Sunday 18 November 2012

Santa’s Christmas Workshop

Before I tell you about the amazing workshop we had a couple of weeks back, here is one more little photo of Whiskey. Carter - Whiskey photo

Look at those gold eyes!  Every time I see a photo of a Bengal with green eyes I have to think how lucky Whiskey was in getting the gold ones.  I can’t imagine that little face without those spectacular eyes :)

Ok . . . back to quilting.

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On October 27th, 2012, As The Crow Flies Quilting Workshops presented “Santa’s Workshop” to 60 enthusiastic participants from all over Manitoba.

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Participants were able to choose between two feature projects to work on throughout the day – or there were smaller, quick projects that were also available.  The one project was the Teeny Tiny Trees wall hanging that you see draped over the table and the other project was the Easy Peasy Christmas Orange Peel quilt that is draped down at the bottom of the photo.

Up on the stage you can see Sheila, Val and Sheryl demonstrating one of the many ideas that we presented that day.  The four of us have been busy gals for the three months leading up to the workshop – planning menus, projects, decorating, seating, power connections . . . you name it, we thought of it!!

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Here is a shot of the “inspiration” table.  Everything that was displayed had a pattern to go with it.  A huge email with a gazillion attachments showed up in each registrants email box a few days after the workshop.

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There were towels, potholders, table runners, cards, gift tags, pillow cases, pillows, stockings, tree skirts . . . and the list goes on.  There was a lot of activity around this table and lots of photos taken so that they could refer back to it later.

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We had the tables set up down each side of the hall, with the cutting tables down the centre.  Worked like a charm!!  If someone needed help, those centre tables came in handy for on the spot demos as well.

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It was great seeing everyone helping each other and passing on techniques and ideas.

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Of course there was food!!!

The dessert tables are always the most talked about part of our workshops.

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Cupcakes and cookies . . .

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More cookies . . . and squares and slices galore!

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Plus a few cheesecakes thrown in for good measure!

We also served lasagna, French bread and an amazing salad with pecans and oranges mixed in with romaine lettuce and an awesome dressing.  YUM!!

It was a fantastic day and people are already wanting to book for the next one . . . trouble is we’re not saying just yet what the theme or the project will be.  Some gals say they don’t care . . . they just want to be there!

I know that we managed to motive and inspire a few people to get ready for Christmas at this workshop.  How are your Christmas projects coming along?  I know I’ve started a few more since the workshop and better get back to them . . .

Sunday 4 November 2012

Frosty & Teddy Sightings

I was super excited to see these little guys of mine show up over on the Connecting Threads "Notions" blog last week.

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Laraine did a fantastic tutorial on how she put these little fellas together.

Frosty Photo  Teddy Photo

I remember that when I designed these I used the snowman on my mother-in-law’s Christmas present that just happened to have some of the same fabrics in it.  She was more excited with the tag than the quilt I think!

I still make these as gift tags occasionally, but lately have used them more for decorating . . . either as magnets or ornaments.  Of course you can use your imagination and come up with new ways to use them as well.  They are easy to make and use only scraps of flannel fabric and batting to make – lots of fun!

Connecting Threads has this pattern available as a PDF – so convenient and easy to order.  Check out all of the Connecting Threads PDF patterns – they have something for everyone!

Whiskey

Well . . . she’s almost 9 months old now.

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Time has been flying by.

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We are loving her sense of humor,

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little snuggles,

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playing fetch and hide and go seek.

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I recently purchased a Nikon D3100 camera and a couple of lenses . . . she’s not overly happy about the purchase.