Merry Makers

Giveaway closed!!

 

There is no better description for this book, other than the info posted on the Martingale website as shown below.

Get your patchwork presents all wrapped and ready! The Moda All-Stars are back with 15+ handmade gifts to give or keep. Choose from stockings, pincushions, and coasters to make in speedy multiples. Lap quilts, table runners, and other deck-the-halls designs abound too!

Complete most projects in a weekend or quicker—no need to fear the Christmas time crunch. And just for fun, you’ll learn all about the favorite holiday traditions of the All-Stars in a series of Q & As.

Christmas Cabin Quilt by Pat Sloan

Twinkle Twinkle Star Wallhanging by Me and My Sister Designs.

Just a few of the festive projects by my friends- the Moda All-Stars. There are many other projects in the book, but I will leave some of those a surprise when you pick up the book.

One other story I wanted to share is about when I was a young mom, instead of an old mom, and the holidays were approaching which began the season of gift giving. I made many of my gifts, and I am sure my family still treasures those cute quilted pot holders I made for them some thirty-odd years ago. I was so proud of these gifts but when it came time for providing gifts for the kids that was a struggle.

A friend of mine, you know who you are, Kay Mayor, and I would load up the car at night and go put out boxes for Toys for Tots at designated collection locations throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We would do this night after night driving into areas we had never even heard of, and this was before google maps. The money we earned doing this helped us pay for our kids’ gifts. Anything that it took to make it all happen including setting up a trampoline in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve created great stories and memories. We could not have done this without the opportunity to help with this charity. So coming full circle, I could not be more proud that the Moda designers and the Martingale team choose the Marine Toys for Tots to donate the royalties of this book.

I hope each of you finds something beautiful to make for someone special in your life. This book is in stores now!!

 

I am doing a giveaway of a hot off the press Merry Maker book. Leave a comment telling me about one of the presents/ stories about a gift for your kids. I will draw at random, Saturday the 15th.

Enjoy,

modalissa

Giveaway closed! so many great stories

the winner is:

Telera McCullough

I want to tell you about a family Christmas when I was growing up. We agreed to all make gifts for one another. I was about 12 and my sisters were about 8 and 4. The most amazing surprise was coming in the door after celebrating with grandparents and finding THREE dollhouses that my father built for us. Each was 3 stories high, opened on both ends and the top and had wrap around porches. I still use some of the small sachets my 4 year old sister made that year. We are all still makers 40 years later.

 

 

21 comments

  1. Mary Kolb says:

    The Christmas when my daughter was four I made both her and her favorite doll matching pink and purple plaid flannel night gowns. I can still remember the big smile on her face.

  2. Karen Seitz says:

    I don’t have kids, so I can’t provide an appropriate comment. One Christmas I used lots of fabric scraps and fresh catnip to make loads of toys for my friends’ and families’ kitties, though. They were a hit!

  3. Martha says:

    My 3-year-old son approached the mall’s Santa cautiously. When Santa said, “And what do you want for Christmas, son?” my son looked like Santa was being evaluated and approved. Then my son fairly shouted what I hadn’t known was his dream gift: “A calculator!” Santa looked at me like I was a strange mother. But our son got a calculator with the biggest numbers that could be found and a made-by-Mom bag to carry it.

  4. Stephanie Hanson says:

    When my daughter was six she wanted a bicycle for Christmas. We picked up the box at the store and started to put it together Christmas Eve. We soon discovered it was boys bicycle. It was too late to exchange, so we thought we’d work that our later. Well, Christmas morning came and she screamed with delight. “How did Santa know that I wanted a boys bike.” We kept the bike.

  5. Patty says:

    Each year since my kids were in their teens, I make one gift for each of them in addition to any gifts we purchase. We’ve done large quilts (a hit), knitted hats (not so much), and many things in between. I enjoy trying to come up with something fun every year.

  6. Andrea Hickman says:

    When my daughter was 3, she found a pink guitar with Disney princesses on it in a catalog. That was all she wanted. We ordered it as quickly as possible. A plain pink guitar arrived. I called the company to get the right guitar. Supposedly they were out. I had a panic attack on the phone with them! I started hunting for decals that I could use to decorate the plain pink guitar. The next day the company called to say that they had made a mistake with my order and shipped out the correct guitar. My daughter was thrilled on Christmas Day. My daughter is 12 now and we still have that guitar!

  7. carolyn says:

    We had just moved to NJ and our kids were a bit older…the gift that they wanted in the worst way was a Wii which had just come out. Christmas shopping was done, but we had credit card points and ordered one. Of course the delivery date was AFTER Christmas. Imagine our surprise when it was delivered on Dec. 23rd! We immediately wrapped and hid it, then started our quest for Guitar Hero, which no one had in stock on Christmas Eve. We went to every Target, Best Buy, WalMart, game store and KMart in South Jersey, I think and finally got down to the last WalMart we could find and tucked underneath a bunch of Guitar Hero boxes for other systems we found one…for the Wii!!! I’m pretty sure that was the best Christmas ever!!!

  8. Carole S. says:

    One favorite memory of Christmas was when our daughter was three and really needed to give up her binky because it was moving her teeth, and she was going to need braces if she kept using it. We told her that that Christmas, it was time to give binky to Santa so he could take it to some little girl who didn’t have one, and in exchange, Santa would bring her a present she really wanted. The binky was wrapped up and left for Santa, and in the morning, her baby doll was there under the tree waiting for her! Yes, Santa does exchanges! I still have that binky, and my girl has straight teeth!

  9. My family likes treasure hunts. One year, my parents gave my kids a gaming system. We gave them clues, and they had to go all over the house, even to the basement (a couple of times). One of the last clues was in the butter area in the fridge. They finally found the gaming system in my tub. The hunt was the best part.

  10. Lisa Marie says:

    When our son was young my husband would set up a “treasure hunt” for him to find his big gift for the year, like a K’nex Roller Coaster set or whatever. Following the clues to find it made it that much more fun.

  11. Jan Anthony says:

    I remember the year when my youngest son was only about 5, and all he wanted was a semi truck and trailer that had a realistic-sounding horn. As a single mom I didn’t know how I was going to afford it, as it was a little pricey at the time. I kept looking and looking right up until the last minute practically, and there it was on sale at a local farm supply store., and it was the last one. Needless to say, it was a happy Christmas for that little guy, who is now a real semi driver. His own son now plays with that toy truck and trailer.

  12. Stephanie Woodward says:

    I made 3 quilts for grandchildren this year. They are all adults so I think they Wii like them. Two are for the Texas Rangers baseball team. Everyone knows you should all roof fo the Astros!

  13. Barb K. says:

    I made my girls matching rag dolls when they were small–and later I made my two boys striped bath robes from a soft polyester type knit fabric.

  14. Telara McCullough says:

    I want to tell you about a family Christmas when I was growing up. We agreed to all make gifts for one another. I was about 12 and my sisters were about 8 and 4. The most amazing surprise was coming in the door after celebrating with grandparents and finding THREE dollhouses that my father built for us. Each was 3 stories high, opened on both ends and the top and had wrap around porches. I still use some of the small sachets my 4 year old sister made that year. We are all still makers 40 years later.

  15. Lisa W. says:

    I made a Raggedy Ann doll one year for my daughter and it actually turned out really cute!
    She has a one year old daughter now and I’m excited to pass it down to her.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  16. Jackie Mitchell says:

    As a child growing up with 5 younger brothers and 1 older sister, we always received handmade gifts from mom at Christmas. I recall asking Santa for a doll, not only did I receive a doll, but a whole wardrobe. My Gram contributed to the wardrobe also, she made a green velvet snowsuit. When I opened my gift I was so happy, there were tears of joy.

  17. Jane says:

    My story is about a gift I recommended my young daughter (9) give to her little brother (6). It was a box filled with rubber bands, paper clips, clothespins, toothpicks, binder clips, etc. it was his favorite gift!

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