Holiday

Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad!

I may have earned a bit of quilter's burn out, and that could be why I haven't posted. The pre-Christmas rush to make gifts left me with no desire to sew....Haven't touched thread or machine in a week! But pre-Christmas - I was a friggin' Elf, I tell you.

Baking? Not much. Mincemeat tarts, gingerbread boys, fruitcake.

Sewing? Knitting? Crocheting? Loads of mittens, a touque, a few notebooks, two aprons, two stuffed animals, doll diapers & wipes, and the project that kept me awake long past bedtime for several nights: The Precious Book.

It is a quiet book full of activities designed to entertain, increase skills, keep kids quiet, and most important of all - be chewed on. Books are a food group for my little Punk. Every single book that enters this house gets guarded vigilantly or it gets eaten. You can see the taggies that I put on the back cover in order to be chewed on and fiddled with.

Zippers, hair braiding, (panties on the doll!).

A maze of ribbons and beads, a basket that opens to reveal strawberries.

Shoe tying, and our most favorite page: The Sandwich. The cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and top bread are all attached on one small edge so that the sandwich can be stacked and restacked in any order. I especially love how the lettuce turned out. My Pixie loves that the shoe fits her foot.

Button flaps hide candy and treats. The little dog and his bone are attached with elastic so they don't get lost. One of my major goals was keeping every piece in this book - nothing detaches.

And the last pages: [cherry] pie crust weaving and fishing. The fish are attached and can stay in the water or be slipped into the boat. The sails move, too.

I am exceedingly proud of how this book turned out. I used no patterns at all! Every piece came out of my little head (although some basic ideas I saw while creeping on Pinterest). Projects like this are the reason why quilters keep such huge fabric stashes. I didn't buy a single new fabric or notion for this homemade Christmas gift.

So what have I been doing this week? I cut out a Christmas apron, and three gift bags of various sizes: all are awaiting the day when I start sewing again.

And I've been playing with the short people: Here is my Pixie this morning, wearing her new apron.

And here is my Punk, playing with the gift of the year: a Bilibo given to her by Nanny. Next to her is the snake I made for her. It used to be the leg of an old pair of jeans, painted with craft paint, appliqued, and stuffed with beans for weight.

She calls it "Snicketer." Knee socks courtesy of Santa.

I might fire up the sewing machine tonight for a twenty minute session of creation. In the absence of my Husband (who is very good about evening backrubs) I need a hot rice bag!

Or three.