations in the same places every year? I do on the ones I really like -- in fact I look back at pictures. But some things roam. This little scarecrow always goes right here. I love the witch wooden thing-- I think I found it in the crafts gone bad aisle at Deseret last year and I think this is where I put her last year. I really like her. She stays out in my sewing room all year long.

I don't know if I really like these gourds. Like the colours, but, meh. This is a new spot for them and I am not sure the new scenery improved them.

This area is ordinarily kind of fallish in its look. I like the little white pumpkin against the black.

I have more table runners than I have tables so I just added these to this basket 'o quilts. I certainly have way more quilts than beds, and walls, and shelves, and...

My dining room table. I forgot to get that runner thrown over the chair put away before I took the pic. Oh, well.

Fall mantle.

I've had this little ghost pillow longer than my daughter is old. He is in pretty remarkable shape for hitting his '40's, don't you think? Even still pretty white.

Have done a bit of thrifting during my absence. Not as much as I usually do because, blah, blah, blah, but here is a small sample. Love the Santa pattern. Now if I would just make some of these doll patterns.

As I said, I have some finishes to share. A friend gave me the new Whimsicals panel a few months ago. I didn't want to make a full sized quilt so I made mini quilts from the bits. Here is Krackle Kitty.

I gave this one to the friend who gave me the panel because the poinsettias made me think of her. It ended up in a local quilt shop as a sample for a while. Happy, happy, now I am a quilt shop recognized designer and a published author. :-D No, authorship has nothing to do with quilting but does have something to do with gaposis.

I really like how this one came out.

And I really really like how this one came out. Even if it is basically blue.

So what else have I been working on? I love this back even if it was just a way to make enough of the checkered fabric.

Here is the front. It was a panel and a kit from the Gathering Place in Rupert that I bought at a quilt show a few years ago. And I pretty much used the fabrics that came in the kit.

I made two alike except for the fabric choices. The pattern is by Malka Dubrawsky called Fish Baby Log Cabin. I think I found it on Sew, Baby, Sew, but am not sure. Hers is bigger and in solids but I really liked the concept. I love, love, love how this one came out. Mr THQ likes the chicken fabric.

And here is my fall version. You already saw part of it because it is on my dining room table right this minute being fallish.

Then I have some "modern" quilts, unlike what I normally do. Here is a bright one. I am currently madly in love with chartreuse right now. Thinking back I have always like it I think. When I was in junior high and those huge mohair cable sweaters were in style I saved up baby sitting money and bought one in chartreuse that I wore and wore until it was just a lump of pilled threads.

Not so modern here, I used up fat quarters. I have a fall one like this, too, but it is not quilted yet. Or even pinned. It will have to wait for next year I guess, but this one is ready for Christmas. I like it a lot, too. I looked for all my kind of darkened reds and greens. Lots of Thimbleberries here. I really like the black dots on the ivory background squares. I love it when I love a finished quilt, don't you?

And another modern one. I am showing you the back to prove that you should use no fabric before its time. I have had this VIP print since the late '70's or early '80's. I had it in blue that you have seen on other backs I think (it was in my blue phase) but I have always loved this colour way and it is the perfect back here, don't you think?

This is a colour study from a blog called In Colour Order I think. I had fun using brights. And look at my binding... yup, that green again.

When my daughter still lived at home way back when Mr THQ who did all the laundry used to complain that all our clothes were the same and all blue-green-purple. That's what he said when he saw this quilt. But there is only the tiniest smidgen of blue on it. This is not at all what I usually do but I fell in love with that kind of blue green fabric with the thistles and ended up buying a fat quarter stack of the line. And bonus, it has that green in it.

Well, back with a vengeance, don't you think? Lotsa pictures. I am not going to make a promise I might not keep as to how soon I will be back, but I will be back, that I can promise. Still have lots of quilt show pics to share, some works in progress, and other stuff, but have more traveling coming up and that often gets in the way.

Hope not everyone has given up on me and that you are still out there......

I took a lot of pictures at the Boise show,

now, didn't I? Are you tired of them yet? I hope not. I just need to increase my posting frequency to get them all up.

You might not be able to tell but this is one of those picture tapestries that was incorporated into a quilt. Really cool. Hard to tell in the pics but what a great idea! Especially for those of us who are not applique stars.

I thought this was really a nice quilt. Some details and then the entire thing. I like the colour choices. I even like the butterflies although I am not generally a butterfly fan.

Look at this bottom row. Cute, cute, cute.

And houses, too. I have never made a row by row quilt. I don't know why. I generally like them.

Okay, here is the whole thing.

How about this red work one? It has houses and you know I am a sucker for houses. Oh, chickens, too. I just noticed.

Not sure why I have this photo. Probably because it is a simple scrappy block.

Bright sampler. I really like a couple of the blocks.

I have this pattern, have made the backgrounds, and collected the oranges. I love all of it but the top row. Time to haul it out and make it. I can omit the top row, right? I think I don't like it because it's pretty traditional and the rest of the blocks are a bit whimsical and I love whimsical.

Favourite block, bright colours. What's not to like?

This was the featured quilter. She also owns a shop in a town an hour or so away. She does a lot with folded log cabin. I love the way they look and she sells kits but they are pretty spendy. Need to get to her shop. Her booths are always great at shows. First up is this flag. Really cool I think.

Houses -- at the beach.

I adore this one with the hearts. I love the colours. It was one of those spendy kits. Didn't come home with me.

Another of hers.

More patriotic. I have seen something similar to this in a magazine I think.

Here is a closer view of the center. I always like it when other people use backgrounds that are kind of busy but I never like it when I do it. Weird, huh?

This was last year's raffle quilt but done in different colours. There was one at the Kuna show that you will eventually see, too. I guess I just really like this quilt as I take pics of it every time I see it no matter what the colour way. It's the sunflowers I guess.

I like these tied flower bundles, too. I just could never do the applique even with blanket stitch and fusible. There is so much and so much that is small.

Gotta love the birdhouses.

Well, still more to go but I didn't want to load up too many pics. I will truly try to be back sooner. Just so much to do!