Friday, November 30, 2018

November Notes ...

November is one of my favourite months of the year - not just because it's my birthday month, but also because the Adelaide Christmas Pageant rolls through the city which is my signal to begin decorating for the Christmas season. Some people think it's too soon, but that's the tradition for my family, and I do love tradition!

My tree is up in the lounge room:


The angel is a new one this year, and there are a few other new decorations, but I don't think I could easily point them out, as the tree is really full - and that's how I like it!


Whew, that's a lot of decorations! For now I've had to put the tree skirt away, but I'll get it out again once presents start going under the tree. Gracie keeps sleeping on it and she's making it all furry! Oops!!

The nutcracker army is in full force too, and I'll share some pictures of them with you next time - though I'm sure I do the same every year :-)

And Christmas sewing ... do you know my sweet friend Marcie Patch? She's the sweetest lady, and recently she mentioned her Christmas Tree Topper on Facebook. Because it popped up again my lovely friend Linda issued her quilting buddies a challenge to make one - the instructions are on Marcie's blog. Challenge Accepted!!

Here's mine - my own personal challenge was to only use scraps from the drawers under my cutting table, and other than the cream reproduction fabric around the trees, I was able to stick to that.

I quilted it really simply - stitch in the ditch with a neutral thread (that style of quilting is unusual for me), and bound it with some green fabric that has been hiding in my stash for a little while:

All I need to do now is stitch the binding on the reverse side and I can call this done. I think that will be a project for tonight. 

And because I enjoyed strip piecing those trees so much, I'm working on some more trees - I do love spending time with my sewing machine!

Also in my sewing room on the corner of my cutting table is something that makes me smile every time I see it. I often receive gifts of phalaenopsis orchids. Usually they flower and then I don't seem to be able to keep them alive to flower again. Well, my sweet hubby has managed to get one to flower for a second year, and I'm just thrilled!

Isn't it so pretty? You can see the old flower stalk down there on the right. Maybe this one is good and strong and I'll be able to keep it for a long while. I do love to have a little greenery in the sewing room :-)

Continuing on with the theme of flowers - it was my birthday this past week, and amongst other things, I received the most lovely bouquets:

Aren't they just beautiful? I feel so very blessed to have spent time with some of my favourite people on my special day - and all the messages via text and on facebook, phone calls and cards made my heart absolutely sing. Thank you all!

I'm heading back into the sewing room now - I'm feeling inspired and that's a great time to get busy with needle and thread! Chatter soon xoxox

5 comments:

Wendy Caton Reed said...

First of all, Happy Birthday! And, I believe it is never too early to decorate for Christmas! Your home is looking very festive indeed! Your little quilt is delicious. I'm sure I will be back here before Christmas, but just in case I'm not - I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Sue said...

Happy belated birthday Tazzie. Lovely to see your little quilt. What a gorgeous tree!
Have a wonderful Christmas!

Karen in Breezy Point said...

I've always wanted to make Marcie's little tree quilt--maybe this year? Yours is adorable and your tree is stunning!! Happy Belated Birthday!

Kyle said...

November has been a busy and fun month for you. Happy Birthday, first of all. Your Christmas tree is gorgeous and your new holiday tree quilt is adorable. Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday.

Janet said...

Happy belated birthday. Love your tree topper. Your fabric choices are lovely. The tree is beautiful. The orchid is beautiful. I find watering every 3 weeks and a spray of water in between works great.Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful decorations.

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