Day one of winter vacation

When I left work yesterday, starting a 12 day vacation, I was nearly giddy with excitement.  What to do first?  My twin sister and her family are arriving tomorrow, so the house needed cleaning, but that could wait until today.  Instead, I sewed!  And while I did work on Hurricane Sandy quilts a bit, for the most part, I sewed for ME!

First of all, I've been wanting a patchwork stocking for years now.  I just never took the time to make one.  Yesterday, was the day.  Voila!  And it is the biggest stocking in the house, too!  I hope Santa fills it up for me!

Only the front is quilted.  The back and the lining are that solid green, which I upcycled from an old sheet. 

I also  bought some flannel pig fabric about 6 weeks ago with a co-worker in mind (she LOVES everything PIG!).  I had meant to make her something ages ago, but never seemed to find the time.  I decided to make a pillow, but gosh, the pillow forms are so expensive.  My solution - I bought a jumbo 20"x28" bed pillow at WalMart ($4 or $5), cut it in half, and sewed the two halves closed to make two 14" x 20" pillows.

Then, I made an envelope style pillow, but with big 1" seams on the outside, and then snipped the seams like a rag quilt.  When it came out of the washer and dryer, it had ragged up nicely and the pillow is SO SOFT!

I just may have to make the other half into a pillow for ME!

Today, I helped the kids clean their rooms (ugh!), cleaned out the refrigerator (double ugh!), and did some laundry and some floors.  I also took the kids to see a local ballet company's production of The Nutcracker.  I've never seen it before, and enjoyed it immensely.  My boys were tolerant and well-behaved, but not impressed.  For being such good sports, I took them out to eat afterwards with a friend and her 3 boys, who had met us at the ballet.  Then, it was grocery shopping in preparation for having a full house of 8 people for the next few days.

As I sit here in the dining room, blogging by the light of the Christmas tree, I can't help but think of how blessed I am.  It is cold outside, but I am cozy here in my house.  I bought groceries without having to wonder if I had enough money to pay for it.  My children are healthy and happy and here with me.  I wish that everyone could be as secure and as content as I am right now.  It makes me want to get back down to the sewing room and work on some projects for others.  I'll definitely be making at least one pillowcase to send up to Sandy Hook.  And I have many more Hurricane Sandy quilts to work on.  The mail counter guy at the post office (where I am always shipping either quilts and/or fabric or books) shared with me yesterday how he was filling Toys for Tots orders and a kid had asked for a blanket, and he just started to cry because he didn't have one to give, and felt helpless for not being able to fulfill such a basic need for someone.  It just about broke my heart.

Many more disappearing 4-patch blocks have come in over the past week.

Plus two quilt tops:

a crib sized quilt

And this wonderfully scrappy HST quilt

But look!  There are about 5 of these blocks interspersed with all the HSTs! What fun to find them in there!

A woman from my guild donated lots of backing yardage:

Also, I was contacted by a reporter from the Republican-Herald newspaper in Pottsville, PA, I am believe our project is going to be featured in an article in Monday's issue.  I'll keep you posted on here, hopefully with a link, if it goes to print.  Thanks, Becki W, for making that connection.

Another Hurricane Sandy quilt was mailed out from here this week, and I have another one to mail tomorrow.  I also have 5 completed tops in my house waiting for quilting, and, of course, many blocks waiting for assembly.  The Blankie Depot will stop accepting Hurricane Sandy donations on February 15, so now there's a deadline.  Gotta get cracking!

Not sure how much blogging I'll be doing with company in town.  Happy Holidays to all of you, whatever it is you may celebrate at this time of year!