More Christmas Shopping, More Christmas cooking, More Christmas mail and Christmas special No; 6

Oh my goodness, the title of this post is almost as long as the post itself LOL!!!!!

Bear and I had another really lovely day together. We got some last minute Christmas shopping done in the morning, bought some more lights for DH to put up in the pergola [[which he did that afternoon!!! What a Sweety he is :o)!!]]. Also couldn't resist these pretties ....

to sit on the dinner table on Christmas Day :o).

Once we got home it was back to baking Christmas goodies. Is there anything that smells yummier than delicious buttery shortbread baking???!! Mmmmmm, I LOVE that aroma :o)!! And they turned out so well ...........I can say that quite confidently as I was the official taste-tester. YUMMMM!!!!!

We also made these .........These are scrummy ... just melt some dark choccy, pop a glace' cherry in each tiny patty case, then pour the melted chocolate over the cheery into each little cup, then you just pop them into the refrigerator to set. Mmmmm, irresistable :o)!! Today I'm making my special Ice-cream with macadamia nuts, macadamia cookies, red and green licorice and coconut in it. The kids LOVE that ..... and the grown ups too LOL.

I've finished all my Christmas sewing now ... this was the last item to make. Just a pretty journal cover for my gorgeous Mum :o).The "M" is also for "Margaret" .... works for me ;o).

I got a really lovely surprise in the mail yesterday too. I was a lucky winner earlier this year in Sandi's giveaway. She sent me a beautiful handmade stocking - you can see it in the piccy below hanging on our fireplace ready for Santa to visit ;o) ...............

(and it was full of Christmas fat quarters!!!) . And dear Sandi remembered me again this Christmas and she sent me these ....Both of these adorable tree ornaments have my name on them!!!! What an incredibly thoughtful lady you are Sandi!!! Thank you SO much!!!

Okay ... well here's the 6th JoyPatch Christmas special!! Today I've chosen a pattern that pretty much sums up how I feel about housework!! I do it, but I don't like it he he!!! This bag has cute stitcheries on it that say ........

"Dusting :o( Ironing :o( Washing :o( ~ I'd rather be Quilting :o)"

and on the other side ...

"Sweeping :o( Cleaning :o( Cooking :o( ~ I'd rather be Quilting :o)"

So if you're like me and would rather be stitching than doing your chores, then this bag has to be on your "to do" list lol!!! It's nice and roomy, 15" x 13" with pockets inside for your phone and other little items you'd like to keep within easy reach. Nice long handles too so you can sling it over your shoulder. And just like the others, this PDF pattern is just $5.00!!! I can email the pattern to you as soon as payment is received, no postage costs and no waiting :o)!!!!

Well I'd better go and wake Bear, she's off to do her Christmas shopping today!!

Some stitching, Some Christmas munchies and Christmas Special No: 5!!!

First the stitching!! This very festive and easy peasy table topper was a doddle to make, it really was!!! All it is is 36 charms squares all sewn together .... pre-quilted calico on the back, cross hatch quilted and throw the binding on!!!

This was really fun to make ~ probably because it was so simple, and I think it looks brilliant :o)!! I might make another one for using during the rest the year .... I know I have plenty of charms to choose from. Simply can't resist those cute little packs lol.

We made such a mess in the kitchen yesterday he he ... we had melted chocolate, M&Ms and wafers all over the place ... but we had a LOT of fun too!! Bear's friend Sam came over and we all made little Christmas Cottages. This is Sam and me hard at work ........ This is how the girls cleaned up the mess!!!!!and very YUMMY mess it was too ...... so I'm told LOL!!!!! Hmm, funny, no leftovers!!!???!

Now of course you're all dying to see our masterpieces I'm sure .......... ta daaaaaaaaa..........For anyone who's in the business of making "Edible Christmas Cottages" .... please don't fret, as you can see in the above piccy ~ we are NO threat to your livlihood LOL!!! Poor Bear's cottage collapsed (it's the middle one), it's now a Christmas Teepee lol!!! We had loads of fun though :o).

Now for another JoyPatch Christmas Special ... this time I've picked a quilt-as-you-go quilt that I've made several times. It's made using a jelly roll and charm squares and it really does go together quickly. The first one I made for my DH but it's spent most of it's life so far as a sample in patchwork stores (sorry hon!!!) ... I really must make him another he he he!! This next one was made for my DS and DIL when they got married. I put a border on it to make it a bit bigger ......And this last one was made using the "Aviary" range of fabrics (from Moda) as I wanted to see it in more feminine colours ... this one's my favourite I think :o)!!This quilt is 61" x 63" (without a border) and you can make it with 1 jelly roll and 45 charms plus extra yardage for front and back sashings and binding (1 & 3/4m) and the diamond strips background (1m) and of course your backing and batting. In fact, because each strip is backed separately you can use up a lot of fabrics from your stash and make it totally reversible!!!

I will email this PDF pattern to you on receipt of payment so there's NO POSTAGE to pay!!! Like the other specials, this pattern is just $5.00, but only for a short time :o)!!

Would you believe I'm off to do MORE Christmas shopping today!!!??!

"Harley Lolly Drop" and Christmas Special No: 4!!!!

Every year in our neighbourhood a lovely group of Harley Davidson owners ride down our street and into the local park giving out lollies to the local children. It's become such a fun tradition in our house that we make sure we're at home for it!!! You can hear the rumble as they come down the street and it's such fun to see the littlies getting all excited!!!Then just as the last of them were coming through ... who should we spy but Norm, our accountant!!! Now that's a side of Norm we didn't know ;o)!!! Doncha love his bike!!??! We were lucky to have a bit of rain over the weekend so while we were waiting for the Harleys to come through Bear thought it would be fun to shake the tree her friend Nadia was standing under ....... she's a ratbag is our Bear lol!!!!!! ;o)

In the afternoon Bear and I decided to do a bit of Christmas cooking, we made some yummy 'white Christmas' .... do you love our 'oh so natural' poses for the camera ............???

This is more like what it was really like though ..... I tried to explain to Bear that we lick the bowl AFTER it's been emptied [[[sigh]]]!!!!!!!! By the way, do you like our lovely aprons??? These were the ones I won at Buderim Patchwork's giveaway a little while ago, aren't they fabulous!!!!!

Ok .... so here's the Christmas special for day 4. I've chosen one of my latest patterns as there were so many of you who liked it :o). This is my "Under Lock and Key" block-keeper. It's 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" with an applique'd and stitcheried (gosh is that really a word lol) front. The little verse stitched on the front around the heart says "My blocks are under lock and key to keep them clean and wrinkle free!"I've stitched a cute set of keys on the front too ... if you need the keys as well I still have a limited amount of sets left for only $5.50 per set (there are 3 keys on a ring per set), so just email me if you'd like those too. The PDF pattern is just $5.00 and will be emailed to you as soon as payment is received, so you don't pay postage :o)!!!

I've been making a very festive and very simple table-topper ... just need to stitch on the binding ~ I'll show you that tomorrow :o)!!!

So until then .........................................

2 more sleeps!!!!!

I'm so excited!! Only two more sleeps until Christmas!!! Can I really wait that long until I open some pressies??? Well, in a word ...... nope ;o). I must confess that I've already opened one ... just one, that's all. These are the gifts I received from my swap partner Dawn - it's a long story, but her little darling Jemimah (3) has already helped her open her gifties from me lol, so I have opened just the one from Jemimah to me (it's the one on the bottem left of the picture).... and this is what Jemimah sent me, isn't it lovely!!! I'm looking forward to stitching it up - Thanks Jemimah, hope you love your little Santa :o).

I also received a gift from Julie - this was totally unexpected and really made my day!! Thanks so much Julie, I can't wait to see what's inside ;o). ...... But that's not all, I've been admiring the very clever work of my friend Jeanette on her blog lately and one of the things she made arrived at my house this morning!!! You can't see them in the piccy, but this gorgeous bon bon is full of toffees!!! YUM!!! What a wonderful surprise!!!!! I'm feeling incredibly spoilt this week - thank you all so much for your kindness :o).

DD2 and I have been busy in the kitchen the past few days. We've finally got the Christmas treats all made. Do you love our little mini puddings??? Soooo easy to make :o). We do these every year.We made these yummy shortbread stars .... I have to tell you , these just melt in the mouth - YUMMY!!.... and we made some 'White Christmas' - sorry, I should've taken a piccy of them, and little cherry chocolates. I did the Ice creams today too - I love this recipe, I found it last year and it was a HUGE hit. It's vanilla ice-cream and you mix in chopped red and green licorice, chopped macadamias, shredded coconut and chopped macadamia cookies. It's so delicious :o) you should try it.

More sewing to do now ... and don't worry, the tutorial for the little red bag will be coming very soon, I promise :o). I'll post piccies of MIL's bag as soon as it's done too ..... yep, that's right, I'm still doing it LOL.

Take care,

Ho-Ho-Hugs,

Joy :o)