Reindeer Games

It's that time - the most wonderful time of the year, in my books. Time to bring out the cookie cutters and dragees and chocolate and nuts and a host of other goodies and start the Christmas baking. Yesterday was our Christmas Cookie Bakeoff - a little earlier than usual, but still great fun. And, we got lots done.

Winter visitor

And, as if on cue, there was a sprinkling of snow overnight that covered the ground for the first time this season, and light snow fell throughout the day, which only added to the festive spirit; that, and the spontaneous singing of carols throughout the day. It also meant that the birdfeeder did a brisk business.

Jane busy rolling rum butter sandwich cookies

By the time I got to Betty's at 9 a.m. she and Jane were already busy rolling cookies, with pans in  the oven - no sleeping in for these two! Seven of us, along with two little ones, happily launched our Christmas baking season mixing and rolling and embelishing and packing tins.

Linzer hearts - a fave

At the end of it all we had a great selection of 14 different cookies and a batch of white chocolate lemon truffles, for a grand total of 1,114 cookies headed to various freezers. That figure will grow slightly as there are still several truffles to be rolled so I suspect we'll end up around 1,150. That's almost a hundred dozen cookies - not bad at all.

Meghan busy icing cookies

And everything went so smoothly. We figured out that this is either the 19th or 20th year that we've been getting together to bake so we've developed a bit of a rhythm and things run along like a well oiled machine.

Jane and Julia 'working the line'

The lovely Julia with linzer hearts and wreath cookies

We also make a few batches of dough in advance so that it's chilled overnight and ready to roll first thing in the morning, avoiding any down time for the oven. This time we had linzerhearts, cinnamon stars, almond wreaths, chewy chocolate gingerbread and butter rum sandwich cookie doughs all made in advance.

Frances perfects the art of the squeeze bottle



Frosted holly gingerbread





Happy birthday, Steph!

It was a doubly special day as it fell on Stephanie's birthday so we had to celebrate that too. And little Emmy was kind enough to help with blowing out the candles, all bedecked in her trusty chef's hat. Nothing like chocolate cake with buttermilk chocolate frosting if you have to be another year older!

Frosty bling

 
We always have a tough time getting Jane into the spirit of the season (NOT!) so, in addition to coming with her Christmas apron she was sporting this lovely snowman that Linda gave her for Christmas last year.

Chunky chocolate snowballs ready for the oven

Steph with her favourite ingredient - ready to 'rum'-ba

Chocolate espresso snowballs

Emily and Jen rolling chewy chocolate gingerbread

At the end of the day the kids were keen to go into town for the Santa Claus parade (ours starts just after sunset so there are lots of lights on the floats) and when everyone got back home we enjoyed a tasty lasagne dinner and finished off the birthday cake.










 

Today the Official Cookie Tester asked the age-old question - do these all have to go to the freezer or are there some that can be eaten now? I used to take a really hard line on this and save it all till at least the week of Christmas but then I realized that I will still do lots of baking before Santa arrives, and he loves them so much that he might as well enjoy them to the fullest. Needless to say, I joined him in a cup of tea....M

A Special Sunday

Two weeks ago four of us got together at Jane's cottage for a day of hand stitching. It was sort of a consolation prize - we had thought we might be able to swing a trip down to Niagara for a Sue Spargo workshop at Stitch in Jordan but, unfortunately, schedules did not allow for it so we did our own mini workshop with her in mind.

Betty and Jane had gotten a head start on Saturday and by the time I got there Jane had two of these wonderful felt Christmas trees made and was well on her way to finishing up this very rustic, very adorable little snowman.

Betty was working on a covert Christmas gift so she kept cutting wool for her piece and disappearing into the next room to lay it out (me thinks all will be revealed Christmas morning).














Jane also started work on this cushion top. It is wool and the beadwork just brought it to life that much more. She's still thinking about how to finish it off.














Linda joined in with me on Sunday and she was working on a beautiful piece with wonderfully embellished leaves. All three ladies are crafting commandos so they made great progress with their projects - I always feel like I am sitting with idle hands when I am around these three because they work so quickly.

I was working on felt birds for the bazaar so Jane got a quick tutorial ...

...and whipped up this pretty little one out of blue wool (I told you she was quick).

The place was bursting with fabric and felt and beads and buttons and yarn and ribbon and all manner of embellishment and lucky me came away with a little supply of irridescent white & pink snowflakes to use on my birds, compliments of Linda.

All in all, a wonderful day....M

Crazy Eights

I thought it was pretty cool when I figured out how to make 4 HSTs at one time but last week I saw where Lynn from Sew'n Wild Oaks had a method for making eight at a time. What's a girl to do but try it, right? And what do you need to help you make them?

Why, a new Magic Wand, of course! Who doesn't want a magic wand? (I could use one for more than quilting). So I found one on the weekend while I was out doing errands and it followed me home. This one is pretty basic, with the only demarcation being a groove down the centre of it, 1/4" from each edge, but the Omnigrid version wasn't available and I was anxious to try it, so I took it. Actually, I paid for it and then I took it...

I selected two 8-inch squares of fabric and went to town; Lynn's tutorial is very well explained and they came together quite easily. I particularly like the size chart that she provided for cutting.

Of course, I hadn't really thought about what I'd do with them when they were made, and didn't want to get into HST production for a new large project, so I made them into pinwheels for the front panel of a Christmas stocking. There were just enough.

This is the same stocking pattern that I've been using all along, I just modified it slightly, simplifying the design by removing the prairie points and extending the length of the stocking.

I also tried a new quilting pattern for the bottom part and quite like it.

The back of the stocking is a solid panel of fabric, quilted the same as the bottom of the front; the others were totally reversible. It's the same snowflake fabric that I used for the cuff. And I still had red gingham binding left so I finished it off with that.

Wa la! A new Christmas stocking.

I'm having withdrawals from making things for the bazaar and haven't really landed on the next project to get my teeth into other than a bit of hand quilting on Confetti, so this filled the void.

There are still a few journals that I could cover - maybe I should sit down and finish those off and I could put that pile away. Am I the only one that keeps piling piles on piles - what one friend referred to as her piling system? A sorting of my sewing room is long overdue...M

Sewing For Sandy

We continue to watch in disbelief as our neighbours to the south grapple with the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, and can't help but feel extremely lucky. The storm passed by here but we dealt only with some heavy rains - nothing compared with being in the heart of it.

So when I saw Erin's post at My Patchwork Life I sat down to cut a few blocks. She's asking quilters to make a block or two - or more, if you are so inclined - using the Disappearing Nine-Patch pattern. She will assemble them and give them to needy families. She's even included a step-by-step tutorial for you, so no need to look things up - just find two pieces of fabric that meet her specs and off you go.

Originally I was going to make one block, maybe two, but when I got into it I ended up making six, using two different pinks. The yellow print is pretty bright so they would be fun in a little girl's quilt. With winter just around the corner they will be welcomed with open arms, so if you have a little time and would like to help out please do. It doesn't take long at all.

And Michelle at the Quilting Gallery is working with Victoria Findlay Wolfe at Bumble Bean quilts. Victoria is collecting quilts and blankets, either handmade or store bought, for those who need them. Michelle has a Wonky Log Cabin block tutorial and is looking for volunteers to make blocks and team leaders to assemble them, provide the backing and batting, quilt and bind the top, and then ship them to the distribution centre in New York City.

If you want to make your own quilt and send it directly you can - all the details are on Victoria's site. So spread the word and help where you can. A little of your time will be a huge and meaningful gesture to those who need some support and comfort right now.

And, if you don't quilt (or even if you do), or have the time to put together a few blocks, Christie at The Fabric Shopper has created the Disaster Relief Raffle. She has received wonderful donations that will provide added incentive to consider a donation to the American Red Cross relief efforts. For my friends here in Canada, 7 banks across the country are accepting donations for the Canadian Red Cross from November 7 to December 7, 2012...M