Merry Christmas!

The Winter Quilt

Christmas came a little bit early to my house...well, not really, but Pam ordered us an iron to test out.  When we were teaching in Florida, Marlys was using her's in class and we liked it and thought we'd give it a try. I've been using it while I've been working on a new pattern and I love it!  For one thing, it never shuts off until you turn it off!  My husband hates that feature, especially when I forget and leave it on for 18 hours!  Thank goodness he didn't notice!  The water reservior is pressurized, but there's no extra tank.  It has the button for the burst of steam, but what I've found that I really like, is the continuous steam for clothes or drapes or whatever.  When I'm piecing a crazy pattern, I turn the continuous steam on low, and it works great for pressing my chain pieced piles. Merry, Merry Christmas to me!!



I am almost ready.....the presents are wrapped, the food prep is pretty well complete, and I've finally sent out my Christmas cards.  I'm ashamed  to admit it, but this may be the one time of year that I correspond with alot of my friends and family.  As I page through my address book, it's like a newsreel of our life so far....I get to remember friends we've made in the places we've been, remembering those who are no longer with us, but I still haven't scratched from my book.  I miss most of those people, and the fun times we've had, but life and distance have gotten in the way.  It's like they say, each of us leaves footprints across the hearts of all we come in contact with.  Some leave bigger footprints than others but they have all touched my life and I'm thankful for each and everyone one!  Both here at the Barn and as we travel and teach, Pam & I find so many people who touch our hearts and share a bit of themselves, and leave those footprints....It's hard knowing that I will probably never see most of these people again, but I will always remember their kindness, and hope we'll meet again!  Like our friend Stormy shared with us, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless" ~Mother Teresa  In the rush of the holiday season, let's each take a moment to be kind to each other and leave an echo that will be endless!  May each of you have a very blessed and merry Christmas!