christmas red....

I bought myself a Hippeastrum, also know as an Amaryllis. I have never grown one before but I have always wanted to. The huge red blooms that arrive in time for Christmas are just beautiful. I have really enjoyed watching it grow. It was about 4 inches tall when I brought it home and now it is 21 inches tall and in full bloom. I wish I had thought to take a photograph a day...next year.

 

oh christmas tree...

Patrick has always dreamed of having a giant Christmas tree. This year that dream came true. Our apartment has a 12 ft ceiling in the living room so before we had even finished unpacking we bought a 12+ ft tree.  Shopping for a tree here was very different. I knew we wouldn't be going to the same tree stand that we have bought our trees from for forever but I did not expect to be shopping at the Houston Garden Center ( think Frank's Nursery ). It was kind of like buying a tree at Home Depot. There aren't corner tree lots here. When we arrived at the Garden Center a little girl ran past us into the rows of giant trees, packed so close together that you could not see their shape, yelling, "Look at all the big ones.... I want one, I want one!" I know Patrick was thinking the same thing. We brought our huge Christmas tree home inside our little Honda CRV. It stuck out of the back a little and it was pushed in all the way to the dash but we got it home.  We learned an important lesson... 2 people should not put a 12 ft tree up by themselves. A third person is needed to ensure that the tree is straight. It was definitely not. 

The next morning I intended to put lights on the tree while Patrick was at work. That didn't happen. I had no way of reaching the top. I borrowed Mom's step ladder but that didn't get me anywhere near the top of the tree. Patrick and I had to go to Lowes and buy an 8ft ladder. While Patrick worked I spent a few hours putting 800 lights on the tree and I probably could have done more.

Then we had Mom come up to us to get the tree straight and help decorate it. It took us a few days but the end result was worth it.

on the mantle...

We have a fireplace in our apartment. I took some time out from unpacking (I still have my sewing room to unpack) to decorate the mantle for the holidays. I found a great garland at Micheal's that looks quite real. I added some white lights and a garland of berries.Among the few ornaments I did not put in storage I found my pencil Santas so I added them. The only thing missing are my stockings. It seems they are not in any of the boxes I kept out of storage. I am sorry they are not here, the mantle is not quite finished without them. I am going to see if I can find them in our storage area but I am not very hopeful.

moving and unpacking....

I apologize for my absence. Things have been so very busy. The day before Thanksgiving everything was loaded onto the moving truck. It is a curious thing to see your life being stuffed into a truck. Ours filled 3/4 of the moving van.

Thursday morning, Thanksgiving, we started the long drive to Texas. Patrick in one car with his Mom and her dog, me in our CRV with Max and Sophie. I had my camera with me but when you are traveling with one Mother,  two cars and three dogs there isn't time use it. The drive took three days. The mountains of West Virginia and Tennessee were beautiful even though we missed the peak of the fall foliage. In Louisiana we crossed the Mississippi. I thought that bridge would be the worst. I was wrong I10 holds a surprise a bridge that is low but long.... 20ish miles long! Anyone who knows me knows that this was a very traumatic thing. I am still having bad dreams about it. We arrived in Texas in the early afternoon on Saturday. Sunday we hit the grocery store, let the dogs explore their new neighborhood, got the keys to Mom's apartment and waited for the truck driver to call. Monday they delivered our things.

The dining room, kitchen, spare room and bedroom are stacked with boxes. We left the living room mostly empty so that we would have room to work and rest. My sister in law, Caroline, came and helped me quickly unpack Mom's apartment. Once she was settled I could take my time unpacking my things.

I have been steadily unpacking. The kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room and dining room are unpacked but the spare room if full of all of my sewing/crafting supplies, still in boxes and all of the empty boxes that have to be saved for our next move.  In between unpacking we have managed a third trip to Ikea ( it is less than 5 miles away). Dressers were bought and assembled. I have also met with our Realtor and started our house hunt.

Today I am changing my focus from unpacking to Christmas so that I am ready for the kids' visits. Just wait until you see our Texas sized tree.

packing....

Just a quick note to let you know I have not forgotten about my blog. Our house has sold and the movers are packing us up even as I type. We will be spending Thanksgiving on the road, Patrick, myself, mom and 3 dogs. I will post again from Houston.

quilts, quilts, quilts...

I have been neglecting my blog. I am sorry, things have been very hectic. Our house in Maryland is under contract and we are moving in 10 days!! I am taking a break from list making, phone calls and organizing for the movers to post the promised pictures of the quilts from the show.

There were quilts of every kind. The creativity and talent were both awe inspiring and a little daunting.

simple and beautiful

An amazing portrait made completely of fabric yo-yos.

The points on this quilt were perfect.

This quilt was created using lots of small pieces of fabric that were placed
on top of a larger piece of fabric. It was all then covered by
tulle and the quilting was done on top of that.

I love red and white quilts and am collecting reds for one of my own.

The focus of this year's show was Baltimore Album Quilts so applique like this were around every corner.

This hand pieced beauty was made up of approx 23,000 pieces. Can you imagine?

Wow right?

 I saw many,many beautiful quilts, each made my heart happy. This next quilt was awesome and thought provoking. With all that is happening in Haiti and the hurricanes hitting there as I walked the floor of the festival this quilt tugged at your heart. I can not get this quilt out of my mind. Painted then quilted by Hollis Chatelain this quilt brought tears to my eyes. You absolutely must click on the next to photos to see them larger. The painting is beautiful but the quilting is incredible. The quilting shows images of other children...

Amazing!!

the quilt festival

After a weekend spent running around Houston like crazy it was time for some fun. I was so excited to go to the quilt show. I have wanted to go for so long. I had my supplies all packed up the night before and I was up before the sun without complaining. On Monday and Tuesday I spent my days in classes. When I was checking in I told the woman behind the desk that it was my first show and I was more excited than a kid a Christmas. She was so sweet she gave me a ribbon for my badge and gave me lots of helpful hints to make the most of the festival.

Monday morning was the 2 for 1 Hula lesson class where we learned to cut a Hawaiian quilt. It is much like making paper snow flakes. I also learned a better way to machine applique. Yeah!

My Hawaiian quilt has palm trees on it, this one is the sample from the class. I will share a photo when I get it appliqued ( which by the way is also when it is quilted. The applique acts as the quilting. Double Yeah!)

  My practice machine applique.

On Monday afternoon I took a class that taught how to emboss bamboo quilt batting. If I did more scrap booking I would do a lot of this. It was very fun to learn but I am not sure it is something I would do a lot of. (The finished product will cover a book.)

Tuesday I took an all day class on paper piecing.  I think I am going to be hooked. Paper Piecing is a wonderful way to create very intricate quilts. I started the tree skirt in the class and I am hoping to finish it before Thanksgiving. I also bought a kit for a paper pieced quilt.  The instructor was a wonderful lady named Deb Karasik. If you interested in paper piecing, need patterns or tools or just want to see some beautiful quilts take a look at her wed site.

(tree skirt in progress)

One of the best parts of an all day class is the time they allow you to get to know the others in the class. I made a new friend. Marika came all the way from Sweden to visit the quilt festival. She quilts and is interested in starting her own fiber arts business making handbags.  Not only did we spend a day taking a class together but we were able to get together later in the week too.

Me and Marika ( taken by the valet )

Next time I will show you some of the extraordinary quilts!!!

some assembly required

I am here in our new apartment. I landed Friday evening, came to check out our new digs and unload the luggage, then we were off and running. We had dinner at the local Rosie Carabbas (apparently the Carabbas family live locally), then headed to Target to begin stocking the apartment. I think I set a world record for Target shopping. I over filled a cart in 20 minutes. After that we headed back to our soon to be  less empty apartment, inflated our air mattress and went to sleep. Saturday morning I put away most of our Target purchases and realized we had forgotten some things. Back to Target. We dropped off those packages and headed for the mall. JC Penney's and Sears were the next to receive a little love from our wallets. A new TV, pillows and towels then back to the apartment. Big shopping in a convertible means lots of trips home to unload the car to make room for the next trip. The cable guy came on Saturday and set up our cable tv, phone and internet. That took a few hours and our new phone is making out going calls but incoming calls are not coming through they are going to voice mail. A project for my next trip. Time for more shopping, this time at Ikea. It was packed!!! They had apparently had a costume contest/trick or treating event. We ordered a bed and a TV stand to be delivered the next morning. We purchased two chairs and a footstool which we took home with us. Patrick assembled those while I ran to the grocery store. It was wonderful to finally have something to sit on when I returned with the groceries.On Sunday morning the bed and TV stand arrived and again Patrick did the assembling. Anyone who knows us know this is not the norm. I am usually the one who put things together. I was happy to hand over the tools. While he built furniture I ran out to the mall for a few other things. By late Sunday afternoon all the basics were in place. The bathroom and kitchen are functional, we have a place to sit, and a bed to sleep in and Patrick has a TV and I have the internet. All in all a good start.

christmas is coming

On Tuesday this rainbow of fabrics will be transformed into a Christmas tree skirt. I have been saying I wanted to make a quilted tree skirt for a very, very long time. It is just one of the classes I will be taking at the Quilt Festival.  We will be paper piecing the tree skirt, another of the things on my list of things to do/learn. The skirt top should be finished at the end of class. That means I then have to bring it home, sandwich it, quilt it and bind it. Anyone who knows me knows it takes me FOREVER to complete the quilting portion. I am hoping to have it finished in time to go under the tree this year. Wish me luck!

lilly and chloe

The last few days I have been able to spend some time with my girls. Yesterday we went to the park in the late afternoon so that I could try to take a few portraits. What an event that was. I got them both dressed in adorable sweater dresses, drove over to the park and unloaded the van. I carried Chloe and my camera bag and their McDonald's buckets that we just could not leave in the car, both girls' blankies and the chair. I found a beautiful spot, lots of fall colors and some greenery, wild daisies still in bloom and the sun coming from just the right direction. I set the chair in place and Lilly jumped right in. Unfortunately her path took her through a gift that a dog had recently left behind. The outfit was not salvageable. Back to the van with all the stuff. Plan B... jeans and cute baby doll tops. All I can says is thank heavens for baby wipes. I cleaned Lilly up, wrapped up all the dirty clothes, changed Chloe and wiped down the chair. Then I picked everything back up and headed off to find another spot. On the bright side Lilly thought the entire mess was quite funny and her mood was improved. We had to walk a bit farther (at least Lilly and I did, Chloe hitched a ride on my back) and we didn't have flowers and greenery in the shot but here is a sample of the results.

christmas cards

 

For years now I have made own my Christmas cards with my best friend. She and I usually make them in November with the goal of having them ready to mail by the first of December. This year we got an early start. With our upcoming move there are many things that I simply don't know. Will the house sell quickly or will we still be here at Christmas? Because of this uncertainty I decided to get an early start on the cards and to keep them simple this year. I am happy to say that I am finished. The cards are made and ready to be signed, addressed and mailed.

pumpkin picking

 

Oliver and Grandpa finally got to pick the pumpkin.