I am finally getting around to posting the gifts I received for Christmas. It was actually, comparatively, quite a haul. DH and I didn’t really buy each other very many gifts. We usually buy a big gift for the house instead of individual gifts, but we couldn’t really think of anything we wanted. I want a new bed frame, but DH isn’t enthusiastic, so we are still at an impasse.
Batiks from Mom
You can give me batiks any time! Yum!
Kona from AmandaQuiltworks fabric from Paul
The above fabric from from a shop in the City to which I have never been. I have heard that they buy up partial bolts from shops that are closing. They also have space that they rent to those who want to have an event. Now that DH has been, I will have to go as well.
I love books, am coming to love eBooks and Kindle books, but I just generally love books. I try not to buy too many regular fiction books as the Library has a perfectly good collection and I, mostly, don’t read fiction books more than once.
My downfall is quilt books. I love quilt books. I used to buy every quilt book that came out. That was in the dark ages before a new quilt book came out every week. Now I have to pick and choose and still they overflow my shelves. Still I keep acquiring them. I love quilt books.
I promise I am not gloating, but I wanted to share with you the books I received as gifts or bought with gift cards I received over the holidays and for my birthday. Most were off of my wish list, which I am thrilled about.
I am part way through Adventures in Leaders and Enders and have marked blocks I want to make in Modern Blocks. Of course, I’ll do full reviews eventually, but I have to say that Bonnie K. Hunter does a nice job slipping tricks and tips into her book. I am using the Color and Design book in my preparation for the podcast series with Sandy. I will use Transparency Quilts for the color segment when we get there.
Setting Solutions has been mentioned to me several times, so I finally bought it. I thought I saw today that Sharyn Craig had another book on the same subject, but I don’t remember where I saw it and can’t find it again. I am sure that Setting Solutions will provide adequate insight on the subject.
I still have some hope that I will, someday, renew my acquaintance with machine quilting. Foolproof Machine Quilting is bound to be a good choice for that. Mary Mashuta is an knowledgeable teacher and clear writer.
I heard about How to Keep A Sketchbook Journal on Mark Lipinski’s Creative Mojo and it is a beautiful book. It feels beautiful and the drawings are inspiring.
I think drafting is a really important skill. Sally Collins is a meticulous quiltmaker who works in miniatures. Her Drafting for the Creative Quilter will be a great addition to my teaching materials.
I have a lot of good books to which to look forward this year!
In addition to the group of gifts I already received, Julie and I had our annual parking lot exchange of Christmas gifts after CQFA last weekend. I gave her the partially done Purple Journal, which seems a bit pathetic after I saw what she gave me!) and she gave me this plethora of quilty goodness.
I want to use the Mary Engelbreit panels to make journal covers. A little Mary Engelbreit in the morning is always a good way to start the day, in my opinion. She also bought me a desk needle threader. Yes, it is getting harder for me to thread my needles. I blame it on poor lighting in my living and work rooms. I am constantly breaking the wire hand held ones, so this will come in handy. The ruler allows the quiltmaker to make wonky 9 patches. Julie and I have started to cut patches for each other. She cut Eye Spy patches for me. I cut Eye Spy patches for her. Now we are cutting Windmill patches for each other.
The final cool thing is a little package of Timtex. Who doesn’t need Timtex? I want to try making a journal using Timtex instead of a manilla folder. We’ll see if it works.
Half Moon Street from TFQ
I am a lucky girl to have a friend who gives me gift certificates for fabric.I think we should all have a friend like that. 😉 I bought this bundle using the Intrepid Thread gift certificate from TFQ. I love receiving gift certificates for fabric. I don’t feel guilty about buying it when I use the gift certificate.
I feel very fortunate to have such nice friends. Still, I can’t help, but look forward to my birthday. 😉
Here are some of the Christmas gifts I received and bought for myself this year. I don’t have reviews for them yet, because I have really only just glanced through them. I will look forward to reviewing these books in detail and you can look forward to them in 2010.
I talked briefly about Journal Bliss in a previous post. Dolores brought her copy of this book on Thursday when we met so I had a chance to look through it. Some of it is pretty basic, but I love the bright and cheery layout. After Dolores and I parted, I stopped in at Borders and bought it.
Julie was kind enough to give me Fearless Design by Lorraine Torrence. Lorraine gave me the rule “make visual decisions visually”. She and TFQ know each other via the quilt world, so whenever we are together and see Lorraine we are able to have a little more than a writer-customer conversation. Last time, at APNQ, we discussed her desire to have made the book longer and I suggested putting additional information up on her blog/website. I don’t know if she ever did that.
I received a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. I don’t normally shop there, but decided that I would immediately sit down and buy as many books as I could with the gift card. With the card and about $3 I was able to add 3 books to my library. The first is Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again. I wrote up a bunch of notes to write a review during my week away, but can’t seem to find the actual review on the blog. Perhaps I never got to it! I’ll have to dig up those notes and write the review for you. Look for that sometime.
This is more of an inspiration book for me. A lot of the projects require some kind of fabric manipulation. Since I am generally opposed to messes, I don’t do that stuff at home. However! I am open to the possibilities and would work with someone else on dyeing and painting etc. The photo shows one project that I really want to try! These are dolls where you use photos of the heads of family and friends. I love this idea. My great niece, “Henry I”, lives in Maryland. She has never been out here and it is has been awhile since her parents have been out. I was thinking that it would be great to make a set of her cousins (11) using this idea. I also think that one of my nephews might benefit from a sister doll when his sister goes off to college in the Fall. Getting the heads on the body (provided) looks like it requires some Photoshop so I may need Natalie to help me. Cut and paste may work, too. In general, this project is a lot of work, so I am not committing to anything more than thinking it is a great idea. If I do it, it might be the impetus I need to learn more about Photoshop Elements.
When SIL and I went to hear Kaffe Fassett, we had some time to kill, so we stopped in at Borders. They have a wonderful selection of magazines, which I greatly appreciate. I bought a copy of Magic Patch, a French quilt magazine to which I used to subscribe. It is the November/December issue, #47. The Christmas tree project was really appealing. I’d love to make one!
Magic Patch Tree
I have studiously avoided stuffing things in the past, but it looks like, with the dolls above and this project, that there is a possibility that this will be the year of stuffing!
My friend Faye, from New Zealand, has some kind of stuffed Christmas tree that she uses instead of a live tree. I don’t think I have even ever seen a photo of it, but I have often thought of how cool such a decoration would be. When I saw this pattern, I thought that it would be worth a try. I even thought of making 14 for the siblings and cousins, but think that may be too much of a committment. Perhaps I will win the lottery and be able to stay home and sew all the time, which would make it possible.
This issue also has a journal cover pattern with embellishment, some string pieced 8-pointed stars and a inteview/portrait of Lorraine Roy, among other things.
This is mostly a project magazine, but they do have quite a bit of information on what is going on in the European quilmaking community, in which I am very interested. They announce shows in Europe and the piecing in the projects ends towards advanced quiltmakers.
Finally, Julie also gave me Inspired to Quilt by Melanie Testa. I have to admit that I have not had a chance to sit down with this book yet, but I am looking forward to being inspired by it. One of my CQFA colleagues has highly recommended the videos on Ms. Testa’s site. Another item for my to do list!
Christmas Fabric
Finally, I cannot forget the fabric. I received fabric from my mom and Julie both. Dots galore and some cute paper doll fabric that I think, if I have enough, will be a bag.
I am a lucky girl! I have such nice friends who give me presents sometimes. 😉
First, I got a gift certificate for some fabric. Above is what I bought. Dots, of course, but also some of Mark Lipinski’s Califon line. I like the delicate designs. Not sure how I will use it, but something will come up. Now I can rest assured that the FOTY 2009 quilt will have some fabric in it. Thgift certificate came from TFQ for Christmas and the fabric just arrived today. I still owe her a thank you note.
How do you like this gift bag? The bottom has something slightly stiff in it, so it stands nicely up to attention. It is made out of felt, so I may be able to make lovely designs with embroidery (using my machine’s embroidery function) on the front instead of the applique’. The blanket stitch can be done on the machine as well. I’ll have to try it. One thing I like about it is the cute size.
This little teapot pincushion was in the gift bag. My friend, Leah, gave both to me. We hadn’t seen each other for a long time and when we got together, she produced this little package for me. It is a very sweet treat, and unexpected.
I have been transferring my pincushion between sewing machine and ironing board, so this came at the right time and, perhaps, I can start thinking about just keeping one near each workstation? I am definitely going to have to buy more pins!
