My DIL is a Pittburgh Steelers fan... so I bought Steelers fabric, and making her an apron, a quilted runner for the coffee table and door hanger from the same fabric. If I knew what to use for potholders inside I would add that to. So far it is coming out cute.

I'm trying to get FMQ done on a wallhanging. It can be for Xmas but can go up other times of the year as well. It's been hanging around for a bit so I'm tired of it laying on the table and want to move on.

I'll post pic when it's done.

I gave 4 of my tote bags to my girlfriends at our annual breakfast yesterday. They loved them! I am sewing up a little SpongeBob fleece blanket for my great-nephew. If there is time, might make a couple more tote bags ... we'll see.

Barbara - I use Insul-bright for potholders. You can get it at Joanns pretty cheap.
Sue

I got a UFO Christmas table runner completed and it's on the table. Then DH decided to bring out the ceramic tree with lights so I did a little decorating. We don't do much anymore since there aren't any little ones around. Washed the Christmasy goblets/glasses and set them on the runner so it looks a bit festive. Will be sewing the binding on the Geezer's quilt this week.....at least planning to. I think we'll be having our Christmas gift opening 2 weeks from today.

SharonG/FL

I don't sew for Christmas any more. In fact, we don't even give gifts. We decided a few years ago to make donations in honor of our family and friends.

We are hosting the family gathering on Christmas for the first time this year, so I have a list of chores that need doing. I spent yesterday digging weeds and raking old mulch out of the flower bed then started cleaning the garage. Today we put out some mulch (didn't get enough!) and finished the garage.

I did spend a few hours working on step 3 of the Quiltville mystery quilt.

Donna

Donna, we do donations too. A few years ago the whole family agreed on one charity and give whatever we would have spent to them. We decided on Heifer International. Only kids under 16 get gifts.

I didn't have a chance to sew this weekend but I have a wallhanging I'm hoping to get to before Christmas.

I had to finish the quilt for the Salvation Army Bear. I cheated and bought the clothes from Build a Bear (what a fun store if you had little girls- expensive - but fun.)
I think I only spent $11.00 and felt I was lucky.
Its done, and ready to give to the guild tomorrow night.

Sue
Thank you for the information on insul-bright for pot holders. I will be going to Joanne this week and will check it out.
Barbara

Barbara, I picked up some insul-bright at Joann's a few weeks ago. I had a hard time finding it at first. The web site showed it prepackaged, but my store had it by the bolt. It was only $6.99/yard, so I got 2 yards since I had a coupon! I'm making some insulated water bottle holders if I can find the time!!

No sewing this weekend (as much as I wanted to!). I made 5 pumpkin rolls to take to all the luncheons and parties I have coming up in the next few weeks. They go together pretty quick and are stored in the freezer, so you just grab one on the way out the door to your party.

I also spent the rest of the weekend trying to finish my decorating. I don't remember it taking so long in past years, but I'm just about done and the it's looking pretty festive around the house :-) My girl scout troop is meeting at my house tonight, so I'm also trying to ready for all the girls. Any my dd's 8th birthday is on Friday, so I have more to get ready for that, too. It's going to be another busy week.

I worked on kid quilts for my niece/nephew this weekend. Also did a little crocheting - potholders - for a gift exchange at work.

I worked on Saturday, and then we had friends over, so I ended up cleaning instead of crafting when I got home from work.

It's hard for me to do stuff like iron and cut out fabric when my kitties are awake because they like to be close to me and one of them burnt his ear on the iron a few weeks ago. The other one got her whiskers a little too close to my rotary cutter and lost about an inch. So that stuff has to wait until my Bonobo is home so he can distract them enough that they don't paw at my sewing room door.

~ Kit

I'm halfway through quilting wedding quilt 2 of 3. Hope to finish that one tonight and get the binding sewn on the front and then Tues/Wed get the 3rd one quilted and binding sewn on the front. Then the machine has to go away - I think I'll take it in for maintenance and cleaning over the holidays. That should leave me with 3 bindings to hand-sew over Christmas time. This 2nd quilt is machine quilting so much easier than the first one which was denim weight - and this second one is a decorator-weight fabric so I'm thinking by the time I get to the 3rd which is all regular quilting fabric weight, it will feel like quilting a cloud!
Karlene

I have a sister's birthday on Dec. 22 that I am racing to finish a quilt for. It has been tough with work, visitors and making candy for gifts. I still have some hand quilting and the binding is about 2/3 done! The house has no decorations, either.

I am making a quilt for my sister. I have four more blocks to quilt in the baskets (it's a flower basket square) then on to the 2 borders. That should be easy because I like to free motion around it. So I quilted a little on Friday and that was it. Between painting at my daughter's house and a Girls Night In party not muuch time for my quilting. I'm also making a crab potholder for my sister in law using your grandson's handprint as the crab. Just little stuff that needs my attention and would rather be doing that then the other stuff I'm doing. Did I mentions no Christmas decorations up? Hopefully soon....

To all of you with no decorations up:

I have exactly ONE Christmas decoration up - a pickle. We're going to St. Louis for Christmas, so we decided that since we won't be home, and since I'm flying home to MN in January and work retail, there was no point.

I MISS MY DECORATIONS!

~ Kit

Yeah! I finished quilting the second quilt and got the binding on the front. Now on to the third! THEN my decorations can go up - I may have the house decorated by the weekend. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has not decorated yet. It seems like several people had their decorations up before Thanksgiving! I don't think I'll ever be that early.
Karlene

I would love to quilt! --- if I could only FIND my sewing room! lol I've been decorating off & on for 4 days - & w/little ones here some of the time, the Christmas totes go into the sewing room to keep them out of the way! Thurs should be my last day this week for kids, so my plan is to sew-sew-sew all weekend!
Except for the break to bake, of course.
And some shopping w/DH either Fri or Sat eve.
And a breakfast meeting Sat morning.
And church & teach Sun school.
And brunch w/my parents after church.
And company on Sun afternoon.

Hey! wait a minute! --- where in there did I think I could sew??!!? At least all my quilting gifts are finished - except for 2, which may or may not happen (obviously!! lol)
I remember the days my shopping was finished in Sept - & my decorating took one day, plus maybe an evening. Baking over 2-3 days, usually w/help from the kids and my DMIL. Where did those days go???!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. And if it gets done - great! If it doesn't, oh well...life happens! :)

~Cindy

Well, I don't have the tree up yet but I did quilt the baby quilt, the two tote bags, and 2 snowman wall hangings. I still have to hand stitch the bindings on the bags and put the bindings on the wall hangings. Another member of the quilt group will put the binding on the baby quilt.
Tonight I have a guild meeting so maybe I can get back to the hand stitching on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Linda OH