But the tree is down!
We only broke one ornament. It was pretty, but not special…
We have a great place to store the Christmas ornaments in an area that used to be a built-in desk but now houses our rolling entertainment center…
And the space where the tree was is back to normal!
I’ve been de-cluttering—so much so that I need to find something to put on the table next the sofa. I’m going to look around to see what I already own. I really need to stop shopping :-).
TQS (aka The Quilt Show, by Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson) is making their 8 TQS Legend episodes accessible for free through the end of the year—with Mary Mashuta and Roberta Horton’s being featured in the newest episode.
If you’ve never had a chance to see any of these, I hope you will be able to sit back and and enjoy each one. I have seen all but the newest, with Mary and Roberta, and I am really looking forward watching it. Roberta and Mary are wonderful and interesting women, and each has had an influence on my own quiltmaking life.
2007 – Virginia Avery
2008 – Jinny Beyer
2009 – Libby Lehman
2010 – Yvonne Porcella
2011 – Eleanor Burns
2012 – Meredith Schroeder
2013 – Michael James
2014 – Mary Mashuta and Roberta Horton
Many thanks to NatureVideo for posting so many great videos! My favorite in this list of top 10 cute animals for 2014 is the Dumbo octopus.
You might wonder why I am posting this. It’s because I’m trying to reduce some of the stress in my life. I, and most everyone I know, has too much to do, not nearly enough time to do it in, and is not really ready for Christmas (or the new year for that matter). 5 minutes of cute animals did, in fact, make me smile and slow down just a bit. I hope the video works the same way for you :-).
Click here to see the video on youtube if it doesn’t open in this post.
And don’t forget about the fabric sale…
That got your attention, didn’t it! As I am plowing through the enormous pile of everything that stacked up while I was gone, I found that I had ordered more fabric. It’s really nice, new fabric from Moda (slideshow below) and I’m happy to have it but we have to turn around and count all that fabric in about 2 weeks for end of the year inventory. Neither Lorna nor I want to do it.
From now until January 1 all the fabric on the website is 25% off. Enter fab25off in the coupon code box of your order form and the discount will be applied.
I will send a newsletter about this sale after Christmas. For now it’s just you all who know about the sale! If I run out of a fabric, it’s gone, so if there’s something in particular that you want, order sooner rather than later.
And now I am going to turn my attention back to the pile of work that I have been ignoring :-).
The most magical part about a week at Disneyworld are the memories that you bring home with you. We will also have photos taken by the Disney photographers (which should be good!) but for now I can share a few taken with my phone and small camera…
It’s not Disney without princesses, and boy, were they good!
Some of the coolest visual memories that I have are from the Very Merry Christmas evening spectacular. It’s extra, but worth it. The light show on the castle, the Christmas parade, and the fireworks were, in fact, spectacular!
We visited all of the parks!
Jack saw his first ocean mid-trip…
We got rained on at Hollywood Studios but I got some photos between showers…
All in all, it was a great trip. We didn’t think about work for a whole week! And, while we are all ready to be home, we’re also sad to be leaving. That is the sign of an excellent vacation!
8
I am privileged to know Larry Hass, a magician and philosopher. He recently gave a TED Talk at SMU and I think you will enjoy it as much as I did :-).
(Click here if the video above did not open.)
I am captivated by his definition of magic: “Magic is an artful performance, of impossible things, that generates energy, delight, and wonder”. Yes, that’s magic—and that’s why I love watching magic. I don’t want to know how it’s done, I embrace the wonder!
The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize that this statement could also define quiltmaking. What we do is artful. Quilting looks impossible to those who do not sew. And quilts bring delight and wonder, and they energize. Who knows… maybe we are magicians with fabric! It’s certainly something to keep in mind as we sew.
I hope you enjoy both the TED Talk, and the ideas Larry Hass presents.
This will post as I am on my way to the Magic Kingdom (in Florida) where I will be happy to embrace all kinds of magic
Piece O Cake Blog 