Logan, at 10 years old, was able to hold off the pre-Christmas stress pretty well, although the last day was pretty tough. It took me 240 pictures to get a nice one of all three of them in front of the Christmas tree! (I have high hopes of writing up a “New Years News” newsletter and sending that to people on my Christmas Card list – which I haven’t used in 3 years now!!!)

We all got what we wanted on our lists. My big excitement was a large, full powered laptop to replace my small, under powered one.  I’ve been trying really hard this year to spend the last hour or two of my day hanging out with the hubby downstairs, reading blogs was fine on the old laptop, so I would do that. But I found that I was doing more and more blogging, picture processing, and web design during those last 2 hours, thus the need for a full powered laptop. I also suspect that if I use it downstairs during the afternoons when the boys are supposed to be doing homework and practicing that those things may happen at a faster rate (don’t hold your breath though!)

Ah, good old “Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots”! Logan saw these in Target about a week before Christmas and just HAD to have them!

The big excitement of the day was Liam’s big present. He’s wanted a jazz trombone (it’s got a smaller bore and no trigger, it will have a less “beefy” sound but blends better in a big band section) for 3 years now. He has his Dad’s old trombone that is an excellent instrument, but it’s definitely an orchestral instrument. A decent jazz trombone would be $1500, which is why we weren’t keen on getting one. However, you can get some nice old ones if you scout them out. Andrew started watching ebay like a hawk, and was able to score a very good horn made in 1946 for $315! Woot! It needed some work, lots of cleaning and a new case, and boy was Liam surprised!

I just love a good surprise! Hooray!

Post Christmas Report is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons ginger
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• turbinado sugar or pure cane washed sugar for rolling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Sift together flour, salt, spices and baking soda and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Add molasses.
4. Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Scoop up a rounded teaspoons of dough and roll it into a ball, and then roll it in the turbinado sugar to coat (you could use regular table sugar, but the large crystals of the turbinado sugar give these cookies an awesome crunch!)
6. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet about 2″ apart.
7. Bake approximately 11 minutes or until slightly puffed and cracked on the surface.
8. Cool on wire rack. Store what doesn’t get eaten in a tightly closing container and these will keep for days.

Mmmm, look at that texture!

I hope your holidays are sweet and full of flavor!

Ho Ho Ho!

Molasses Crinkle Cookie Recipe is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

• I baked incredible foccacia in our brick oven – kind of nerve wracking trying out a whole new recipe/way of cooking on a big holiday but it paid off.
• Potato Leek soup with Leeks from the garden.
• Miss Maren who love “meat on the bone!” She totally went to town on the turkey leg!
• Lots of great company
• Pie, pie and more pie, specifically:
• Apple
• Lemon Meringue
• 2 Pumpkin
• Sweet Potato Pecan
• Buttermilk
• Cherry
• Derby
• Chocolate Mousse (not pictured, brought by Maren’s mom)

Although there is so much to be thankful for, I spent a lot of time thinking about last Thanksgiving with Logan’s appendicitis surgery, and just revel in how well that all turned out.

I am truly a lucky woman, and eternally thankful for all that I have.

Festival of Pie 2011 | One Moment is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

What I love most about this festival is the stories behind the quilts. I made this quilt in August, but it had been in my head for years!

Botanical Sketches: 35" x 38", all fabric dyed by me, botanicals free motion machine sketched on my Juki TL-98Q

I’ve worked with my botanical sketch motifs for quite awhile, making smaller art quilts, pillows and my going green totes.  With these smaller pieces I was perfecting my “free motion sketching” quilting style, and figuring out how to portray lots of pretty botanical specimens. (In response to a question: I don’t mark anything ahead of time, I just go! Videos of me doing that can be found here.) I’ve been wanting to make this quilt for a long time, but  I HAD to make it at the end of the summer – in my mind, it summarizes everything that I cover in my newly minted DVD; the colors, the multicolor fabrics, the sketches, it’s all there. Here’s my favorite pair of blocks:

That fabulous piece of multicolor fabric, oh it is just awesome! I can pour the same dyes in the same way 100 times, there always going to do something different!

I’ve got some shows coming up, and then Christmas is looming…but I really want to make another one of these!

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To all the new visitors to my blog – thanks for stopping by. Make sure to go visit more of the quilts in the festival!

Blogger’s Quilt Festival: Botanical Sketches Quilt is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern