Christmas

Santas were finished this morning at 2am. They are wrapped and ready to go.

Trivet still in progress. This is going to a friend tonight. Nothing like last minute.

And the wall hanging...well....its basted. Technically, I still have til Russian Christmas (January 7th) to finish. At least that's what I'm telling myself so I don't feel like a complete failure. I will finish.

To all of you out there Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! May the magic and joy of the season bring happiness and health to you and your families! Now commence unhealthy food to face.....repeatedly.

So many Santas

The count down to Christmas continues! In a mad dash to make some Christmasy things, I whipped up these Santa ornaments this afternoon. They will be gifts for the fam. I received one of these guys as a gift from a co-worker and mocked up my own pattern from it. Here's the original.

In the haste of making, I learned a cutting mat does not double as an ironing board. Ugh.

My guys still need eyes, noses and stashes. But I'm pooped so they'll have to wait.

 Don't get alarmed! I am not an alcoholic. These have been collected from a friend....who is also not an alcoholic, he just actually drinks. I plan on turning them into a trivet. Another project I intend to wing. Wish me luck! After all the Christmas madness I may be able to supply my own bottle caps.....

O what fun......

I was even productive on the plane!

So didn't think later in the week would mean the following week...sheesh...Anyway, here is a recap of our stupendous trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. We had loads of fun visiting our friend and got into plenty of shenanigans while he was at work.  Hehehehe!

So on the first day we got there we were pretty beat but decided we should make the most of the little time we had. Our first stop was In and Out Burger....of course. We discovered them on our expedition west this summer. What a delicious find.

Insert Homer, Mmmmmm......grilled cheese....*lippy smacky noises*

Next stop: Temple

Mind you I am not a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints but by all means was I seeing that enormous church. Interestingly enough all the roads in SLC lead to Temple. The Church of Latter Day Saints is located at the very heart of the city and all streets are named, rather numbered, by its proximity to Temple. If you live on 2700 South that means you are 27 blocks south of Temple. This made the city extremely easy to navigate.

Saturday we went skiing. Best snow on earth. I tried snowboarding for the first time....fun but hurt. Alot.

Sunday.....we went to the public library and to our surprise there was a craft show !!!! Some of Utah's finest were exhibiting their wears and accoutrements at the appropriately named Craft Sabbath. I of course bought some really neat swag.

 
From left to right counter-clockwise:

The Emperor's Tea booth was great! They gave free samples and smiles all day long! What wonderful people! Wish I got their names :/ The tea was super delicious especially the Raspy Raspberry, Black Christmas and Pepperminty! They pride themselves on being super local and super all natural. You can check out their story and products here and here.

My next stop was bykali. Kali makes wonderful wearable and hanging artwork from all sorts of found objects. She had some very beautiful earrings and necklaces containing things like aspen leaves, nails, bolts and interesting graphics. I could have spent a fortune here, simply wonderful and super creative! You can own one of your very own by visiting her etsy site here.

Last but not least there was Spotted Hippo Soap. I actually went to this booth first. The wonderful smell of the handmade soaps drew me in. I was sniffing everything! Finally settled on the Beer Soap, she uses actual beer in the process! Think mine is a lager but I'm not a drinker so who knows, either way it smells amazing can't wait to use it. You can follow Spotted Hippo Soap here and here.

Shop local first! Support your local artists!

And finally the grand finale .......Piper' Quilts & Comforts. As a quilter traveling to quilt mecca, ie Utah, it was only customary that I find, gawk, and buy something from a local quilt shop. Luckily there was one very close to our friends and off I went with 3 men to a quilting/knitting shop. In the midst of fabric overload my boyfriend's friend came up with a brilliant plan. I should collect fabric from all the states I travel too and make a "states" quilt from all the findings! This is my first from Utah.

It was a really adorable shop. They had all sorts of wonderful things on the walls. They specialized in children's wears and had a ton of really cute knitted hats and clothes. They have great tutorials on their blog and fabric selection here. I definitely want to try this soon. I bought an awl today just in case I get the urge to try it. Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of pictures since in the same moment we went to Piper's I conveniently "lost" my camera. It was in my luggage :/ So enjoy the pictures my boyfriend so begrudgingly happily let me take with his phone.

All in all it was an amazing trip and I need to get back west ASAP. My heart belongs in the mountains.

SLC

Sorry for the lapse in posts. I was traveling....to beautiful Utah!  My boyfriend, his buddy and I went out for a four day weekend getaway to see a friend. Was nice to get away from the stress of work and New Jersey for a while.

Things are much more laid back out there, a lot slower which is great. And I seriously can't get enough of the mountains! God how I love those mountains..... I'm pretty sure I'm meant to live on the western end of the states.

I will post later on in the week regaling you with all the fun things we got into!