so long, 2011.

Loving seeing everyone post their project mosaics for 2011.

1. Mug Rug Dresden Plate, 2. play mat string quilt, 3. Table Runner, 4. birthday cake quilt, 5. robert kaufman challenge, 6. needle book inside, 7. MMM Swap Wall Hanging, 8. Holiday Table Runner, 9. Baby Girl Pinwheels

Mine is kind of scarce, but I can definitely see my quilting evolution as I look through my photostream.  I've become a much more confident and skilled quilter over the course of the year and I look forward to beginning 2012 with some very realistic goals.

1. Make more for me. Most of the projects I worked on in 2011 were for others...quilts for family members/friends....swap presents...bee blocks.  I literally have never made a quilt for us.  That's a top priority and I already have a project in mind.

2. Cut back on swaps and bees.  I love them - and they have certainly helped me build my skill set...but they are taking away from me sewing for me.  I have already committed to a few things, but am making the effort to restrain myself as new opportunities arise.

3. Participate in the FMQAL.  I finished up my one little word wall hanging and tried my hand at FMQ. LOVE.  I will definitely be doing this more and can't wait to learn more.

4. Knit more.  I am nearly finished with my first set of socks and am excited to potentially wear them tomorrow for New Years. :)  I am also signing up for a toe-up sock class at my local knitting shop to learn that method.  Very excited about this.

Spending the evening in front of the fireplace with my house o' men, a kitty in my lap, and finishing up that sock.  Happy New Year, everyone!

on the eighth night...

Low-key seems to have been the theme this year, which is quite alright by me.  We spent the last night of Hanukkah at home, lit all the candles,

ate brownies,

and curled up in front of the fire.  I finished my first ever sock!  Not bad for a beginner knitting project, if I do say so myself!

I hope everyone had as happy of a holiday as we did! :)

on the seventh night...

We picked up a Lord of the Rings pez set for Jake weeks ago, waiting for the perfect time to give it to him.  Since he woke up yesterday proclaiming that he was going to have a Lord of the Rings marathon, we realized the time came.

Hence, The Fellowship of the Pez...

Creepy and cute all at the same time.

I had to grab some fabric for my 4x6 Modern Bee, so Brett and I headed out in the afternoon.  The closest shop is right by an antique mall, so we spent some time perusing, dreaming, and laughing at some of the crazy treasures found within.  One of my favorite things to do.

While there, we found an odd addition. Not sure how Domo is an antique, but he made us laugh. :)

When we came back, we found this "menorah" waiting for us on the kitchen island...

Gotta love that kid.  He had a blast this evening with his Mythology book...complete with quill.

Planning on spending the majority of this last day of Hanukkah in the sewing room!

orchid, tangerine, and gray.

Quokka Quilts and Fat Quarter Shop are holding a Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle contest so I figured I would give it a whirl...you can read about the contest here.

I spent a good hour this morning browsing through FQS to choose my fabrics.  I managed to put together what I feel is a really nice color combo...orchid, tangerine, and gray.  These are not colors I would normally be drawn to, but now that I see the group of fabrics all together, I want to choose these colors for my next bee!

Here's what I came up with...

1. Weekend Clubhouse 2012 Cream Petit Point SKU# SG4607-CREM-D
2. Decadence Orange Petal Dots SKU# C2636-ORANGE
3. Michael Miller Orchid Cotton Couture Solid SKU# SC5333-ORCH-D
4. Taza Neutral Ribbon Damask SKU# PWDF110-NEUTR
5. Oval Elements Crocus SKU# OE-908
6. Girls World Vibe Magenta Carrie SKU# PWJP058-MAGEN
7. Etchings Parchment Script Handwriting SKU# 3728-26
8. Dazzle Clementine Shadow Stripe SKU# 5418-Y
9. Bespoken Orchid Jacquard SKU# BE-7102
10. Free Spirit Designer Solids Salmon SKU# S49-SALMON
11. Terrain Bloom Lichen SKU# 27098-13
12. Grand Bazaar White Corridors SKU# DS5069-WHIT-D
13.  Free Spirit Designer Solids Raw Sugar SKU# S32-RAWSUGAR
14. Flora Tangerine Geometric Circle Leaves SKU# 25057-15
15. French Dress Cream Worn Damask SKU# 8628-141
 

Wish me luck - and Happy Boxing Day!

on the fifth and sixth nights...

 The present pile is getting smaller...

And the lights are getting brighter...

 We spent Saturday evening in front of the fire with some cheese, crackers, and other goodies.

Sunday was Christmas day.  We always do the traditional Jewish thing and go to the movies and out to lunch/dinner.  This year we saw Sherlock Holmes 2 and enjoyed the Chinese buffet.

Gotta love forced teenage smiles.  I guess I should be thankful that I didn't get an eye roll. :)

I hope everyone had a merry day!

on the fourth night...

I found this great recipe for red velvet cookies...I'm a HUGE fan of red velvet, so I figured I would try them out...only, since it's Hanukkah, why not do BLUE velvet, right?

LOL.  Not a natural looking color by any stretch of the imagination, but they were GOOD.  I will definitely make them again, but maybe next time I'll just go with the red food coloring, huh?

 They pups got presents last night...

And Jake scored his much-sought-after Domo slippers.  I love that these made him so happy.

on the third night...

Another low-key evening...which is exactly how we like 'em! :)

The boys got some goofy gifts last night...including Zack's selection of Mike & Ike's...his favorite!

And Jake, whose school mascot is the dragon, got this T-shirt...

And these goofy headphones from Grandma and Grandpa...

We ended the evening with a heated game of bananagrams...another AWESOME game!

on the second night...

Last night, we had a more traditional Hanukkah celebration.  I made my favorite latke recipe to-date...what I affectionately call "White House Latkes".  These apple and potato latkes were made at the White House Hanukkah dinner on the first night.  I figured, if they're good enough for the Obamas, they must be pretty darn good.  Wow - were they!

They boys are enjoying the choose-your-own-adventure approach to gifts this year.  Tonight, Jake opened Apples to Apples...best. game. ever.  We spent at least two hours playing and eating latkes.  What a great night!

on the first night...

 I've been battling this flu/sinus thing for the past four days, so our first night of Hanukkah was pretty low-key.  No latkes, no soufganyot (jelly donuts)...but we did have some frozen banana dreidels...

 

 

 

 These were sooo good.  I originally made them with pound cake, but they were breaking too easily, so I switched to banana.  Reduced the calorie count by quite a bit and the kids gobbled them up!

I made tags this year for the boys' gifts.

And this year, since the boys are older now, we decided to have a pick-your-own-adventure for Hanukkah gifts.  The first night they had to open gift number one, and each consecutive night they will be able to choose which of the remaining gifts they would like to open.  So we have them all set out.

Gift number one were their big things this year...the little one snagged himself a Kindle Fire, and the big guy over there got himself his first ever cell phone.

Which we hid in a book.

He was none too pleased.

Until he opened it up.

Ha.  The little moments of torture make me so happy. ;)

ahhhhh.

I'm only 2 days into our winter break, and I already feel rejuvenated.  It's been a very difficult fall at school, and I've been struggling to keep a positive attitude. But I'm looking forward to these two weeks of rest and family time.  I'm hopeful that I will return in January with a fresher outlook. :)

I have finished up two projects from my to-do list...feeling really good about shrinking that list down.

The first is a baby blanket for my sister's best friend, who's expecting her first baby girl at the end of the month...

Hee hee - you can see my honey peeking over the top if you look hard enough! :)

It was made using the Pinwheels in the Park Tutorial, except mine is only nine blocks.

I backed it in pink flannel, which looked so pretty after I quilted around the pinwheels.

It has been sent and received by my sister's friend.  I hope it brings lots of warmth and smiles to the happy new family!

I also finished up my mother's Christmas present...a table runner adapted from the Bows and Boughs wall hanging pattern in the November/December 2011 issue of McCall's Quilting.

I just chose a few of the blocks and joined them together in a row to make a table runner instead of the wall quilt that was featured in the magazine.  I am SO happy with the way this turned out.

I am packaging it up today to ship out to her tomorrow with hopes it will get there in time for Christmas.  I hope she is happy with it on her brand new coffee table!

Still lots to do!