Christmas Eve's Eve

 I have a few quiet minutes to spare and thought I'd take a moment to catch up on the happenings in the studio since my last post....

My finger healed nicely thanks to a fantastic surgeon and my essential oils! Not to be out done I found myself in a walking boot due to an accident the day before Thanksgiving ...I didn't have it seen until two weeks later (Dec 6) and had two stress fractures across the middle of my foot - dropped a table while trying to set up for Thanksgiving...I have really been a calamity Jane this last quarter of 2016. Sigh

But I'm getting ahead of myself....

I had thought that I would have wanted to blog and tell the whole tale....but its been public on Facebook and Instagram so much that my emotions have been strung out there too long but....



I do need to share that our sweet Pixxie passed peacefully in my arms at home at 0525 on 12/5/2016  My heart still aches when I think of her - which is quite literally several times a day, sometimes several times an hour!  Having a forever puppy for 16.5 years was a blessing. If you have followed my blog you have seen her sweet face on so many photos. In fact, part of my grieving was to retrieve photos of her that had been on this blog for the past 8 years. I created a Pinterest board just for her. If you have time to look at it I bet it will make you smile. Never before, in my life, has a dog been more loved - and not just by me. My brother in law said it best "she always greeted you like you were a lifetime friend."

We buried her in the backyard in the red valentines quilt she always slept with all her life - right after I came back from the podiatrist (photo above). Needless to say December has been an emotional month.

But, I have to say "He gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord"  I truly have so many things to be thankful for and really haven't the time to devote to share all of them with you tonight ....but I will...in the future....

Speaking of future!  I have some VERY VERY VERY exciting things to reveal the first of the year...currently I am just digging out from a wonderful Christmas season of quilting - and yes, I've actually had the past two to three days off as the quilts were finished early this year!  Most of the month has been bleak and dreary with the exception of the day we buried Pixxie and one day this past week when I escaped and went for a joy ride with the sun roof open to the island for a much needed time to relax and laugh....

Ah but I digress...let me show you a few of the customer quilts from this month and then tempt your interest into upcoming things for 2017...

First of all, it may seem like this wasn't a lot of quilting for a month - but bear in mind these were custom quilts that a required a lot of time and attention....and they were a joy to work on.

First of all is Dancing With The Stars pieced by Marcia....this was a kit from back around 2010 and she did such a good job in completing it. I was so pleased that she decided to do custom quilting instead of an all over design.

Dancing With The Stars

Close up of hand guided custom quilted feathers

Border details as viewed from the back

Its always a thrill to see my customers reactions when they enter the studio to pick up their quilt and see it hanging in the studio. Marcia was pleased with her quilt....As was Emma when she came to pick up her commissioned Memory T-shirt quilt made from her deceased son's collection for his daughter for her first Christmas without her daddy, she's still in either elementary school or middle school. I know when Emma walked in and saw the results she was emotionally taken back...seeing all the shirts she remembered her son wearing....

T-shirts are a speciality in our studio

Details of the beauty of the memory

I had a quilting angel helping me in the background while I worked on these quilts. My friend Dianne came over several days this month to help me prep 90 men's ties for the next commissioned quilt.  Jan approached me earlier in the fall and asked if I would take her deceased husband's ties and make two quilts for her daughters, one of whom is expecting her first baby any day now!  It was a big undertaking having never made this before and only looking at a photo found on Pinterest as inspiration. By the grace of God and my friend Dianne I was able to make both quilts which she picked up on Tuesday...needless to say the emotions were overwhelming and I could tell that she loved them and I know her daughters will cherish the memory quilt forever...

Forget Santa's Elves, I'd rather have a quilting angel any day!

Each quilt had feathered hearts in the corners - one quilt
facing inward, the other outward - representing Daddy's love

One completed and the second on the frame!

Jan's Husband's Ties - Christmas gift for her daughters.

Yes, it's sorta been an emotional month - but I can truly say that it's all wrapped up in love. As people we love others, we love pets, and we are sometimes left without those we love to carry on. The greatest love of course is the love expressed in this season - the love of God to come to earth in the form of a tiny baby named Jesus, to live the perfect life and in His love take our sins upon Himself to reconcile us back to Himself through His victory over sin and the grave!  Christmas is more than special gifts, being with family or hoping for snow (or in the case of us southerners hoping for sunshine instead of rain!). Christmas is like wrapping up in a warm quilt made with love, for that's what God did, He wrapped us up in His arms when He sent His son Jesus as a babe in arms.

I have totally loved all the people I have met through having the privilege of quilting for them! So many stories! Thank you for the past 13 years, it has truly been a joy to share my passion for quilting.

And there's a new chapter coming in 2017!!!! I am soooo over the moon excited to share the news with you....but it's a New Year's surprise....so you are going to have to wait for it!!

For now - Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays to all my quilty friends!

love you,

karen O in TX