A sneak peek

I'm finally finished with Christmas gifts, and since they'll be given away tomorrow, I can show them here. My wreath square has scored a border, but isn't quilted, so I'm way ahead of the game for next year. Below is the table topper made from cross-stitched squares from the thrift shop and bordered with repro feedsack prints. The squares were $1.60, and I spent at least $35 on the fabrics, but I have lots left for more projects.

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Last year I made three dozen pillowcases for Christmas, and one of the favourites was this lipstick print, which for some reason is 54 inches wide. I bought the rest of the bolt off the sale table, and I've been taking that 10 inch strip off the side leftover from pillowcases to make these cosmetic bags. I made at least eight, and they were fiddlier than I thought -- I machine quilted the lipsticks onto a foundation, put in a zipper, sewed the bag, sewed the lining, and handstitched the lining to the bag. There's probably an easier way. My four pre-teen nieces are each getting one of these, but I decided my aunt duties didn't extend to giving them make-up, so they're getting tissues, a nail clipper, some hand sanitizer, and two Bonnie Belle lipsmackers. I felt very retro when I bought those, since I used BB LS myself when I was a teen in the 70s. But they were huge back then, not like these little lip balm size ones. I think I had the same cherry LS for all my high school years (I didn't wear any make-up in those days).

Today my sons are tying a throw I pieced quickly for my mother-in-law, who has failing health. It's 60 by 72, and we're using polar fleece as the backing. I'm going to sew the binding on asap, and then hand sew it down on our 9 hour trip to see her. I'll be cozy in the car as we travel through the deep freeze on the Canadian prairies.