Happy Christmas one and all :O)

.... still Christmas Eve ....

Almost time to put out the sherry and mince pies for Santa :O)
My husband is working true to his personal tradition and is busy wrapping presents as we speak .... he always insists this should never be done before 10pm on Christmas Eve!  Whereas I like to watch the pile growing under the Christmas Tree, right through the whole of December ;o) They do say Opposites attract, which I guess explains why we've been married for 31 years ........
We saw the Hobbit today - great film!  I loved the music even more than in LOTR, especially the Dwarves Chorus at Bilbo's house.
Time to find those mince pies ......
Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas :O)

Christmas Eve :o)

Well - I managed to hold out last night!  Pressie pile is still complete under the Christmas Tree ;o)
I put the last stitches into the last made-by-me gift and just need to wrap that this morning - and then they are all done!  Amazed myself this year, unless there's something I've forgotten to do .....
We are going to see the Hobbit today :O)  Funny when you think about it - when the boys were small the treat at Christmas was to get tickets for a pantomime.  Its going to be very tempting to call out and tell Bilbo *look behind you!!!*  I think my guys would disown me - don't you ??  hehehe

The Eve of Christmas Eve ....

The magic of Christmas Day lasts quite a long time in our house.  I love the lead up and the prep, the twinkles and the tinsel - and everything else!  Several years ago our boys heard about opening one present from under the Tree on Christmas Eve.
I'm a definite pushover with anything like that so I confess - they didn't need to push very hard and we quickly made that a regular Family Tradition - hehehe
Well - they are grown up now, in their 20s - but family traditions are still very important aren't they, whatever age you are :O)
Today is the Eve of Christmas Eve ......  Last year they tried to persuade me that there's another similar tradition for today.  I'll give you three guesses about what the topic of conversation is going to be a bit later........ hehehe
I'll tell you tomorrow whether I managed to hold out or not ...... hehehe

Mind you - I've had two early gifts already :O) This is a Poinsettia Rose - the red bracts curls up slightly and form rose-like *flowers* around the top - really pretty!  I haven't seen these before :O)

I LOVE December :O)

Crikey!  WHERE does the time go ????  I can't believe I haven't posted on here since the end of the Art Trail.  Such a lot been happening ....

First off - I had a lovely time at the West Country Quilt Show at Shepton Mallet.  Was very busy all day everyday there, demo-ing the APQS longarm machines and visitors had fun trying out the Lenni machine - and finding out how easy it is to use!


We were back for just one day and then headed off to Cornwall to celebrate my birthday :O)  We stayed in Pentewan at The Cove for a couple of nights, which is just a very short drive from the Lost Gardens of Heligan.  Monday evening we went to the Gardens, for their annual Cornish Christmas night and a candlelit tour of the gardens.  Oh my - that was lovely!  The gardens will never look the same again in daylight.  I can thoroughly recommend it and hope we can go back again next year :O) Highlight for me was a lovely lady playing a dulcimer in the walled garden which was a perfect setting - her gentle notes wafted around in the candlelight and then out into the darkness.  Absolutely magical :O)  I could have stood listening to her playing carols all evening!

We spent my birthday the next day (4th) wandering around Truro.  The weather was changeable and sometimes quite damp and blustery, so we were *forced* to duck into several tea rooms and sample their tea ..... and the scones .... and apple pie ...... and toasted tea cakes ....... ;O)  Had a really nice relaxing time but I confess I did come home slightly .... er .... rounder than when I left .....:O)

The following week (12th) saw us celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary :O)  We had thought to go away for another few nights BB, but decided to stay home and go out for lunch instead at the Start Bay Inn at Torcross.  Yummy food and a crackling fire :O)

And now - my Christmas trees are up and twinkling, the tinsel is on the walls, the Christmas cards are being imminently posted and I am playing Christmas music throughout the house from when I wake up til bedtime .....
Yup ..... I definitely LOVE December ...... :O)

Silk Ribbon Delight

Such a lovely way to spend a couple of hours :O)  I need more silk ribbons to make up the kits for the Christmas ornaments so I pulled out the dyes and started to play :o)  Pretty pretty.  Next up are a few purples and maybe some greens.  I don't know why but it doesn't matter how many green ribbons or threads you may have - it is never enough or never exactly the right one ......
These pinks and yellows are set and rinsed, just need pressing to smooth them out and then they will be ready to pop into the packs.
Can you see the picture of a sewing machine at the back?  That's a new one called George - due here in the next week or so, ready for demo to customers ........ I'll let you know how I get on .......... :o)

Meeting Up

You know - the BEST thing about doing an Open Studio event such as the South Hams Art Trail - is that you get to meet so many lovely people!  I'm tucked away in my little village, on a headland and off the beaten track, and yet visitors have still come along to see how it all works :O)  And I get to stay in my Studio ALL week - which can't be bad!
The weather has changed now, damp and foggy today so I'm expecting it to be rather quiet.  I doubt if I will be able to hang quilts outside any more this year either, which is a shame because they look lovely blowing gently in the sunshine.  Just have to hang more inside!  Not quite sure where  though!  hehe  I do have a little extra room in the Studio now, as Martin and Ian have put up a hanging rail in the rafters so I'm going to spend some time today filling that :O)
If you're a craft maker - check out your local events and join in - its great fun!

Art Trail Starts

Another busy week ahead :o)  South Hams Art Trail started yesterday and luckily it was a lovely day so I was able to hang a couple of quilts outside in the garden.  A few visitors braved our Devon country lanes and called in and I get such a kick when they open the Studio door and are amazed to find my Aladdin's Quilter Version Cave inside - hehehe   I have a few things to catch up with this week - mainly customer quilts and preparing the kits for the little Tree Ornaments.  Once they are done I can play a little on the longarm machine so - watch this space!

Dreary day ......

It was a rather dreary day yesterday, very misty but not cold anyway :o)  This is my garden, looking out from the back door yesterday morning - still plenty of flowers out as you can see!  The sweetpeas have finally finished though - they were SO late starting this year and I've never been able to keep them this long! The pale pink you can see to the left are roses - that's just one bush and its been an absolute mass of blooms throughout the summer.  Really pretty :O)

I worked on two more Christmas designs, getting ready for the Craft Fair at Ashburton next month.

A great way to spend a damp dreary day :O)

I LOVE Christmas!

Yes yes I know!  It's only October.  But ......... I LOVE Christmas!  hehehe
I love the anticipation, the colours, the sparkles, the spicy smells, the candles, the lights - everything!  I love visiting the garden centres and seeing all the new grottoes with all the different twinkly lights and decorations.  They can't put those up early enough for me!
I leave our strings of lights up all year :O)  They are wonderful night lights, especially when you're up really early and can't face the full glare of the top light in the kitchen.  Or now that the nights are drawing in earlier and earlier - they are very cheery to come home to.  I have them strung along the outside of my Studio and inside along the back hall.  Which reminds me - my husband needs to check out the electrickery candle array I have on the shelf, as I think the fuse has blown again ...... ;o)

 I bought more tinsel on Friday.  I found some lovely bright peridot and  dark green stuff at the garden centre.  I confess - I debated about getting it - but not for long.  I learnt my lesson last year - I'd found some really pretty garlands but was talked out of buying them as it was *too early to get that stuff* ....... of course - when I went back - they'd all gone :O(  Sooooo ...... this year - I bought it when I saw it!!
Any guesses about the colour theme for my decorating for 2012?  hehe

As you can see - I've been working on a few more of the little tree ornaments.  I'm making those into kits to sell - bells, stockings, Tree, little birdie, an angel .......  I have a table at the Ashburton Christmas Fayre on 24 November so I want to get a few things ready to sell there.  Watch this space ....... :O)

Fun Fun FUN ..... :O)

SeaHorse Quilt

I've been working on a Sea Horse Quilt.
I drew this design several years ago, one of those doodle things in my Notebook which I came across again and thought - aha!  I know where you're going ........ :O)
I loved working on it :O)  There's a lot of free motion quilting and the background and pebbles are done with a metallic thread, Madeira FS 2/2, #438 dark blue.  If you've never tried these threads - do!  The metallic is wound on a black core and looks fantastic.  Goes through the machine like a dream, both on my bernina and also my big longarm.

Christmas Ornaments

I've been working on some sweet little Christmas ornaments about 3" / 8cm high, embroidered and embellished with thread, silk ribbon and tiny seed beads.  They are really cute!  Neat little gifties for Christmas ;o)

New Venture

Sunday - 23 September 2012
Well - this is a new venture for me, to start a Blog :O)
Thank you to my buddy for suggesting it - I think! hehe
Watch this space to see how things develope ........ :O)

www.anicatt.co.uk
My website is back up properly now thank goodness, and I can edit the content again - at last!  That's been very frustrating but hopefully I can now keep things up to date.  I've added a few new pages and tweaked it a bit so check it out if you haven't been there for a while :O)

Today is the final day for this year's Devon Open Studios.  I've had some lovely visitors who have braved our Devon lanes to find me, and have chatted with a great mix of people.  Some are experienced quilters, some have never even touched a needle!
Not sure how many visitors I will get today as its wet and very windy - a great day to sit and sew!  
I shall be working on my SeaHorse Quilt - have a deadline to get that done by Thursday - so I'd better hustle!  Catch you later ........ :O)