Thankful

Food



Family



Heritage



Comfort



Warmth



Sweet Treats



Sweetheart



Hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as mine!

Best,
Kim

Holiday Hyperventilating

Friends, it is just days to Thanksgiving. Which means just days until the holiday SHOPPING season. All well and good if you buy most of your presents, but what about us crazy gotta-DIY-everything folks? We should have started long ago...

I have not started anything.

I haven't even thought about what I want to make for anyone. I love the thrill of finding or making just the right thing for the people who are just the right thing for me. However, that takes time, and I'm woefully short on time right now. What's a girl to do?



Ahh yes.

And now it's time to sort through all those "I should make this" tutorials I've got laying around. There's gotta be something I can sneak in during those random moments when I'm not writing manuscripts, working on my new pattern (you'll see that soon, I hope!), laying bamboo flooring (pics shortly!), or otherwise catching up on the millions of unfinished projects that haunt my dreams.

Starting with the wrapping (of course), I'm totally digging this faux bois treatment. I've even got kraft paper and some of that wood contact paper hanging out unloved in my wrapping bin! Score!

Hmmm, time for the moms. The boy and I took our moms on a trip to Niagara Falls this summer, so I'm thinking a cute photobook will do the trick. Gives me a chance to use some of those digital scrapbooking resources I've stumbled upon of late. All of my pics are digital, and I always get papercuts and gluey hands with regular scrapbooking, so maybe this will be more my speed.

Ohhhh, a scarf! I love this one from Quilting Arts Gifts. Awesome mag, btw.


Pretty! And it lets me try a new technique. Bonus for me :)

Hmm, now men are REALLY hard to craft for - all their toys require cords or gasoline or are too big to wrap (table saw, anyone?). This could require some pondering. Last year I made my guy a laptop sleeve that he loves. Maybe a matching pouch for the cords or a matching ipod cozy is in order this year.

Little brother would rather have gift cards, but maybe I can draw inspiration from these gift card boxes and make something a little more manly.

As for everyone else in my life, I've still got some crazy work to do. Let the holiday madness begin!

My first free motion quilting attempt

The dilemma:



The oh so pretty food dehydrator. It lives on a table in the corner of the dining room because there is no other place that it will fit! But not to appetizing during dinner.

The idea:

Create a cover for said appliance. However, I didn't want to do something fitted in case, by miracles of miracles, we find another place for the dehydrator to rest its weary head. Sooo....

The result:



A square quilt of sorts to (sort of) hide the dehydrator but still is able to act as a table centerpiece thingy. Cool.

The method:

I made a valiant effort at free motion quilting in a "bubbles" design.



Um, yeah, it's harder than it looks. But fun. So I'll give it another go, as I'm sure it'll be easier once I get my long promised sewing cabinet! (Soon, hopefully!).

I edged it with one of the decorative stitches on my machine. Cuteness...



And one more for those who like staging:

VOTE!

Today's the day, folks. The day we get to exercise the right that we've gone to war to ensure, taken to the streets to defend, and pitted brother against brother (and sister against sister) to protect. So get on out there and vote! Here's your chance to thank those who have fought for democracy, show pride in your country, and spend a few moments chatting with neighbors in line. Amazing how something so important is so easy, isn't it?

Happy voting!