Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday week of fun and relaxing! Yesterday I took Diana and my grand-daughters into San Francisco to see the Nutcracker Ballet.  We rode Bart and then walked a few blocks to an area they call “The Plaza”.   It’s a beautiful area and it was filled with children dressed in suits and taffeta dresses, all going to the War Memorial Opera House.   The children were a sight to see and the ballet was a magical way to start the holidays! Today I’ll finish some shopping and then I look forward to a weekend of relaxing, catching up on television shows, and maybe even…

If you’re out and about this holiday season and you pass a Williams Sonoma store, turnaround and go back.  You’re in for a treat. Every year I recommend their Hot Chocolate (I make mine with milk).  It’s a treat that happens once a year, and it makes the season special.   This year they’ve added more to this special tradition!  I just bought packages of marshmallow snowmen to serve with the hot chocolate. Can you believe how cute these are? I’m sending two of these packages to my Lily in Germany.  She’s going to love these! Marshmallows anyone? Thank you Williams Sonoma for making Christmas fun!  My whole family will…

Had to share this with you!  It’s my grand-daughter Alyssa in her clown costume that I made right after market, in one day, under pressure, with dottie fabric.  She surprised me by getting that great tie all on her own.  Then she found a hat and added the flower trim.  We had one happy grandma and grand-daughter on Halloween!  Great combo don’t you think? In my newsletter today you’ll find two free patterns.  I’ve included them below,  just in case you haven’t signed up for my newsletter. First up, “Stocking Treats”!  These are so easy to make.  We used some Moda Dottie fabric and of course I have the bundles…

Our house is filled to the brim with family now.  I’ve had 2 of my granddaughters staying with me for the past 2 weeks and last night my son, his wife and Lily arrived from Germany.    Every bed is taken, the dishwasher runs everyday, along with the washer and dryer.  There are gifts to wrap and a house to clean, but these times are precious and I’m thankful for every minute.   My house is decorated with simple things this year and my granddaughters helped with every decoration.  We made photo tags of family members and mixed them with little woodland animals on the tree.  It’s the perfect Christmas tree…

Holly Hill Quilt Shoppe opened up its classroom this weekend for the annual Homespun and Holly event.   Fresh trees filled the room and the scent and spirit of Christmas was everywhere. Have you ever seen a quilt shop classroom decked out like this?  It was amazing. Table centerpieces were perfect little boxwood trees carefully planted in a beautiful wood crates.  A stocking filled with treats awaited each customer. Eye candy was everywhere. Visit the Holly Hill Blog to capture the spirit of this special event. Homespun and Holly happens once a year and it’s worth a trip to attend. A great start to the holiday season!