This is the latest quilty thing that I have been working on. I dug out my tried and true stocking pattern and directions last night. This is a stocking for my daughter’s boyfriend. He will be joining us Christmas morning so he needs his own stocking.

Like every year–my list of things that I want to accomplish before Christmas usually exceeds the time I have available. This was the last thing on my list and I thought I had run out of time. I considered buying a stocking but after going out looking Friday night and seeing what was available, I decided that I would find the time to make one. I can’t believe what junk the stores are selling.

This stocking is particularly suited for the recipient as he considers himself somewhat of a cowboy. My husband says it is even “cowboy sized” as it is plenty big enough for stuffing full of all kinds of things. It even has a picture of the “red guy” that is usually banned from my house. Those of you who understand my preference for snowmen over Santa will understand that comment. *LOL*

This post is in response to the Calico Cat’s inquiry. The quilt on the chesterfield or couch in the previous post is my son’s Christmas Quilt. The quilt is lap size–47 1/2″ x 71 1/2″ and was made as a Christmas present for him in 2002. The pattern is Cobblestones. You may know this pattern by other names as it has certainly been in the public domain for a very long time. This was a fun scrap quilt to make using up all sorts of bits of leftover Christmas fabrics. This picture was taken on Christmas morning in 2002 of my son and his new quilt.

That same year I made my daughter a Christmas quilt too. Her quilt is the Chinese Coin pattern and it too was made from the same Christmas fabric scrap bin as her brother’s quilt. This is a picture of my daughter on Christmas morning in 2002 with her Christmas lap quilt.

This is the recipe for the cookies that my daughter is shown baking in the previous post. This cookie recipe is “no fail” and has become one of the favorites of our family.

Smartie Cookies

1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Smarties or M&M’s for decorations

Cream butter and both sugars together. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla.

Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Press Smarties or M&M’s on top of cookies using 3 or 4 per cookie. Bake in 375 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 4 dozen.

It is definitely starting to feel like Christmas around here! My daughter looked after the baking of some Christmas cookies while her brother and girlfriend looked after decorating the tree.

A favorite cookie in this household has always been “Smartie cookies”. The cookbook calls them Frog Eyes but we have renamed them Smartie cookies. Since the kids were small we would make these cookies decorating them to reflect the season. You can buy Smarties and M&Ms coated in colours to match the seasons–Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Easter, etc.

This my daughter baking Christmas Smartie cookies.

This is my son and his girlfriend decorating the tree.

Another shot showing the “supervisor” of the operation–Dad!

According the recent Quilting in America 2006 survey sponsored by Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine the dedicated quilter is:

* Female
* 59 years old
* Well educated (72% attended college)
* Affluent ($87,026 household income)
* Spend on average $2,304 per year on quilting
* Quilting for an average of 13.5 years

I am much younger than the dedicated quilter and I know that $2,304 in quilting supplies, classes, etc. does not get you very far! This survey tells me that the dedicated quilter is likely retired or close to retirement which means I have many more years of quilting ahead of me! Yahoo!

Something else that I found interesting the survey is that the average dedicated quilter owns an average of 2.6 sewing machines and 24% own more than 4 machines! If I count my retired Kenmore, my antique Singer, my Bernina that is used for piecing, and my APQS long arm, I own 4 machines!

Finally, 4.7% of all quilters are dedicated quilters and account for 88% of total quilting industry expenditures. That means that if the remaining 95.3% of the quilters out there started to spend anywhere near what the minority or dedicated quilter spends on quilting, there would be an explosion to the quilting industry!

Check the survey out yourself; it is an interesting read: http://www.quilts.com/home/news/index.php?page=announcements/index

These are my recent finishes. My son says I am running a “sweat shop” in my studio. Sometimes it might seem that way as I sit in front of my sewing machine for hours on end. Christmas is approaching and projects need to be finished…….

This is a hexagon table topper that I made with the fabrics that my Mom purchased on our trip to the U.S. some months ago.

There was enough fabric to make a second table topper. This time I made an octagon shaped topper.

These projects can be reversed if the backing is selected carefully. In the case of the first two table toppers, this is the backing that is on them. Once Christmas is over, the toppers can be changed over to a winter bird fabric to finish the winter season.

This is a table topper that I plan to give my MIL for Christmas.

This is the fabric on the back of my MIL’s table topper. The flowers on this one match my MIL’s carpet in her living room.

This is one more table topper that I will be giving away in a gift exchagne this Christmas.

These small wall hangings are so fun to make that you can’t stop at just one! Here we have Joy, Joy, and even more Joy!