Gudrun´s World

Oh, Christmas Tree

I am so happy to have my house in holiday mode, it just tickles me to wake up and have the trees lit. We put up 2 christmas trees. One upstairs, that is a smaller tree that gets all our handmade, collectable ornaments, kids crafts and such. The kids now take care of decorating that one by themselves and they did a great job. 

Downstairs we have the big tree that I always dreamed of having since I was little, which is "my tree". I decorate that myself and go with a color theme each year. I don't know what it is, probably the designer in me that likes to experiment and not do the same thing every time. This year I did the same thing as as last year though because I loved it so much, all red and silver with a little bit of white. Now, as I said, I get to decorate this tree, but the kids keep on bringing me recommendations on what would work on the tree. Some of them are taken into consideration....others are shot down as gently as possible. However, one morning this little one eyed paintstick snowman had appeared on my tree. The color scheme works, so it gets to stay. 

 

I like to keep my tree up into January too, so between Christmas and New Years, I change out the decorations a little bit.....it turns into a cocktail tree for New Years!! I display all my cocktail themed ornaments, shakers and even hang my plastic wine glasses from the tree. I will have to take a picture of it this year to share with you when the transformation is done. It is so fun....especially when people come over...they don't notice it right away, but after a while they go...OH, is that a cocktail shaker?

I finished another Christmas design, but unfortunately I can't really share it with you yet. It's going into a future publication, but for now....it looks perfect on my table. I'm really sorry that I can't show you more right now. Trust me...it looks great with the new pillows.  

Have a great weekend...I have a great day ahead of me planned by my family (I love surprises). Yep....it's my birthday today......turning 29.....again.....as usual!!!

Christmas spirit

I want to start off with announcing our Flickr winner in the blog hop. This person showed extreme dedication by making every single free project in the Blog Hop. I was so happy to see her screen name come up in the drawing....congratulations bro3ther on your accomplishments. Please e-mail (gudrun@gequiltdesigns.com) me your shipping adress so I can send you some goodies. Many thanks to all of you that loaded pictures of your projects, they are all beautiful and inspiring. If you haven't checked out the Flickr site yet, I recommend that you do because you see lots of different color options for the projects that will inspire you to make yours unique. 

Since the blog hop finished, I have been busy getting my house into holiday mode. I like to decorate a lot. I think it is because my birthday is in December (it's coming up on friday;-), I love lights and decorations. 

I have also been doing a little bit of sewing lately, actually stuff for me! My house! That is very unusual, but I was determined to do it this year and I think I will do more of it. Now...I know what you are going to ask me....did you finish your Lone Star Wannabe quilt? Nope...I did not, but I made Christmas pillow covers:

 

I also made some Christmas Coasters. They are really easy to make, they are in my Fast & Furious book but to make them a little more "Christmassy" I fused a star instead of a circle over the opening. This was a fun 1 hour project!!

 

Then today, the mailman rang my doorbell. It's always exciting when I see him coming to the door, because that means that he has got a package for us...not just mail!! And we got the best kind today, 2 big boxes from Iceland. One was filled with Christmas presents and the other with candy & Malt soda. The Malt Soda is an Icelandic drink that for the Holidays is mixed 50/50 with orange soda and there really isn't Christmas unless you have a glass of that. Usually we have been so lucky to have family or friends come and visit right before Christmas so they have brought us some. But this year we had to send my mom shopping for us. We had her buy 8 cans of soda and then of course she had to pad the cans and fill up the box.....newspaper?...bubble wrap? Oh, no way....we just asked her to fill it up with candy!! This is probably the most expensive soda on the planet now because shopping for it cost maybe 10 dollars but shipping it cost us $80!!! Believe me, it is going to be sipped slowly and really savored!!

 

Unfortunately....or maybe fortunately...however you want to look at it...one of the cans had been punctured and was leaking sooooooo.....we had to crack it open and drink it for lunch! Oh, did you notice that all the candy bags were open? .....yes, those had to be opened to make sure that everything was ok and didn't get spoiled on its way across the Atlantic ocean.....but it's all good so that was our dessert! 

Blog Hop Winners!!!

I bet you have been waiting for this post all day haven't you? It took us a while to get all the logistics of finding winners together, but now we have names of 3 terrific blog hop participants that religiously commented on every blog. They were pooled out of the highest number of commenters that I have ever seen. So Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for spending the last couple of weeks with us. It has been so rewarding for us to read all your comments about our stories, hear your own stories sparked by what we wrote, see your excitement about the projects and then actually see how many of you have gotten to work and finished many of the hop projects and loaded your photos on the Flickr site.

This is what the winners are getting!!! Isn't this incredible? These are books, patterns, kits, tools and fabrics that all of us have designed or companies that we work with have graciously donated.

So here they are.....the big winners:

1st grand prize goes to: Thea M  www.theamccurry.com

2nd grand prize goes to: Arlette from Costa Rica http://arlette0521.blogspot.com/

3rd grand prize goes to: What Comes Next   http://round22.blogspot.com/

Congratulations girls!! Please send me an e-mail (gudrun@gequiltdesigns.com) with your shipping adress so I can send you those awesome prizes.

Another Chance to Win!!

Yes, we are giving you another chance to win some of the prizes in the picture if you post a picture of your finished project on the Flickr site. You will have until Tuesday December 1st to upload your photos. We will then draw a name of one lucky person to receive some goodies. Instructions on how to upload a photo are on the Flickr page. This gives you an extra week to get some of these finished and snap a photo. 

Magazine winner

The 2 lucky people (I decided  that there needed to be 2 winners with all your great comments) that will be receiving a copy of the "Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from today's top Designers" issue are:

Shelly W:  "Your block turned out great. I love your choice of fabric. That always is the hardest part for me. I can't wait to check out the magazine. Thanks for all the giveaways and patterns lately!"

and...

Vivian:  "What an interesting recipe -- I'll have to try the Coconut Balls for the holidays. The focus fabric used in the block for the "100 Blocks" issue really makes it pop. Now I've got to "hop" and see who's got it! Between the 100 Blocks hop and the 12 Days of Christams Hop there is so much going on for the holidays -- great way to get the season started."

Congratulations girls, Please send me an e-mail (gudrun@gequiltdesigns.com) with your shipping adress so I can send you your copy.

Kit Winner

One more winner to announce today and that is the lucky person who gets a kit for the Sweet Trimmings Wall quilt. Congratulations to.... 

Lindsay Mattison: "I LOVE the sweet trimmings pattern, and plan to try this for ME !! Thanks for the free pattern, and I'm lookin forward to the awesome blog hop ! "

Hey Lindsay, Please send me an e-mail (gudrun@gequiltdesigns.com) with your shipping adress so I can send you the kit.

Again...I want to thank you for spending the past 2 weeks with me, I have been deeply touched and humbled by your sweet words. I am truly greatful! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

CCC blog hop: Day 12

It is so bittersweet! We are at the end of the hop already! The last but totally not the least designer of the hop is the fabulous Linda Lum DeBono. She is such a talented gal, I just wish I had half of her creativity. She has designed projects with quilting, scrapbooking and everything in between...just absolutely love her work. She has a free project for you today, so go check it out and make sure you comment on the last designer of the hop to be eligible for the grand prize.

The topic of the day for us other designers is a story about a Christmas Craft that you did during childhood or are still doing....maybe a Christmas craft gone wrong!! I think we have all had those moments, but I knew exactly what to talk about today, because it is so fresh and special in my memory even if it happened decades ago!! Wow...

My grandpa Herbert or Hebbi Afi as I call him, is the the best grandpa a girl could ever have. I spent a lot of time at my grandparent's house when I was young since my parents were extremely young parents. Yes, we are talking 16 and 18!!! We actually lived with my grandparents for the first year of my life (not that I remember that), I do remember spending lots of time over there. My grandma was a great seamstress and I remember going through her button box and sewing buttons on a piece of fabric for days. I just loved it! I still remember the cool, unique buttons in her tiny drawers....sometimes wish I could get to them today still!! She has always been a master knitter too, and to this day whips up sweaters, hats, scarves and whatever else for our family. My grandpa made a living as a housepainter but he used to to a lot of art paintings when he was younger. I have a feeling I inherited some of his artsy genious....even though I never was able to do anything with paint and brushes....it just came out in fabric.

He would spend a whole day with me, doing craft projects and whatever else. He is the one who taught me how to read at 3 years of age, by making wooden blocks with letters painted on them. Then he would arrange them into words for me and a few days later....I was reading.

One of my very special memories is making Christmas garlands with my grandpa, out of Christmas cards. We would take old Christmas Cards that he had received, cut the gorgeous pictures out and then string them onto ribbon and hang it all around his house. Some of the cards came all in the same size and those could be made into banners, like seen in the picture below. I really wish I had a picture of the garlands too, because they really are cool......and the best part is.....he still puts them up, every year!! I will have to have my mom take some pictures this year so I can share them with you.

With the Economy the way it is right now....it really is a very inexpensive craft to do with your kids, plus, you are reusing-recycling, and come up with a really beautiful Christmas decoration. So if you have old cards around....go for it!!

Since we are at the end of the hop, make sure you have commented on all the designer's projects through the past weeks. We are giving you an opportunity to catch up this weekend and are drawing names for the grand prize winners on Monday morning!! Check back here on Tuesday to see if you were one of the lucky ones.....these prizes are phenomenal.....lots more than the $360 dollars worth of stuff!!!

See you on Tuesday....have a great weekend!!

CCC Blog Hop: Day 11

We are back in Minnesota for our designer of the day in the blog hop. Today is Roseann Kermes day!! Roseann is the owner of Rosebud's Cottage, a quilt shop in White Bear Lake. She is a regular contributor of patterns to American Patchwork & Quilting, Quilts & More among other magazines. She has definitely cooked up something great for you today so go and check out her blog for the free project.

Along with her fabulous store, Roseann has a little hideout where she works on fun things and sometimes she invites friends over to chill and create. Last time we made these fabulous covered notebooks. It is so cool and I use mine all the time!! Hopefully I get to go play again soon (hint, hint;-)

Today's topic is about your favorite Christmas themed quilts. I have to admit, I have not designed a lot of Christmas themed quilts myself other than smaller runners, toppers and placemats. I do have a couple that are pulled out at Christmas that have been around for a long time, since before I started designing quilts. They have their charm but are definitely not my best work! But it seems like this year, there have been quite a few added to my design collection. Now, being a designer, it is hard to talk about your favorite things because what is favorite today is not my favorite tomorrow. We tend to be a little bit of a scatter brain sometimes (at least I am) because I am so excited about a new idea for a quilt, but half way through making it, I am already loving something else. In my latest book, Strip On, there is a quilt made with holiday fabrics, the design doesn't neccesarily scream Christmas, but I am excited to display that one in my house for Christmas. That is....if it makes it home for Christmas! All of the quilts are out on trunk shows, in quilt shops all over the country. I will keep my fingers crossed that one of my babies makes it home.

This is Twirl Me Too and is made with Honey Buns, and I made a runner out of the leftovers, so I will have something for the table too. There are a couple of quilts out of the Fast & Furious book that I am excited to display this year, the Stack'Em Up Runner...

...and my Tree Time Placemats. I actually planned ahead and got lots of extra fabric from this line so I could make extra placemats for the whole family before Christmas. Hey, we will see if that ever happens!! But I do love them and will definitely use those 2 that I have.

 There is one holiday quilt that is already hanging up in my studio. It is my Fons & Porter cover quilt, Holiday Charm, that I got back from them last week. I really love this quilt and put it up right away. It totally matches my Sweet Trimmings quilt which is also hanging in my studio right now, so I actually have matching quilts....how about that!!

I actually really love this quilt, so this could easily become my new favorite Christmas quilt....at least for a few weeks.

There is one more thing I would like to share with you, and I am doing that hoping that it will put some pressure on me.....what is it....yep, a quilt UFO. (We have those too!!)

This is my Lone Star quilt....Wannabe!! Here is the thing. I have always loved December and the days leading up to Christmas. Maybe because my birthday is in December, I don't know. There is nothing like making Christmas Quilts and crafts in December to get you in the holiday spirit, listening to Christmas Music with candles burning and a cup of cider.....maybe a cookie or two close by!! It usually also has to be something I want to make for me, not a new pattern, not a magazine or anything like that! So this was my last years Christmas quilt, hoping to get it done before last Christmas, but no......a little bit too much ambition there. So now I have 4 units done out of 8 and would love to finish it before this Christmas....at least the top!! So here is your job now...keep asking me about my progress on my Lone Star Wannabe quilt and then maybe....maybe....I will have a new favorite Christmas Quilt to show you next year!

CCC Blog Hop: Day 10

It's hard to believe that we are already on day 10. It's kind of bittersweet that we only have 3 more days of the hop, but that means 3 more designers to share a free pattern with you. I have had so much fun reading your comments and stories. It's amazing how growing up in a different country with so many different traditions can hit a chord with many of you and that sparks a memory for you. I just love it.

And here is another thing I love.....this chick!! Carrie Nelson is the brilliant mastermind behind Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, even though she might claim that it is Rosie. She is a great gal, fun to be around and extremely talented. Go over to her blog and check out the free project she has for you today. Remember to comment to get your name in the grand prize pot!!

Today's story topic is your favorite gift from a child. Now I am sure we all agree that if you have children, all of the handcrafted items made at school or preschool and then brought home, interestingly wrapped and put under the Christmas tree with pride, are just your favorite thing of all times. And of course it's not about what is in the gift. They are so excited and proud of what they made expecially for you and also determined to keep it a secret....because the teacher told them so!! I loved it when my son Atli (yes, my oldest and scam artist wannabe) was 3 years old and came home from Preschool with his first present to me. He was so excited and determined to not have me figure out what was in there. He blurted out right away: "Mom, you will never guess what is in the gift....it's not a candle!!" Well.....big surprise....of course it was a candle that came out from the mounds of tissue paper, but he was even more excited than before when he thought that he had totally deceived me....big time!!

When they get older, the items get a little more intricate, like the ceramic frog sitting on a lily pad that I got 2 years ago. These really are my favorite gifts to open because you really don't know what is in it. I guess I am known for giving my husband a little guideline to follow when he does the Christmas shopping (to me it is just a list of things I need, trying to be practical) and he would go and buy those items and have the kids wrap them up so I usually knew what was going to be in those presents. In the last few years, we decided that we really wanted to have more fun with the presents from the kids so we decided to give them a little money and they could have total freedom of picking out our presents. That has really been the greatest fun. They sometimes have the best ideas and point of view picking these out. I have gotten some really fun jewelery. For example, some really sparkly and out there earrings from my daughter. I did tell you that she likes everything pink and the more glitter and glitz, the better. One year I also got a huge, heart shaped ring from my son Gisli, kind of like the one in the picture, but much pointier and made out of metal. It really was a deadly weapon in disguise, because if I accidentally brushed against myself or anyone while wearing it, it resulted in a deep gash and blood!! But my son was pretty persistent, every day for about 2 weeks he would ask me if I wasn't gonna put the ring on? And who could say no to that.....even if it meant risking my life!!

I bet you have gotten some interesting gifts from your kids? I would love to hear about them.

CCC Blog Hop: Day 9

Sherri Falls is our featured designer of the day in the blog hop. She has a great project that she is sharing with you today. Sherri is one of the first people I got to know in the industry after I moved here. We met at her mom's quilt shop and she actually quilted some quilts for me. She did a great job with the quilts and the quilts in her patterns are always wonderfully quilted. Her pattern company is This 'N' That. Stop over and remember to comment.

Today's story topic is a Kid's story from the holidays. I don't think anyone of us is going to have trouble coming up with this one, for me it was again a matter of picking the best one.

One of the traditions in Iceland, at least in most households, is that on Christmas Eve, a rice porridge is served for lunch. The cook sneaks one peeled almond into the pot and then serves everyone a plate. Everyone has to finish their plate, and the person who gets the almond, wins a prize. My grandma on my moms side, always invites everyone over for lunch to have this traditional meal. Some get lucky and win....like my son Gisli did last time we were in Iceland.

My husband didn't grow up with the Almond being put in the porridge for lunch. They used to put one almond into the Lemon Mousse that was the dessert on Christmas Eve. Same deal, the person who got the almond, won a prize. I loved that tradition so we have always done that as a dessert since we started our own family, but also went to my grandma's for the traditional lunch. A double chance to win;-)

This funny story happened 13 years ago when my oldest son, Atli was almost 4 years old. We had gone to grandma's and he really wanted to win. But he didn't, my aunt did. He was very intrigued by the almond though and asked her if he could look at it. We didn't think anything of it and just kind of forgot about it.

Some hours later, we are getting ready to have dinner on Christmas Eve and I was going to help him put his new outfit on, but he insisted on getting dressed himself. I thought to myself, great!! This was the first time he was going to be putting on a buttoned up shirt by himself, but it was going to be great practice for him. He closed his door and after about 20 minutes, he comes out all dressed up.....shirt was a little crooked, but that was easy to fix. We have dinner and it is dessert time. We are all eating our Lemon Mousse and all of a sudden, he jumps out of his seat and says, "hey.....what is this"....and pulls the almond out of his mouth. We all cheer and congratulate him on winning, but he was just kind off stunned. "But.....but.....but...then I don't need to use this one!" and he pulls the almond from my grandma's house out of his pocket!! He had stolen it from my aunt, kept it the whole time without us noticing, demanded to get dressed himself so that he could switch the almond from one pant pocket to another without us knowing...all so that he could pull the biggest scam ever!!! He was not even 4 years old yet!! That kid has always been too smart for his own good, but this sure gave us a good laugh and I am so glad that I snapped a photo before I fixed his shirt. I didn't know anything about the scam then, I was just so proud of him getting dressed. He gave up on buttoning the vest obviously;)

I am sure you have some funny kid stories, check out the other designer's blogs to read theirs.
 

CCC Blog Hop: Day 8

Today you get to take a stroll to Indiana and visit Terri. We have known each other for a long time because I used to be a great customer of hers back when I had the quilt shop in Iceland. I have always loved her work. Now we both design fabric for Red Rooster Fabrics so our booths are always close together at quilt market. We have lots of fun at the shows, especially when her husband Tom is there too. Terri is giving you a free pattern of placemats today so go visit and make sure you add your comments.

The topic for today's story is the first Christmas on our own. When I started thinking about this one, I knew I had to tell you about the Christmas when I had just turned 16. Yes, I did say 16.....

When I was 15 years old, I first came to the USA, as an exchange student. I spent a year in Florida. I know, can you imagine the squeals when I realized that I would be going there out of all the states available.  This Christmas was very different for me. Not only did we have very different climate from what I was used to around Christmas time in Iceland, but there were a whole set of new customs and traditions.

I was used to Christmas being very formal, we always dress up for the dinner table on Christmas Eve so everyone just wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts was very different. But it was 85 degrees outside so you really couldn't wear anything else. Instead of opening gifts after dinner, we were prepping for the arrival of Santa the next morning which was all new to me, but very exciting. Waking up on Christmas morning was also very different for me, the little girls would run and find their presents and start tearing off the wrapping paper. I was used to one present being opened at a time so I had a hard time keeping up because I wanted to see what everyone else got. After all the presents had been opened we went over to "grandma & grandpa" and had a great brunch. The rest of the day was spent hanging out by the pool!! That was a very different experience for the Icelandic girl, but I really didn't mind it at all. Everything I experienced that year, I soaked in and cherished. I tried not to think about what I was missing out on in Iceland because I knew I only had this one year to have this unique experience.

After the fact I am so glad that I had that attitude from the get go because it is so easy to lose yourself in what you are missing out on and feel miserable.

CCC Blog Hop: Day 7

Kari Carr is the designer of the day in the blog hop. Her company name is New Leaf Stitches. She came to visit me in my booth last market and had this great picture taken of us. Our paths have crossed quite a bit before we really met. We were both featured in the same Fons & Porter issue last year, her quilt made the cover and was gorgeous. I also use her product, Clearly Perfect Angles on a daily bases. Go check her out and take a look at her project today.

The daily topic of the hop is a Christmas decoration or ornament. I have lots of special ornaments that are used every year....too many to pick and choose from. We still have some things that get pulled out every year, even though they have seen their better days. One of these things is a little "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree that belongs to my husband. He has had this tree since he was a baby and it has survived many moves, even a move between continents. It is extra special since both of his parents have passed away and this little tree holds so many memories.

This is a picture of my husband with the tree, he is about 3 years old we think.

Here is my son Gisli by the tree (they get to choose their own ornaments and hang them themselves!) when he was 5 years old. The star has been lost for a long time and the tinsel is coming off, but we try and fix it up every year. Those two cute little boys are definitely cut from the same tree don't you think?

Do you have any favorite decorations that require special care when taken out of the box?

PS: Since we are on the topic of trees, I wanted to show you another version of Sweet Trimmings. I had these cute holiday fabrics and my right hand gal Yvonne whipped up another sample for me. My daughter Svana loves this version! Put pink in anything and she loves it.
 

CCC Blog Hop: Day 6

Prepare for a journey to California today (well, if you are not there already). Today's featured designer is the one and only Pam Kitty Morning. She is one of the more entertaining people I know and if you read her blog, you will agree with me. Her antics and adventures with her partner in crime, Elizabeth are a hoot to follow. I am sure she has whipped up something super cute for you today, so go check it out and remember to tell her what you think.

The topic for today is a Family Tradition for the holidays. This one was a little hard, mainely because I have so many to tell you about, I had a hard time deciding which.

The Christmas tree was never put up in my house until December 23rd, after us kids were in bed. Then my parents would decorate it, put the gifts under the tree and turn the lights on so that we could rush to see it in the morning. There was always such anticipation and magic to see it in it's glory on Christmas Eve morning with all the colorful gifts underneath it.

Christmas for us starts at 6pm on Christmas Eve. We have a great meal and after the cleanup, we would sit down by the tree. My dad would always read the tags on every gift and hand it over and we would all wait and see what was in each present. I remember when I just started reading, I wanted to read the tags sooooo bad, but dad wouldn't let me. I am kind of glad now because it was such a neat tradition, you would pay attention to each ones gifts and really apreciate the moment.

   When you have your own family, you hang on to some of those favorite traditions and others you adjust to your life. I am such a Christmas girl, I love everything about Christmas. I think it is because my birthday is in December. When we moved to the States, I was quick to adapt to the tradition of putting up the Christmas Tree as early as Thanksgiving. It is so pretty that I love looking at it for a longer time. We never put any gifts underneath the tree until December 23rd, after the kids are in bed. Then they rush down to see it with all the presents around it. It is still exciting even though the tree has been up for a while.

We have also kept the tradition of reading the tags of every present. My husband also grew up with that tradition so he read all the tags.....until all the kids were old enough to read. Then we started taking turns, each person gets to choose a gift out of the pile, read the tag and deliver to the person it's for. That has made it really fun for us, kind of keeping old traditions, but making them our own.
 

Do you have a routine when presents are opened at your house? Have you adjusted some traditions from growing up to fit your family better?