Checking In

Hey y'all!  Long time, no blog!

I just wanted to check in because it has been quiet around here for a while.  Truth is, I haven't been sewing, so there's not much to share.  I have been pretty busy hanging out with my kid and husband and of course here in the States there was Thanksgiving and then the subsequent after Thanksgiving shopping.  It's a tradition for us, but it seems like the shopping just isn't that great anymore.  I barely got anything except a new outfit (yay!) and a couple of trucks and books for gifts for my boy, because nothing was priced so that I couldn't pass it up.

Okay, so there is ONE tiny little thing I sewed.  I am participating in the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap 2 on Flickr.  My partner didn't give any info on anything they might want and hasn't been commenting on anyone's photos (*sadface*), so I didn't have much to go on when choosing what to make.  I figure most sewists probably have a pincushion, but maybe not a needle book, so that's what I chose.  Since I am all obsessed with hand embroidery lately, I opened up my new Doodle Stitching Motif Collection book (Aimee Ray) and found the perfect motif for pins and needles: Hedgehogs!!  Here's a photo of the finished product:

And here it is all wrapped up!  I hope my partner likes it and lets me know.  That's part of the fun of being in a swap, you know?  

I'm hoping to get the house in order this week with Christmas decorating, so that I can move on to Christmas sewing.  The husband got the majority of the lights up on the house over the weekend, but there's still more to do outside.  And then I want to get all the garland and other interior decorations set out.  Then we will go get our tree this weekend (although I keep thinking maybe we'll just get the faux pre-lit tree down from the attic...).  I wanted to make an advent calendar (it's on my to-do list - which I have been updating!), but if I don't get started in the next day or two, it won't happen.  I may still do it, just so I can get it packed up with the decorations so it's nice and ready for next year.  I will probably do this table runner if I can, so I can cross that off my list.  For the Christmas quilt, I have finally decided that I will do mostly random charm square patchwork, possibly with some star and tree blocks mixed in.  Now just to find the time to sew!  Especially because I have lofty goals to make a lot of gifts...

I anticipate things will continue to be pretty quiet around here because if I'm not sewing, I'll be decorating, making cookies, going to the post office, and hanging with my boys.  I am pretty active on Instagram though, if you want to keep up with me there.  I am kristananne on there or you can find a button to my feed on the top right of this page.  If you'll just excuse me, the boy would like me to read him a story!