Pre-Christmas Fun

Oh all of the Christmas prep and fun... 

We spent the entire weekend before Christmas celebrating with friends and family. It was exhausting but completely worth every minute and Henry tear. We started by driving and walking candy cane lane on Thursday. Henry has been completely obsessed with lights this year and we knew he would freak out. Both kids were completely into all of the light displays and they even got to meet a donkey named Clarence. When we were done at candy cane lane we drove down to the legislature and walked around the lit grounds. Everything was good until Syd announced that she had to pee "right now!" I rabbed her hand and we ran around the building to the entrance and made our way through security and into the building to find a potty. Luckily we made it on time and we were able to enjoy listening to some musicians while having a hot chocolate. 

The next day we woke up erly and started prepping the house for our annual friends dinner. 

We all get together every year at our house and David and I put together a Turkey dinner and gift exchange for everyone. This year was the SEVENTH time we have all been able to get together for dinner. Although each year we are missing a person or two (schedules are so much tighter these days) we always have such a good turnout. the kids got dressed up in their finest and we sat down to a feast. 

The gift exchange was entertaining as usual and I think everyone had a great time. We look forward to it every year and this year was no different. 

Mrs. E

Modern Quilting ~ A Frozen Themed Mini

I love the Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild and I LOVE our swaps. 

Our swap in December was Frozen themed. I knew that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to try out some english paper piecing and a few other new techniques. It didn't turn out to be as perfect as I would have hoped... but it did get picked third! Woohoo!

 Mrs. E

Brass & Baubles ~ Sister Quilts

I am so excited that Christmas is finally over so that I can share these two custom quilts!

When Megan approached me to do two custom quilts for her daughters I could not be more excited. I have known the girls since they were really little and I could not wait to put something together for them now that they are so much older. Megan gave me a few guidelines and the rest was up to me. it was so much fun to be given so much creative freedom and I found that I actually had an abundance of ideas. 

Serena's quilt was the first design I tackled. She is a ukrainian dancer who loves the color blue. I knew I wanted to do something with an hombre to modernize the look of the quilt. From there it was just deciding on how I wanted to tackle the Vinok. I ended up hand drawing and cutting all of the flowers. Each flower was fused down and then appliqued in place using my free motion foot and a straight stitch. The ribbons are actual Vinok ribbons that Megan managed to find for me. I am so in love with the final outcome. 

Natalia's quilt was a completely different challenge. She is into anchors, zebra print and purple. To tie the two quilts together  I also did this one in an hombre. The anchor was based off of a Tula Pink pattern and it involved sewing together a million little squares to create the anchor before appliqueing it onto the quilt base. The back is a pieced zebra print and I managed to find enough of the print let over to do the binding as well. It is absolutely perfect. 

In the end I know that the girls were beyond thrilled with their quilts. I hope that they will be loved for many years to come. 

Mrs. E

ATCO Kids Christmas Party 2014

I have so many pictures from Christmas festivities this year!

We are always so lucky to attend a lo of great Christmas events leading up to the actual holidays. The kids favorite event is always the ATCO Kids Christmas party. To say that our company goes above and beyond or the kids would be a huge understatement. This party is so awesome that even the employees who don't have kids want to attend!

They always have a couple of bouncy houses set up, balloons, face painting, photo booths, games and of course Santa. The food is always a kids dream (pizza, chicken fingers, mac and cheese, hot dogs, ice cream and drinks) and a parents nightmare. Our kids spent a few hours running around like crazy, eating way too much junk food and getting close to Santa. 

This year was a little bit special because it was the first year that Henry would actually know that he was meeting Santa. I also knew that he would hate meeting Santa. As the big man made his entrance Henry clapped and yelled "Tanta!".... and then David put him on Santa's lap.... ensue mega meltdown. No worries, it was nothing that a little bit of ice cream couldn't fix!

All in all, we had an amazing afternoon. Until next year!

Mrs. E