Countdown to Christmas

This year I have made loads of Christmas presents. I think the reason I have made more this year is partly my aversion to shopping which I wrote about in my last post, and partly as my skills improve I can make things I think people will actually like. In the picture above are two table mats I made for my younger daughter after my success with a larger table centre mat. These also used the quilt as you go method and were quick to make and fun too. I like the backs which are a mirror image of each other. I can show you these since she has opened them already as they are especially designed for her Christmas dinner table. This will be her first year cooking dinner as a married person and she and her husband are having dinner together before heading out later. I have requested some pics of the mats in use! I loved making them as they used up some pretty small pieces of Christmas fabric and some old scraps of wadding. Making the most of scraps makes me feel good and I guess is really what patchwork is all about.

I really thought I had started in good time with Christmas making this year - but needless to say it is the 22nd of December and I still have something on my needles and a half finished cushion waiting to be quilted. The cushion isn't quite so bad as I won't be seeing the recipient till new year. I've got lots of Christmas crafty makes to show you, including two very smart dog coats - but you will have to wait until after the big day. I foolishly forgot to take photos of the dog coats before wrapping them so I must make sure to get some photos being modelled by their owners.

Although I'm looking forward to Christmas, I'm also looking forward to a little bit of time off work ( unfortunately not the whole festive period) to catch up with my own quilting that has been put on hold. I have a finished quilt top that needs sandwiching and quilting which is for someone else and I also have a quilt of my own which I need to complete. It has been a work in progress for too long. Here's a sneaky peak. The photo is not very good as the light is terrible this time of year and it is too wet to take the quilt outside to take a picture.

This is another episode in the colour story from my post a week or so ago which I will tell you about once I get just a little bit further with the quilt. What do you think of it?