Thrifting, Quilting, Teaching, and Quilty Peeps

I know I promised the other day to show you more of my thrifting finds in yesterday's post, but I was too excited/scared/excited about teaching quilt classes to think about what I'd found at the thrift store. So, here's a look:

Canning jars--I've built up quite a collection of these since I started thrifting, but I can't seem to stop buying more!

How much does nostalgia cost? For $2.99, I came home with a picnic basket that looks just like the one my family had when I was a kid. We were only about a 45 minute drive from the Pacific Ocean, so we'd often pack up our picnic basket and head to the beach whenever the weather was nice.

Yeah, another teapot. I love them! And these goofy looking salt and pepper shakers that I think would be fun in my brother's cabin-in-the-woods-decorated home.

Yet another candle holder. I have some crackled glass Christmas balls that are too heavy to hang on a tree, but I think they might look interesting in place of candles. Now, if only I can find them! My son's going to get my Christmas decorations down from the garage rafters this week, so I'll soon find out!

And speaking of Christmas . . . this Santa will likely be tucked into the branches of our Christmas tree.

I've been busy this weekend finishing up the piecing on the tree blocks, sewing the three different projects together, getting the large one pinned, and starting quilting. Here are a few photos:

The big one! This is the one I'm quilting--I need to have it done by Tuesday afternoon. Doesn't it look happy? Just the thing to chase away the winter gloom! Too bad it's not staying in my house, but it's a gift for someone. I'll tell you more about that later.

This one IS staying in my home. It's a good size for a tabletopper or possibly a wallhanging, but I think I'm going to use it on the table. Although I like traditional Christmas colors in most of the house, I get a kick out of keeping the kitchen a little brighter and offbeat.

Finally there's this one--it's a wallhanging that will go on the door of the coat closet, also facing into the kitchen. I added the "Happy Winter!" on the bottom in red wool.

Thank you all so much for commenting on my post about teaching. I'm sure I'll be quite nervous as the time gets closer, but you've given me some good ideas and things to think about as well as friendly moral support. And I'm quite excited that a couple of my quilty peeps from my Thimbleberries Club group--Chris and Imelda--have said they'd take a class from me--or maybe more than one! Imelda knows CPR and, if the worst happens, I've asked Chris to post a comment on my blog letting you all know I stopped breathing, so I think we have it covered!

I'm so happy to NOT have to go to work tomorrow, but it will be a busy day. We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving on Tuesday, so I need to start getting some of the food ready, shampoo carpets, and do my best to get the tree quilt quilted. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Thanks for checking in on me!