Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post about their favorite gifts.   As I was reading the comments, memories of many of those same gifts came flooding back to me.  Some were gifts that I got, some were gifts that siblings or cousins got.  Either way, it brought back lots of fun memories. 

Today the topic of the day is a Christmas Tree story. 

I have been wracking my brain for a good tree story and there is only one that I can think of.  I’ve been trying to come up with another one to share, because if I tell this one, it will embarrass one of my siblings.  But, since I can’t come up with anything else, I will tell the story and leave out the name of which sibling to protect the guilty party.

Our Christmas tree was always set up in the far corner of the living room.  One day my Grandma Visser was over and she and my mom were sitting in the living room visiting.   They heard a rustling noise coming from behind the Christmas tree, followed by the sound of tinkling ornaments as the tree crashed into the center of the living room.  Behind the tree hid a certain little brother or sister of mine, with a red face and pained expression.  Can you guess what my sibling was doing?  What do little kids usually do when they hide?  Did I mention this kid was still in diapers?  I think you get the idea.  There were ornaments and tinsel scattered across the living room, in addition to scaring the bejeebers out of Grandma.  After getting over being startled, Mom and Grandma had a good laugh over it.  I still think it’s funny too -  So any guesses who it was?   You have a fifty/fifty chance at guessing . . . . .

Our featured blogger of the day is the very talented Pat Sloan.  I’m sure many of you already follow her blog, but just in case, here is the link to head on over to her blog to see what she has in store for you today!  Make sure to leave a comment on her blog to be eligible for the Grand Prizes!  The  hop on over to the other blogs on the hop to read their tree stories.  Here are the links:

  Gudrun from GE Designs,  Sandy from Pieces from my Heart,  Terry from Atkinson Designs,  Pat from Pat Sloan and Co,  Pam from Pam Kitty Morning,  Kari from New Leaf Stitches,  Terri from Whimsicals,  Sherri from This and That Pattern Co,   Carrie from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co,  Roseann from Rosebud’s Cottage and  Linda Lum DeBono

Today is day 3 of our Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop and our featured designer of the day is Terry Atkinson from Atkinson Designs.  She’s another MN gal, but is well known all over for her quilting designs!   Be sure to visit her blog today for a fun project.

In addition to Terry’s project, each of the designers will be sharing about our favorite Christmas gifts.  I was at my Mom’s house the other day, looking through old photo albums in the hopes that I would find some pictures of me opening gifts on Christmas.  I was hoping it would help me remember what my favorite Christmas gift was!  I told Mom I have lots of memories of Christmas, just no specific ones of gifts.  My Aunt Lynn happened to be visiting and she remembered right away what my favorite Christmas gift was – my shopping cart.

I still have it in a closet in the basement, but I happened to find a picture of this one on Ebay that was in a little better shape.  My shopping cart has strapping tape holding the handle in place!  Turns out I could get fifty bucks for it on Ebay – but not in a million years would I sell this favorite gift!  – Even though it is a little small for me.

My Aunt Lynn is known as the family historian.  She remembers everything!  In fact, my husband has nicknamed her the family oracle.  She remembers how excited I was about this gift.  She also remembers me telling everyone, “My name is Headder Modo and just wub my sopping cart.”  I hope I spelled that right, but you get the idea.  My great grandma Anka had that kind of memory also (You can read about her here), and I always wished I had that kind of memory too.  Thank goodness we have Aunt Lynn to fall back on!

The only other specific gift I remember getting was a stereo.  It wasn’t just a little boom box – it was a dual tape player, 5 disc changer, radio with 3-foot tall 100 watt speaker kind of stereo.  It was the year I turned 18 (which is part of the reason I remember it) and it was a combination birthday, christmas, and graduation gift.  I also chipped some of my savings to pay the rest.  I still can’t believe my parents helped buy me this.   I wasn’t the type to listen to anything peaceful or classical.  I also didn’t listen to anything soft or quiet.  Plus I had to turn it up even louder to hear it over my sewing machine or my quilting machine.  I loved it and got many, many hours of use out of it!   My poor family . . . . had to put up with that for a few years until I moved out.

Do you have a favorite Christmas gift?  Or possibly a family historian you can talk to?

Today is day 2 of the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop.   If you missed the kick off of the blog hop, just scroll down to yesterday’s post to read how it all works.  Today Sandy Gervais from Pieces from my Heart is our featured designer.  Be sure to stop by her blog to see what she is sharing with you today.  For those of you who don’t know Sandy,  she has been in the business for quite a while, has designed tons of patterns, and does wonderful fabric lines for Moda fabrics.  I have designed many of my own patterns around her fabric lines and I am anxiously awaiting her next line. 

She always has one of the most creative booths at market too – Check out this picture from this past market -

(pictures taken from Sandy’s Blog)

In addition to the project that Sandy is sharing with you today, the rest of the bloggers on the blog hop will be sharing a favorite holiday recipe with you.  There are so many good holiday recipes out there, that it was hard to pick – but since we are all quilters, I decided to share two recipes that I would make if I was having my hand-stitching group over in the month of December. 

The first is my MIL’s recipe for Christmas Tea.  It’s so good that I start making it a month early!

Start by brewing 6 tea bags in 1 quart of boiling water.  Set aside.

Simmer Together:

3/4 cup brown sugar

4 orange slices with whole cloves

4 cinnamon sticks

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 cups cranapple juice

Combine tea and spiced juice.  Serve warm.

For dessert I would serve this Peppermint Dazzle Dessert:

First Layer:  Mix 2 c. graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup butter.  Spread in 9 x 13 pan and set aside.

Second Layer:  Cream together :

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. butter

 5 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

3 beaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Beat until smooth, then cool until firm.  Spread over graham cracker crust.

Last Layer: 

Whip 1 pint whipping cream

Mix in 2 1/2 c. miniature marshmallows and 1 tsp vanilla

Spread over chocolate mixture and garnish with 8 crushed peppermint sticks.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.

I wish I had a picture of this dessert, as it looks pretty and festive!  Suddenly I’m craving something sweet . . . .

 Be sure to hit up the other blogs on the hop for more fun holiday recipes!

Welcome to the first day of the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop! 

Just in case you have missed it, here’s another explanation of how this works – 12 designers from across the county have teamed up to bring you 12 days of Christmas Blog Hopping.  Each day a designer will be sharing a small christmas project for you to make, just in time for the holidays.  In addition to the free pattern, many designers will also be sharing a chance at a prize with their readers that day.  We will also have a drawing for a few grand prizes for bloggers that comment on each blog.  Each day will have a topic that we will share about, such as a favorite christmas gift or recipe.  It will be lots of fun for everyone, so spread the word! 

Here is the list of participating designers and the day they will be featured:

November 9th:  Gudrun from GE Designs

Nov 10th:  Sandy from Pieces from my Heart

Nov 11th:  Terry from Atkinson Designs

Nov 12th: Pat from Pat Sloan and Co

Nov 13th:  ME!

Nov 14th:  Pam from Pam Kitty Morning

Nov 15th:  Kari from New Leaf Stitches

Nov 16th:  Terri from Whimsicals

Nov 17th:  Sherri from This and That Pattern Co

Nov 18th:  Carrie from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co

Nov 19th:  Roseann from Rosebud’s Cottage

Nov 20th:  Linda Lum DeBono

Today is Gudrun’s day to be the feature designer, so be sure to stop at her blog to see what she has designed especially for the blog hop!  In fact, while you are over there, be sure to thank her for all the work she had done in planning this blog hop.  If you haven’t already met Gudrun, used to own a quilt shop in Iceland, but is now a fabric and pattern designer living in Minnesota.  She is well known for her quilt-as-you-go  and strip pattern series, so be sure to check it out!

Today is also the day that the other designers will be sharing some favorite Holiday memories.

There are so many – where do I begin?

When you are little, it’s all about the presents -

 Sometimes it’s just as much fun to play in the wrapping paper, as it is to play with the presents!

It’s also about getting together as a family.  I have lots of memories of us all squeezing in around the tree at Grandma Bea’s house.  There were so many people, it was hard to find a place to sit  (still is).   We would always read the Christmas story, eat, say our Christmas pieces, eat some more, open presents, eat again, play games, and of course, eat some more.  I would look forward to it every year.

As a kid, I remember that the year seemed so long.  It took FOREVER for Christmas to come along again and I spent the whole year waiting for it.  I think part of the reason that it felt so long was that my birthday is 5 days before Christmas.  That meant twice as many presents, all at once, and nothing exciting happening the rest of the year.  The year no longer drags on like it used to, though getting together for the holidays is still just as much fun.

Another favorite holiday memory of mine is that people send out holiday cards with pictures of their families.  It’s so fun to receive them every year and then later, to go back and look through them and see how people have changed.  It’s also a chance to keep in touch with people that you may not get a chance to see every year.  We actually just took our family picture a couple weeks ago . . . which got me thinking about this.  So, from our family to yours -

Happy Holidays {a little early}!

I’m posting this a little late today, as I have been gone teaching all weekend.  I just got in the door, and went straight to the computer so I could announce the lucky winner!  We hope you all enjoyed looking through our baby pictures!  I have to say the contest was a lot harder than I thought it would be!

This is the designer that I featured on my blog:

And here she is today!

That means if you guessed Linda Lum DeBono, you were right! 

That also means that there were about 300 correct guesses, which kinda brought down your chances of winning the Wildflowers fat quaters . . . . I guess that just means you will have an excuse to go visit your local quilt shop!

The lucky winner is: (selected randomly)

Rene’ of www.renecreates.blogspot.com 

Please drop me an e-mail with your shipping address!

(hmulder@wecnet.com).

Speaking of cute babies, I have a new one to share with you today!  My sister and her husband welcomed a new addition to the family last Thursday – His name is Ethan and he looks just like his Daddy!

He arrived at 11:59 on 11-5-09, 

at 7 lbs, 7 oz and 21 1/2″ long,

and with a full head of dark hair.

Here is “Efan” with his big sister

Last one – of his cute wrinkled brow.

Congrats to my Sister and BIL on the new addition to the family!!

Se sure to stop in tommorow for day one of the blog hop . . . . . .

Welcome Blog Hoppers!   Today is the kick-off for the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop.  We are starting off with a little contest and this is your chance to get to know the designers on the blog hop a little better.  Each of us will be showing a picture of one of the other bloggers from the hop.  If you would like to venture a guess, just leave me a comment.   Now we aren’t giving you a current picture - that would be way to easy!  We will be showing you our baby pictures.

Oooooh, Aaaaah.   Isn’t she a cutie?!? 

 Let me know who you think it is, but just in case you need a little extra enticement to venture a guess, I’m awarding a prize that will be chosen from among the winning guesses.  You have until Saturday to enter your guess and the winner will be announced on Sunday.  So, if you like these colors and you like fabric, you might want to comment. 

 Some of you who follow my blog regularly may recognize these fabrics.  They are from my collection Wildflowers, which will be in stored the end of December.  I just received this on Monday:

It’s my sample yardage!  Otherwise known as an early christmas present for me.  Now it’s just my sample yardage, so I only have a limited amount.  I am going to part with 8 of my favorite fat quarters for the lucky winner (the favorites being the ones in the first picture).

So, enter your guess, and then continue on to the rest of the stops along the blog hop.  They are:

November 9th:  Gudrun from GE Designs

Nov 10th:  Sandy from Pieces from my Heart

Nov 11th:  Terry from Atkinson Designs

Nov 12th: Pat from Pat Sloan and Co

Nov 13th:  ME!

Nov 14th:  Pam from Pam Kitty Morning

Nov 15th:  Kari from New Leaf Stitches

Nov 16th:  Terri from Whimsicals

Nov 17th:  Sherri from This and That Pattern Co

Nov 18th:  Carrie from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co

Nov 19th:  Roseann from Rosebud’s Cottage

Nov 20th:  Linda Lum DeBono

(Please note that the dates listed are the days that each designer will feature a free pattern/design for you!)

{Yum!}

Here in Minnesota, fall is just wrapping up.  I can’t believe it’s over already . . .  it seems the older I get, the faster it flies by.  I’m in my thirties now, so by the time I’m fifty, how fast will it fly by then?  More importantly, can anybody tell me why this happens? 

While you ponder that, I have some news that may brighten your day – another blog hop!!!  This past summer I participated in the Minnesota Blog Hop, organized by Gudrun Erla of GE Designs.  We had lots of fun and our readers really enjoyed it.  Gudrun has gotten another group of bloggers together for the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop.  Half of the designers are from Minnesota, and the other half from around the country.  So, if you didn’t get to go on a vacation this year, here is your chance to visit several quilters around the country for a mini vacation. 

Here is the list of participating designers and the day they will be featured:

November 9th:  Gudrun from GE Designs

Nov 10th:  Sandy from Pieces from my Heart

Nov 11th:  Terry from Atkinson Designs

Nov 12th: Pat from Pat Sloan and Co

Nov 13th:  ME!

Nov 14th:  Pam from Pam Kitty Morning

Nov 15th:  Kari from New Leaf Stitches

Nov 16th:  Terri from Whimsicals

Nov 17th:  Sherri from This and That Pattern Co

Nov 18th:  Carrie from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co

Nov 19th:  Roseann from Rosebud’s Cottage

Nov 20th:  Linda Lum DeBono

Each day a designer will be sharing a small christmas project for you to make, just in time for the holidays.  In addition to a free pattern, many designers will also be sharing a prize with their readers that day.  We will also have prizes for a few winners that comment on each blog on the day they are featuring their free pattern.  Each day will have a topic that we will share about, such as a favorite christmas gift or recipe.  It will be lots of fun for everyone, so spread the word! 

To kick off the blog hop, we will be having a contest!  Stop by each of the blogs this Wednesday to participate.  We will all be posting a baby picture of another designer.  You will have until Saturday to guess which picture goes with which designer!

The weekend and week have just flown by.   I mentioned in my last post that I was going to my Mom’s to make some homemade goodies with apples.  My sister and her daughter and my sister-in-law and her kids joined us for the day.  We ended up making 50 pies, 14 small apple crisps and 14 containers of apple sauce.  I went pretty good, even with the 3 little ones.  This is just a little bit of what we did.

This little gal was distracted with color crayons (tolor tans)

This little guy was distracted with Thomas and Rosie the trains (though we did find a few pies with little finger holes)

This little guy played in his whatchamadohicky (I can’t remember what it’s called!)

And this little gal helped all day long!  She was such a trooper.  She’s wearing her apron that Grandma made her and using the small rolling-pin that Grandma got her for the occasion.

And this little piggie cried wee,wee,wee all the way home.

Oops.  Wrong story. 

We ended up with apple juice, apple pie filling, and flour on everything.  I had to scrub the floor 3 times just to dissolve all the apple sticky.  But, it will all be worth it later this winter when I can pull a pie out of the freezer and have a good dessert with no work!

I have spent the rest of the week working on a new bag pattern and a new book, both to be released in a few months.  I also cleaned out my studio.  It’s been a year since I’ve reorganized and picked up the piles of fabric everywhere.  I’m having a retreat next weekend and I wanted to have this done by then (more on the retreat later). 

The other fun thing that I have been working on is a new fabric line.  I’ve teamed up with my Mom again, to work on a line due out next spring.  The last line we did together was Rebel Roses, and we enjoyed working together (at least I did).  It’s always great to have someone to bounce ideas off of.   I can’t show you too much yet, but here is a sneak peek at the fun, spring colors we are using.  We haven’t named the fabric line yet, but we are always open to suggestions!  It’s going to be mostly florals, with a fresh, playful feel.

(By the way, this picture is before I cleaned my studio!)

This is part of the main floral print.  I love how this angle shows the textures.

I’ll share more about the line as soon as I can, so I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going. 

While working on this line, I discovered a new favorite thing – small paint samples!

I used to use paints from the art department, but the colors were never very good.  I would end up spending hours mixing colors to come up with something that you would actually use in your home.  Now places like Home Depo and Sherwin Williams are selling small containers of paint, allowing you to buy just enough to paint a sample on your wall to test out the color.  I found they worked great for painting this fabric line.  I found lots of decorator colors, in just the amount I needed.  I think this may be the next thing I start collecting.  I’m sure no one else is going to get as excited as me over this – but I just had to share!

Well, I’m back and hopefully in a better mood than my last post!  It was funny to read all of your comments – Either people totally understood me being mad about the snow, or they thought I was totally lucky to get snow!  I really do enjoy all of the seasons here in Minnesota, I just prefer winter to start in December, not October.  It makes a long winter that much longer.  The snow passed and was replaced with a week of rain and gloomy weather.  Today is looking up though, as it’s supposed to be sixty and sunny.  I can hardly wait!  All that gloomy weather put me in the mood to knit and I finished the sweater that I was working on in my last post.

I was happily surprised that it fit so well.  So often I spend so much time on a project that I find out later doesn’t fit that well.  Then the question is to rip it out and alter it, or just wear it as it.  I have to say, I love the fact that my quilting doesn’t have to fit anybody.  It makes things so much easier!   In this case, I altered the pattern a bit ahead of time, in an effort to try to get it to fit me better.  The pattern is supposed to increase for the bust line and have 10 leaf repeats around the neck.  I ended up with 9 repeats and the gamble paid off – it fits in the hips and bust!

(Please disregard my expression in this picture – Joel wasn’t home to help take the pictures, so I had my camera perched precariously on top of a stack of books and used my remote control switch-thingy to snap the pictures.)

I just love the neck line of this sweater.  It’s really quite easy to do.  I was a little leery of all the bobbles though.  I usually avoid bobbles, as they have kind of a  . . . . well . . . . how shall I say this . . . . nippular look to them  - especially when there is just one here and there.  I think having a cluster of them together helped.

I highly recommend this pattern to anyone.  It’s really quick and easy, and has some fun details.  I found it in the Debbie Bliss knitting magazine - spring/summer ‘09 issue.  The pattern is called Yoke Detail pullover and the yarn is used is called Birch, Loop-d-Lopp by Tahki Charles.  It’s a combination of cotton and silk and has a slightly tweedy look to it.  It blocked beautifully and got rid of any unevenness in my knitting.

Well, I’m off to go out and enjoy the nice weather we are supposed to have for today.  As I said, Joel is gone for the weekend hunting, so I am going to do a few girl things – I might go shopping for some new shoes, then I’m going to head over to Mom’s to make some yummy things with apples, followed by a movie and games with my nieces and nephews.  Sounds like way too much fun for one day, so I better get going.  Hope you enjoy your weekend too! 

Can you believe it? 

It’s snowing in MN already.  So while my designer colleagues are in Houston, melting away in the heat at quilt market, I am at home in Minnesota with the snow.  I really miss seeing everyone and all of the beautiful things.  I’ve been checking the blogs every few hours to see if there are any updates.  What I miss the most is probably Sample Spree at the Moda table.  I feel like I’m missing out on all the new lines that are coming out.  After Sample Spree, I love going back to the hotel, opening up all my packs of fabrics, and imagining what I  am going to do with them.  Gosh, I feel like I’m so behind already!  Instead, I am sitting here on the couch with my knitting and my feet up.

It’s not all bad, I tell myself.  I’ve been gone traveling so much for work lately, that it’s great to have a Sunday to sit and rest.  But, I keep glaring out the window.  Glaring because it’s too early for snow.  I still have our outdoor furniture outside because I’m still hoping it will be nice enough outside to use it.

I’m eyeing the shoreline of the lake warily.  I’m watching for signs of ice. 

I just hate when the lake freezes over and it’s way to early for that.   

I’ll be out there with a whole arsenal or hair dryers if I have to, but the lake is not freezing over yet.

By later in the day, the lake looks like this – and the snow is accumulating on the deck. 

I could be enjoying the beauty of the first snowfall, the way the snow clings to the branches and leaves, but I’m too busy being mad.  Can you tell?  It’s just too stinkin’ early for snow.  I was still waiting for fall.  The leaves were just beginning to turn and the weather changed.  In fact, there are leaves on the ground, but most of them are green.  They got blown off the trees before they even had a chance to change color.  These flowers were all blooming yesterday.

Yes, I’m mad at winter for stealing falls thunder.

 Sorry about all the ranting and raving.  I’ll try to be in a better mood next time you stop by!  I’m sure any fellow Minnesotans understand.  The rest of you can just feel sorry for us, maybe send over a few very sympathetic comments.  Mostly, just wish us some warm weather to melt the snow.