over the top

that's how my thanksgiving day went....my kiddos went all out and welcomed me with open arms and a simply delightful day all around.  there was a superbly cooked turkey with all the sides....but before the meal started, glasses were raised (sparkling cider) and they gave a toast to me for being alive and way better than last november....choked me up as you can imagine.  everything was cooked to perfection; DD loves to try out new sides and they were scrumptious!  most were cardiac-diet friendly, the culprit as always was salt, but i didn't overdo.  leftovers of the super moist turkey and others rode shotgun home with me , enough for the next few days....and she happily received these...

pillowcases made with mask fabric given to me by marianne....had just enough for the front of the cuff aka the part that shows!  before leaving yesterday, my mailbox gave up this wonderful package...

it's jo morton's 'spice it up' FQ bundle...holy repro batman!   gobsmacked by generosity of a friend....and they are all very gorgeous prints....drool factor of 10+ of course....these have been available for a while but was holding off for january and her 'hancock ridge' line  (whoops...hickory road i mean!)....jo morton is hands down one of my very favorite designers, as my stash can attest.   hoping your holiday was over the top as well!

a blessed Thanksgiving!

just love this artwork from my used-to-be 7-year-old channeling her inner Picasso! for many years we lived an hour from plymouth, so it became ho-hum to us.  we did the plantation thing, the rock and mayflower thing, the cranberry thing, the thatch-roof cottages tour, and seeing docents dressed up in all manner of puritanical garb was commonplace.  the local radio station bills plymouth as "america's home town" and it is.  that was then and this is now....in light of the california fire devastation, i look around my ordinary apartment and realize how truly blessed i am.  i look in the mirror and see my scar and know how God has touched, no....preserved....my life.  a home, good health, a loving family and kind friends, necessities of daily life and more than a few of the extras....blessed beyond measure and most likely you are too.   give thanks!

monday design wall

the snow only encouraged me to ramp up my sewing time....it's almost gone now and pretty sure we'll have a green thanksgiving...the inchie project is coming along....every effort will be made to get this done this month but it'll take a few days of nonstop inchie busting....the second scrappy short border is just about ready to add, then it's the 2 side borders and gasp!  i might even have to raid the strip bin to cut more....how good is that?

and another stocking got made lickety split....they take about an hour if all the strips are ready....i had pulled one fabric for the lining but changed my mind and had to go stash diving for another....

and more polka dot squares got assembled as well.  in fact, cut all the needed blocks so they can be used as leaders/enders inbetween inchies...

all the freezer paper pieces for my red/green wall quilt are cut out and ironed on, plus worked on the guild's round robin that can't show right now...all this plus some christmas cross-stitch and an embroidery piece made for a busy week's end and weekend....resumed my exercise and the housework, laundry and annoying cooking got done too!......number one on my list for santa is grocery stores that stock more low or no sodium added items that can be easily found......i think gluten free is covered by now but us cardiac patients need equal space!