Reindeer Obcession

Cute little reindeer, yes I am obsessed with them! It started when I was a little girl. 

For Christmas I received the Burl Ives record "Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer" with a matching storybook. My Grandfather had made my sister and I a standup cabinet which housed a little record player. It was painted sugar pink and had circular cut outs in the wood with glittery little Christmas card scenes glued inside. A light inside shone through the cutouts casting a magical glow in the room while we played our record over and over. 

And so I fell in love with that cute little Reindeer, cried when he couldn't play in any reindeer games, and rejoiced in his feisty character and determination to beat the odds.

I never outgrew my love of reindeer at Christmas time, I love them stuffed.....

and in in all shapes and forms.

And so, many of my Christmas patterns feature a reindeer somewhere in them. 

And did you know that this year Rudolf is celebrating his 50 year anniversary? 

There are many darling reindeer and Rudolf quilt fabrics available now that would look perfectly sweet to use with my new pattern.

And with that being said, this week I am happy to introduce my latest design:

"Those Silly Reindeer!"

And silly, they are! They make everything fun while helping Santa get ready for the big day!

I hope you will enjoy this fun pattern now available on my web site.

It's only 137 days until Christmas!

On the road again....

Back from a quick weekend getaway! We visited long time friends on their beautiful ranch in Western Oklahoma. Talk about wide open spaces, I would need a panoramic lens for you to take in the scope of how beautiful the views were from every angle! You can see 30 miles away, and he skies are not cloudy all day!

We drove around the property, signs of an old homestead.

Lots of unique vegetation. I love these, they are thistle I think? We saw a family of deer and an armadillo on the way.

We gathered petrified wood, rocks and old pottery shards from land run days. If you have never been to Oklahoma you will probably find the red dirt interesting, it covers everything, even these pieces.

Martha and I on their tractor LOL!

Martha is a wonderful cook and she spoiled us badly, three fabulous meals each day. I am sure to hear about this for days on end now that we are home!

It was so great seeing them but some good things must come to an end while the next journey continues onward. Next stop.... Oklahoma City, a quick visit with our Oklahoma family where we picked up our Texas twin grandsons and drove back to Kansas with them for a summer break. 

And we are going to be very busy these next two weeks! 

New design just released!! Santa and some of his fun reindeer crew are featured on this cute Christmas wall hanging. Fusible appliqué, easy piecing, so fun!! Now available on my web site at www.cleoandme.com

Daisy was so happy to have us home again. I can't say enough about how quickly we have become attached to her, she is just the sweetest thing!

Time to get the boys started on bedtime... another full day tomorrow!

A Special Little Giveaway

It's here, it's here, and I am so pleased and excited! My quilt "My Cute Kitty" appears in the new special  childrens issue of Quiltmania. 

                               See, here we are on page 64, how cute is this table of contents! Everything is cute and adorable in this issue packed with 19 projects to make for that special little dumpling in your life, or heck, I might even need to make a few for me. 

A little peek at my quilt. My model traveled all the way to France and back for photography, I wish I

was able to go along for the ride! 

Quiltmania is a French produced magazine, they print their magazines in French, Dutch and English as well. I can not say enough about the beautiful quality of this magazine filled with exquisite photography, illustrations, easy to follow diagrams and instructions throughout. 

In the US it can be found at Barnes & Noble, Borders and many quilt shops. You can also subscribe to it here . Thank you Carol and Caroline for choosing my sweet quilt, it was a pleasure meeting you both here in Kansas City at International Quilt Market! 

And guess what, I have an extra copy, yes I do! One for me and one for you! Well, ONE lucky person that is. If you would like to enter my drawing, please leave a comment, it's that simple. 

Hubby will draw a name Wednesday June 26th so check back with us.

My latest pattern released this week. "Fa la la la la"(you will be singing this in a few more months) is fun, fast and easy to make. Simple piecing, fusible appliqué and check out those rick rack legs. How adorable is that! 

90's for Kansas the rest of this week. I'll be staying cool writing instructions for my next pattern, 

this one has a Halloween theme!

Stay cool and be merry!

Knit one, Purl one

My goodness, these days are blowing by as fast as the leaves are falling! Can you believe it's November, yikes, and that means December is soon to follow. I've been working hard to release this new pattern- "Reindeer Helpers". You sure can tell Santa is in the panic mode because he recruited those silly reindeer to work in the gift wrap department. This cute pattern is now available on my web site and you can find all the details there.
The weather has been gorgeous here in Kansas. We're getting a wee bit spoiled with bright sunny skies and 70s and oh how I wish it could stay this way all year long. Sunday we drove down to Lawrence/KU to take our son the birthday boy out to lunch. You surely must know by now I never get tired of a trip to KU. Not only do I get to see my boy, they have an amazing choice of great eateries and lots of fun shopping. Love it, love it, love it! Sadly I did not get to visit my fave fabric store this trip, I was hoping to stop in and pick up a selection of reds, pinks, dots and hearts, for a Valentines Day project I have in mind. But by the time Jon finished his BIG lunch we were running short on time. Awwww, but look how happy he is :)

This weekend I spied my knitting tote hanging from a peg in the laundry room. In it is a UFO that I have been knitting for 2 years, the second stocking for my twin Grandsons who are now 4! Well, they do have stockings, just not one of these gigantic stockings I have made for each of us since we were 1st married. So much to Cleos delight, the yarn ball is out once again and I am bound and determined to finish up this week, see I'm already down to the toe part!

Knit one, purl one, back to it, enjoy your week!