Busy time of year, and I've neglected my blog....sorry 'bout that.  I'm going to Indiana to spend the Holidays with two of my grown kids & their families and hope to blog while there.    Can hardly wait!  Of course I have to get a "baby sitter" for my "furry critters" and the minute I got my suitcase out, they get up on the bed and jump in it and lay down.  They would really like to go with me.  

Thought I'd share some pictures with you of a raggedy tote I made last year, and am using again.  I love the embroidery designs on it, and it's so comfortable to carry.

I love the "fringe look" on this one.

Here's some  of the knitted scarves......so soft & cuddly.... I made for the girls in the family.  Sure did enjoy making them.  Perfect for these cold, rainy, windy, snowy days!

Merry Christmas to you all!  I hope the love and joy of this season blesses you and your families.

12 days of Christmas Giveaway here.

This is my sister's blog and she's really picking out nice things for her giveaway.  What fun!  Of course, I won't have a chance of winning.....but the rest of you do!

Just click on the title for this posting.....easy link that way.


http://fabricartist21.blogspot.com/2009/12/yes-yes-it-is-time-for-my-christmas.html

Christmas in the Kitchen...Treasury on Etsy!

I'm so excited to be included in this Christmas in the Kitchen Treasury on Etsy for my Snowmen Redwork towels.  It's a great list....go see the pretties!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=99346

Kitty Cats in a Bag.....inside & out!

As some of you who follow my blog already know, I am a cat lover and my 3 inside cats are constantly inspecting my sewing/quilting projects.    This gives me such a great excuse to buy and collect lots of  different cat fabrics out there in fabricland.   I have 3 plastic tubs  full of them, AND sometimes I even use some of them for a project. 

I just finished this Etsy special order tote bag and want to show everyone the Kitty Cat fabrics I used for it.

  The outside pocket is personalized with an embroidered K initial and securely closes with velcro.

2 large inside pockets and covered mat inside.

3 of the cat fabrics that I used...........

                   Also made a key ring wristlet and a fabric wallet.

I had a fun time making it and my cats gave it 3 paws up!

What did you do today? I wrapped Elf Louise Toys!

Today  a few of my friends and I from our Tied Together Quilt Bee went to wrap presents for the Elf Louise program here in San Antonio.  Not all our members could attend this year, but we still had a good time.   This is our 6th year of volunteering.    Elf Louise was started in 1969 by a lady named Louise who wanted to give toys to some kids for Christmas who might not get anything from Santa.  It has grown to a HUGE giving program with 98% of the donated funds  going directly to toys for the kids.  This year over 4500 volunteers will wrap over 50,000  toys and  Santa and his helpers will deliver to the 5800 families starting December 22.  Each child on the list receives TWO toys, and the older teenagers receive Movie tickets.   To read more about it:   http://www.elflouise.com/about.php

This year the wrapping event is taking place in an empty Mervyn's store at Southpark Mall.  I'll share more of this story with my pictures.

This is where the wrapping crews check in to get the envelopes with the kids names and  ages.

Then we get to go shopping for the toys; aisle after aisle all displayed with each section having the appropriate ages on a display stand...TWO toys per kid.(GIRLS - Age 5-6)  Lots of dolls, tea sets, drawing/color sets, crafts sets.

Next we get our wrapping paper, scotch tape, scissors and go to our tables to start wrapping.

Here's another view of some of the toys we can choose.  CD players, bath sets, hairdryers, games. This place was HUGE!   I can't show you all the aisles of toys, as it would take up page after page on this blog.

That's me 2nd from the right in the red t-shirt.

When  all the toys are wrapped for each family, we take them to a check-in table so they can bag them and number them.  We then go back to the first check in table to receive the list for another family.

Here's just one room with the wrapped, bagged toys!  Each bag represents 1 family.  If the family is real large, then 2 bags are tied together.

After they are bagged for the families, they are put in the huge numbered boxes, ready for Santa to deliver them.  You can see some of the boxes overloaded on the LH side next to the wall.  Wow! 50,000 toys will bring smiles to a lot of little faces!  Such a HUGE giving program for our city...San Antonio, TX.

When we are finished, we like to go out to lunch and have some girl talk!  Another one of our bee members joined us for lunch.

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Our tummies are full and are feet are rested!  Time to go home, all of us with "warm fuzzies" in our hearts!

knit 1, purl 1...faster, faster..Knitting Slippers for gifts

This is a very old knitting pattern that I got back in the early 60's, and have made oodles of these slippers over the years.  My oldest son has been asking for a pair of these for several years now, so thought I'd attempt to make several pair for Christmas for my kids & grandkids.


Here's the three pair I've finished.

I really like this variegated color and the cuff adds a little something different for the gals.

The blue yarn (Vanna's Choice...I like it)  is for my youngest grandson's, and sure hope I can get them finished in time...knit faster, faster, stay up later.......oh my!