free motion fun

A few more hand-made Christmas gift done! On to the next one!

well i finally finished a WIP for the Joy in the New Year Challenge and here it is - not only is it my first completed WIP for this project, but my first time at free motion quilting - or quilting in general. I have made many quilts, but always handed them off and paid to have them actually quilted. I'm so excited and inspired by this - the possibilities are really endless and i really enjoyed doing it myself. I thought starting with a smaller project and christmas gift were the way to go. The tutorial for this 20x20 pillow can be found here - it was a super fast and fun project with excellent details on the tutorial. Mine came together in about 2-3 days including the quilting. The back is an envelope closing and I just chose a light pink Kona Cotton versus a pattern since the front was so busy - this will help for easy washing also.

Here is an up-close shot of the quilting - i did the 'pebbles' style like the one in the tutorial, but the next one I do I think I'll try the square in square for a more modern feel. I did use a light yellow thread and I think it added the appropriate 'charm' i was looking for. I am very happy with it!

Here are also the pictures from this years Christmas jammies for the boys. I went with flannel pants and an appliqued shirt. I left the edges raw on the shirt as I wanted them to fray after washing!

Austin's jammies (top) Tyler (bottom)

santa is so close...

At the beach Dec. 15th!

I Love the beach!!!!

It's hard to believe that Christmas is just 7 days away when you have 86 degree days at the beach : ) It's been quite the adjustment after living in the midwest with seasons for over 30 years! Your body really gets used to the season changes and my body is saying it's October! But, we love being at the beach in December and being active outside daily and this really is the best time of year here!

I have a lot of handmade xmas gifts 'in-process' including my 2nd annual making of the Christmas jammies for the boys - the pants are almost done and i found the shirts today - i should have a pic up by tomorrow - I think they are going to be awesome! A few other things are done - mum's the word - and the other's should be completed by the end of the weekend.

Next week the baking shall begin....cookies, cheese balls, meatballs, pies, and we got our ham for xmas day yesterday! I'm getting excited! Family rolls in on the 27th for a couple weeks and we can't wait!!!

Tyler's favorite 'surrogate' dog - they have really bonded!

what to eat??