Rejoice...

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  Luke 2:8-14

Rejoice! Rejoice!

We are Santa's Elve's....

I finished the card production yesterday.  Being proactive {for the first time in my entire life} I mocked up a few designs last January.  This process usually begins in August when Skinny Sister is here for her visit... but we didn't get to it this year.  I began work on the selected card the Saturday after Thanksgiving with the help of Eva K.  I am not waiting to the last minute next year!!

Here is a finished card.  It simply says Merry Christmas inside.

There was also a Allen'09 Christmas Card Version 2.0 because I ran out of the pretty red card stock.  I used green for V 2.0 and burgandy for the border... or in some cases... whatever I could find in my stash.  I made 113 cards... and considered shortening my list several times during the course.  If I haven't mentioned this before, Mom and Skinny Sister got me started on the tradition of homemade cards.  They are both big into Stampin' Up.  And... if I can be SNARKY for a minute... Jeanne sent cards from Target this year.  Come on!!!  We have a reputation to uphold sister!

I also managed to finish my nephews t-shirt quilt for Christmas.  Not the most exciting quilting project, but he will appreciate it.  My friend Juna did the quilting and she put her heart into every block.  I should have taken a better picture before I sent it off.

I wanted to give a bottle of wine to each of my co-workers at the yarn shop.  In a brief moment of genius I came up with the idea to take the arms of some sweaters Theresa and I felted and make wine gift bags.  This was a fun project because it will reuse * reduce * recycle, and my knitting cohorts will be pleased with my cleverness.

Again, my photography abilities stink, but you get the idea!

It is snowing, and Eva K is arriving today.  I am going to make chili in the crock pot before work so I better get moving.

Ho ho ho

Ho ho ho

We are Santa's elves.

We are Santa's elves

Filling Santa's shelves

With a toy

For each girl and boy.

Oh, we are Santa's elves

We work hard all day

But our work is play

Dolls we try out

See if they cry out.

We are Santa's elves

We've a special job each year

We don't like to brag

Christmas Eve we always

Fill Santa's bag.

Santa knows who's good

Do the things you should

And we bet you

He won't forget you.

We are Santa's elves

Ho ho ho. Ho ho ho

We are Santa's elves

Ho Ho!

Remembering Dottie...

I have tried to prepare myself for this day for months.  Today the Rockin' Bobbins will gather with family and friends of Dottie and say goodbye.  Dottie passed away on Friday, December 4, after a couragous fight with ovarian and breast cancer.   

I thank God for my friendship and time with Dottie.  We met about nine years ago when we both joined the Rockin' Bobbins quilting group, shortly after it formed.  I could never guess her age because she took such good care of herself, walking every morning.  Now when I say walking... I don't mean around the block.. I mean a quick, almost sprint, for 5 miles.  Dottie was a vegetarian.  She also dressed very dignified, but not prissy.  I finally learned she shared my mother's birth date, February 20, and was one year younger.  She was 71 when she passed.  

Dottie and her husband Russ have been married 53 years.  They have 4 grown children, 12 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren.  And if you can imagine this, Russ and Dottie also fostered 38 children.  One of Dottie's grandchildren, Colton, is just a year older than my Charlie, so I would often go to Dottie with questions.  She was always spot on with advice but didn't offer it unless asked.  She was truely a sage.

Dottie was an artist, and a very productive quilter and knitter.  If she made one quilt, then she made one for all the boys, or all the kids, or all the grandchildren.  A couple years back I think she knitted 9 (okay, I might be embellishing there) afgans for the boys - and began in August for Christmas.  Her last quilting project was 8 Christmas tree skirts she gave to the kids at Thanksgiving.  Dottie was also a china painter, which I loved because my mother-in-law was also a china painter. One year at Christmas we all received thimbles she had painted... how lucky we are!

Above all, Dottie was a loving, mission minded, Christian woman.  She was active in Bible Study Fellowship and Women's Prison Ministry.  Her quiet example of her faith in the Lord bore witness that spoke volumes.

So Dottie....

Enter His gates with

thanksgiving

and His courts with

praise;

give

thanks to Him

and praise His name.

For the LORD is good

and his love

endures forever

His faithfullness

continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5

A Rockin' Bobbins Christmas...

The other day I logged on to Facebook and a friend had written on my wall "Have you fallen off the face of the earth?"  Well yes... yes... I believe I have.

Thursday night was the annual Christmas gathering for the Rockin Bobbins.  As always the food was outsatanding and Jenny managed to find some spiked eggnog that wasn't too bad either.  We had show and tell and a gift excahnge from our secret Santa.  My Santa was Juna {WonderQuilter}and she is so creative I had to share her gift to me.  

Quilting the ABC's {yes, there was a gift for every letter of the alphabet!}

A :: Anne

B :: Bag, quilted flannel

C :: Charm Pack

D :: Doll

E :: Embellishments

F :: Fabric

G :: Gauge

H :: Hook, crochet

I :: Idea to knit, Wine Bottle Bag

J :: Journal

K :: Keychain, with a tiny knit sweater!

L :: Labels for knits

M :: Memory Ornament

N :: Note Pad

O :: Ornament, paper pieced by Juna

P :: Pattern

Q :: Quilt Fabric

R :: Ruler

S :: Snowman

T :: Thangles

U :: Ughh! UFO!!!

V :: Vintage Blocks

W :: Wool Penny Rug (not in the picture because it is already under my Balsam & Cedar Yankee Candle)

X :: Xtra Fabric

Y :: Yard of Fabric

Z :: Not a Zipper, 2 clasps for a bag or purse

Thank you Juna!

And now I really need to take this Christmas business serious.  Here is the extent of my decorating - although I do have the Yankee Candle burning trying to fill the house with a pine scent. 

My cards are not done - I make them {thanks to a tradition the skinny sister and Eva K started} - I have 10 made... I send out 100.  No letter written.  No picture taken.  No tree. Little shopping done.  Can we just scrap it all and focus on the reason for the season?  There is snow on the ground.  It is cold outside.  What is wrong with me?