HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

***WE HAVE A WINNER!!! For the details, check out today’s post, here…

Happy 2009!!!!

I am starting the year off by, #1, having a STASH BUSTING SALE on my etsy site, here…I went on a mad cleaning and organizing kick, and decided to sell off about one third of my stash! Good stuff, I tell you, at ROCK BOTTOM prices! UPDATE: I have the majority of it now posted, including some retired Anna Maria Horner, Heather Ross and Amy Butler fabrics!

And, #2, having a giveaway in conjunction with Debi’s Whirl Into Winter giveaway! I will be giving away this lovely blue & white “Winter Wonderland” table runner, made in the style of my Jolly Holly Table Runner, on January 15, 2009! It measures 14″ x 47″.
It can be yours if you leave a comment on this post bewteen 12:01 a.m. January 1, and 11:59 p.m. January 14, 2009. Please include in your post, an EMAIL address, your name, where you live, and a 2009 New Year’s Resolution that you actually intend to KEEP. I know, of course, you plan to keep everyone you make, right?!

Thanks again for stopping by, and thanks to Debi for organizing this giveaway!

Rocket Man

(Serioiusly, I cannot say that phrase without saying it Elton John style in my head!)

WHEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW. That is the long breath I am letting out ’cause I finally get to show you these! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to make stuff and NOT show pictures of them for like three or four weeks, because it might ruin the surprise?! Okay, if you are a blogger, and especially a crafty blogger, and I know many of you are, you do have an idea because, hello, you’ve been doing the same thing this month!

Anyhoo, I saw this pattern (FREE PATTERN) on thelongthread.com sometime this fall, and immediately went to Spool and snapped up the last two packages of their Rocket Man fabric packs to make these Christmas gifts for my nephews (1 and 3 years old). I finished these before Thanksgiving, and I’ve stayed mum about them ever since, even though I was dying to show pictures and dying to gift them! It’s a good thing we had our family Christmas early!

The first photo up at the top of the posts shows the fussy cut rockets on the rear side of each Rocket. The second photo shows the circle “window” I added with a likeness of Samuel and Robby in their rocket. It’s a simple raw-edge applique against a silver silk circle, with a circle of heavy plastic over it, and satin-stitched around the edge for stability.

This fabric is perfect, it has stars, moons, rockets, comets…I fussy cut a star for the bottom of each rocket. And here is a close-up of the fabric Samuel…

My Christmas Newsletter…

or, My Year in Review, by Doris.

I mailed my cards this week, all 79 of them, and I’m always torn about including a “form” letter or newsletter, is it too impersonal? But it takes so long to write roughly the same thing 50, or 60 or more times…and yet, I hate to write nothing to the treasured friends I don’t have the pleasure of seeing or talking to on a regular basis…yet, people have such a love-hate relationship with the “Holiday Newsletter”… So, this is my concession, I included the link to this post in my Christmas cards so that, if interested, y’all could come here and read the news of what I’ve been up to this year. Since I’ve already written about my year in past posts, why not take advantage of that! So here, goes, I hope I can hold your interest and not waste too much of your precious December time! Click on the links for the photos, you don’t have to read all of those past posts! Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Holidays!

my new nephew, Jonah (born 10/23/08) and his “big” brother, Samuel (Dianne’s boys)

2008 was a year of great joy, welcoming new family members, sweet successes, fun events, and also a year that brought great sadness, saying goodbye to precious loved ones. But life will always have its ups and downs, without, it would be pretty boring, and Grandma would have been the first one to remind you of that!Four generations:

Dianne, Mom, Grandma, and Samuel

In March, I decided to start my blog, and my first post included a shot of the quilted growth chart I designed and made for Samuel’s nursery. I’m still working on getting some pattern designs out there, but the blog has been a wonderful adventure, allowing me to make friends all over the globe, gaining inspiration and motivation for my art every time I log in! And, about those nephews, and nieces, I do a pretty good job of spoiling them as much and as often as possible! I’m sure they are coming to realize the benefit of having an Auntie with no children of her own! Just look here, and here. I have no problem spoiling my friend’s children, either… One of them even became a client this year, commissioning me to do his bedroom.

Ted’s son, Robby, with his cousin and new playmate, Samuel

My sweetie and I celebrated our third anniversary together this summer, and his gift was actually his 2007 Christmas gift, finally finished after a long wait! Here’s a shot of it after final completion in August, modeled by his cat, Cato (or, Vanna, in this case!) I also posted about the gift I gave him for our first Christmas together, in 2005, it was late too, but only February that time! He and I did get to spend some quality time together this year, taking mini-weekend trips, and enjoying the outdoors together. We enjoy events and fun around Des Moines whenever we get the chance, too! What a PLACE! There is the fair, which took more than one post, art festivals, quilt walks, the museums, and this year, an International Quilt Show! And, lest you think I’m just a procrastinator, gifting Christmas gifts months after the fact, you should know there were other projects in there that had actual DEADLINES! Contest entries and such, and I was even a finalist in one of them!

I didn’t have much a chance to travel this year, which is always a little disappointing for a former globe-trotter like myself, but I did take a special birthday road-trip with my Mom in July. She and I enjoy many of the same things, and we always make great travel companions!

Since returning to Iowa nine years ago (eek! Has it really been THAT long!) I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to be around for friends and family events throughout the year, making it to birthday parties, christenings, monthly Girls Nights Out, holiday dinners, picnics, family reunions, all the good stuff I missed when I lived so far away! But the trade off is tough, I don’t get to see the wonderful friends I made in those distant homes, and I don’t get to talk them as often as I’d like. You know the refrain, we are all so busy…yada, yada. But, I want all of my friends reading this to know, you are never far from my thoughts and are always in my heart. I’m glad you’ve touched my life, and I can’t wait until we meet again!

God Bless you this holiday season!

Love, Doris

Jolly Holidays…and a free gift!

I made grand plans to make LOTS of handmade gifts this year. So far, I have finished at least eight handmade gifts, and I have about seven more gifts and four stockings left to make. After all, Christmas is about the giving, not the buying, the shopping, and the getting! So, I’m giving of myself as much as I can this year! I started a batik Christmas table runner Saturday afternoon, and I actually finished binding it on Sunday evening! It is so rare for me to start and finish something within a short span of time, I even surprised myself! So here it is, made up sans pattern…I just started cutting and piecing…and voila!I love these Hoffman batiks, all Christmas patterns, poinsettias, holly leaves, berries, and such yummy deep colors! Would you like a runner like this for yourself? Or like to make one for a gift? Well, today is your lucky day!
No, I’m not giving this one away, it’s already earmarked as a gift for someone on my list, but…I wrote up a pattern for this runner and I am giving IT away as my holiday thank you to all the wonderful crafters I have met in the blogosphere who inspire me and motivate me every time I log in!
So, without further adieu, I will send anyone who asks in the comments, or emails me for the pattern, a PDF pattern to make my Jolly Holly Table Runner. **Please be sure you leave me an email to reach you!

Enjoy!………and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

P.S. I’d love it if you posted about my free gift pattern on your blog and directed more quilters my way, the more I can give away, the merrier!!!!!

Greetings and Salutations…

It’s certainly a handmade holiday around the Threads of Conversation home…I got so inspired to do the handmade gift thing, I even joined Pink Christmas this year and added one more handmade gift to my giving list. It’s done, wrapped , as you can see above, and sent off to my secret Pink Christmas receiver! I hope she likes it! I even had the crazy idea of making all my Christmas cards, something I decided in January I wanted to this year. So, Friday night I gathered all my stuff and headed over to my best friend’s house to hang out, use her scrapbooking tools, and craft some greeting cards for the holidays!

I think I finished 31 cards Friday night, and managed to complete about a dozen or so more since then. Next year, I may have to do pre-made cards, or scale back to list of recipients!

Here are a few of my faves…



Now, to get them all signed, addressed, and stamped, and get them to the post… I received some fun mail myself this week. I won my first GIVEAWAY, ever! From Glenda at rosy and gray, I got this adorable little purse tissue holder and card holder! Anyone who knows me knows I never leave the house without a mini-pack of tissues with me, so it’s like this giveaway was made for me! And, the colors are green and aqua–two of my FAVORITES!

You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man

National Gingerbread Day is……..not December 5th, but June 5th. Do you think that’s strange? Maybe it just seems strange because here in the United States we think of gingerbread as a holiday time food. At least I do, I guess. Last night was our monthly Family Night at my brother’s house. He and his wife started this tradition when their son was a baby so he would really know his aunts, uncles and cousins as he grew up by having them as part of his life on a regular basis. We get together for dinner, once a month, and sometimes do crafts or play games, and last night was Gingerbread House Night! Marlene, my brother’s MIL, made the houses and ginger-people for us over the weekend, bless her heart! Marlene has been doing this with her daughters for 30+ years!

We had a LOT of fun decorating these!

Here is my sister’s house with her lovely family of four ready to go sledding!

and Robby and his Mommy’s house decorated with lots of YELLOW candy…(Yellow is KING in Robby’s world)…

This is my house, and Molly’s house from the back…love Molly’s pretzel fence!


I even learned some Gingerbread lore, like did you know it’s unlucky to have a closed door on your Gingerbread House? And every house should have a heart on it to ward off evil?

The newest addition to the family sat this one out, taking a snooze with his uncle on the sofa…

Robby gives the Tour of Homes to his Daddy at the end of the evening…

This was a great family activity, a little messy, but loads of fun! You might want to give it a try at one of your own family nights! Here’s a great recipe and tips to get you started… Or you could buy a kit… Or find a Gingerbread Angel like Marlene to make your houses for you!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and Gingerbread Blessings to you and yours!