Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tuesdays Treasures and a Finish

It is Tuesday December 13 , only 12 more days before the big day and this little elf has been very busy . First off I want to share my treasure for today , I may have shared this last year but it is so precious to me that I will share it again.
We bought this nativity scene around 1986 or 87 from a local artisan and I look forward to placing it out each  year , it is extremely well done and I love the simplicity of it , all one color , I have seen this done in various colors but I prefer it like this. I'm going to tell you a secret but promise not to tell, the velvet that is under the nativity is not even hemmed , and yes I have been using it just as many years as I have had the nativity , pretty sad huh , I simply fold under the edges and kind of scrunch it up like straw and it works ;-) If you have a treasure you would like to share why not join Melody our sweet hostess for this weekly event ,or pop on over and see who else is taking part I am sure there are lots of lovely treasures you would enjoy seeing and you might find another great blog friend too.
  I think I'll share two treasures this week  ,I think I have had these Wise Men about the same length of time , perhaps a little longer , they are carved from stone of some kind and I want to say coal but for the life of me I really can not remember except that the man who carved them was from Port Hood which is in Cape Breton .
They are again simple in design but I really love them , they have been moved around a lot and do have a  little wear but are treasures all the same. So be sure to stop over at The House on the Side of the Hill  to see more wonderful treasures .
 Now for the second part of my post , a finish , this has been a very long time coming so it feels extra special .
My Row by Row Christmas quilt is complete !!! I am doing the happy happy dance after sewing on all those buttons, lesson learned , don't use buttons , I had started out in the beginning just appliqueing on those circles but some are so small it was a real challenge so I thought buttons would be easier and perhaps they would have been if I had done them as I went along. The reason I did not do that was I had a quilt machine quilted once and it had buttons sewn on and she removed them all as she said they interfered with her work and if I ever made a quilt that required buttons again to wait until after the quilting is completed . The challenge is trying to get that needle back up through the quilt into the button when you have no way to see where you are going. I did manage to do some by machine but the real tiny ones I did by hand and it took forever , well not forever but a LONG time.  This quilt is much larger than I ever expected it to be , this is on a queen size bed and it does come down over the sides a little ,I think it is around 85" square.Here is a side view.
I raided my button jars and therefore all the buttons are not the same although most match well. You may be wondering what my progress is on Christopher's quilt , well I am almost there , I have just around the borders to quilt now , I really surprised myself with how easy I found this to machine quilt, I just stitched in the ditch or through the blocks as I am not comfortable FMQ anything this large , that is my goal for next year is to learn a little more about FM , you may notice my new icon on the left I have signed up for this challenge and hope to become a great student in 2012 :-)
Here is the quilt in the process, my handy dandy quilt gloves are ready for me to get back to work .
I'm off to quilting at the church today and last night I learned one of our group had an accident ,Carol fell and did some major damage to her face, breaking her nose , a tooth and her forehead is all smashed up, so say a little prayer for her , she is pretty uncomfortable right now with two black eyes and lots of bruising.
Thanks for stopping by and for hanging in there through this long post. Hugs Sheila

19 comments:

  1. I have the same nativity Sheila. I made it 25 years ago when I was pregnant with my son and my husband had to finish glazing it for me.
    I actually keep it displayed year round since I have a very high shelf. Your ror by row quilt is perfect!!!

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  2. Your Row by Row is gorgeous, Sheila. Congratulations!

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  3. Your row by row is really special - and I love your blog header for Xmas !

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  4. Your treasures are adorable Sheila...always love seeing the Row by Row quilt. Sorry to hear abouot your friend...hope she feels better soon.

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  5. I love your Row quilt! Thanks for sharing your special treasures.

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  6. I do hope Carol gets well soon... what a horrible thing to happen... I love your nativity treasures.. just beautiful and the row by row has worked out so lovely - well done you .... Christophers quilt is coming along well.... your gloves are getting a work out!
    Hugz

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  7. Beautiful treasures!
    Your row by row quilt is fabulous - such a cute pattern.
    Wishing Carol a speedy recovery.

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  8. Love your treasures! I like to collect nativity scenes. I also love your quilt. What a delight to have that on your bed during the holidays.

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  9. Your nativity set is a lovely treasure. And, I love your quilt very original.

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  10. love your nativity set and wise men. They are really beautiful.
    Your christmas quilt is just fantastic. Well done on such a great finish. I love all the rows and the trees in the outer border look wonderful. Keep happy dancing you deserve it!
    Happy Quilting

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  11. Row by Row is gorgeous. LoVe it! But the nativity scene is fantastic! That's a treasure for sure!
    Merry Christmas :)

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  12. Beautiful artwork in your Nativity scene and Wise men. I love your quilt...just gorgeous.

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  13. what a beautiful navity set,whow that quilt is stunning,well done on your finish

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  14. Hello Sheila.

    Love your Christmas quilt. It looks fantastic.
    happy days.
    Bev.xoxo

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  15. Your nativity is lovely and the velvet looks perfect under it even without hemming! I love your row by row quilt, it's beautiful

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  16. Beautiful Row by Row, a huge work.
    Sorry I haven´t had time to visit you blog for some time...-it christmas time *lol*

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  17. I just love your row by row Christmas quilt. That is going to be a joy to you for many Christmas' to come!

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