After Thanksgiving Things To Do Places To See

Once Thanksgiving is over it seems like I hit the ground running.

Places to go, shopping to do, sewing to catch up on because Christmas is coming.

I bought a laser cut kit from Ribbon Candy Quilt Company and started putting it together.
Four train blocks...too cute!

This neighborhood kit came from Quilted Works. They still have some in their online store.

I love these houses by Kim Lapacek of Persimon Dreams!

The Dresden part is sewn

What's even easier and more fun about this project is that it is made with

Heat n Bond Ultrahold, so that means no sewing on the applique pieces.

Even the precut Santa and reindeer are laser cut from the Ultrahold...yay!

It was nice to slow down and watch the Monkey Baby laugh...loved it!

Getting to hold a sleeping Monkey Baby is such a great feeling. He's so sweet!

We took a day trip out to visit some red dirt hills. It's the beautiful part of Utah!

Trying to set the timer and then run up the hill is not an easy task for two older people like us.

Luckily, no paramedics or emergency groups were needed to rescue us from the hill.

Cookies are being baked for the Virtual Cookie Exchange, too.

I hope you're taking time for yourself as the holidays rush straight into us!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals

I used to get up by 4 or 5 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping with my

friend, Brenda. We'd grab breakfast, shop, shop and shop, and then do lunch. We had
so much fun as two crazy ladies looking for great deals and trying to stay warm doing it.
It was a long day but well worth the Black Friday sales!

Definitely two trouble makers!

Shopping online is another favorite thing of mine to do on Black Friday and
Cyber Monday...which is why I'm sharing a few of the sale links by affiliates.

Amazing deals, for sure!

-THERM O WEB-

I use Therm O Web products on my applique so now's the time to grab some great deals.

If you want to try the Heat n Bond EZ Print sheets I talk about A LOT, I say go for it!

They're offering HUGE discounts on their entire website plus shoppers will save more on already
discounted items! Starting Friday, November 24th the entire website is on sale 40% OFF! That's
right! 40% off plus they're offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $40 (after coupon code:
GIMME40 is applied.) The sale will run FOUR DAYS starting Friday, November 24^th through 
Monday, November 27^th at 11:59 CST.



-OLISO-

I am always showing off my purple Oliso iron because it is not only beautiful,
but it is an awesome iron to press seams and blocks. This is a huge sale on Oliso products!

Black Friday - 40% off using code "friday40"
Duration:​ 11/23 - 11/26

Cyber Monday -​ 40% off using code "cyber40"
Duration:​ 11/27 - 11/28

-ACCUQUILT-

Do you use Accuquilt dies? If so, this is a great deal at 20% off all GO! Dies!
I love using the dies for quick quilt projects and blocks. Easy cutting, for sure!



-CRAFTSY-

What would I do with out Craftsy! My patterns are there, I buy other designer's patterns,
there's fabric to drool over and buy...what's not to love! Check out their deals!

-SIZZIX-

Did you know Sizzix has dies that will cut fabric...so cool! 

Time to go shopping!

Virtual Cookie Exchange Awesome Bloggers

Look who's going to be sharing their recipes and/or traditions in the

Virtual Cookie Exchange...lots of awesome bloggers! I can't wait!

December 5 

Creatin’ in the Sticks
Creative Latitude
Gray Barn Designs
Domestic Felicity
Pieced Brain
Quiltscapes
Ms P Designs USA
Cynthia’s Creating Ark
Brenda’s Blog

December 6

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Freemotion by the River

Moosestash Quilting

One Old Goat And Her Little Farm

A Little Bit of Everything, from Mike & Alisa

Hazel’s Daughter

Patchouli Moon Studio

Bumbleberry Stitches
Selina Quilts

December 7

Quilt Doodle Doodles

Kris Loves Fabric

Life in the Scrapatch

Home Sewn By Us
For The Love Of Geese

Stitch Days
Val’s Quilting Studio
Tu-Na Quilts

Just Let Me Quilt

Did I forget you? I'm so sorry if I did!

Email so I can add you to the list at:

Did you want to join? Let me know ASAP!

I'm Thankful For Cameras And The Memories They Capture

A camera may be a simple thing to be thankful for, but without it I wouldn't be able to recall

all the memories it has captured over my lifetime. I have a hard enough time remembering

what happened yesterday, so having photos to remind me of times past is a blessing.

My parents divorced when I was little so I wasn't raised by my dad.

I only have a few pics of him and me.

Grandparents and cousins I don't remember but I'm so grateful to have this photo of them.

My gr-grandmother died when I was young. Seeing this photo of her reminds me of her

strong Norwegian accent, the lefse she would make, and the apron she sewed for me.

This is my mother before I was born. She was such a strong lady that had a tough life.

I learned to be self-reliant because of her. She also taught me about sewing.

Then there was this day that can't be forgotten, but the photo helps me remember

the cake my mother and her friend made for my wedding. I'd cut a picture out of a

magazine years before that I knew HAD to be my wedding cake someday.

My mom made sure it happened for me.

The thing about photos these days is that so many of them never get printed out.

They sit on our computers or phones hoping to be there forever. They might not be.

The computer may crash or the phone might get lost or broken. 

It's time to print some of them out and store them in a shoebox in the closet to torture

generations in the future as they try to figure out who is in each picture because we

forgot to write names, dates, and places on the back of the photo. That's what I'll do.

I'm feeling all nostalgic now. Time to pull out old cookie recipes and do some baking.

This is a cookie recipe from a past cookie exchange that makes a great gift.

Jar ingredients:

The tag with mixing and baking instructions to attach to the jar:

Blend Fabric's Caliope Designs In A Diaper Bag With Accesories

I have a new sweet Monkey Baby to motivate me to sew baby things, which was why 

I was really excited to get the adorable Blend Fabric Caliope by Maude Asbury.

The whole line is so sweet! 

Caliope Diaper Bag

I used Simplicity pattern #2924 to make the bag, burp cloth, and changing pad before

sending it off to Blend Fabrics to take to Quilt Market in Houston.

Therm O Web's Fabric Fuse held the flower and button in place until I could sew it in place.

A whole post about making this bag is at the Therm O Web blog today.

Virtual Cookie Exchange Giveaways - I Have The Best Blogger Friends

I switched it up a bit for the Virtual Cookie Exchange this year to include Christmas traditions and

Christmas quilts. There will also be some giveaways because I have the best blogger friends ever!

A few sent emails and those amazing ladies jumped into to help me!

You rock my world, ladies!

Thank you...

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Creatin' in the Sticks

Patchouli Moon Studio

Free Motion By The River

Life in the Scrapatch

Whims and Fancies

Super Mom No Cape
Quiltscapes

Such amazing and talented people...love you guys for sharing!

AND...I'll be giving a $25 gift certificate from Quilt Taffy and a couple patterns, too!

Come join the fun and share a post with your recipe or tradition. Leave me a comment

saying, "I'm in" or send me an email! I need your contact info in order to add you.

P. S. Annette M. I don't have your email address...please contact me so I can add you.

A recipe from last year

Grab the code below:

<div style="width:100%;text-align:center;"> <span style="margin:5px;padding:5px;border-radius: 5px;border:1px solid lightgrey;display:inline-block;"><a rel=_nofollow href="http://justletmequilt.com"> <img style="border: 1px solid gray;width:px;height:px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEH2GzIqODsBtl4MYbIMx5hSBDQOdSQ7cK4RWGiPSICvvQnIDydZvRJge0XluwJ4zeiAmJdaFPSJqJuz-Ruyg4EUt4mtf9TFmitjae8E9lGfgYk7EwHvqvXMIvdF1K7vsjKh5_eBOgEUI/s1600/2017+button.png"> <p style="allign: center;"> </p> </a></span></div>

The Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop

The Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop is more than just about cookies.

It's about Christmas traditions, Christmas quilts, candy recipes, and of course, COOKIES.

I know, I know, we're all on a diet, don't bake cookies anymore, don't eat sugar, blah, blah, blah,
but...
we all have Christmas traditions and quilts so come share them with us.
It's only for three days, December 5, 6, and 7.

Every year I am amazed at the wonderful cookie recipes that have been shared,
but this year I decided it needed to be more than cookies. Blame it on a rough year,
getting older, feeling nostalgic, whatever, but I want to know what you do for
Christmas to keep your family heritage alive. Won't you come blog hop with me?

If you don't have a blog, I am more than willing to share your recipe/tradition on my blog.
Just let me know and I'll help you share.

I promise there will be a couple giveaways and you'll be welcome to have
a giveaway on your special day, too. Leave a comment (I'll need your email address)
saying, "I'm in" or send me an email to join in. You know you want to! It's all about traditions...



Here's the recipe for those yummy looking cookies in the photo above:

So Much To Be Thankful For So Where Do I Start

I've been reading many thankful lists written by friends and family including one this morning by 

Colette from What About Rheema. Because I have so much to be thankful for, it's hard to know

where to start. In the rush of things, it's good to pause and really think about the good in my life.

This guy...

He drives me crazy, but loves me even when I'm at my worst.

When I have a down day (and I have lots of them) he tries to make it better.

He cooks most of our meals, does laundry, mows the lawn, and sweeps the floor.

When he cleans the bathroom, he's learned to put his glasses on to see what he's missing.

He's the best "Doodah" ever to the Monkey Boys and a great dad to our kids.

I'm grateful for 45 years with him.

Monkey Boys...

Monkey Boy number six arrived two months ago and I love his sweetness.

He's a fussy guy and doesn't give his mom much time without holding him,

but he's such a treasure for all of us. I'm grateful he lets me hold him once in a while.

The bigger Monkey Boys make me laugh, though sometimes I have to cover my eyes and ears

when I'm around them. Typical boys, every bodily sound and sight is funny and they love to make

sure grandma hears and sees it all. Their hugs are the best way to make me smile.

I'm grateful for their silly faces and warm hearts.

My favorite superhero has spent a lot of time with me this year. His energy and chatter are

endless, but his heart is so big. The things that come out of his mouth never cease to amaze me.

His smile rocks my soul and melts my heart. His snuggles give me peace and joy.

I'm grateful for how much he loves to be with me.

Oh, how I love the big brown eyes of this little monkey. Getting a smile out of him can be 

quite a chore, but when it comes, it brightens the whole room. He copies everything his older

brothers do, which can be scary when he jumps from the same things they do. He's so little

but he thinks he's one of the big guys. It's so fun to hear him learn to talk and say "grandma"

though it doesn't quite sound like that. I love it anyway! He's such a good snuggler, too.

I'm grateful that he likes to have sleepovers with me.

These kids...

This picture is from over eight years ago. They've changed a lot since this was taken.

Maybe this Christmas they'll get me a new photo of them together...hint hint.

I'm grateful for them all!