Sweet Home Quilt Co.

Time is getting short for Santa to be shopping … and the Elves have been working very hard so Santa doesn’t have to. We’ve created a whole section of WRAPPED & READY GIFTS to help Santa out. Choose from a variety of stocking stuffers, books, kits, notions and gift items all beautifully WRAPPED & READY for Santa to take home and put under the tree. Of course, if you have something else on your wish list for Santa, we’ll be happy to wrap that, too! You could even buy something for yourself and put it under the tree … one surefire way to get what you want for Christmas! And if Santa still isn’t comfortable choosing a gift for you, a reminder that GIFT CERTIFICATES in any amount are always available will solve that dilemma!

We want to make sure you get exactly the quilt-y gifts you’ve been dreaming of under your tree and in your stocking! Tell Santa there’s no excuse … we’ve covered all the bases!

Wishing you every happiness this holiday season and prosperity for the New Year. Thank you for being such loyal friends this year and years before. We would not be here if it were not for all of our wonderful customers!

Melisa, Mike, and the Sweet Home Quilt Co. Staff

Wishing you and your family all the joy and wonder of the holiday season.

Last week was the Batty Babes’ annual Christmas party, and as usual we shared many laughs and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. This is the one time of the year where we have a potluck meal (usually the host provides the meal for our gatherings), and we all have our specialties that show up on the menu year after year along with new favorites, too. We draw names for a gift exchange, and have a white elephant gift exchange that is always a hoot (more on that in a sec)!  A couple of years ago we decided that rather than give each person individual gifts, we would instead do a community service project. This year we each made kids’ pillowcases that will be donated to ConKerr Cancer through SHQC.  As luck would have it I had made arrangements to meet Lisa Rowell, our ConKerr Coordinator, the following morning to drop off the 171 pillowcases we collected during our Thanksgiving pillowcase drive at the shop, and I was able to add another 173 pillowcases made by the Batty Babes!  WOW! 334 pillowcases!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — quilters have the most giving spirits and this group in particular!

Our Christmas gathering was hosted by Ardis this year, and her home was beautifully decorated for our party. Every nook and cranny held little Christmas surprises that made me smile. The table and buffet were beautifully set with china, candles and live greenery. We were ‘warned’ to watch out for little unwanted guests from the live greenery, which she had cut from her yard earlier in the day. Fortunately, none made an appearance during dinner!

I mentioned our white elephant gift exchange earlier, and it is absolutely one of the most fun things we do at Christmas.  There are a number of white elephant gifts that are truly dreaded — we’re talking hideous things, ya’ll — and we go to great lengths to disguise the packaging so the recipient won’t be able to “avoid” certain gifts. The rule is that whatever white elephant gift you get, it must be prominently displayed throughout the year whenever you host the Babes at your home.  Occasionally someone gets a white elephant gift that they actually like and in those cases they are allowed to introduce a “new” white elephant to the mix the following year.  Here are some of the highlights of this year’s white elephant gift exchange.

Jo Beth got the dreaded “head” this year. This is a ceramic Victorian Lady bust that has made the rounds of the Babes for years! No one wants to end up with this!

Liz was the proud recipient of the hideous felt Christmas card table runner this year. I had it last year, and in an attempt to disguise it I put it into a (new) pizza box tied up with a big red ribbon knowing that someone would be curious enough to have to see what was in the pizza box! It proved irresistible to Liz! This thing is hard to describe. It was made by Ardis’ mother years and years ago as a Garden Club project, I think. The backing is green felt and it has cut outs from Christmas cards glued onto it with some bling here and there, topped by white tulle netting and bound with gold braid and tassels. And it is BIG! It stretches down my dining room table end to end … ugh!

Everyone thought they were safe after Liz picked the dreaded felt table runner, but Ardis threw us a curve ball by introducing a matching bell pull!!! Lucky Deanna was the recipient as you can see. Oh Joy! Can’t wait to have my turn with this monstrosity!

Robin was the lucky one when it came to the Elvis Liquor Decantor! Remember these??? I’m a HUGE Elvis fan, but I draw the line at these – no way do I want this thing at my house! Robin actually seems quite pleased, doesn’t she? Maybe because that thing is still filled with liquor???

How many Babes does it take to untie a bow???

There are a few Babes who should have been politicians – they are masters at “appropriating” gifts for themselves! Here Deanna attempts to steal Ardis’ gift by hiding it under her sweater! And it actually took Ardis a minute to notice the “square” tummy – all she knew was that her gift was missing!

Shared laughter, good food, good friends and the sights and sounds of the season – Christmas memories in the making!

Mr. UPS just dropped these off, and I’ve already gone through and picked out several must make projects! If you’re looking for quick and easy projects to make for Christmas gift-giving, this new issue from Better Home & Gardens will fit the bill. These are some of my favorites:

Plenty of Pockets bag by Monica Solorio-Snow (aka The Happy Zombie) has lots of room inside and lots of pockets outside for all those everyday necessities like cell phone, keys, and sunglasses. This one will be perfect for my Mom who needs lots of pockets!

I think I’ll be making the Fit to be Tied bag from designer Sherri Falls of This & That for myself. It’s the perfect size for lugging my laptop and files back and forth – and cute to boot!

This little pillow would make a great friendship gift, or maybe for a Secret Santa exchange. Very easily made with fusible applique, embroidery and my favorite – jumbo rick rack!

There’s still plenty of time to whip up the Christmas-y lap quilt, Spruce It Up, from designer Karen Montgomery. Quick pieced backgrounds and fusible applique trees leave lots of room to get creative with embellishments. Use decorative ribbons or threads for the tree garlands, or use buttons from your collection.

This magazine is just loaded with great projects – there are several table runners, pincushions, and baby and kid’s projects, too – 35 projects in all.  Order your copy today and finish off your gift-giving projects in no time!

What could be better than new flannel pj’s? How about a flannel rag quilt to go with?

Made with the Jingles Christmas flannel collection by Minick and Simpson for Moda, we have pre-cut rag quilt kits for $74.99, and pre-cut batting squares, too, for $18.99 – all you have to do is SEW!  Easily made in an afternoon since we’ve done all the cutting for you. Quilt measures approximately 47×68, a perfect snuggle size for the sofa! Quick to make for Christmas gifts, too!

Notice the little boy’s flannel pj’s in the picture? I do not sew garments, so I asked my mom to sew up a sample of the little boy’s and little girl’s pajamas from Indygo Junction’s Jack and Jill Jammies pattern.  Also made with the Jingles Christmas flannel, they are sized just right for my grandies, Hayden and Haylee, so they’ll get them for Christmas! While not as quick to make as the rag quilt kit, these pj’s would be fun gifts for any kid at Christmas! (click the photo at right to see an enlarged image of the pattern.) Pattern is $14.99 and includes boys and girls sizes 4 thru 12.

It’s not too early to be making those Christmas gifts. Visit the shop soon to see more gift ideas and Christmas fabrics for inspiration!

I think the long holiday weekend must have energized a lot of our quilters – we were unusually busy at the shop yesterday (yippee!) and it seems lots of people were looking to start new projects. I know I’ve been doing a lot of planning since I returned from Quilt Market; planning for shows where we’ll be vending, and new classes I want to add to the schedule, and Christmas, Christmas, Christmas.

There was a recent discussion on a shopowner’s list that I belong to about “when” to display new Christmas fabric. It is my belief that you can’t sell it if it’s sitting in the back room, so our new Christmas selections go on the floor as soon as they arrive.  So far, we’ve only received two groups:

Holly Jolly Snowmen by Kathy Schmitz for Moda

Wintergraphix by Jason Yenter for In The Beginning Fabrics. I bought the red/green colorway (click here to see all the prints):

We’re expecting lots more Christmas fabric collections in the next few weeks, one of which is the new Minick & Simpson flannel collection Jingles. I was catching up on my blog reading this morning, and Laurie (of Minick & Simpson fame!) has just received her fabric samples from Moda so she’s having a kit giveaway. Head on over and leave a comment – you could be the lucky winner of the Jingles kit!  And if you’re not the lucky winner, don’t despair! We’ll have the fabric and kits in stock in a few weeks, too!

Another busy day ahead, so I’d better get to it! I’m moving and cleaning and making room for a “special” purchase due to arrive from Quilt Market any day now – stay tuned!

P.S.  Pat’s having a 100th post anniversary giveaway over at Silver Thimble Talk, too. Go leave a comment on her May 21st post and get entered to win yummy goodies!

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas, blessed with love, peace, joy, family, friends, and faith.

Melisa

This little guy had the best time on Sunday, opening presents from our extended family, but when it was all over he was ready to GO! His words to me as I grabbed one last hug on his way out the door were “I gotta go, Grammy, Santa’s coming!”

THIS is Christmas! Hayden will be 3 the end of this month, and this is really the first year he’s understood about Santa, and he’s made the most of it. He was first in Santa’s lap last weekend to fill his ear with who knows what, and every day he asks “Is Santa coming today?” He hasn’t quite made the connection between Santa coming and being good, though! But there’s plenty of time for that. Right now, it is just so much fun to see the excitement in his face and the wonderment in his eyes.

We had a house full with all of our kids and grandkids, plus Mike’s brother’s family. We laughed and ate and played with the kids all day long, and I was exhausted when they all finally left about 5PM! Now I look forward to going over to my son’s house on Christmas morning and watching the kids open what Santa brought them. I can hardly wait!

Remember I said Hayden hadn’t made the connection between Santa and being good? This is what you get when you try to get five kids under 12 to sit still for three adults to take pictures of them. Only 2 are paying attention (and one of those is being a monkey!), 2 are laughing at the little one, and my oldest has totally checked out – he’s over the picture-taking thing! (The one in the middle is my great-nephew and the others are my grandies.) It isn’t often that we get them all together so I’ll take any group shots of them I can get.

We don’t exchange gifts among the adults in our family, but each year my DIL makes me a gift that is usually crafty and involves pictures of my grandies. She’s made me scrapbooks, framed collages, photo pillows, and all sorts of things over the years, and every Christmas I get them all out as part of my Christmas display. It is fun to look back as the kids have grown through the years. Although Sandy is not a quilter, this year she made me a quilty gift. She bought a quilt kit that has inserts for photos and added pictures of all my grandies to it. I was touched to tears because she’s the only DIL who takes the time and makes the effort to do something for me handmade. I’ll hang this in my sewing studio where I can see it every day! Nothing better than being surrounded by my grandies in Grandma’s Garden!

The only damper to the day was that my MIL wasn’t able to be with us. She’s been sick for several weeks and just didn’t feel strong enough to come. Everyone went by to see her either before or after they left our house so at least she got to see all of her kids and grandkids, which helped her spirits.

Melisa