Dumping all of February on you

 Sorry I have been absent for the month. It has been a pretty intense month for me. I will start with the completion of Sea Glass and Sand. 

It felt so good to get this finished. I took it around for some glamor shots, but didn't love any of them. Then I had the silly idea to introduce Sea Glass and Sand to snow. We have been having more than our fair share of it this winter. The introduction was a little shaky, but everyone played nicely. 

The blocks in this quilt finish at 2" square, and the whole quilt is a measly 8 1/2".

I made this quilt as the project I would be teaching at a local guild. Now I needed to write the pattern. During the process I discovered that I don't like pattern writing. :) I had to keep making the blocks over and over again to make sure I was assembling in the correct order, and that I had seams going the best way for ease of assembly--even though I had taken notes as I made the quilt, so I thought I had all the info I needed. I always second guess myself.

And then I had to make more blocks in order to create the story boards of the process for each of the two blocks in the quilt.

At one point I was so tired of stopping to cut more parts to make another attempt at the block, I just grabbed some HSTs that were on the cutting table without worrying about their size. It was the process I was trying to figure out. When I finished it I realized I had just made a basket that would finish at 1 1/2". It made the 2" finished blocks in my quilt seem large (well, at least bigger).

The class for the guild was held today (Feb. 28th). It was a blustery day, and with the recent snowfalls and more snow overnight, out in farm country where I live, the fresh snow was blowing off the fields and over the roads, causing near white-out conditions. I wondered if they would cancel class, but apparently quilters are hardier than that. As I headed out, the winds were whipping again and a couple of times I just had to pray that I was still driving on the road, because I couldn't really see it. 

Out of the 23 signed up for class, I think 18 of them made it there. I was amazed. If I hadn't been teaching the class, I would have opted not to go out in that weather. But we had a great group of ladies there, and I was happy to be able to share my experience and recommendations for small-scale piecing. I forgot about taking photos until after a couple of them had already had to leave, but this gives you an idea of the action.

They meet in a large room in the city building of a community several miles northeast of where I live. Plenty of space and lots of light.   Below is a better look at the display.

Thank you Needles and Friends Quilt Guild for inviting me to share with you. It was a delightful morning (once I got out of the blowing snow). :)

I wanted to share this block with you. For the "block jack" in my guild this month we had the spool block. I love the way the thread on the spool is pieced. I had so much fun making these, I made four of them.

This is a block I may want to make more of someday (when I can start something new again--if that day ever comes).

We have been having a lot of these kinds of days this winter--cold and grey with lots of big, fat flakes falling and piling up.

On the left is my in-laws home where my son and his wife now reside. It is across a small pasture, but I zoomed in a bit to see the flakes better. You can enlarge this (or any photos in the post) for a better look. On the right is the view of the farmyard from my sewing room window. In the midst of all this dreariness, this is what keeps me smiling--a little bit of summer, indoors.

And once the storm passes outside, it is a bright, crisp, and frosty world. Below is the view from the front of the house--looking east.

And next is the view from the "bee garden" next to our home--looking west.

I hope you can find beauty in your surroundings, and create beauty in your sewing space.

Until next time, be creative and be kind.

Janet O.

Just a Few Little Things

So much for being a better blogger in the new year! Oh, well--I still have hopes to improve.                       
I have just been sewing tiny things this month. Every block in this post finishes at 2"! This is the one that looks the most complete, though it is just a flimsy. I'm thinking I'll call it Sea Glass and Sand.

Sometime early last year I agreed to teach a class for a local guild, and we set it for February of this year. That gave me lots of time to get the pattern and samples ready. You know how that goes--in your mind you think you have plenty of time, so you push it off until you realize there isn't that much time left. And what time is left is called "Crunch Time"!

Here it is again with the inspiration piece I did a few years ago with some blog friends. It was our Indigo Challenge, issued by Sandy at My Material Creations blog. I had already written up patterns for the blocks in this piece, and used them to create the new piece that is a little smaller.

I am rewriting the patterns to be a little more user friendly for people who may not be used to making 2" blocks. When I wrote up the original patterns they were directed to a group already sewing 2" blocks by the boatload.

In my own guild I am still teaching the Tiny Blocks designed by Lynn Hopkins (patterns and specialty rulers available through Fran at Village Dry Goods). We tackle two blocks each month. These were the story boards for the construction process this month.

The one on the left shows a few different cutting technique options for a rather easy block. The one on the right shows a step-by-step way to make those tiny flying geese (finishing at 1/2" x 1") used in making the star, very accurate.

The other little thing is that I finally got the last four ornaments finished that I was making from my Dad's plaid shirts. The year after he passed I made five of these for my Mom and two of these for each of my siblings as their birthdays rolled around. And then that Christmas I made two for each of my daughters. But I never made them for my sons--until 5 years later!                                      With the border, these ornaments finish at 2 1/2" inches--the pineapple itself is 2". Now that I am finished with Dad's, I need to start making them for the family out of the scraps from Mom's quilts. She didn't really wear cotton clothing that would work well, so I decided her quilt scraps would be the best option.

I also spent a little time with Chooky and the Chookshed Stitchers on Friday. Even though I wasn't there long, any time spent with them is always a delight.

Now I have a confession to make--don't laugh. I bought ANOTHER nativity. I just should not go in that bookstore after Christmas. I went in to buy something my daughter asked me to send her, and the nativities were 75% off. I was just going to look and not buy, but when I saw one of the ones that I had admired before Christmas was still there--and it was the LAST one (the display model)--I had to check out the price. How can you argue with $17 dollars (it was originally almost $75)??

The lighting in this photo doesn't do it justice. It is made of Springstone, and comes from Zimbabwe. I don't know anyone who has been to Zimbabwe, but I'm sure I can find somebody. :)

I was trying to get this post finished before midnight Saturday, but it is a few minutes after now, and I need to be up early for choir practice. I'd better close, and wish you a good Sabbath.

Until next time,

Be creative and be kind!

Janet O.

Had to include a sunset from Tuesday evening, when I drove a mile down the road to visit a friend. It looked like the sun was trying to burn through the clouds that shrouded the mountaintops.

The Last Monthly Mini--and a hodge-podge

This mini post is different in a few ways. It isn't your typical mini, it is the last one for 2022 (landing in 2023), and it is the last official monthly mini with our fearless leader, Wendy (Constant Quilter blog). Thank you Wendy for the five fun-filled years of monthly merry-making with minis (oh, I love that I got two alliterations in one sentence). :) Check out Wendy's blog for the last round of links to the monthly mini makers.

This is what will have to count as my December mini. The four blocks that make up the Bear's Paw on the pocket each finish at 2".

Based on a pattern from The Inspired Wren, I adapted it in a couple of ways. It is a nice tote, on the smaller size. Following the pattern makes a 9.5" x 12" tote that is 2" deep. I had to make mine a tad smaller to accommodate the fabrics I had that would match the pocket I had already made. That was my other adaptation--pockets.

This pattern did not include pockets. I added one outer (the Bear's Paw block), and one inner. Before sewing side seams, I attached the outside pocket on one end, and the inner pocket on the other, as shown below.

Other than those two items, I followed the pattern as written. It is well written and easy to follow.It does call for fusible interfacing, and it was a miracle that there happened to be enough of it on hand, since I haven't used the stuff for about a decade!

The inside is finished off nicely with French seams, so there are no raw edges exposed. I like that.

This was my contribution to my guild's Christmas gift swap. We were each to make a bag of some sort and we could choose to fill it with goodies or not. I threw in some of my soap, a bag of treats, and a mini Dresden Plate pattern and template. 

I hope the new owner likes it.

My guild gobbled up what little sewing time I could scrape together in December. Along with making the bag for the guild swap, the Bear's Paw blocks on the pocket were part of the assignment I have in guild this year to teach those who want to continue making Lynn's "Tiny Club" blocks, even though he is currently serving as a missionary elsewhere. 

I try to cover two blocks each month--an easier one and one more complex block. Lynn used to make very detailed individual "storyboards" for each step in the process of making a block. I can't go into that much detail, but I have been doing something like these for each block.

On the complex blocks I do a more detailed step-by-step progression from cutting the pieces, to the finished block, like you see on the left. On the right is a simpler block, where I just show a couple of method options, and then the final step to the finished block. Each board reads left to right, top to bottom.

The week before Christmas we made a very spur-of-the-moment decision to attend a Mannheim Steamroller concert. This music became popular when we were young marrieds (a lifetime ago), and as our children grew I think all four of them played at least one Mannheim Steamroller Christmas song for a piano recital.

It was a fun experience, even though I look like a deer in the headlights in the photo.                                                                                                                          

And I have a small confession to make after my last post about my collection of International Nativities. The store where I have purchased about a dozen of those nativities has a clearance on many of them after the holiday. Though I can't recall now why I had a need to drop in the day after Christmas (smirk), I walked out with two more little Nativities--and I already had one from each of the countries. I think I need an intervention.

We woke up to this on New Year's Day. The snow continued to fall all day. It wasn't heavy snowfall, but it was heavy snow, if that makes sense. 

Utah is known for its dry powder snow, great for skiing. But this was very wet, heavy snow, and though it is good for the snowpack in the mountains to fill our reservoirs in the spring, it is miserable stuff if you have to shovel it. We probably had about 10-12 inches by nightfall. Some parts of the valley had a little less, and some had a little more. The fact that our state has been in severe drought conditions for some time now means this is a welcome sight, no matter how miserable it is for driving, or how backbreaking it is to shovel.

I look forward to a new year of being more intentional, more thoughtful, more compassionate, and more creative. Wishing you all a. bright new year!

Until next time, 

Janet O.

Whoops, forgot to ask--if any of you follow via bloglovin' and you are reading this, can you tell me if bloglovin has been giving you trouble? My last post never showed up there in my feed--just a picture of a soccer player with a quotation, but it said it was a post from rogue quilter. I did a Google search and saw a lot of complaints. Should I offer Feedly instead?

Nativity Collection

I have no quilty content today, but I have often said I would do a post of my Nativities--so this is it. I know many people have more sets than I, but I have put some limits on myself as to what I would include in my collection. With no boundaries, a collection can quickly get out of hand under my control (or the lack thereof).

My decision was to collect Nativities from other lands--preferably handcrafted. And even more specific is that I wanted them to be from countries my family or friends have visited. Some of them have been gifted to me by my family and friends when returning from travels. Others have been located through online stores, or through a bookstore here that carries a large selection of Nativities (many of them being international) every year at Christmas time. In fact, of the ones I have purchased, most came from this store on the after Christmas sales.

So without further ado--my International Nativities:

Cambodia--When my brother was a missionary in Thailand many years ago, they had to leave the country every 6 months or so to get their visa renewed. Cambodia and Viet Nam were the places he would have to go. This is quilled paper and was gifted to me by my younger daughter.

Mexico--My husband and I got together on a failed tour to Mexico with a performing group. We had paid for the trip, but didn't get farther than a border town--and never got our money back.

   Left: Bolivia--Some neighbors were missionaries there. Right: Peru--just couldn't resist this.

And apparently I really can't resist the Peruvian Nativities, because I now have three more! The one below, on the left, was added after Christmas in 2022, and the one on the right was added from the Nativity Market in 2023. I first justified these because my friend Lori, at Humble Quilts blog, has been to Peru a couple of times (that I know of). But now one of my grandsons has been there on a two-week service mission trip.

The following nativity, also from Peru, was purchased after Christmas in 2023. Sorry about the reflection from the glass shelf. You aren't seeing double.

Both of the nativities above are from Argentina--oldest son was a missionary near Buenos Aires. Left: He brought these figures home with him--(figures only. Stable was found at a local thrift store.)  They are very small. Even smaller is the wooden nativity on the right. I bought this in a local shop that specializes in "Fair Trade" items. In addition to these two, for Christmas in 2023 I received the nativity below, on the left, from a neighbor who recently returned from Argentina with her husband, where they were providing leadership for a mission there for three years. 

And on the right, above, is the one from New Zealand that my older sister brought me after she visited our cousin that was living there. Both of these above are carved from woods native to the respective countries. I'll have to try and find out what they are.

December of 2025, my neighbor who had gifted me the nativity on the left, above, brought me a smaller one that was made by the same craftsman in Argentina who had made that larger one. It is shown on the left. I should have taken a photo of them together.

  Left: Germany--my father and oldest daughter have been there, but I bought this Nativity in an antique mall.  Right: Austria--oldest daughter bought this for me when doing a semester abroad. Both of these nativities are beautifully hand carved.   They are each 4" to 4.5" tall.     

Above: Both from Kenya and made of soapstone. Silky smooth to the touch. I don't know anyone who has been there--I just can't resist the feel of the stone. It is therapeutic. Sometimes I just have to pet these. :)

Two more stone nativities added after my original post, the one on the left is springstone, from Zimbabwe. I purchased it after Christmas in 2022. Much of the carving is textured, so I don't pet this one. The one on the right is another one from Kenya made of soapstone. I purchased this in November 2023 at the Nativity Market. The roof of the dwelling comes off, and you can place the figures inside, but then it is too dark to see their vivid colors and designs.

Philippines: This was purchased at 90% off on an after Christmas sale a few years ago. It was hand carved. I have a sister-in-law whose parents (whom I knew before I knew their daughter, because they were friends with my parents) served as missionaries in the Philippines, and several friends in our community have served there over the years, as well. The proportions of this one are interesting. Mary and the donkey seem on a larger scale than Joseph and the baby. And as of August 2023, my older sister and her husband are serving as missionaries in the Philippines.

 

 Left: Iceland--Our sons got me this wool Nativity on a Spring break trip. Right: Mozambique--made of sandalwood. Smells so good, I couldn't resist it. Sometimes I just have to scratch and sniff. :)

Left: Ecuador--I don't know of anyone who has been there. But my fascination with miniatures won out--this is carved from a Tagua nut, and it is tiny. Right: Hawaii--My younger daughter brought this back to me after their family visited Hawaii. Though the gourd shaped holder is actually taller than the Tagua nut structure, the figures inside are very small.

Thailand--my brother was a missionary there for 2 years. Most of the nativities I see from Thailand are made of mixed metals with beads, and sometimes wood elements are added. I have a real weakness for them, judging by the number of nativities I have from this country.

Another from Thailand below. It was the first from Thailand that I purchased in 2020.

I am also a big fan of the nativity ornaments from Thailand. The variety is endless, but I only have my favorite two, shown below. Notice the cow, sheep and donkey dangling from the bottom of the one on the right.

I picked up a few nativities on our trips to Europe in 2024, but they were not necessarily from the countries I visited, with the exception of the first one. It is Delft Blue, and I purchased it in Amsterdam, on our way to Norway. It isn't handcrafted, like I prefer, but it was the only "native" nativity I could find in our only day to visit there.  

The two nativities above were purchased in France, though it turns out neither of them were made in France. The one on the left is much smaller than it appears--just a hair over 2". I found it at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, in Paris. It was made in Italy. My oldest spent a couple of weeks there with her sister-in-law's family, so it works.

The one on the right (3" high) was picked up at the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen (in other words, not from the famous one in Paris, but still an incredible place). Turns out it was made in Peru. Love those Peruvian nativities!

I have two of this puzzle-style nativity. The one on the right is from India--One of my nieces and her hubby lived there for a while after they were married. On the left is one from Columbia. I bought this at the Nativity Market in November of 2023. It is much smaller than the one from India. Don't know anyone who has been to Columbia, but it was my birthday outing, so I gave myself a free pass.

Ghana--A dear friend had this carved for me while she and her husband were on a combination Sabbatical and mission trip there.

Left: Guatemala--my parents and younger sister took a trip there.  But I ordered this online.  Right: Brazil--Our youngest son brought this from his mission on the southern tip of Brazil. The figures are from banana leaves and the shelter is corrugated cardboard.

In December of 2024, after Christmas, when the nativities in a local store were marked 90% off, I couldn't resist adding another one from Guatemala to my collection. I wasn't going to, but the sales clerk, whom I have known for decades, practically twisted my arm. I'm glad she did. This is a bright, happy nativity. The horns and ears on the cow remove for storage. Love that cow!

Above Left: Brazil--Also brought home by our youngest son from his mission. Notice how the figures nest. Joseph is quite tall. Right: Ireland--Hubby was a missionary there before we were married, and he returned twice with a performing group. This is Waterford Crystal. The company now outsources these, but I was able to find this set on eBay with the original Waterford hallmarks.

Israel--I don't know the exact origin, but it is made from olive wood and was a gift from a dear blog friend. My parents and my brother have visited the Holy Land. I used to think I would someday, too, but now I wonder.

This was added to the collection in 2022. Also of olive wood, this was crafted in Bethlehem from olive wood harvested in Jerusalem. Apparently they must prune the olive trees every two years so they will bear fruit, and the prunings are used in many crafts such as this. I love the gorgeous grain of the olive wood. 

The last of the International Nativities is my German Pyramid. This is a family favorite. Whenever we gather during the Christmas season, the candles are lit and we enjoy the four, candle-powered, rotating scenes. Again, my father and my oldest daughter have each traveled to Germany, and I have  German heritage on my father's side.

I have five or six other non-international Nativities, and of those I will just share this one. Many of you will recognize it as the Willow Tree collection. It was my first Nativity set that I hadn't painted myself (I used to paint a lot of ceramics).

This is what Christmas is about to me. I love the season of remembering and celebrating the love of our Savior. Whatever your Christmas celebration is like--if you celebrate, I hope it is a day of peace and joy for you (and I am praying for all of those in the path of extreme weather). From our house to yours, Merry Christmas!

Janet O.

(Yes, hubby and I put up all those lights ourselves every year--there are more on the side you can't see here. I keep waiting for him to say we are getting too old, but until then, I will continue to bask in the glow.) 

Oh, almost forgot! A few years ago I posted a link to a version of the song "Mary, Did You Know?" Recently I came across a YouTube of Voctave performing the song, with the lead vocals by the man who wrote the lyric to the song. The vocals in this are so pure, and the joy on the face of Mark Lowry is really touching. Give it a look.