I'm am really excited for Christmas!  Like over-the-top, giddy, excited.

It's awesome.  And silly.  But mostly awesome.

So, really the anticipation around these parts is at an all time high and I'm looking forward to spending the next few days hanging out with the people I love best.  I'm especially excited that Christmas day we are staying home  - we have planned some yummy meals and the thought of eating too much and staying in my p.j.'s for over 24 hours is really appealing!

If you are celebrating Christmas, I hope you have a magical holiday full of warmth, happiness and maybe a surprise or two.  I'm looking forward to starting the New Year in high spirits and I can't wait to see where it will take me.  I hope you'll join me for the ride.  It wouldn't be the same without all of you.

Cheers to you!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I like making small food gifts at this time of the year.  Last year, I was all about the popcorn - Jennie's maple version and Molly's caramel and peanut stuff. Yum.  This year I opted for gingerbread for friends and neighbors.  I used Jen's recipe and it is super easy and super delicious.  I made the labels in Illustrator and then used one of the Reprodepot designs on card stock as a band.

Fatty and I also exchange culinary gifts with my family.  I put up pickles this summer and saved a jar for each of my brothers and my parents.  Amisha's packaging was my inspiration for those jar lids, although hers are much better looking.  Fatty read about Giada's orangecello in the newspaper and decided that he was going to make that.  He did - yum.  I can't find a link, but it's similar to limoncello, just with oranges instead.  I also made some brioche because really, a jar of pickles isn't that difficult.  I used the recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  It looks delicious (no photos, though) - I'll report back after we taste it.

Do you cook or bake or make food gifts?  What consumables are you giving this year?

You still have time to make a small gift or two.  Really.  I know this because I sat down at the sewing machine yesterday with the bag of scraps at my feet and pieced together this little number in about an hour.  I picked two scraps off the top of the pile and just started adding others in the same color family. I was planning on staying with the blues/greens/golds until I accidentally grabbed a tiny pink-ish scrap.  It was the happy accident that this needed so I added two more pink bits and that ribbon loop for hanging.  Two layers of batting (one insulated, one not), a back and a little quilting - good to go.

I love how freeing improvisational patchwork is.  You just grab fabrics and start sewing.  I need to remind myself of this to battle my tendency to over-think.  I'd like to be less restrained with fabric and design in 2011.

See. Life isn't always so calm.

We had a super busy weekend - a two day swim meet and piano recital plus our company holiday party. Can you say tired? Actually, that doesn't quite cover it. Exhausted is more like it. Sunday night I went to bed at 7:45 p.m. and didn't get up until 6:30 Monday morning. Just shy of 11 hours. Crazy, huh?

Monday was a snow day for the kids.  A pathetic - we had one inch of snow - day.  Considering our weekend, it was nice to have little on the agenda, but it is the last week that the kids are in school before the holiday break.  Losing a day kind of pinched my schedule.  I didn't get to quilting the one handmade gift yesterday.  I did manage to finish the quilting today, but everything shifted a day down the week and tomorrow the stuff on the agenda can't shift.  I found myself agitated and yelling at the kids.  Fatty saw it too - told me I didn't seem myself.  I hate this.

And then I uploaded my photos from the last two days and I saw calm in them.

I made a list, put my laundry away, went through the mail and neatened up the girls' rooms.  Then I walked the dog and celebrated Tuesday with Fatty and a bottle of champagne.  And then came to the understanding that I won't make any other progress on the gift wrapping and card addressing and quilt binding until Thursday.

I'm going to be ok with that.  I've made it 14 days into December without feeling a moment of this stress and that, my friends, is an incredible achievement for me.  So, yes.  I'm ok with a bit a stress because tomorrow the calm returns.  Until then, take care.

******

There are still a handful of camera straps available in my shop.  Orders must be placed by Monday, December 20th in order to arrive by Christmas in the U.S.  You can get 15% off by using the code CALM when you check out.

See. Life isn't always so calm.

We had a super busy weekend - a two day swim meet and piano recital plus our company holiday party. Can you say tired? Actually, that doesn't quite cover it. Exhausted is more like it. Sunday night I went to bed at 7:45 p.m. and didn't get up until 6:30 Monday morning. Just shy of 11 hours. Crazy, huh?

Monday was a snow day for the kids.  A pathetic - we had one inch of snow - day.  Considering our weekend, it was nice to have little on the agenda, but it is the last week that the kids are in school before the holiday break.  Losing a day kind of pinched my schedule.  I didn't get to quilting the one handmade gift yesterday.  I did manage to finish the quilting today, but everything shifted a day down the week and tomorrow the stuff on the agenda can't shift.  I found myself agitated and yelling at the kids.  Fatty saw it too - told me I didn't seem myself.  I hate this.

And then I uploaded my photos from the last two days and I saw calm in them.

I made a list, put my laundry away, went through the mail and neatened up the girls' rooms.  Then I walked the dog and celebrated Tuesday with Fatty and a bottle of champagne.  And then came to the understanding that I won't make any other progress on the gift wrapping and card addressing and quilt binding until Thursday.

I'm going to be ok with that.  I've made it 14 days into December without feeling a moment of this stress and that, my friends, is an incredible achievement for me.  So, yes.  I'm ok with a bit a stress because tomorrow the calm returns.  Until then, take care.

******

There are still a handful of camera straps available in my shop.  Orders must be placed by Monday, December 20th in order to arrive by Christmas in the U.S.  You can get 15% off by using the code CALM when you check out.

The random number generator has spoken.  Fresh Quilting by Malka Dubrawsky goes to:

Congratulations to Sylvia!

Sylvia, please email me at hillroad (at) bellsouth (dot) net with your shipping address!

Thanks to all that entered!

This year, I like December.  That's a new thing.  My goal was to enjoy the holidays and I'm glad my plan is working.  We have a busy weekend ahead, but I'm not anxious or stressed about it or how fast Christmas day is approaching.  The decorating is finished, the shopping mostly done.  I'm exercising, eating well and trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.  I'm only making one gift and, although I haven't finished yet, I've enjoyed working on it and knowing that I can take my time and savor the process.  The holiday cards have been here for weeks, but I won't get to addressing them until Wednesday or so.  And I am ok with that.  To make things even sweeter, there were peonies at Whole Foods today. I splurged and I'm ok with that, too.

There is so much goodness surrounding me.  I am so thankful that I took the steps to slow down and enjoy the season.

So, yes, all is calm.

And all is bright.

Malka Dubrawksy's new book Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design and Inspiration arrived a few days ago and I am so excited to share it with you.  I've been following Malka and her work for a few years and I am always bowled over by the way she uses color and pattern to create beautiful quilted objects.  This book is no exception - it's jam-packed with great projects in bright, crisp colors that all have a modern aesthetic.  It showcases Malka's signature style with projects that are inventive and inspiring.

The book includes a very thorough section on material and tools and another on technique.  These parts are extremely informative and are a great resource for newer quilters and those of us who have more experience, too.  There are also two project sections.  The first one has small patchwork projects for home, family and friends.  In this part, you can find everything from a knitting needle case to a crib bumper and everything in between.  All the projects are fantastic and live up to the book's title.  One of my favorite projects is the mix it up patchwork scarf.  I love how Malka combined different types of fabrics - silks, corduroy, cotton prints - in an interesting pattern.  I can see making this for just about anyone on my list.  Using subdued colors, plaids and stripes would make it great for a man.  I also love the strings attached potholders and trivet.  These projects are great for using up scraps - perfect for anyone like me who has a hard time letting the little leftovers go. 

The second project section includes quilts for wall, bed and baby.  Malka has included a wonderful variety of patterns that use different techniques.  I think one of the strengths of this book is Malka's ability to transform a traditional patchwork pattern into something updated and modern.  I especially love the honeycomb hexagon quilt for this very reason.  Not only is the scale of the hexagons larger than you'd traditionally find, Malka also walks you through how to piece them by machine, not hand.  Awesome.

Malka's fresh approach to quilting and patchwork is inspiring.  Looking through the projects in this book, it is immediately evident that they are all versatile and adaptable to other items.  I really love the look of the whirlygig quilt - it's simple and understated but there is some great play with pattern and color that appeals to me.  Unfortunately, I don't have time to make any kind of quilt at the moment so I took the whirlygig pattern and used it for a potholder instead.

This came together easily and pretty fast.  I pieced the front and then followed the quilting and assembly directions from the strings attached potholders.  All the fabrics came from the scrap bin with the exception of the binding fabric, which is also on the back.  Easy, fun, fresh.  I am sure I'll be making more.

I have one copy of Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design and Inspiration to give away.  If you would like a chance to win it, please leave a comment on this post before 5:00 p.m. EST, Sunday, December 12th.  I'll use the random number generator to choose a winner.

For more information about Malka and her book, visit her blog, A Stitch in Dye, and visit the other stops on her blog tour.

12/6 -  http://www.filminthefridge.com

12/7 -  http://thesillyboodilly.blogspot.com

12/8 -  http://jchandmade.typepad.com

12/9 -  https://houseonhillroad.com

12/10 - http://www.tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com

12/13 - http://blairpeter.typepad.com

12/14 - http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog