Christmas Quilts

 I see I have not blogged for one month.  I have been consumed with finishing the quilts for our 10 +1 grandchildren for Christmas.  They were all pieced and quilted by Christmas day. This was a two year project and I work best under pressure so I burned a bit of midnight oil!  It was a labor of love, I could think and pray for each grandchild as I worked on their quilt.  I will be beginning the pictures with the youngest to the oldest:

 Ellen Grace, born in September with her baby quilt.

 Jesse, age 4, with his match quilt, there are 2 matching blocks of each fabric for him to find. Jesse's comment the day after Christmas was "I love my blanket. I think I dreamed it".

 Jace, age 6, with his sports quilt.

 Meredith, age 8, with her purple quilt.

 Gretta, will be 11 in two days, with a quilt to match her room.

 Zach, just turned 11, with a sports and animal quilt.

 Grace, age 13, got a Gracie fabric quilt, with a small Gracie in the center of each block.

 Lauren, age 16, with a diagonal patchwork quilt of Mary Englebright fabrics.

 Taylor, a college Junior with her snowball quilt.

 Alyssa and Fredrik, live in Jokkomokk, Sweden and I sent their quilts in early December and they arrived in time for Christmas. The center fabric in Alyssa's quilt is fabric that I purchased in Sweden, two years ago while visiting her. It depicts the rising sun and the midnight sun.  They live on the Arctic Circle so they miss the sun in winter.

I will post some Christmas activity pictures in a few days. 

Happy New Year to you.

Our new building is almost finished and we have been using ther rooms and I love my quilt studio. 

Here are a few photos of activities in our new retreats. 

 The wood shop has been busy, he has been trimming out the windows and doors and the floor heat is so fabulous.

A few photos of the Christmas projects that have been going on in the quilt studio - names not included, because of Christmas coming.

 We had a family wiener roast close to Halloween and the grand kids dressed up. They were just too cute.

 Lauren holding baby Ellen (7 weeks old)

 Grandma Mary Ellen and baby Ellen.

We celebrated Wilbur's birthday by taking a long train trip.  We traveled 7374 miles, slept on the train 6 nights and in hotels six more nights. We loved the ride, the scenery, and the food.  The train personal were so gracious, and yes, we would recommend it. It was a time of relaxation, and a good time together.  We got to know Chicago, L. A. and Seattle.  We walked a lot in each city and the stayed downtown, close to the train station. 

Beginning our Amtrak trip in Mt. Pleasant

Our first stop: Chicago

A view of Chicago in the "Bean"

We had breakfast at Palmer house bistro - fun

One of the train "smoke"stops

Our arrival in Los Angeles - our hotel plaza.

The train depot in L.A.- it was beautiful.

Wilbur enjoying an easy chair in the club car.

The lovely dining car.  We had delicious meals.

Our first introduction to L. A. - smog.

Our roomette, by day, it was a table and two seats and by night, we had two bunks. 

Some of the scenery we saw along the way.

Another view of the club car, easy chairs on this end and tables and chairs on the other.

It was a great sight seeing trip.