Getting ready for Holidays

This weekend was about shopping, but there was still time to work on the arc quilt and another secret project I'm working on.  I didn't make any significant progress on the arc quilt.  I'm altering those borders that didn't fit and that's a lot of small steps, including picking fabrics that will work with what I've already used to give that continuous flowing effect I'm going for. 

But, I thought I'd show the holiday quilts we have hanging. 

This one is a kit I bought, but I can't follow a pattern, so there are changes.  I made the quilt bigger so I could use up that gold tone background fabric and I added at least one tree and changed the border.  Rob and I both love this little one.  And, it was 80 degrees yesterday, so it's not like we're using the fireplace.

This is one I made a couple years ago that was a free pattern from a fellow blogger.  This is another favorite.

And, there's this one.  If you haven't seen it, zoom in and look at the threadwork.  What you think might be a print is really a thread drawing on a tone on tone fabric. 

And, then there's the favorite.  This was the first holiday quilt I ever made.  And, I still can't tell you how it came out so well at the skill level I was at when I made it.  But, it did. 

There's a favorite gift shop we always stop at.  We usually find lots of gifts there.  There's a service organization that has a booth and they always put out cool holiday stuff and I always end up with an ornament or two (or 5).  I found this ornament and when I pointed it out to Rob, he asked if I just couldn't make one of those myself. 

And, I said yes, but not for $2 and put it in our basket.  It's very tiny.  I've put a quarter on it (3/4" diameter) to show how small.  I was surprised the stitches show up so big in these closeups.  You can't see them from a normal distance. 

Yeah, I think I'll pass on making that...but I could.

We worked in the yard a lot, taking care of the leaves.  Rob mulched them up and I spread them in the flowerbeds.  It's supposed to rain this week and that should pack them down and by spring, they'll be feeding the flower bloom.  I also made some spiced pecans.  MMMMMmmmmm!  These are so good, with cinnamon and nutmeg and clove and sugar.  I couldn't resist snacking on a few. 

Next week, I'll make some fudge to give away and maybe some sugar cookie cutouts.  I might even frost them...you never know what my mood will be. 

In the meantime, I have to go to Houston for work.  Just one night, so I'm carrying a rucksack instead of a bag.  I needed my shirt to stay ironed until Wednesday, so I folded it up on a piece of stiff paper and zipped it into an airtight bag.  It will be this same shape when I take it out in a couple days.  Packing is probably the most important thing I learned from my Martha Stewart years.  I left a shirt with a work logo on it packed like this for two years and it came out fresh as the day I put it in. 

Everybody have a great Monday.  Hope your holidays are going as well as ours.  After we shopped in the stores on Saturday, I logged onto Amazon and got myself pretty close to done with the shopping.  Rob is getting a big gift that we will need to pick up in the hardware store, the pressure is definitely off.  I just need to pick up a couple gift cards for Syd.  It was weird not having her there to shop with us this year.  We usually all go together for most of our shopping, so when it gets unwrapped on Christmas morning, we know it fits and is the right color and just what everyone wanted.  And, we also try to surprise one another a little bit. 

Lane