Christmas sewing

Christmas sewing began early this year, but somehow I was still stitching away the day before Christmas Eve.  Four little girls went home on Christmas evening with "nap pillows" in hand.

Four little bears ready to snuggle into their pillows!

I tried a different pocket design on the last two --- this one a  pieced pocket...

...and this one (a much simpler version) using two fabric pieces for the pocket and pillow hem.

Pillow cases and bears ready to wrap!

On the 5th day before Christmas...

... Christmas break begins!  The day started with rising early enough to make a Cinnamon Bun Cake to take for an early staff breakfast at school.   Check out the Mennonite Girls Can Cook website for the recipe. It is delicious!  Besides the class parties, whole-school sing-along and sharing of gifts, we got a bit of reading in as well.  I was actually surprised when one of my students came to my room and asked if he could read his list of 100 sight words!  Early dismissal time came with children clutching their bags of goodies, ready to experience Christmas.  I felt about as excited as the kids.  With a few batches of cookies to make, a house to clean,  sewing projects to finish up, grocery shopping to do and gifts to wrap, it's time to go "full-steam ahead!"  I love this time of year.  As each task if completed, I get closer to the time of resting, reflecting and enjoying the warmth of visiting together with friends and family.

Christmas Sewing

I have a few Christmas projects in the works -- one of which is a lap quilt.  The recipient does not use a computer so no fears of a sneak preview!

I'm using the same pattern I used for a quilt project in the Zakka Sew-Along.  It was fairly quick and easy.  I'm always amazed when I look at a quilt top at this stage and compare it to pictures of the finished product.  It will be fun to see how the stitching brings dimension to this one.  Some projects I won't be able to show here until after Christmas.  Sorry, Mom.  No sneak previews for you! : )

Sorrow

The carefree, happy feeling of a personal day yesterday was interrupted by the horrific news of the shooting at Sandy Brook Elementary.  My heart is breaking for the families, the school, the community.     I pause to think of the interruption in life for those who dropped their children off at school, perhaps off to a fun day of Christmas shopping, only to be interrupted by a overwhelming feeling of panic, loss of control, sadness, and fear.  May God bring healing, and somehow -- some day -- restore joy and peace to this hurting community.

Let the fun begin!

Let the fun begin!  This morning I woke at 5:00 -- even before the alarm went off.  How unusual, I thought to myself.  It's usually way too easy to push that snooze button and doze just a few minutes (20 minutes?  30 minutes?) longer.  It's Friday -- one of my favorite days of the week.  But today, this Friday, I've taken a personal day off!  Oh, the things I can accomplish ... baking, shopping, sewing, hair appointment, wrapping.  Sounds a bit ambitious, I know, but even if I accomplish a few of those things, I'll be happy.  So -- with the scent of cookies already wafting through the rooms, and the Christmas music playing -- I'm ready for the fun!

Making a hat -- a new project.

Today I finished making a hat.  This one already has a "home", but I had to try it on, of course!

Here it is in its true color.  This one is made with fleece, but I'm thinking it would be fun to make one with felted wool and a few variations on the brim.  The search begins for some old 100% wool sweaters!

A different kind of organizer...

How do you organize your bed sheets?  Folded neatly and stacked by size?  Stuffed into a pillowcase?  Put in pretty bins, or a drawer?  Somewhere -- and I can't find where it was from -- I saw a tutorial for making a drawstring bag with the letters "q" for queen, "k" for king, and "s" for single, etc. appliqued on the outside for easy sheet identification.  What a great idea!  No more searching for the sheet tag to see the size.  Here's the start of my own "sheet organization!"