especially when it comes to blogging.......
Did I have a nice Christmas.........of course!
Have I continued to work on Bonnie's mystery quilt.........yes........a little......
Have I been consumed with work and other commitments.........yes........
I know it has been a while since I blogged when good friends like Kathy of
Kathy's Quilts sends a nice email to see if I am OK. Thanks Kathy!
Yes, yes, yes................all is well........busy, but, well!
As Christmas approached, I had several obligations, not to mention last minute shopping for gifts.
Quilting took somewhat of a backseat......which is rare for me!
The cold weather has had me checking on my chickens and ducks, unfreezing waters and making sure they have the warmth and feed they need. Please understand, I am not complaining about the colder temps. In fact, I am one of the few that love them. Having extreme high and low temperatures here in Missouri help me to appreciate the other seasons even more!
So, here is my photo review of Christmas and what has been going on around here as of late.
These little girls were ready for Santa to visit!
My amazing parents!
I am so very thankful for them!
How on earth did my niece and nephew grow up so quickly?
I love my family!
Mr. Italy prepared the Christmas Eve feast of seafood.
DELICIOUS!
And Dad read the Christmas story to us.
These little girls got some early gifts from
Hannah and Curtis.
Do you know how hard it is to get a good shot
of these little girls opening their stockings? LOL
This was Lilly's first Christmas!
There were several breakdowns not having
Gracie Lu here with us, but, Lilly helped us get through them.
At 40+ years of age, I still look forward
to opening my stocking Christmas morn!
We had a wonderful Christmas Day meal......as usual....
Then it was time to open some presents!
My sister asked me for some soup bowls....
so, I was happy to get her these.....
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
Don't worry, she got her "real" soup bowls from Mom and Dad.
The joke was on my friend Mike from my Mom this year.....
the funny thing is, he actually likes these PJs and wears them now!
LOLOLOL
But, not one to be outdone, Mike gave
this bejeweled fishing hat to my Mom.
LOLOLOLOL
If you know my mother, you know she NEVER
wears a hat on her beautifully coiffed hair! LOL
Mom and Dad opening the gift I made for them.
Sister was helping them hold it up so they can see it.
Remember, this is
"Carolina Chain"
by Bonnie Hunter
in her
"Addicted to Scraps"
book.
Mom and Dad love it!
It looks great on their bed.
What a joy it is to make something
that is appreciated like this.
And, thanks Bonnie for the constant inspirations!
And, my Sister surprised me with this
absolutely beautiful Barn Quilt!
My sister claims NOT to be artistic.....but,
you couldn't prove that by me!
An interesting tid bit, Sis didn't even know that
this was a "Sister's Choice" quilt block.
How appropriate that she chose it for me
for my Barn Quilt!
I can't wait to hang it!
I! LOVE! IT!
And after all of the festivities, this little one was worn
completely out!
Christmas 2017 came and went......
and so did I........
I always fly on New Years Eve for the double time pay
I receive. It is one of the few holidays that I will work.
The rapid fire clues from Bonnie Hunter's
mystery quilt blew right past me!
I was flying during those last clues,
and I haven't caught up yet.
Here is where I am thus far.......
I hope to get the blocks made in the next couple of days.
Then I get to go back and remake Clue #3.
Hopefully these 12" Kai scissors I received for
Christmas will help me slash
Christmas will help me slash
through my scraps in 2018!
I LOVE the heft and........ "shear" manliness
of these monster scissors!
Talk about doing some damage! WOW!
My ladies have been laying throughout this cold snap.
I am not one that believes in forcing hens to lay in cold weather,
but, I also don't believe in letting them freeze to death either.
When temps get below 20*F, the chickens require
additional warmth. Egg laying is a side effect.
What a blessing to have fresh eggs every morning for breakfast!
And thanks to my friend Lori of
I had a nice little "Bunny Chat!"
We were texting each other and I had
the bright idea of giving each other a studio tour
of our sewing space.
One thing led to another, and before long,
we were "Bunny Chatting!"
HILARIOUS!
Thanks for the fun talk Lori!
I hope your Christmas was as wonderful
as mine was? I truly hope you all know
how much I appreciate your friendship!
Here's to a prosperous and productive 2018
in life and in quilting!
Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Keep on Quilting!
Keep on Quilting!
Kevin the Quilter
Happy New Year, Kevin. I always love to see the pictures of your parents and your family. How sweet that your dad read's the Christmas story! Very special.
ReplyDeleteAnd your girls' eggs? HOLY MOLY!!
Glad you and Lori had some fun time together online! Looks hysterical!!
All the best to you... watch those Kai scissors, though! They look pretty dangerous!!
Thanks for the update and all of the great photos. A busy life is a happy life!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Kevin! I enjoy reading your blog! Love seeing the family and quilt pictures!!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear everything is ok around the ranch. The bad weather probably messed up some of your flights. I personally hate to fly because of all the wasted time sitting around, getting to the airport, screening, sitting, waiting and especially being stuffed into small seats (I am 5' 8") and someone puts the seat back or I get smooshed next to a window. I have to buck it up and make reservations to go to the Quilt Festival in Houston in November. Too far to drive from Buffalo, NY. Keep going on the mystery quilt.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear all is well! Love the barn quilt from your sister... and I love her Elf shirt! She's a keeper!
ReplyDeleteThe quilt for your parents looks terrific on their bed! Great gift!
You better be careful with those dangerous looking scissors... they could be a weapon of mass destruction in the quilting room, especially when you're so tired from working too much!
We all know it is a busy time of the year and with your line of work, busier. BUT, glad to hear all is well and that you enjoyed a fantastic family holiday.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. Love the quilt you made for your folks and your sister certainly hit a home run with the barn quilt - perfect pattern to pick! Your eggs are amazing - how do you keep your girls warm in the cold weather? Love the shot of Lily all tuckered out. We have the flu here, so not much of anything is getting done!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a very good Christmas. Love your barn quilt and those major scissors look dangerous in the wrong hands. Mike is guaranteed to be warm this winter with those pj's. They are a hilarious. Your mom and dad look very happy to receive your beautiful quilt and it looks so nice on their bed. So glad your "girls" are happy and still giving you lots of eggs. They are thanking you for such good care.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun!! We all get busy during the holidays, and family always comes before blogging. I envy those fresh eggs!! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year. Like Carole, I envy you the fresh eggs. I used to get eggs at the farmers market, but the vendor sold their farm and moved south and I haven't found a new source.
ReplyDeleteYour barn quilt is great. I don't have a good place to hang one.
LOL on your soup bowl gift to your sister, but since she got some real ones, now you can make her some quilted soup bowl holders.
Thanks for the update. Don't try to take those scissors on the airplane, though.
Pat
Aw, that photo of your quilt on your parents' bed makes me so happy! The very best thing to do with quilts!! Love it!
ReplyDeleteAs always, you put soooo much info into each post, I will have to go back and reread to make sure I didn’t miss anything! Love the quilt for your parents, the gag gifts are a hoot, the girls opening their gifts and all the eggs!! Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. Happy New Year, Kevin!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Kevin!! Wishing you many good times in the Quilt Cave in 2018. Glad to hear that all is well... except for Clue 3 of ORL, apparently!!
ReplyDeleteI like seeing the holiday recap! Looks like Mike and your mama have a good relationship! Too funny!!
ReplyDeleteOnce again Kevin, loved seeing all your photo's of you and your happy friend's and family. You must feel so blessed to have such wonderful people (and animals) share their lives with you. Wishing you a wonderful year filled with more happy and exciting memories and photo's to share to prove it's all true, haha - fly high, but always come back down to earth were you belong :p :)
ReplyDeleteAre you sure those shears aren't for trimming your beard? It looks like you are ready to in the picture LOL. I enjoy reading your posts.
ReplyDeleteChristmas and quality family time...Priceless! Love all you have shared Kevin. Your farm fresh eggs are gorgeous. You are such a good and caring provider keeping the frigid cold bearable and warmer. Blessings of Peace, Love, Joy, Health and Creative Bliss for all of 2018...<3
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Kevin! Looks like you had a fun filled and happy Christmas!!! xo
ReplyDeleteI'm exhausted reading all bout your holiday activities - I need to go take a nap - wink! What a delightful post. So happy to hear that your Christmas was wonderful and packed with special family memories. Happy Quilty New Year!
ReplyDeleteI have an egg question......what determines the color of the egg? Love the variety of eggs you are showing and all those amazing colors. Safe Flying and Happy Sewing
ReplyDeleteYou got a barn quilt!! That is so very cool! My quilting got subdued during Christmas, too, but I've been back at it for a good week now. I've finished the center of my Sapphire Stars and started on the border work today. I'm so excited for it to come off the frame in the near future! My father-in-law is going to love this. I got lucky and found an authentic Vietnam uniform shirt to harvest a binding flange from (his service era, three tours in that war), and I also got a pack of the patches for his retired rank from that era. I'm going to sew one in each of the corners on top of the quilting. It's going to be SO STINKIN' COOL! Thanks for giving us that mystery, Kevin.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to catch up on your holiday! Good times with family warms my heart.
ReplyDeleteThe quilt for your parents is gorgeous--so much scrappy goodness.
Love the barn quilt, and how appropriate that your sis chose Sister's Choice, even though she was oblivious! :)
At first glance I thought you were trimming your beard with those shears, and I thought it was a bit of overkill. LOL
Oh, my goodness, the bunny chat is hilarious!
Don't feel too bad, you are not the only one behind on bloggy stuff over the holidays. I'm still playing catch up from being MIA over the holidays. Looks like you had a wonderful holiday with the family. Looking forward to seeing how your version of On Ringo Lake turned out. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and safe travels!
ReplyDeleteYou are a popular guy! I too am behind on the blogging...busy and issues with getting pics from phone to computer, etc. ugh! Glad you had a good holiday and I love the Carolina Chain!
ReplyDelete