New Work

I've got a deadline coming up. Deadlines are good motivators.

One of my small art quilt groups issued a challenge. It's a follow up to the long+skinny challenge we did about three years ago. It's short+wide this time. The Dallas Quilt Show has a "large applique" category that usually has very few entries. The only requirement to fit the large size is that the quilt be at least 72" on at least one side. We thought it would be "fun" to flood the category -- but we exploited the definition by making them 72" long, but only 12 to 18" wide. You may remember my entry: Four Layered Lillies. So, same thing this time around, except horizontal.
What a messy shot. But can you see how long it is? That red hill is hanging off the edge of the table in the foreground and you can't even see the sun peeking over the horizon on the other end of the table.

You can see I'm returning to the elements of my 12x12 quilt "Seven Houses Five Trees." Surface design, paint, embroidery, raw edges, bright colors....

By the way, the reason we originally did vertical quilts was so we wouldn't have to sew super long sleeves. Yeah, not looking forward to that.

Jolly!

It snowed on Christmas Eve! A true white Christmas...
Then on Christmas Day, Lincoln and the kids had a blast playing in the yard.
Benjamin bundled up in several layers. Claire just wore her pj's and my boots. (We wear the same size shoes now. Ahem.)


We had a most lovely Christmas -- the outdoor fun was only part of the wonderful day!

Chistmas Snapshots

The Advent Tree looked pretty this year.
The kids tell me they still enjoy opening a bag each day. Last year was nice too. (Can you sense my apathy about this particular tradition?) Wow. After searching my blog I see I did this in 2006 and 2007. I didn't realize it was that long.

Our tree has been decorated for a couple of weeks. We had a lovely night pulling out all the old favorite ornaments. Some of them are "favorite" because they are so ugly. We laugh and hang them on the back of the tree. We ended the night with hot chocolate, marshmellows and TimTams.
Those are the cups we painted together to celebrate my birthday a few years back. I love them.
Claire doing a "Tim Tam Slam."
Benjamin too.
Silliness.
I love this new creche I ordered from Serrv through the Lutheran World Relief program. It's made from recycled magazines by artists in Viet Nam.
The gingerbread houses turned out great!

Stockings are hung by the chimney.... (made by my mom)
We making our way though our collection of Christmas books. There are so many great ones!
Wishing you the brightest of lights in your home and in your heart this holiday season!

Ornaments

Festive! Here are the makings for the ornaments I made this year.
I made several for Amy's swap. I think it's the third year I've participated in her swaps. It's super fun.
I made several extras to give as little gifts -- and I've got pieces prepared to make more. I'm not sure if that's going to happen.

I chose short little recognizable phrases from Christmas carols and printed them on pre-fused fabric. I'm enjoying those scrolly bits very much too.
Embellished with paint and shiny sequins...
... and a jingle bell!

Pink Reveal!

Here is my first 12x12 quilt for our new series, ColorPlay. The theme was pink. It's called Pink Pencil Experiment.
Read more about my quilt and see the other eleven "pink" quilts on our blog.

Annual Project

My kids love to decorate gingerbread houses. I buy the pre-packaged kit every year and it's a fun tradition. You can see previous creations here (2008) and here (2007).

The worst part of the process is assembling the walls and roof. You have to mix the icing and pipe all the sections carefully. I usually prop up the walls with cans of soup and jars of peanut butter while they set. The kids always want to "help" and that does not make the process any speedier.

Until this year...

I thought we could try putting the pieces together with hot glue. I mean, we don't eat the house, so why worry about edible elements?

Why why why did I not think of this earlier? It worked great. In fact, it was so fast, we couldn't even get a clear picture of the process!

OMG!

I've read about Tim Tams here and there through the blogworld over the years. They have never been available in the US... at least not at the stores where I shop regularly. Until now! There was a big display of them at Target. Apparently the Tim Tam people have partnered with the Pepperidge Farm people to sell them here. A package jumped right into my cart.
The cookie really is delightful, but since I'd also heard about the Tim Tam Slam, I decided to try it out. Yowza. I have to take a deep breath just thinking about it. (Jenny Doh has a great tutorial with pictures on her blog.)

Basically, you bite off opposing corners of the Tim Tam, dunk one end in your coffee and suck through the other end. The coffee comes right up through the cookie and just as it begins to melt and get all gushy in your fingers, you pop the remaining Tim Tam in your mouth. Seriously.

I went back to Target the next day and bought several more packages. They are going in every stocking I can think of. Apparently, they are available exclusively at Target. (As if I needed another reason to shop there. Ahem.)

There is even a contest for photographs and videos of people loving their TimTams. I could watch these kooky videos all day. Clearly I am not alone in my new found love for the TimTam.

On Newsstands Now!

I am so happy to see the new issue of Art Quilting Studio! The premier issue came out months ago and I've been eagerly anticipating the next issue. It's really fantastic. There is a huge variety of artists, style and technique in this publication. It's a good mix of "how-to" articles combined with profiles and thoughtful words from artists about process, inspiration and the creative journey.

Oh... and guess what else...
That's me and my studio! I am really honored that editor Jenny Doh asked me to photograph my studio and do an interview about my work as an art quilter. You might not really see the details in the photo above, but there is a picture of my desk and shelf in the magazine and it's sitting on my desk with the same shelf. How meta.

I also wrote an article about improvisational hand embroidery. Such nice close-up photos!
But wait... there's more! I've also got an article in the new issue of Sew Somerset. I wrote about my scrolly story shrooms. You may remember them from a swap I did last year. It's a super fun project.Next time you're out shopping, pick up these magazines for yourself or as gift for your arty friends.
Is there a better gift than inspiration?!