Mail call! I found this wonderful assortment of "vintage" charm squares in the mailbox yesterday. I had entered a random give-a-way on one of the blogs that I follow, Exuberant Color (the blog link is on my sidebar with other blogs that I follow), and won. I don't know what I'll do with them yet, but it was fun to sort through the charms to see if I recognized any of the fabrics. Thanks for your generosity, Wanda!

I will likely be asleep as the new year arrives. For those of you out and about tonight, be smart and stay safe.

Merry Christmas! I know Christmas has now officially passed, but I wanted to wish you all a belated, beloved Christmas. I hope that we can always keep the spirit of Christmas with us, even in the middle of July! I've been taking a little blog break and I'm planning on catching up a bit in the next few days. The little "gingerbread" house below is made of foam core and was fun, quick, and easy to make.

My Christmas was extra special this year, as my Sister-in-Law, Patti, was able to spend the holiday with me. I haven't had any family members celebrate Christmas with me in more than a decade, so this visit was the best gift of all. (I should note that I'm not having any family feuds, I just don't have many family members anymore.) Note my HUGE Christmas tree. Size doesn't matter, right!?




And here are Oliver and Gracie hogging the only spot of sun in the house. Lucky for them that it shines right on their cat bed, which is on top of my bed. Even on a bitterly cold day, between the sun and sharing body heat, they stay quite snug.

I forgot to tell you that Oliver and Gracie were very happy with their Christmas present.....a newly remodeled bathroom! (AKA....a new cat box and new vinyl runner underneath their box.) I kid you not.....they waited in line for it to be operational, then took their respective turns. ;)

More later........

My Christmas Exchange quilt arrived last week and I'm just now getting the pictures posted. Kathy L. was my mystery swap partner and she sent a beautiful wall hanging, along with some great goodies.

Here's a shot of the stocking that she made which contained all of the gifts she sent. The chocolate is already gone, I'm ashamed to say. ;) The black fabric next to the stocking is a beautiful Christmas fat quarter.




Kathy made this wonderful ornament too. Lots of crazy patch hand stitching and embellishments.




And last, but far from least, is the wall hanging that Kathy made. It's absolutely gorgeous! This picture does not capture the beauty of this hanging and all of the handwork involved! She has combined hand stitching, hand quilting, and machine quilting, to make a wonderful combination of textures. It measures about 22" x 26 1/2" and makes quite a statement. I have it hanging on the back of my front door so that I can admire it daily. Thanks for all of your hard work, Kathy! Your quilt will be cherished for years to come!