Aloha, baby!

The American Girl Doll of the Year is Kanani,  a "cheerful girl who helps others by sharing the aloha spirit of Hawai’i." She's waiting under the tree this year for my Monkey Girl -- a present from her Uncle Mike.

Kanani comes with a plethora of accessories (naturally), including a shave ice stand and a luau outfit. What she doesn't come with is Hawaiian-print pajamas to match her big girl...

...or a grass skirt to wear over her tank top and shorts...

or coordinating flip-flops and a matching lei.

Yes, that lei took forEVER to make, but that was half the fun. And the flip-flops with the little beaded flowers? I was laughing as I made them, they're so darn cute!

That's the last of the homemade gifts this year -- just in time to pack in the sleigh and head home for the holidays!

Merry Christmas, all! And aloha!

The countdown clock is ticking...

Well, it's that time again -- less than a week until Christmas, and all those projects we should have been working on since June but started just after Thanksgiving need to be finished!

I just put the binding on my last Christmas quilt, to be delivered tonight. I still have to clean up some loose threads, but this one is DONE! It's destined for my girlfriend's vacation home in northern Michigan, where I'm hoping it will be well used.

Where there's a photo op, there's Archie

I'm slowly but surely working my way through my rather large stash of flannel, specifically the pine tree print I used for the sashing and backing here. I had visions when I purchased the bolt of making oodles of snuggly flannel Up North quilts. This is #3, so I have a few more to go. How many constitutes an "oodle," anyway?

In the zone...

Sometimes when I'm really into a project, I get in The Zone and can sew for hours. I'll even forget to eat.
 

Luckily, though, I have someone to provide some not-so-subtle reminders...

that it's time for dinner.

What would I do without him?

When the fabric speaks...

...I listen.

The bulk of my stash has been mute for way too long, and it's piling up. So when a package of batik strips piped up (Tonga Coffee Cake) and offered itself as a sacrifice to a plus pattern, I didn't have much choice but to pay attention and get stitching.

Positive Thinking, 60" x 44"

It wasn't until I hung it up that I realized how perfect the colors are for my living room, so it's a shame that I won't be keeping it.

Then again, this one doesn't have to be quilted for a while, so I have a few months to reconsider...or make something else. Maybe I should go back to the stash and see if I hear anything?

Thinking positively...

This top is not a Christmas gift, nor does have any kind of looming deadline (next summer!).  But I made the mistake of combing through my stash on Saturday in search of a piece of backing and found a package of batik precuts I'd forgotten about.

I put it back where I found it, but I woke up with the idea of making a "plus" quilt on Sunday morning and couldn't shake it. By Sunday night I realized that idea wasn't going anywhere, so I started cutting.

The first half of the pack

Sometimes it's just better to give in.

In the meantime...

I'm still working on this top, but the stack of leftovers from the original Modern Workshop (Oliver + S) layer cake was cluttering up my sewing space and getting in the way.

So I chopped it up and made another one.

I think the two quilts will play nicely together!

Late to the party...

Well, where have I been that I missed the kickoff to Amy's Bloggers' Quilt Festival? Crawling under a cottage to drain the pipes, perhaps? Cleaning gutters at my parents' house? Prioritizing my list of yet-to-be-started Christmas projects? All of the above?

It's a little repetitive, but I'm entering the quilt from yesterday's post. I'm proud of it because after several attempts at patterns for the fabric my mother had picked out in early 2006, I was finally able to settle on one and FINISH IT. I'm sure she's forgotten all about it (or given up on ever seeing these fabrics again), so it will be a fun surprise for Christmas.

The learning from this project is this: sometimes trying to force a pattern just doesn't work. Sometimes simple (and easy!) is the best, and let the fabrics speak for themselves. I just wish I'd figured that out five years ago!

So here it is. It ain't fancy, but I love it.

Want to see more entries in the Festival?  Go here: