Thanksgiving, a Quilt, and a Gift.

Is it already December?  Wha...  But it's barely Autumn.... I'm so confused.... Help meeeeee, help meeeeeeeeeeeeeee..............!  Ok, thanks for allowing me a minor melt down.  I'm just so behind on things it seems.  I'm just staring at the realization that I only have a few precious weeks to get my holiday gift making done.  I really want to make most of the Christmas gifts for my loved ones this year.  Ya, well, we'll see how that goes. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  There's something so special about a warm home filled with generations of loved ones.  Here are a few highlights of our holiday.  I was so exited to see my cousin's new baby girl.  She is about 7 months old and this was the first time seeing her.  Prepare yourselves, she has got to be one of the most adorable babies of all time. 

Oh my, can you stand it!!!?  I got to snuggle with this little angel for hours!  That is when when someone else wasn't stealing her from me. 

Don't you just want to smoosh those cheeks?  We had so much fun with her.  And her precious big sister.  Who is equally as beautiful.

Oh how I love moments like this.

All the kiddos had so much fun.

The food was deeeeelicious!

And my brother dressed up for the occasion. 

Now I'm going to share one of my favorite Christmas quilts.  It's also one of my only Christmas quilts because I tend to give things away. 

This is just a simple hourglass block with sashing.  I made this years ago and had enough blocks left over to make my dear friend MT a nice throw as a gift. 

I always quilt my name into the border somewhere.

The girls are planning their letters to Santa.

This quilt gets lots of cuddling during this time of year. 

I'm plotting my next Christmas quilt.  With my very special cottages of course!

I have this Christmas houses fabric that I am in love with .  I have it in two different sizes.  I'm going to see if I can incorporate it somehow.

And now for my super super special surprise!  You'll never guess what I got in the mail.  If you've been visiting my blog for any amount of time you're familiar with my wonderful friend from Germany, Sabine.  We have become such great friends and email each other many times a week.  We were recently telling each other about our different Christmas traditions.  She told me about how they do their Advent calendars.  She enjoys wrapping and numbering 24 sweet little gifts for her children and they get to open one on each day starting on December 1st until Christmas day. 

Here is my surprise. 24 beautiful little packages wrapped in the most precious paper, each one numbered.  Can you believe this?  Sabine is so thoughtful, kind and generous.  I was a bit worried when the box arrived though... because it looked like this.

Now what's this all about?  Some German or American postal worker needs a swift kick in the pants.  I can't believe it but thankfully, nothing fell out.

I am so blessed by your kindness, thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear friend.  x

Comments

[Stephanie]

Your Christmas quilt is gorgeous. Love the idea of quilting your name in the border...I'd do that if my name was Lee or Pat or Jo but Stephanie is out of control!

What a wonderful surprise. I'm so excited about Christmas as a blogger because this is my first Christmas blogging. I love seeing how people decorate and learning about their traditions. It's a special time.

[Nanette]

Oh my gosh - isn't Sabine wonderful! She's a real doll. How lucky are you!

Love the winter house fabric - so great. You always have fun fabric.

The Quilt - I made one in the same fabrics a few years ago. My neighbor Laura has it. Fun fun.

[jacquie]

such adorable children, fabulous quilt and what a gift from sabine. i can't believe some didn't fall out. the wrapping is gorgeous...i'm wondering what is in each one.

[t]

i live for your posts, you know that, don't you? omg - those little girls are too adorable! you have to check out my boo's hair from my post about thanksgiving...you will die from the cuteness...and another pic of it below that with her head all cocked and that goofy camera smile...and how wonderful of sabine! isn't it amazing the friends we've made through our blogs?????

[Melanie]

Aww beautiful girls! Love the snuggly-ness of your quilt. Good luck with the cottages quilt.

How wonderful that the packages all survived intact. A small miracle. :-) In the UK the post office hires extra people in just for the holiday season and things go missing. I try to post early to avoid it.

Love the wrapping paper. At 1st I thought it was fabric. Yes I would definately make a quilt from them if they were- totally adorable!

[quiltingnana]

What a wonderful Thanksgiving

[quiltingnana]

What a wonderful Thanksgiving

[Sabine]

***HUGS***
The children are so cute!!! What a great day to have them all in the house together!
The hour-glass quilt looks cosy and beautiful, the choice of your fabrics is so nice. But I´m repeating myself on every comment: everything you show us is worth to be shown because it´s all so amazing!!!!
Have a lovely day,
Sabine McP. xxxx

[HOPE]

Precious photos...and another inspiring Quilt! I love your blog!

Thank you!
HOPE

[periwinkle]

how cute is she - bless, Another gorgeous quilt. You have definately been spoilt be Sabine, I love the mushroom paper.
Lisa x

[Carrie P.]

Really enjoyed your entry today.

[Binny]

Oh, everyone and everything is adorable, Sarah.
Sabine, would consider a trip to New Zealand to wrap my Christmas gifts for me, please? How beautiful.

[Sherry]

Your Thanksgiving pics are wonderful, especially the little ones. Too cute! I love your Christmas quilt..a great one to snuggle under. I'm loving that Christmas house fabric, if you can't find a use for it, send it my way! LOL Wow, Sabine was sure good to you and what beautiful packages. Sorry about the way the box arrived, glad all was intact. I had that happen once with an online quilt shop order & half of the contents were missing. What a nightmare! You're right, someone needs a swift kick when that happens! Enjoyed your post! :)

[Laurie]

What a great post! It looks like Thanksgiving went well and the kids are adorable! I love the idea of embroidering your name into the border of your quilts. The cottage quilt looks great! And how sweet and thoughtful of Sabine from Germany to send you such a wonderful surprise! It looks like things are shaping up to be a very special holiday season for you...

[Deanna Gipson]

Your quilt in this post is gorgous!! I have to tell you that i've enjoyed following your blog. About a month ago I went back and "reviewed" your blog post on how to machine quilt. I have to tell you that I learned alot! But I do have a question.....what is the best way to secure your thread if you have to do alot of stopping and starting....especially on borders....my stitching seems to always work it's way out!

deanna

[happy zombie]

Love all the photos, especially the table shot. You captured love and family and laughter and good times and, and, and... just amazing!

WOW... the goodie box from your friend is AMAZING. I do so hope you show us what's inside all of them. The outside (wrapping) alone is fantastic. All of my grandparents are now gone, but my favorite thing about Christmas was their gifts from German. The wrapping, the ribbon, the love inside... what happy memories you "rebooted" in my mind! xoxo-m

And the Chuck shirt... I'm CRACKING UP!

[happy zombie]

Ooops... that should have been GERMANY not German. I'm such a dork!

[threeundertwo]

This post is just a treat for the eyes! What beautiful children! I would cuddle them all day.

Your Christmas quilt is beautiful and uses some of my all-time favorite fabric!

I'd love to come over and play with your American Girl dolls and their little beds. So sweet.

[Julie]

I just discovered your blog. The blog is beautiful, your quilts are magnificent and your stash is incredible. When you're at a quilt shop and see some fabric you love, how do you decide how much to purchase? I'm new to quilting but have a firm grip on the concept of stash; I've done needlework all my life. Julie