.happy new year.

Happy New Year! Welcome in 2012!

.completed quilts and projects in 2011.

This is one of my favorite blog posts of the year…I feel a sense of accomplishment of all I completed in the past year!

19 Quilts

4 Table Runners

4 Bags

1 Ice Bag Holder

Lots of Zippered Pouches!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have lots of quilts in progress – some at the quilter, some at the binding stage – so look forward to more to come after the new year!

.what I read in 2011.

Here’s my annual list of what I read over the past year…not as much as in some years past…too much quilting or cheerleading or Real Housewives?!

The Midwife's Confession

Escape

Those Who Save Us

Then Came You

A Stolen Life

Summer and the City

Look Again

I'd Know You Anywhere

Black and Blue

Best Friends Forever

Wench

The Help

Still Missing

Shanghai Girls

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

Something Borrowed

Sing You Home

The Glass Castle

Room: A Novel

Then Came You

.feliz navidad.

Merry Christmas greetings to you from somewhere between San Diego and Puerto Vallarta! The Koch family is celebrating Christmas on a Mexican Riviera cruise this year – although very different from our usual traditions, we are all very excited for a vacation and to celebrate Christmas Holland America style!!

.feliz navidad from the Koch’s.

.christmas nativity.

Today was the Christmas program at church, where the kids acted out the nativity story. Little Miss Kamryn was a little lamb (just like her Auntie Ang was once upon a time…wearing the same costume too!) so time to get some good photos. Kamryn’s Grandma Karen gave me a lesson on my camera the other night, but do you think I could remember any of her instruction today? So much pressure in the moment!

For example, I wanted to get this sweet moment of Maren with baby Maya as Mary and Joseph…but my camera focused on the candles – which makes for a cool photo, but not what I had in mind!

Kamryn had a mini-meltdown before her big debut…but Chloe helped her calm down…so cute!

This little lamb kept the shepherds plenty busy today! She wanted to explore the altar area – not sit with the other animals!

  

Alyssa Huber looking into the manger – so sweet!

Kamryn stole the show today – she was so cute! She did a great job in her first Christmas program!

.sugar cookies.

Even though we’re going to be gone for Christmas, it’s just not Christmas without some traditions. Like sugar cookies. and Elf. :)

I mixed a double batch of sugar cookies on Thursday night. Yum – I love sugar cookie dough!

Last night, I rolled out the cookies and baked them. This is usually my least favorite part of this process. It went pretty fast though! While I did that, Mom dipped pretzels in White Almond Bark (my other Christmas favorite!).

  

This morning, Elf was on TV, so Mom & I watched that while we frosted the cookies.

 

Now it really feels like Christmas! :)

.merry christmas.

.birdhouses in december.

This is one of the quilt reveals I’m most proud of.
It’s been just 2 years since I got my sewing machine for Christmas…so just beginning my third year of sewing. After going to the Buggy Barn Quilt Show in August 2010, I fell in love with this quilt. I ordered the kit…waited 4 months…then cut into it. I pieced most of it together at the Crafters Getaway last February.

Fast forward to December…I picked it up from the quilter and quickly put the binding on. I’m in love.

My friends Amy and Candace suggested a lady that does long arm quilting in Richland and this was the first thing I took to her. I am so pleased with the way it turned out.

 

She quilted each flower differently and this is the one I love the most - pebbles. I really want to learn to quilt like this!

 

This quilt was not easy to piece and I’m so proud of myself that I completed it – and that it actually looks decent! I’m snuggling under it right now!

.beta christmas party.

The biggest-baddest-bestest party of the Beta year was last night at Jennifer’s. No one misses the Christmas party – it’s that good. :)

The tradition of passing around the present to unwrap continues. I can’t even imagine how many rolls and rolls of tape were used this year. Seriously – it went around the room 10-ish times?! Made for some pretty fun pictures though!

 

Kate with the contraband scissors --- that she didn’t even need to use!

 

And finally – Kelly was the winner!

If Maren would’ve been paying attention rather than talking about Egg Nog, she would’ve been the winner! Here she is trying to explain what happened – as if we didn’t all see it happen in the first place! haha

 

We played the exchange game – which is always a lot of fun too!

Karen and Eileen

 

Mom and Sharon

 

Kate and I

 

Melissa, Mom, and I

  

THE FACE!
”How to avoid talking to people you don’t want to talk to”

 

I took a quilt as my exchange gift – and Bonnie got to go home with it! YAY BONNIE! :)

 

Such a fun evening spent with good friends…so many funny moments and one-liners (which I already forgot most of….so this is what it feels like, Mom?!)

Love my Beta friends!