Winding Down

We've had a very busy week last week.  The girls had finals and I think I was more nervous than they were.  Now Christmas is soon approaching and I am looking forward to spending time with my family.  We are pretty laid back here in California.  Our families are all out of town so, it's just the Upstills.  We generally stay home for Christmas Day and Boxing Day - preferrably in our pajamas.  We eat, drink, laugh, play Gin and generally just enjoy each other's company.  Jigsaw puzzles are also a holiday pastime that we enjoy.  The girls have their Santa sacks ready for St Nick to deliver them some cool stuff (hey, I know they are 12 & 14, but your never too old for Santa - at least that's what they tell me!)
Merry Christmas to all! 

Days Till...

It's officially 18 days until Christmas and my advent calender is in full swing.  This book is called the 12 Days of Christmas by Nancy Halvorsen of Art to Heart. I loved making this project so much, I made three of them! (I gave two of them away.)  Although you are making thirteen mini quilts, it's a relatively fast project to complete. You can order the stand and buttons online.

My kids get up every morning and change the numbers out for me...they love it.

It's My Birthday Day Today

Well, it's come around again.  Time sure seems to fly when your in your thirties...ok, forties!  I am being well treated today...Jackie is bringing me a Latte this morning AND driving my carpool this morning, then off to lunch with a friend.  I think I'll order dessert.  My Facebook is bombarded with Birthday wishes...love Facebook!

My friends and family always ask me what I want to do for my birthday (and Mother's Day, etc.), my reply is SEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  All I want is to be held up in my sewing room for the day.  This will be a little tricky this year because I have kids and school and the "mom taxi" is still in service at the moment...no worries though, I will get up there and fire my machine up for a little Birthday indulgence!

Cheers!

Good Intentions

I love the idea of having a wool applique project for every holiday. Now, if I could actually finish something before the holiday passed by I would have it made. I love this pattern by Needl' Love. I will probably finish this in a wall hanging for my kitchen.

Thanksgiving is a quiet holiday for us in the Upstill household. (My husband who is British never celebrated Thanksgiving until we met.) Since we don't have family close by, it's just the four of us and we like it low-key. My girls like act of cooking a turkey and sides (they do help), not so much the actual eating of it.

The downside to Thanksgiving is I'm the only one who like pumpkin pie. So, if I go through the trouble of baking one, I'll be the only one eating it...not so good for the waist line.

One year, my husband surprised us with a trip to Disneyland during Thanksgiving and it was AWESOME! It was one of the best Thanksgiving holiday ever!

I hope all of you have a stress-free Thanksgiving this year. Gobble Gobble!

It's Creeping Up on Us

It's that time of the year when the holidays start creeping up on us. There are so many projects that would make awesome gifts for the holidays, but how do you pick? How can you sew them all? Well, I can't. I have to pick and choose carefully which projects I can actually accomplish and give. These are just the projects for family...what about philanthropy? Yikes! How do you approach this subject? I love to hear from you.

A Cozy For My Tea Pot

I bought this polka-dotted teapot (and two mugs) on my first trip to England. Doesn't everybody buy a teapot when they go to England? I love it more for the memories than actually the use of it. I mostly do the drop a bag in the mug type of tea making these days...call it being lazy. But, I've never had a tea cozy for my pot until now. I made this awesome tea cozy from Sue Spargo's pattern. I just love the home decor fabric I found that just happened to match some hand dyed wool I had in my stash. Treat yourself today to a cup of tea!

Here is a cute turkey candle mat. It was fun and fast to make...for me of course. I also made this fall acorn pin cushion (from Bird Brain Designs). It' rather large and I filled it with crushed walnut shells. The crushed walnut shells give it some nice weight and is my preferred method for stuffing pin cushions. You can buy a 10 pound bag for about $10 at the pet store...it called "Lizard Litter" LOL! I've been working on a few wool projects lately. Getting ready for the fall season is always fun! I love holiday projects. How about you? Do you have a favorite holiday you like to make things for?

I Have a High Schooler

I never thought I would see this day, but it has come. My daughter Isabel went to high school this morning. It was bittersweet. I thought I would cry, but apparently, that is very uncool to show any emotion. She got out of the car, I waived, and off she went. I picked her up this afternoon and she had a big smile on her face (unlike the past when she was very short and grumpy to me).

Eli is here to help me with my blog!

Here's a picture of my lazy-bum of a cat "Chloe" sleeping in the front yard after our garage sale.

It's evening and I need to dye some wool for a customer. Tomorrow is another day right? I find that most days go by so fast without any creative output. Setting aside a couple of hours each day would seem like a simple and easy thing to do. But it's not! I really need a 48 hour day.