Holiday Festivities and Coffee Club Birthdays...

Friendship Star Mini Quilt

We really had a great day yesterday. Friends and good food, topped off with a homemade fireworks display (courtesy of our neighbors) made for good fun. It was really nice and even Tag enjoyed himself. We stood out in the pool cage when the pyrotechnics began and he just stood watching. He was so cute!

It's always a blessing to have gun dogs, even when they're non-traditional breeds. Corgis were used, not only for herding, but traditionally for pheasant hunting, too. That means they were also historically acclimated to the sounds of gunfire.

Because of Tag's gun dog training, he is completely comfortable with loud noises. Gunfire, thunder and fireworks are just curiosities to him. His only reaction is to give an inquisitive "Where's the retrieve?" look. There's no panting, panicking or fear. All our dogs - from puppyhood - are trained that way and I'm so grateful for it. (Especially when holidays call for fireworks - which in the South is most of them!)

Little bolts of fabric, vintage thread spool and bobbin, buttons and pins!

Before and after visiting and sharing a meal at our neighbor's home, I managed to sneak back to the studio to finish a surprise project. Today our Coffee Club celebrates Kathy's Birthday. As we did last year, we're again creating lovely group-effort wall quilts. (We did Sunbonnet Sue-themed quilts in 2012, and this year we're making coffee-themed quilts.) We gave Flo hers in March and Nora got her quilt last week. Now it's Kathy's turn. 

My finished quilter's shadowbox...with a little cup & saucer!

I pondered what my personal gifts for Nora and Kathy would be this year, and this quilt-themed shadowbox is what I came up with. I started with a  5" x 7" shadowbox frame and then I added all the goodies inside.

I made a 3-1/2" quilted Friendship Star block and then filled the space in front of it with quilt-themed objects. I made the tiny bolts of fabric and batting and I added a vintage thread and bobbin. I also inverted a thimble and filled it with tiny buttons and button-head pins. My final touch was the little wooden knob-turned-table with a tiny cup and saucer charm on top. (I took these pictures before the glue was dried to clear, which it is now.)

I'll give Kathy and Nora their own shadowboxes at Club this morning and I know the other gals will have special gifts to give, too. I always enjoy seeing what the others have created for the Birthday girl. I'll try to get pictures so you can see them, too.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment yesterday. I promise to reply to all of you who have return email addresses. To those of you who are "no reply"commenters, please know that I appreciated your thoughts, too! It was so nice to hear from you all. 

Rest assured, I'll be keeping my "comment" feature activated - and my "word verification" disabled. Whether you leave a note or not, I know you're out there and that means the world to me. It's always great to know that someone is reading, learning or being inspired. I'll continue strive to be worthy of the precious time that you choose to spend visiting with me. Thank you!