Brrrrr ... it's Winter inside!

 

I love it when Deb comes to work. She has a knack for changing out and perking up our displays. The other day when she was in, I asked her to turn the red cabinet into Winter. It looked so fabulous that I just had to take a picture!

 

Everything was blue and white and snowy.

 

Sort of like the view right outside our doors!

 

It's Winter. It's Minnesota. Embrace it! Build something snowy ... like a blue and white table topper or a snowman doll or a needle felted snowman! Cozy up and bring Winter inside where it won't melt into puddles.

But if you just can't do that ... or haven't scheduled a get-away cruise ... come in and pick up some fabric that will make you feel warm inside ... like Hey Sugar! from Cosmo Cricket. That and a mug of warm cocoa just might do the trick!

Merry Christmas from Minnesota!!

 

To all of our family and friends ... near by and around the world ... Merry Christmas!

 

 

     

 

 

Fun times at the Workshop!

   

It was so cool on Friday when in spite of the snow and the cold, people flocked to our open house at the workshop in White Bear Lake. Lots of glittery ornaments were made ... cookies were munched ... the workshop thoroughly examined. It was a wonderful day!

 

Tags made by my friend Steph at Sunshine and Ravioli were a big hit. So were Steph's whimsy loaded cupcake cards. My button maker got a workout with everyone wanting holiday initial buttons. One person was giving them to all her female family on Saturday when they went to the Mall of America for Christmas shopping. Oh ... one other fun thing ... I found out who in Wasilla, Alaska reads my blog and that I know her and that she was jealous because her friend got to come to the open house and she couldn't! (Hi, Holly! Waving at you!)

   

But as great as Friday was, it was even more fun when my grand-neice Bryn came to visit today! My sister Sue brought her so Bryn could make Christmas ornaments as gifts. She finished a half dozen of these retro paper ornaments in a flash. Sue and I couldn't keep up!

 

I personally think Bryn's handwriting on the bags is just as precious as her gift inside!

 

Then on to snowflakes for her cousins ... with lots of trips to the bathroom to wash our gluey glittery fingers! Sue pointed out that I need granddaughters of my own. (Listen up Rob and Alex!) If I could have them with as sweet of a personality as Bryn's, I'd love it! She was excited to be at the workshop and thought it might be a nice place for her friends to come for her birthday next Summer. Ya ... I think it would be fun, too! Anytime spent around her would be a good time in my book.

Merry Christmas, Bryn!! (And everyone else, too.)

    

Hey Sugar!

If you're sort of beginning to think of life after the holidays, you're going to love what came in this box today ... it's Hey Sugar! by Cosmo Cricket for Andover Fabrics. If you liked the diagonal stripes from Jitterbug, you'll find more of them in yummy colors ... some zig zags that echo the colors of the stripes ... florals that are arranged to look like hearts ... and cupid's arrows to match. They all have a vintage look but ... I can't put my finger on it ... they're just different ... in a good way! Maybe a little creamier ... a little more modern colors. In many ways, opening the box was like opening Spring!

 

We've managed to cut up a bunch of fat quarters as well as Square Deal kits ... toting them along to our open house at the Cottage workshop on Friday in White Bear Lake. If you need yardage ... for like a really super cute quilt ... you'll find that at the store in North St Paul. This line is going to go fast because it's a breath of fresh air ... don't  hesitate!

We packed the toys ... for tots!

  

Usually in December, the Marine reservists pack Toys for Tots but seeing they're all in Africa or Iraq, some of the family members came out to the warehouse to take their place. This was interesting seeing how the process works ... I'd love to do it again! While we were there, a group of hockey players from Roseville were also packing toys and a school group was coming in after us. Looks like anyone can get in on this good cause.

 

Our van was full with toys that all of the Rosebud's crowd generously donated. Thanks so much! We also have another load of food to take to the North St Paul food shelf ... I know they'll appreciate it a lot this time of year.

 

Initially, we didn't think there would be any toys to pack! How grinchy is that??? We received a call from the Marines at a little after 7am not to come but by that time, many people were on their way. However, soon after we arrived, a truck fromKARE 11 arrived and was filled with toys. 

   

The hockey team rolled over bins of toys they had pulled off the truck ... then everything was stacked quickly so the truck could get back to the tv station for more. After that, we all went through the pile and sorted the toys into age groups. The 4-8 boys and girls bins were overflowing really fast. So were the stuffed animals ... with lots of sock monkeys! There were teams on one side of the bin putting a selection of toys into boxes. Everything was taped and labeled and very organized. The large items like bikes and snow boards were put together with shrink wrap and hauled off to another area.

 

I've never seen so many Candyland games in one place at once ... outside of a toy store of course. Have to admit that a little bit of bias started to show up in me ... I noticed that I was putting all of the Candyland and Chutes and Ladders in the girl bins and Connect Four and Legos in the boy bins. What can I say ... my boys went to those boy games and toys a lot quicker than the others so I was just going on memory. One of the moms there told me her little boy loved Candyland so after that I began to mend my ways. It was hard!

 

I know everyone says teenagers are the forgottens this time of year but what I didn't realize was that the proportion of what was given to girls was a lot less than what was given to boys. Boys 13-16 on the right ... girls on the left. The girls bin tended to end up with the scrapbooking kits or things to do with crafts. Maybe a soccer ball or two.

This was interesting ... the Marines pull out the big things ... like PlayStation or Wii and the games that go with them ... they are then sent to hospitals where more kids can enjoy them.

It was fun meeting some of the Marine families. We packed all they the toys that were delivered ... there's still time to donate more if you want!

Shhhh ... Rosebud has a secret!

   

Well ... the cat's out of the bag now ... especially when our sign went up a few weeks ago. Rosebud's Cottage has a new secret workshop in downtown White Bear Lake!

The Cottage workshop is located at 4715 Banning Ave ... the corner of Third and Banning. Our entrance is through an adorable courtyard off the Banning side of the building ... you won't be able to miss our sign ... not to mention the fun, creative vibes oozing out the door!

I can't tell you how excited I am to be back in White Bear Lake ... minutes from home ... and a fabulous space to work in. I envision some Summer days where I lock the doors for a bit and meet Bob at the dock for lunch and a cruise around the lake. (Shhh ... don't tell the girls at the store ... don't want them to get jealous!) You'll be shocked at the look of the workshop ... it's sort of my altered-ego ... lots of weird stuff that needed a home and Bob built me a bookcase! My mom's quilting books finally have a place.

I'll be spending a few days each week at the workshop ... doing some work for other companies and creating projects for the store. Want to see one thing I'm working on? Flip to page  61 of your February 2009 American Patchwork and Quilting. Trust me ... you won't want to miss this!!

And just so there's no confusion ... NO ... we are NoT closing our quilt shop in downtown North St Paul. Are you kidding? The trucks are loaded with new fabric for us ... Jezebel from Red Rooster ... Hey Sugar! by Cosmo Cricket from Andover Fabrics ... Plaids and Polka Dots from Indo ... not to mention the Quilt Minnesota fabric we ordered this week for the shop hop in August.

Come take a peek at our Cottage workshop next week Friday ... December 19th ... from noon until seven o'clock ... we'll have glittery and quick projects for you to make for a buck ... treats to nibble ... a chance to see what's going on at our new spot.

Don't expect regular retail hours in White Bear Lake ... however ... if the door's unlocked, step in to see what's new. And circle your calendar for Thursday, January 15 ... we'll be taking part in the downtown Girls Night Out from 4 - 8pm ...  have some fun things planned with our new neighbors.

So do you want a little peek into the workshop? Well ... we're not quite done ... it's sort of in an evolution state yet ... but here are a few photos to give you an idea. More to come in the future. I do have to say, it was very fun getting out the acrylic paints and brushes ... I miss my old friends! Now that we've been reacquainted, who knows what will happen!!

 

 

Sparkly and glittery things!

 

I think one of the things I love about Christmas decorations is all the sparkliness involved! The pretty sparkling lights, the metalic paints, the fluffy flocking ... they just make you happy to look at them. I can never decided what to buy so I whipped out my camera to remind myself ... maybe that'll help with choosing? Maybe not but at least it'll keep that Christmas feeling around a long time as I look back through my photos!

  

   

As pretty as the view out of my bedroom window with the new snow sprinkled on everything!

 

The Wisemen looking regal.

 

Pixie angels ... aren't they sweet?

 

Hearts and butterflies and dragonflies all glittered up to decorate the tree!

 

These glittered stars looked wonderful piled in a bowl. I'm thinking I need to get out my giant star die cut and my bottles of glass glitter and go to town!

But there's one thing I have to draw the line at ... glittered frogs!

All I want for Christmas!

 

North St Paul has their big giant Santa mailbox outside the post office again this year. I swear it's the same one that was there when I was six! I get such a kick out of seeing it ... even more if there's a little kid shoving an envelople in the slot. Isn't that what makes up  the magic of Christmas?

When the boys were little, we found this wonderful holder for their wish lists. It was a silver tube, engraved with holly and berries and 'letters to Santa' on it. We'd hang it on the newell post of the banister. The boys would carefully write their list and put it in ... then if you went back a few days later you'd see that something had been crossed off and something else added. All the way to Christmas Eve. What a nightmare!

Bob tightly rolls up all the lists together and puts them back in the holder each year. So we have a history of what they wanted ... and got ... through the years. Right up until last year because once a tradition starts, you've got to keep it going, right?

One tradition that we let go was done again tonight. I loved those photos of the kids with Santa but when Rob turned about 15 it all stopped because Teddy wouldn't go along with it unless the older two did. We're getting ready to ship off Alex's Christmas box to Africa so went to the mall and had a photo take of the three of us with Santa. It's a horrible picture ... aren't they all? But we had them put it on a calendar ... I know Alex will be checking off the days until their plane comes to bring them home ... and he'll get to see our smiling faces when he does!