Christmas In July Blog Hop Day 2

 

Welcome to Day 2 of Christmas In July Blog Hop, hosted by Melva at Melva Loves Scraps! Christmas in July certainly sounds better than summer heat, right?

Melva talking with me about the blog hop

When Melva first mentioned the blog hop here, I loftily said "I no longer participate in blog hops", to which Melva sweetly replied "I understand!" But I couldn't get it out of my head- even woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it - and here I am! I had forgotten about the magic that happens when there is a deadline for a post - looking through stash, getting that spark again by encountering projects I had forgotten about, and being inspired by the creations of others as well as that sense of participation and camaraderie. So thank you Melva.

For my project, I chose to finally finish a 2024 Christmas in July embroidery from Joy of Days Filled With Joy. Joy is such a creative soul and makes some of my favorite embroidery patterns. Her instructions are easy to follow, and the patterns are easy to transfer. 

I pulled some sparkly Christmas floss as well as some variegated Sulky threads 

Here is a closeup of the background stars on white.

The finished piece with a 3" border is about 12" x 12"

I used fusible embroidery stabilizer on the back and plan to make it into a wall hanging, possibly using some of this pretty Indigo Garden fabric.

How about a Christmas recipe? Since Thanksgiving is our main family get-together and eat-fest, we usually do a low-key menu on Christmas Eve. My favorite Christmas Eve menu is for appetizers and desserts. This is one of my favorite appetizers, made with Little Smokes and my own sauce recipe, and it is good for July too!

Little Smokies in Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons BBQ sauce

1 tablespoon grain mustard 

1- 14oz pkg Little Smokies

Whisk first 5 ingredients in saucepan, bring to simmer. Add Smokies and heat through. Can throw them into a mini Crockpot at this point to keep warm.

And here is what you've been waiting for - my prize giveaway, which includes:

• A transparent yarn project bag, which can hold embroidery projects or yarn projects. There is an inside pocket as well as loops at the top to keep your yarn organized.
• A zippered mesh bag for holding anything - colored pencils, embroidery floss, crochet hooks, needles.
• 5 Christmas flosses including 4 sparkly flosses as well as a variegated floss
• 14ct Aida Star fabric in metallic gold natural 

Toby is cleaning his paws for the prize drawing

For a chance to win, just leave a comment letting us know if you are working on a Christmas in July project or if it is "no thank you I will procrastinate wait until December", and I will enter your name in the drawing. You may enter through July 27, and Toby will randomly paw, er, choose a  name. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can notify you if you win!

Finally, here are the blog hop participants for you to visit, including the bloggers for yesterday:

Yesterday, July 24

Melva at Melva Loves Scraps - hostess

Diann at Little Penguin Quilts

Carol at Quilt Schmilt

Today, July 25

Vivian at Bronx Quilter

Gail at Quilting Gail

Linda at Texas Quilt Gal - you are here!

I am also linking this post to Alycia's Finished or Not Friday, with Chris at TGIFF and FO or NO , and with Kate's 15 Minutes To Stitch.

The Almost Wedding Quilt and Upcoming Blog Hop

This quilt has been in progress for a year!  knew I would make a quilt after the engagement, but I waited until colors were chosen. Then a long wait for batting to be delivered (economy shipping might be free, but wow is it slow), the sandwiching process (it is the biggest quilt I've made so I needed my husband to help me), and bobbin tension issues (first time ever!) it is still not quilted. On top of that, I am having some eye issues, so not a lot of sewing is getting done!

Last month we had lunch with our grandson Brandon and his new bride Raegan after meeting them at the duplex they are leasing. The house is so cute - it was built in the 1960s and is in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, an older neighborhood with tree-lined streets. I showed Raegan a photo of the quilt and she is thrilled. I hope to gift it to her by the first of August.

In other news, Melva from Melva Loves Scraps is hosting a blog hop on Thursday and Friday this week! As you can see from the cute logo, it is called Christmas in July. My day is Thursday along with other quilters, and the hop will continue on Friday with another group. There will be some prizes involved so be sure to check back on Thursday!