Toyland......Joyland

 Hello Everyone,

I figured I’d better get my Christmas post out early this Christmas Eve. A bomb cyclone rolled into California overnight. With pine trees whipping around in the gusty winds, there’s a good chance we could lose power. It feels a bit like waiting for the Polar Express to arrive… though it’s not quite cold enough yet, and the rain hasn’t turned to snow.  This is a picture of my Toyland Tree design which I love to put on display every year.

Last night, our eldest granddaughter started a text chain that quickly turned into a sweet trip down memory lane. She was watching The Polar Express and said it always reminds her of Mike—our Santa Mike—who came to our house every year before Christmas with a bag full of presents for the grandkids.

When the kids were little, I used to read The Polar Express to them.  I cried every single time I read that story, and once they were old enough to read it themselves, I still cried—only harder.

Through the years, they took turns reading the story and signed and dated the inside flap of the book marking the year of their reading.  I need to find that book and pass it on to the kids should we be lucky enough to have great grandchildren.

As the story got to the part when the young boy could hear the bell, Santa would be standing in our courtyard and ring his bell.....thanks to the magic of cell phones which would give him his cue. There was always so much joy in the room.

What started as a single text last night quickly grew into a thread of more than twenty photos from Santa’s visits. The look of pure delight on little Kade’s face—absolutely priceless.  Little Kade is now a senior in high school and is the youngest of our six grandchildren. 

Toyland! Toyland!

Little girl and boy land

While you dwell within it, you are ever happy then

Childhood's joyland

Mystic merry Toyland

Once you pass its borders, you can ne'er return again

For a little while last night, we found ourselves back in Toyland. I miss those days of sweet innocence and wholehearted belief in Santa Claus. And I miss Santa Mike, who has now journeyed on to Joyland. This year, his Mrs. Claus—our dear friend Kathy—will be joining us on Christmas Day. We can’t return to those moments, but nothing can ever take away the precious memories they left behind.

Merry Christmas to all!

Lynn

Christmas at the Cabin

 Hello Everyone,

While getting ready for Christmas, I'm clearing out the bins of fabrics and kits I have stored in the garage and putting everything in my Etsy shop.  If you want to see the fabrics, go to my shop and select the FABRIC section and they will all display.

Maybe if I clear out enough bins, I'll be able to get one of the cars in the garage before the snow flies!  I still have to finish posting all of the Gentry's Mill fabric, Cheddar and Coal and then Laurel Ridge.  I want to have the shelves cleared so I can stock up on some of the new lines coming out from the talented designers at Marcus Fabrics.

For me, Christmas is all about carrying on the traditions that shaped our family. My grandmother always made frosted sugar cookies, and that sweet ritual has now been passed down to me. On Monday, I baked a double batch and tucked some into the box of gifts headed to my granddaughter and her fiancé. I still use my grandmother’s old cookie cutters, and I know she’d be so happy to see her legacy continue.

I know myself, and I know that if those cookies were sitting in the cabin, Mr. Joe and I would polish them off long before Christmas. So, they’re safely tucked away in the freezer up in the garage, which at least makes me think twice before sneaking one. And yes, I can confirm from personal experience that they taste just as good frozen!  To get to the garage, I have to walk up a steep driveway to get there, and sometimes it's the only exercise I get all day long.

The tree and cabin are all decorated and we've been enjoying the twinkling lights of the season.  This is the view from my recliner where I'm happily and firmly planted every evening.

I have to wrap the presents this weekend which I always do during the Sunday football games the weekend before Christmas.  I actually love to wrap as to me it is part of the gift. 

The first of many storms rolled in yesterday, and we stayed tucked inside, warm and toasty by the fire. An atmospheric river is settling in through Christmas, and they’re predicting 9–11 inches of rain in the coming week. Sounds like the perfect excuse to bake another batch of cookies… just in case the ones in the garage mysteriously disappear into the paws of a passing bear!

Soon,

Lynn

Hobby House Quilt Works

 Hello Everyone,

I'm thrilled to share that this California gal will be heading East next May to Victor, NY where I’ll be teaching at Hobby House Quilt Works!

I'll be teaching my new Timeless design.

This is an image of the fabric called Timeless Stitches for Marcus Fabrics.  I'm anxiously awaiting my sample yardage so I can start creating!  My poor brain is going a thousand miles an hour thinking about additional designs using this fabric. The design are popping in my head faster than I can sketch them!

You can learn more about this weekend workshop HERE.  Just think, we can spend the entire weekend together beginning Friday night for the meet and greet trunk show.  Then we hit the ground running Saturday morning when the 2-day class begins making this beautiful medallion quilt which measures 90" x 90".  

You will learn so much while making the quilt as I teach the math behind the components.  I'm sorry, I don't call it math anymore, I call it Finessing the Figures which sounds less intimidating and more approachable. I'll demonstrate my methods of easy construction of the quilting components.  

Head on over to Hobby House Quilt Works and check out the retreat center, their shop, and if you love wool and cross stitch you will be in heaven!

Soon,

Lynn