Holly Blog

My Favorite Things...103...Warm Toes!

I know how I have been talking alot about how giving is better than receiving.  And most of the time, it is.  Except if the "Talented Mrs. Winslow" makes you a pair of spiffy new socks...Of course the minute I saw what Cheryl was working on in her studio, I knew they were "blog-worthy"...Seinfeld watchers, you get the concept.

The shorter ones were made for Cheryl's daughter, Robin.  The long skinny pair on the left were made for my size 10's.  By the looks of the pointy toes, you'd think that they'd be all bunchy at the front of your feet...right?  Actually, the fronts (and the whole sock) are smooth and warm and "pretty much heaven" on my feet.

The set-in heal is a really comfy detail too. CW is a human knitting machine...Like her sewing, it's precise and consistent.

In the spirit of "Hand Made Things for the Holidays"  (thanks Lizzy!)...How about a little game of show and tell?  Include your email address in your comment and I'll get back to you with my email address...if you want me to post a picture.

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...102...Happy Endings!

We chose Maria Fareri Children's Hospital to receive the "12 Bears for Christmas". To find out more about this amazing facility, click here .

Su Bashir, our LHDG "queen of allocations", came along to help out.  Her beautiful daughter Aliya was born at this hospital complex.

The day we delivered the bears, also happened to be the day that 5 little girls who had received liver transplants at MFCH all returned for a visit and a photo op...Here they all are...their transplant doctor is holding one of the littlest girls...who was born at the hospital and lived there until recently, when she received her transplant.  When I saw those little girl's faces, I really had to hold back the big alligator tears....I imagine that all of the adults in the room had lumps in their throats.

Each of the girls received a bear to take home...and the others were given to the events coordinator, so that they could be given out...Although this hospital looks like it has some pretty wealthy benefactors, they tell me that many of the children are from under privileged backgrounds. So I'm sure that the bears will all find happy and deserving homes.

It's true what they say...'Tis better to give than receive.

Happy "Holly-Daze" to all of you.

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My Favorite Things...101...Two for the Load!

Some of you may have noticed that Cheryl Winslow posted a comment that "you should have a 13th bear"...Alas, it's less than a week before Christmas, and "the bears have left the building"...as in, the bears have left Target ("Tar-Jaay").  But wait, what about our wee tiny bears Boo & Honey?  Some of you will remember them from front & center at our FQM booth, if not look here...Well, they are ba-ack, and better than ever thanks to Cheryl...Here's a few pics of their antics...

Cheryl nick named them Bear Claw and Bear Paw...Here they are giving each other a "tiny-bear-hug", on their wee Navajo inspired quilts...

Monkey see, Monkey do...

Wherever you'll be, what ever you do, as long as we'll be there together...

Hands are for Holding...

Alas, here they are all ready to go to good homes...Cheryl made her quilts into little sleeping bags...she said "so that the bears will travel well"...

I told her if she kept going, before long she'd have an entire mobile home made of fabric, and that she'd better stop now (while she still could)!

Here's a closer look at Cheryl's two mini-mini quilts...

Tomorrow, we'll announce the new home(s) for all of our new furry friends...
Stay there "12 Bears" fans, 'Tis the season, and I guarantee you, it truly is better to give than receive...

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My Favorite Things...100...Please, Just one more hug?

It's my 100th blog...(call me "Aunt Blabby").  And we are on our 12th bear, little Bandit...here she is waiting for her hug, in a new bib by "fairy-god-seamstress"  Cheryl Winslow, and another loverly quilt made just for "Pooh" in an encore presentation by the "big nut" at Little Acorns...Brenda Riddle, of course!

Brenda said she had lots of scraps leftover from the adorable quilts that she made for our booth at market...If you haven't seen them yet, (hello, where have you been?)...take a peak here, for goodness sakes!

Love the fabric combination again...thanks Brenda, for making LHDG look so good!

Now for the biggest teaser of all...tomorrow, we have a late entry...a surprise to be sure, but I promise you, it will not disappoint!

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My Favorite Things...99...Give me a Kiss!

Madamoiselle "X" (X is for Kisses, get it?) is none other than Pudge...she's all dressed up and ready to celebrate!  Her bib is also made by our fabric mistress Cheryl Winslow, and her charming little pink and yellow quilt is made by one of my favorite people: Pretty Penny (Sturges) of QuiltsIllustrated, our queen of tote bags (and our queen of hearts...awwwe!)

Here's another look at Penny's wee quilt:  so simple, yet so endearing...just my cup of tea!

So that's a one hug bear, and one kiss bear...(in case you're counting!)

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My Favorite Things...98...Give me a Hug!

Bearlina is here with a new bib, made just for this "Bearly-Blogging" event! (O is for Hug's, get it?) It's made by none other than our favorite quilting & fabric diva Cheryl Winslow .  And beneath B is the cutest little star quilt ever, made by none other than our favorite blogging-quilter... You guessed it, Pam Kitty!

I was tickled pink when I first saw Pam's little quilt...It shows how beautifully the "old" La Belle Rose fabrics (in the stores now) blended with the "new" Cherry Baby fabrics  (starting to hit the stores in late January 2008)...I just LOVE how PK put everything together in this quilt...it's as if she read my mind...and aren't star quilts just wonderful?...LOVE IT!

Oh, and I just LOVE PINK with ANYTHING, and I especially love this little darlin'...Am I crazy, or could you see this as a bigger bed sized quilt on a beautiful old white iron bed?  Along with the White on White dot as a dust ruffle & shams, and this little kitten would want to stay in her basket all day long!

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My Favorite Things...97...Give me and "E"

Emmie is outfitted by Elizabeth Scott of Late Bloomer fame...Isn't she smashing in this sporty coordinate?

The red dotted fabric is from our best selling Antique Dots pattern, it has a subtle, mottled texture in the background, and it looks good with almost any type of modern or traditional fabric palette. It's very striking in this jaunty little quilt, don't you think?

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My Favorite things...96...Give me an "S"

Sugar is just as pleased as punch with the ric rac & lace trimmed ensemble made for her by Annie Smith of Simple Arts and her quilting & blogging daughter Kirsten .

Here's a better look at this delicate little charmer...

Much more to come...ho, ho, honey!

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My Favorite Things...95...Uma Furbear?

Uma is just as snug as a bug in her quilt and bib made by Vivian Love.

Vivian has made several whole cloth quilts with our Hydrangeas & Raspberries fabric...

Who says that a little Pooh bear from Target  (or as we like to say "Tarr-Jay") can't be a "sophisticate"?

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My Favorite Things...94 Give me an "O"

Oona is especially proud today...That's because her "fairy godmother" is none other than Cindy Taylor Oates, designer of "all things fabric", pattern maker extrordinaire and NEW blogger...Welcome Cindy !

I must say, there are a lot of beautiful little quilts in this little "Bear & Bib" extravaganza, but this one is just darling, don't you think? Here's a closer look...those bears in the heart are out of Cindy's logo...don't you know?

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My Favorite...93...Give me an "H"

This is Heidi...She's the H in LakeHouse.  You can't really tell with all of the fur, but she is smiling from ear to ear. Why, you ask?  Because I actually made time to piece a quilt...(a wee & tiny quilt to be sure, but hey, I's a busy gal)  A BIG BEAR HUG and many thanks as always to Cheryl for squeezing this little project into her always tight long arm schedule.

Twinkle Twinkle, little quilt...

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My Favorite Things...92...Give me an "E"

Cherri House made the adorable bib & quilt for Erin Bear.  She also was the quilter who inspired me to start this little "Bear & Bib Blog-a-thon". You see it was  Cherri who made the first little quilt to go along with the bib that she made for her bear.  After market (when the dust finally settled!) the light bulb went on for me too, when I realized that the bears would be awfully cold & lonely in the storage cottage this winter.  So I formulated a plan...we needed to have 12 bears adopted, and just in time for the holidays...

I just love it when there are left overs from a project.  The quilt is the perfect size for a little bear, don't you think?  Here's a front and back view of Cherri's Itty Bitty Bear Quilt...

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My Favorite Things...91..."K" is for Kara Bear

Our next little bear Kara, is outfitted by another one of my favorite quilters...Brenda Riddle of Acorn Quilt & Gift Company.  Isn't it funny how different the faces of these little bears are?  They all have their own unique personality, that's for sure...(And all look like they've enjoyed a few good meals, too), it was a problem getting their bibs to lay straight for their pictures, with their fat little tum-tums.

A closer look at Brenda's handiwork...Like Olga Korbut on the balance beam, she makes it look so easy!

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My Favorite Things...90...Give me an "A"

Our next guest bear is Alex, sporting a smashing bib & quilt ensemble designed by the talented Tammy Tadd, and made by her mom, the marvelous Velda Grubbs...(big hug Velda!) Thanks to both of you for your contribution to our colorful cavalcade of quilts!

The pinks in the quilt bring out the rosy undertone in Alex's fur, don't you think...?

I just love Tammy's unusual mix of colors, don't you?
Let's all cast a vote for your favorite ensemble at the end of this event...I'm always curious to hear your thoughts...

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My Favorite Things...89...For A Good Cause!

As promised, we are starting off our little charity* Show & Tell:  "12 Bears For Christmas" with one of my favorite designers, and a cute little bunny herself...Miss Anne Sutton.

Here's Anne's bear "Lenya" with a little-bear-sized 2 piece Bib & Quilt ensemble...

Below is a closer look at Anne's precious little quilt...

We've got oodles of beguiling bears, scads of guest quilters (with their little creations), lots more tricks up our sleeves...and we'll go all the way 'til the 24th...so join us as we celebrate the holiday spirit, won't you? 

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*Details announced on Christmas Eve!

My Favorite Things...88...Cherries Jubilee

Remember my Cherry Baby quilt from Fall '07 market?  Some people like shoes (think Imelda), some people collect cars (like Paton, whose motto "he who dies with the most race cars & trophies wins") me, I am besot with sewing notions, or as most of you know by now...covered buttons & ric rac to be specific.  (Besot, you say?...I don't know why I like this word so much...I guess it's from being a junkie for those Word-A-Day Calenders...) 

I could have sold that quilt over and over again...I'd committed to our distributors to have the pattern for Cherry Baby available, so when Beth Hayes from McCall's came by our booth and went "coo coo" over that quilt, I had to reinvent it for her...I might like this version even better...

The working name for this quilt is "Black Cherry", it's a similar idea, but actually very different.  The thing I really love about this quilt (besides the curved front buttons that make up the cherries) is the way so many of the 2007 LakeHouse fabrics (both old and new) go together...I used little vines, lattices, dots and even little rosebuds (which look like cherries on a quilt!)in the background areas. I am crazy for using plaids and dots and stripes on the leaves, and the cherries too, but those of your who know me already know that.

Here's a sneak peak of the quilt that is scheduled to be in the McCall's Quilting June 2008 edition...

Now if I only had a clean room to put this in here at "Sawdust-Central",  :0)

It's official, "12 Bears for Christmas" starts on Tuesday...Have your kidlets and grandkidlets watch along with you!

Back in two Shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...87...Bearly There!

This is a bit of a shaggy dog story about a bunch of little bears.  The story really started out as a kitty story...Some of you will remember my post..."Who Wants to Lick the Beaters?"...you know, "Noodle Pudding" and "Vickie Dixie", who wore the little cat-sized bibs?  That little incident turned into a display idea, for the LakeHouse booth at Fall Quilt Market in Houston.  Which in turn prompted a discussion at our bloggers dinner.  Brenda said that I should take the bear around market and go visiting ...my first thought after that was "photo ops with quilt luminaries"! And my next thought after that was to share those pictures with all of you, "my little bloggettes"...Our first stop was at Elizabeth Scott's booth.  She had the most precious & sentimental decorations, I just had to take Bearlina's picture...She looks so cute, and right at home, don't you think?  Oh and BTW, we were both absolutely smitten with Elizabeth's Hen & Egg Basket quilt, called Petaluma...perfect name, BTW!  But I digress...

So all over market, Bearlina and I, we frolicked...got lots of great snaphots with some of our favorite people.  That's what prompted the new flickr album on the side column (lots more Bearlina pics there!)...(more on this later!) After spending so much time with B(earlina), I got to thinking how sad it was that she really didn't have a good home to go to after market, what with the construction and the other critters at our house.  And not only B, but we had 11 other bears that needed good homes in time for the "HollyDaze"... This brings our little saga to an end (for today), as I announce "12 Bears for Christmas"...Starting soon, we'll be having another "Dazzling Dozen Delightful"...this time with some surprise guests and lots of holiday cheer. So stay tuned, it's going to be a lot of fun here at HollyBlog in the weeks to come.

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...85...Working on a Chain Gang!

In the midst of all of the other post-market things to do, I've designed a new bedroom ensemble (quilt, accent pillow, shams, etc.) for Amercian Patchwork & Quilting's June 2008 issue (newsstand April).  Here's a little sneak peak at a couple of the items that we'll be sending out tomorrow...Kathleen Nitzsche and Cheryl Winslow did the lion's share of the work (thanks gals), but I managed to find the time over the Thanksgiving weekend to piece the little checkerboard pillowtop below...It's a bit of a "Charlie Brown Xmas tree" compared to the quilt...If I do say so myself,the quilttop is "supercalafrajalisticexpealidocious" (which is to say, something about it reminds me of the beds in Mary Poppins!)

Lots more to show and tell in the weeks ahead:  be there, be square, see the bears, see the bee...now ten times fast!

Back in two shakes...H2