Christmas Memories Part V: A Very Important Date

♫♪ EM EYE SEE ♪♫
See ya later.

♫♪ KAY EE WHY ♪♫
Why? Because we're going to Walt Disney World!

♫♪ EM OH YOU ESS EE ♪♫

Our goal this Christmas was to make memories instead of collecting more stuff. We did a few fun things before Christmas and one of the gifts that was under the tree for LadyBug and Grasshopper was a monogrammed Mickey Mouse silhouette luggage tag for each of them with a note saying that we are going to Walt Disney World. I only finished the tags for the Not-So-Little Bugs in time for Christmas. I finished the four others this week. I used clear tablecloth plastic to make windows on the back to put our information on and we are set to go.

The time has finally come. Reservations have been confirmed. A superfluous supply of Dramamine has been acquired. The bags are almost packed. And we are all beyond excited.

See ya real soon . . .

Today's post brought to you by:

Brag Sheet: 2013

I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands.
Hope I get the chance to travel the world,-
But I don't have any plans.
–Wake Me Up, written by Tim Bergling, Aloe Blacc and Mike Einziger, performed by Avicci

I wasn't going to do a post about all of my 2013 projects because it didn't really seem like there were many. But I've enjoyed the other 2013 posts, so I looked over my index page and was surprised that even though it seemed like slow going, I got a nice bit of sewing done this year.

First are the projects I put together using Pat Bravo's Indie fabric line. I made two Stitchy Kits, designed by Lori Holt {pattern here}. I gave one away and kept one for myself. And I made a folded fabric star and put it on a tote bag. Somehow, Pat sussed me out and invited me to enter her Instagram contest, which I won. I received a half-yard bundle of Carnaby Street as my prize {by the way, I still need a sewcation} and Pat used the photo of my folded fabric star as the header on her Flickr page. The post of the finished fold star tote bag is my most popular post of all time, with 9,822 9,823 9,826 visits to date.

I put together a few other non-quilty things this year: two Christmas ornaments in January, stragglers from Christmas 2012; a Christmas table runner for a lady I know whose birthday is on December 24^th; a new reversible ironing board cover; a Magicka Wizard's robe for Grasshopper's Halloween costume; and two little booklet holders.

Although this has nothing to do with sewing, I was inspired by Shay, who included her travels in her 2013 wrap-up post, and thought I'd throw in our family vacation with a few days at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, a few days at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming and a quick drive-by of Grand Tetons, Wyoming. Fun stuff! More family travel is definitely in our future.

And finally, even though it didn't feel like it, I got a few quilts done; a Drunkard's Path, Ripples, for a friend for her birthday; a 4" square mini for LadyBug's report on Pennsylvania {which is where the Amish live and the Amish are famous for quilting} and which ended up as a quilt for her Guard Lizard, Gilbert; a scrappy baby quilt, Little Boy Blue, for a friend's new baby; a framed Double Wedding Ring, Echoes of Eternity, for a wedding gift in the bride's colors; a zig-zag quilt, Miss Butterfly's Flower Garden, for my niece, Miss Butterfly, to use on her bed; a batik quilt, Sea Glass, for a friend for her birthday; and even though I didn't make the quilt top, I'm counting the quilting I did for P. on her String Ring Dresden as a finish for me as well. At 75" x 95", it is the biggest quilt I've done.

I'm excited for 2014. My goal for this year is not to over commit. I have loads of Ph.D quilts that I want to work on and I've made out a mental list of things I want to work on, but I'm leaving it open to see what inspires me.

Today's post brought to you by:

Christmas Memories Part III: The Piano Guys

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. –Oren Arnold

This year, I wanted to spread the Christmas Season out a little bit and have the focus be on making memories as a family rather than on a huge pile of presents under the tree. Of course, we'll still have presents to open on Christmas morning. But I wanted to spend time on each other this year, too. As part of this we went to we went to The Piano Guys' Christmas concert on Saturday night.

We went out for dinner and then rode the Frontrunner {Utah's commuter rail, which has become a favorite way to travel for us} up to Salt Lake. It was snowy out and seemed a better choice than braving the roads and finding parking once we got there. There was one small hiccup; about half-way there was some sort of incident {word on the street was that someone slipped and hit their head/broke their nose} and we were delayed about 40 minutes. We still made it to Salt Lake in plenty of time for the concert {we just had to skip seeing the lights at Temple Square before} and were in our seats well before the show began.

We learned some fun Piano Guys trivia:
• Steven Sharp Nelson now has 15 cellos and they all have names. He only brought three to the performance; Bruce Lee, his black electric cello {and his white electric cello is named Chuck Norris}, his carbon fiber cello, Carmen Fibre, and his newest "traditional" cello, Marcello, as named by fans over at The Facebook.
• Between the four piano guys {Jon Schmidt – piano, Steven Sharp Nelson – cello, Al Van Der Beek – producer, and Paul Anderson – camera man} they have 16 kids. Steven's four kids are ages eight and under.
• They would like to make a video at all seven Wonders of the World. Their first was on The Great Wall of China. They are scheduled to film in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, at statue of Christ in February.

The Piano Guys is one of our favorite things to enjoy as a family. We love their videos. And their concerts do not disappoint. This is the third time we've been to see them and seeing them on their "home court" definitely has its advantages. When we went to see them in May, Alex Boyé performed Peponi with them and he returned again for this performance. It was amazing. Jon Schmidt's daughter performed again, singing Where Are You Christmas? this time. And part of the American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic performed Beethoven's Five Secrets with them.

Generally, I'm not a fan of fan-recorded videos at a live concert. It just doesn't compare with the quality of a professionally produced video of the same song. And the excitement that the person who recorded it feels at being at the concert doesn't translate. But half-way through Jon Schmidt's mash-up of I Saw Three Ships and Waterfall, I realized that those are the kinds of things that are never going to be produced. When Jon Schmidt invited his father, Werner Schmidt, on stage, I knew this was something I would like to capture. Even if I can't duplicate the feeling of being there, I wanted to share this beautiful performance, which brought the audience to its feet, with you {have I ever mentioned how much I ♥ my iPhone?}.


When we went to see them in May, Steven Sharp Nelson invited his wife, Julie, on stage and together they performed a piece called Ashokan Farewell {many thanks to the fan who captured that moment}. I was hoping that she would be there again to perform with them and when they played A Thousand Years, Steven invited her to join them on the violin.


For their final number, Al Van Der Beek and Paul Anderson joined Jon and Steven on stage to perform Angels We Have Heard on High, followed by What Makes You Beautiful.

We had a wonderful evening and I hope it is a memory that the Not-So-Little Bugs will carry with them for many years.

Mormon Messages: The Reason Behind Christmas

May we all make the journey to Bethlehem in spirit, taking with us a tender, caring heart as a gift to our Savior. –Thomas S. Monson, First Presidency Christmas Devotional, December 2012

A Christmas Carol

For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself. ―Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is a Christmas staple. At this time of year, I always enjoy watching a few of the numerous and varied movies based upon Charles Dickens' beloved work. It is a wonderful story with many lessons to be learned from it.

Recently I discovered that the LDS Church {of which I am a member} has put out an audio production of the original work in full. It has a cast of voice actors and a few sound effects here and there. It has been really fun to listen to while I'm working on my Christmas projects. It is available as a free mp3 download, with no strings attached {no account, login, credit card or personal information required} at The Mormon Channel.

If you're looking for something with a little Christmas Spirit in it, I'd highly recommend checking it out!
A Christmas Carol free mp3 download

Mormon Messages: The Coat

Heber wrapped his thin coat around him and shivered in the cold. It would soon be his birthday, and all he wanted was a warm coat. But they were too poor to buy a coat. Sometimes they went to bed early because there was no fuel to keep the house warm, and sometimes he was hungry because there was not enough food. To earn money, Heber’s mother often worked far into the night, sewing clothes for others.

On Heber’s birthday his mother gave him a beautiful coat made from leftover material. Heber could hardly wait to go outside and feel its warmth.

A few weeks later, Heber saw a boy just his size crying. He was wearing only a sweater, and Heber knew how cold he must be. The boy looked longingly at Heber’s coat. Heber stopped and, almost without thinking, took the coat off and gave it to the boy.

That afternoon Heber’s mother saw him wearing his old coat. She asked, “What have you done with your new coat?” Heber wondered how to tell her. Then he said, “I saw a boy who needed it worse than I did, so I gave it to him.”

“Couldn’t you have given him your old one?” she asked.

Heber looked up at his mother, hoping she would understand, and saw her eyes fill up with tears. He threw his arms around her as she answered her own question. “Of course you couldn’t, Heber,” she said. “Of course, you couldn’t.” –Adapted from “The Coat,” retold by Lucile C. Reading, Children’s Friend, Nov. 1966, p. 5.

A String Ring Dresden Quilt Progress Report

Paralyze resistance with persistence. –Woody Hayes

The ditch quilting is done. The embellishments in the pieced border and black diamonds are finished. I crissed and I crissed and I crissed. Then I procrastinated. Eventually I got around to some crossing. After a little more procrastination I crossed and then crossed some more. And I finally got the straight line quilting finished in P.'s String Ring Dresden. {I PicTapGo_Apped and Instagramed [find me @suchasewandsew] the photo and it's supposed to be all artsy smarsty, but it just looks over-exposed. The original is not much better. It's kind of hard to tell when you've got less than 3" square of photo to go on.}

The red centers in the Dresdens are all crissed and crossed too. All I have left to quilt is something fancy in the Dresden rings. {See, it's a crap shoot with full-size photos that have been PicTapGo_Apped and Instagramed. This one is kind of awesome.}

That fancy pants quilting that remains to be done is at the root of all of the procrastination. It is very intimidating to quilt for another quilter. But as soon as I finish those Dresdens, then I can work on anything I want {read: I have forbidden myself to even think of another project until this one is done}. I have a good idea. Now I just need to put needle to quilt and make it work. And so off I go to my Jolly Holiday Workshop. A little music to quilt by, if you please.


Available for purchase from The Piano Guys or on iTunes.

Christmas Memories Part II: The Nutcracker

When all the toys had been admired, Herr Drosselmeyer reached into his bag one more time and brought out his special gift for Clara. It was a toy soldier, very straight and tall, painted red, black, and gold. He had deep green eyes, a beautiful curled mustache and real silken hair. Best of all, his jaws could be worked to crack nuts to eat. From the first moment she saw him, Clara loved the Nutcracker more than any other present she had received. –story adaptation by Karla Burkitt

In early November LadyBug told me that they were adding a field trip for her class that had not been included on the list at the beginning of the year. When she told me they were going to see The Nutcracker performed by Ballet West, I contacted her teacher right away and asked if they needed any adult chaperons. I've been wanting to take LadyBug to see The Nutcracker for a long time. It is one of my childhood Christmas memories and I wanted to share that with her. For one reason or another I've just never done it, so I was really glad to find that they needed a few parents to come along.

Because this was an extra field trip {presumably because we got rained out at the Renaissance Faire in September, which I look lots of photos of but never posted about}, parent chaperons were asked to provide their own transportation to and from Salt Lake so they could save on the cost of buses and only take one bus for the entire 6^th grade. Last week, LadyBug's teacher contacted me and asked if I would be able to take LadyBug with me. I think she was a little disappointed not to ride on the bus with her friends, but I was really glad to have her company.

We rode the light rail up to Salt Lake and joined LadyBug's class as they were dividing into groups for a quick stop at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. We only had time for the highlights, as determined by our tour guides {and it was wonderful; I'd love to go back} and then we walked around the corner to the Capitol Theater and were ushered into seats on the sixth row on the left side of the theater. I looked on-line and I'm pretty sure tickets for the seats we were in are over $200.

It's been a number of years since I've seen The Nutcracker. Mr. Bug and I went to see it when we were first married at this same theater. Our tickets then were fifth row center, and also a gift. I got a little teary as the curtain went up and though I knew the story, it was magical to see it again. They only performed the first act, which finishes with the Waltz of the Snowflakes and the Pas de Deux by the Snow King and Queen. It was so beautiful! The dancers were amazing and I feel so blessed to have been able to attend with LadyBug.

On our train ride home, I asked LadyBug how she enjoyed the ballet. She answered with a shrug and an, "uh, eh, uh," {think I don't know}. So I tried a different approach. I asked her to use a scale of one to ten, one being meh and ten being totally awesome. Her answer was eight! For the most part, she keeps her feelings to herself. Unless something is totally unmanageable for her and she has a meltdown, I usually have a hard time gauging how she feels. I was really glad that she enjoyed the ballet so much. I then asked her if she would be interested in seeing the whole ballet. She gave her usual shrug and made that non-committal I don't know sound. I tried the scale again; one being not interested at all and ten being super interested and her answer was a seven!

I don't know if we'll make it to see the whole ballet this year. There are several performances {by a different ballet company} close to us in the next two weeks, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to fit it in. I'd really love to, but it might have to be something to put on the calendar for next year. In the meantime, I'll be having Sugar Plum Fairy dreams.

Captain's Log: Stardate 91544.54

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. –Albert Camus

Flashback #1:
Monday, November 11^th, around 4:00 pm. I'm grocery shopping at the local Wal-Marts and Christmas music is playing. This does not put me in a relaxed and happy mood. Nor does it inspire me to spend a little more on the ones I love. It nearly induces a panic attack in the dairy aisle because I have no idea what to get for anyone on my Christmas list and time is running short for inspiration to hit. It also kind of makes me want to cut my ears off and send them and a note that says, "happy ho, ho, ho to you!" to whatever corporate genius thought it would be good idea to start selling Christmas the day after Halloween. I then come to my senses and finish my grocery shopping in a very Grinch-like manner.

Present day:
Tonight was my work Christmas party. I started work at this company 3 years ago, just a few days before the Christmas party. This is the fourth Christmas party I've attended while working for them. Wait. That's not true. I stayed home last year with a migraine. {Sidebar: I had a migraine this year too, but I went anyway.} This was, by far, the best party we've had. We enjoyed lots of amazing food at a local favorite restaurant. Everyone got a small gift {a 16GB USB drive} and then they raffled off some really fun stuff, including $10 lunches on the company, movie pass/restaurant gift card combos, Redbox movie night packages, and a {slightly used} 32" flat-screen TV wired for internet and with a built-in USB port. As awesome as all of those things were, the prize up for grabs when my name was called was eight hours of vacation time. It was exactly what I wanted.

Flashback #2:
Tuesday, November 26^th, around 6:00 pm. I've just finished grocery shopping and have a supply of cold cereal and milk to keep us out of the stores well beyond Black Friday and the mayhem that follows. With the prospects of a nice four-day weekend ahead, the lights on the trees and the decorations on the street posts that the City put up actually make me feel a little cheery and anticipatory of the Christmas season.

Present Day, a few minutes later:
I'm feeling quite festive tonight. I'm really looking forward to our family parties. I love the food and the conversation and the time together. But I still don't really have a clue about what to get my loved ones for Christmas. I'm riding coattails wherever I can. When someone says, "hey, let's go in on this fantastic item for Beloved Family Member X," I say, "You bet. You can count me in." But as far as getting really great brainwaves of my own, well, I'm not.

I don't consider this attitude to be particularly Scroogish. Let me explain why. At our house we already have plenty of stuff. I'm actually more interested in sorting through and paring down the stuff we already have than I am in going out and hunting for the perfect new stuff to give the Not-So-Little Bugs, which I will then have to try to find places to put. Instead of the commercial collecting of stuff, this year I want to focus on the creating of memories. Did I mention I got eight hours of vacation time at the party tonight?

Flashback #3:
Sometime in December in perhaps 1983 or 1984. Maybe it was 1985. I'm not 100% positive. Growing up, we did not have a lot of money. My parents worked hard to make sure that we had what we needed. They stayed out of debt and made a dollar stretch as far as it would go. This particular year, there was a family in our ward {congregation} whose budget was stretched even thinner than my parents'. And so my mom asked us what we would think if she took one of our gifts back and used the money to buy something for this family. We thought it was a great idea. My mom did the shopping and wrapping. On Christmas Eve we crept quietly to their doorstep where we gently placed the packages, rang the doorbell and then ran for the hills.

I do not remember what we gave them. Perhaps pajamas and a toy for each of the kids? I do not remember what I got for Christmas that year, nor do I remember feeling at all deprived because I had one less gift than was originally planned. But I do remember how good it felt to give something to someone who needed it.

Present Day, a little bit after that:
I think perhaps my gift-giving mental block this year stems from the fact that I already have everything I need. I can not think of a single material thing that I need. Mr. Bug and I are happy. We care about each other. We help each other. We have rough spots now and then, but we're on the same team. We have two beautiful children. We have a roof over our heads, clothes to wear and enough to eat. I have enough Ph.D's to keep me stitching for years. I really couldn't ask for much more.

What I want is to make memories with the residents of Bug Cottage. Those eight vacation hours are going to come in handy. I have them earmarked for something special.

My mom continues to help others in need each Christmas season. I don't think there has been a year that has gone by without her donating to Sub-for-Santa or picking a name off the Angel Tree. And I think that maybe a little of that giving spirit is what is missing from my Christmas this year. I've decided that part of my quest for family memories will include some time spent volunteering at the food bank {barring any unforseen age restrictions} this holiday season.

There is still shopping and sewing and crafting to be done. Christmas coming ever closer. Just thinking about everything that needs to happen in such a short amount of time in order to pull it all off this year makes me hyperventilate a little. But I've decided that I'm going let the idea of a "Perfect Christmas" go. I'm going to get done what I can and not worry about the rest. Christmas will come whether or not I send out a hundred Christmas cards and give homemade ornaments to all the neighbors.

At this point, I have two options. I can ride the crazy train for the next two weeks and arrive stressed and stretched so thin that I don't even enjoy it. Or I can see where the Polar Express takes me.

I have a feeling that the second option will be a little more magical.

Christmas Memories Part I: Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

This Christmas we're making memories instead of collecting more stuff that we have to find places for. Oh, I have a few good surprises in store for the big day. There'll be a few pretty good presents under the tree. In the meantime, we're spending time together and spreading the Christmas cheer across the whole month. Our first stop on the 2013 Christmas Memories tour was the Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband Christmas Concert tonight.

If you ever have a chance to see Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, do it. They put on a really great show, despite tonight's reviews from most of the residents at Bug Cottage. Grasshopper maintains that he smiled once, but it was painful. When we asked LadyBug what she though, she said, "eh," even though I saw her clapping along and laughing at their antics. And Mr. Bug said he went for me {sidebar: my enthusiasm embarrasses him at concerts so he gets double points}, but I saw a pretty content smile on his face as he watched. Despite what they say, I know that they all secretly had a good time. As for me, I had an awesome time.

I thought I'd share a little bit of the Christmas Mayhem with you. You can see the band performing live on a local radio station here, but I picked this video to share with you because the sound is a little better and lyrics are actually quite clever.


However you choose to celebrate the season, I hope you're off to a good start!

Random Bits: Christmas Wrap-Up Edition

The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that some day. And me, for example, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies, savvy? So, can you sail under the command of a pirate, or can you not? –Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Calling this a wrap-up post isn't quite accurate since you get pretty much everything about Christmas this year in one post. But I love a good pun, so just go with it.

What I Can Do
In the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about what I can't do. Perhaps there has been some tiny shift in the cosmos that has caused time to speed up, and therefore, I can't get as much done in one day as I used to. Quite possibly, my responsibilities at work have increased and I have 10 to 15 fewer hours each week to work with, depending on the week. Or maybe I just overestimate my abilities. Whatever the case, it seems like there is an awful lot of stuff that I can't do.

I just celebrated my 2-year anniversary at work. Since I started working, I've been struggling with finding the right balance. And I've never actually considered myself as "working." In my head, this has only been a temporary thing. Two years is less temporary than I'd hoped. We have a plan in place, which makes my employment status even more less temporary. But I'd still like to think of it as temporary. What's a couple more years, right?

In the meantime, I'll continue to work on balance. I've been finishing far fewer projects and blogging a lot less than I would like to. And it will probably have to stay that way for a while. LadyBug, Grasshopper and Mr. Bug are my top priority, and that is how it should be. In the mean time, I'm going to focus on what I can do, for and with my family as well as my personal pursuits.

Neighbor Gifts 2012: Felted Wool Ornaments
It is with the "what I can do" mindset that I approached my Christmas crafting this year. I love to give handmade gifts. But there just wasn't time to do something for everyone on my list. So, I focused on what I could do. In our neighborhood, we have a tradition of taking around a little something to each other. Over the years, I've done several different things, but my favorite thing, by far, is to make ornaments. I've been collecting ideas for handmade Christmas ornaments, and have decided that I'm never going to bake and decorate 42 dozen sugar cookies, or mix up 250 servings of minty hot cocoa mix ever again. Granted, making an ornament for each family on my list probably takes the same amount of time, but there are so many fewer dirty dishes that it is worth it.

This year, I didn't get started on my ornament making until the 20^th, but I was determined to get it done. My brother got married on the 15^th and I was trying to get a quilt done for him {still working on that}, as well as make skirts and blouses for LadyBug and me for the wedding. I also had work and laundry and snow shoveling and life to fit in there. And then there was the matter of finding the right felt for the job. I was inspired by the pretty red felted wool ornaments P. made and who graciously shared her pattern, but was going to make due with some cheap acrylic felt. After further consideration, I decided that felted wool was the only way to go, but wasn't sure if I'd be able to find the right wool item to thrift/get enough thrifted wool to make my ornaments so I bought a yard of winter white wool at JoAnn's {thank you 50% off coupon} and felted it. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saved money by buying wool yardage and felting it myself vs. buying felted wool at a quilt shop.

This year, I had 55 families on my list. I know. I'm nuts. Once you make my list, the only way to get off is to move and not leave a forwarding address. As I assessed the situation, I realized that I could not get 55 ornaments done and delivered by the 24^th. A few cuts had to be made. Since our families have the gift of us, I crossed off members of both mine and Mr. Bug's families, reducing the number of ornaments to be made in 3½ days from 55 to 38. Here are 25 of the 36 I finished before Christmas. 11 had already either been hand delivered or mailed out when I took this and I still have two more to make and send out. Obviously, those are going to arrive after all the decorations have been put away. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Yes, I'm feeling the guilt for cutting our family members from the list. But it was what I could do. I'm starting next year's ornaments tomorrow so I don't have to leave anyone off the list.


Christmas Greetings
Not everyone who gets a Christmas card gets an ornament, but everyone who gets an ornament also gets a card. Again, the only way to get off the list is to move and not leave a forwarding address. Even then, I may still track you down. We send out 108 cards this year. I've tried to cut my list, but it is pointless. I don't want anyone to feel left out. That includes you, so I hope you won't mind a virtual card.

The Great iOS Debate: Escalated
Ever since the iPhone came out {in 2007, I believe}, I've wanted one. The problem is, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to pay $80 a month for service. When the iPad came out, I kind of lost interest in the iPhone, because an iPad seemed much more useful. I discussed this at great length several months ago, when the iPhone became available through Virgin Mobile, but the debate was tabled because we needed a new oven.

After Thanksgiving, the prices of the iPhone 4S dropped and I decided that it was time. To tell you how truly busy things have been around here, I've had this awesome new piece of technology in my possession for 2½ weeks now and haven't blogged a peep about it.

As a matter of fact, I've already dropped it hard enough to break it, if it weren't for the OtterBox I got to go with it. You can see the divot on the bottom corner, there.

Apple iPhone 4S, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. OK. I won't. Because if I did, I'd go on and on and on for more than you all would care to read. I'm guessing that a lot of people have already lost interest in this extremely long post and quit reading two subtitles ago. So in the interest of keeping it interesting, or at least from getting more long winded and boring, I'll cut straight to the chase. I love my iPhone SO MUCH that I now want an iPad also. Or maybe an iPad Mini. Or maybe both. It is that awesome.

Christmas Joy
Christmas at Bug Cottage was pretty good this year. Mr. Bug and I had the shopping done by the 19^th and I have enjoyed watching everyone enjoy their presents. As for me, aside from the iPhone, which is part Christmas and part because it was time for a new phone, I think my favorite gift was a Gingher rotary cutter from my Mom. It was unexpected, unnecessary and extravagant. In other words, it was perfect.

I've already put it to use. About 2½ years ago, Shay and I did a fabric exchange. I sent her some random bits of brown and pink fabrics and she sent me a completely awesome layer cake of Sparkle All the Way. Since then, I've been on the look-out for the perfect quilt to put it to use in. I entertained several ideas, but nothing seemed just right. A couple of weeks ago, I was inspired by the Brights Christmas Quilt Amy over at Diary of A Quilter put together. I hopped on over to her Etsy shop to check out the pattern she used, and found an even better fit for the layer cake. I ordered some Remix dots, found a couple of the Sparkle All the Way prints, as well as some prints from a couple other Robert Kaufman Christmas lines, and voilá. I have a complete kit for one fantastic Christmas quilt. For sometime in the future. Don't mock. It's what I can do right now. And it's all cut out for when I finally get around to it.

We Three Kings
I know Christmas was yesterday, but The Piano Guys' awesomeness doesn't have an expiration date.

Mormon Messages: Wise Men Still Seek Him

Precious gifts to the Christ Child
Upon a holy night were once brought.

But wise men today a new thing are taught;

Give unto others as Christ would have you give.

Remember the season

and echo the reason

for His miraculous birth.

Mormon Messages: Christmas Spirit

The Spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul. To catch the real meaning of the Spirit of Christmas we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the Spirit of Christ. –Thomas S. Monson

Mormon Messages: An Unexpected Gift

You and I may cry out, "No one understands. No one knows." But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands. He can reach out, touch, and strengthen us. –David A Bednar

Holly Jolly Christmas: Reprise

Have a holly jolly Christmas

It's the best time of the year

I don't know if there'll be snow

But have a cup of cheer
–Johnny Marks

Yesterday I showed you this cute little table topper that I made for my bowling league Christmas party. It was so fun and easy to put together, so I've written up some super simple instructions and included my holly design.


Here’s what you’ll need:
80 – 1½” squares of red and green fabric; 40 of each color
8½” square of neutral fabric for background
Scraps for holly leaves and berries
15” square of fabric for back
9½” x 17” piece of fabric for binding {makes 2¼”- wide binding}
15” square of batting.

• Appliqué the holly to the background fabric using your favorite method. I used fusible webbing and did raw edge machine appliqué on mine.
• Sew the 1½” squares together into pairs of red and green; alternate colors and make two strips that are 2 squares wide by 8 squares long, and two strips that are 2 squares wide by 12 squares long.
• Sew the 8 x 2 strips of squares onto the left and right sides. Finish the topper by sewing the 12 x 2 strips across the top and bottom.
• Quilt as desired.

One of the things I enjoyed most about making this mini is that I used fabrics from four different people on both sides of the country {shout out to Angie, Iris, P. and Wanda!}. It was fun to think about them as I used the fabric they had sent me. I love how the scrappy border turned out.

The holly design is a composite of things I liked from different images. I liked the shape of the leaves from one image, the cut-outs in the center of the leaves from another, the berries from a third image and the placement from yet a fourth image. There was a little bit of tracing, some free-hand drawing, a circle template and a lot of erasing involved as I pulled the different elements all together to make the perfect holly sprig. To size the holly for the 12" table topper, you can either copy the image and paste it into a Word document or save it to your computer and insert it into a Word document. Then set the size of the image to 8" by 8" and you're done. Or you can download the Holly Jolly Christmas 12" Table Topper PDF, and the image is ready to go. Just remember to print it at original size {make sure the "fit to page" option isn't checked}. If you use my holly, even if it's not for a mini like mine, I'd love to see it! Leave me a link so I can come check out your work!

And what could be more fun than a little music to sew by?

Holly Jolly Christmas

Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves. –Eric Sevareid

I think I mentioned that I joined a bowling league. It's been a lot of fun. Once a quarter, we have a little party. On Halloween, they put on quite a Witches' Feast. This week was the Christmas party. When they reminded us last week about the party and gift exchange {translated: I'd completely forgotten we were having a Christmas party, was surprised it was so early and wasn't even aware that there would be a gift exchange}, the wheels in my brain started turning. I always bring a little something to stitch on by hand between my turns at bowling. And the ladies are always curious. I figured that since I already have sixty-eleven other projects that need finishing ASAP, why not start something new to bring for my gift exchange?

Holly is one of my favorite Christmas images. I even have Christmas "china" with holly on it {and I use the word china lightly because I got them in a box set of 8 place settings at KMart}. Last week before bowling I'd been admiring Lane's appliquéd Christmas quilt. I loved the machine appliqué and the scrappy non-Christmas-print-fabrics-but-still-Christmas-y look. I was going for that same sort of feel and came up with a 12" table topper.

It was really fun to put together. There are eighty - 1" squares in the border. I used 34 different fabrics and three different colors of quilting thread. I tried a little McTavishing in the center. Maybe someday I'll get it right. And I'm not completely happy with how the holly puffed up. I think I maybe stitched too close to the edge of the appliqué and if I'd moved out a teeny bit, it would have looked a little nicer.

The gift exchange was really fun. When you got a strike, you got to pick a gift out of the pile. I bowled a strike my first frame {which was a total fluke and the rest of my game was absolutely rubbish} and got the cutest little wooden nativity magnet set on a stable shaped magnet bard. As it turns out, the woman who brought the gift I got ended up getting my gift too. What funny coincidence .

While I was putting the mini together, I kept thinking of her and hoping she'd get it. She is the cutest lady and I just love her to pieces. She is always the first to come over and see what I'm doing that week and to admire my work. I almost put her name on the tag with the plan to hand it to her under the table and tell her to pretend she drew it out of the pile when she got her strike. But I left it up to chance. Mostly. I probably got us both on the naughty list because when I got there, I told her that she might want to pick what I brought. She winked and told me which one was hers. I'm glad it worked out because there were only a handful of gifts left, mine being one of them, when she got her strike. I'm sure that strategically unattractive gift wrapping had something to do with that. And since I had less than a week to put it all together, I just printed my label instead of doing an embroidered label.

Find tutorial and holly design here.

Today's post brought to you by:

Glad of Heart

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. –Washington Irving

I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas and that you all got everything on your wish list. I've had a very nice few days. I got the last of my Christmas sewing done Saturday afternoong and then headed to my family's party. We ate and exchanged gifts and visited and had a wonderful time. Sunday morning we went to church with my mom, dad, two of my sisters and their families. My sister, my twin-ten-years-younger, played her violin with the choir. She did such a beautiful job and I was so glad I got to go. We finished Christmas off with a relaxing afternoon at home, with the Little Bugs bouncing from gift to gift to gift, enjoying playing with them.

This is my last Christmas table runner.

It is a bit busy, but I absolutely love how it turned out. I quilted each of the hearts a little bit differently. This is the center heart.

Here is the heart on the left

And this is the heart on the right. I love these patchy hearts and am definitely going to use them again.

Here's a closer look at the quilting in the borders. I had so much fun putting this runner together.

I was going to post this on Saturday, but just ran out of time. Getting to the party seemed more important than blogging. So, I hope you'll indulge me in one more Christmas song. I think it is my new all-time favorite.


Today's post brought to you by:

The Christmas Story

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. –Isaiah 9:6

More Pillowcases for Christmas

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. –Charles Dickens

I've got eight more Christmas pillowcases finished! I really liked this green dotted fabric so I made a total of four; three here and one I finished earlier.

These stripey pillowcases make me so happy! The fabric is Quilter's Showcase from JoAnn's and it is a really nice weight and a really great price. I happened to catch them on a 50% off sale, so that made the price even better!

And these pink pillowcases are SO cute!

Click on the button below for instructions to make your own pillowcases.

Fancy Pillowcase PDF
I'm really excited about getting closer to being finished! Hooray! The wrapping will begin shortly, and here's a little something to help with the holiday spirit while we all finish things up.



Today's post brought to you by:

I Must Ask . . . Are You Ready for the Holidays?

Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year — and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority. –W.J. Cameron

I loved hearing about your holiday wish lists! Let me recap.

Shay wants a new car and quilting supplies. Me too! Me too! Make my car red and my quilting supplies plentiful.

Mommarock wants a day at the spa. Sounds heavenly. Can I come too?

Michelle wants a gift that is thoughtful. I know exactly what you mean. Those are the best kind.

P. wants a vacation Alice Cullen style. I'm right there with you!

Mr. Anonymous {a.k.a. my dad} wants his children to be happy, loved, employed and grateful. Thanks dad! I think that's a pretty good wish.

I think my favorite Christmas wish is from my good friend, Jenna, who said: No restraints on my Christmas wish? OK, you asked for it. I would like a check for $100,000 please : ). That would take care of our student debt and buy us the second car that we need! Is that asking too much? No? OK, I'll take a house of my very own to go with that. With a big red bow tied around it! And a wreath on the door? Furnished and decorated by someone who knows what they're doing? This is fun! Ha ha ha, I'm killing myself with an overdose of "dream-on, lady." Heh heh.

As for an ideal Christmas gift that I really could possibly ask for, I would probably love to get a Kindle or something of that sort. But the reason I DON'T want that is because I manage to read about 10 pages per week. Is there anyway to guarantee time to read with a gift like that? (Could I ask for a chef and a maid to move in with us in our new house?)

So what do I want that I could actually use? A gym membership so I could play racquetball again. That would be great! But I'd need that new car to go along with it . . . Doh! I guess I'm kind of hard to buy for this year!

Jenna, if I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a house! {And all those other things too.}

As you might have noticed, I've got Christmas on the brain. How could I not? I love Christmas. I love making and buying thoughtful gifts. I love sharing a bit of myself. But it is less than three days away and I've still got a ton of elfing to do before it gets here. I got a little sidetracked with putting together some ornaments for neighbors and trying to fit in photographing for a tutorial while I finish up one of my gifts. Plus, I work. Sleep has gone out the window, the adrenaline has kicked in and the ideas are flowing.

Early on, I decided to skip sending Christmas cards this year {because it worked so nicely for me last year}, but I very nearly bought some yesterday on clearance because I kind of miss it. I realized that I absolutely don't have time for it and have decided that henceforth I am sending Christmas cards in July. I have a fair amount of sewing still to do, odds and ends to finish up on the shopping and then the wrapping.

Christmas is coming, whether I'm ready or not. So why am I blogging? Because I must ask . . . are you ready for the Holidays?

There's not much space over in my sidebar, so I've given you the key here. Select the number that corresponds with your level of preparedness in the poll and if you're so inclined, leave me a comment telling me how you're doing.

1. Done for months, wrapped and ready to go.
2. Done for weeks, wrapped and ready to go.
3. Done in the last few days, wrapped and ready to go.
4. Mostly done, with a few odds and ends to tie up.
5. Still have a lot of things left and nothing wrapped yet.
6. Started, but going to be staying up for the next 72 hours to get everything together.
7. Got a tiny start, but most of the list to go. Wrapping? Put wrapping paper on the list.
8. Got a list together, but nothing checked off. And don't even talk to me about wrapping.
9. Haven't got a list. Haven't got a clue. I'll pick something up at the 7-Eleven on the way.
10. Bah humbug!

While you put your last minute preparations together, enjoy a little Christmas music. Please note, this is not a political statement. I just really like the song. Collin Raye is one of my favorites.