christmas completed.

clearly christmas is over and done with, but i still want to share the goodies that i made. plus, it is never a bad time to celebrate christmas!!

first there was the much pondered gift for my nephew. final decision was to make him some owl pillows. if i may say so myself, i think they turned out absolutely darling (they are about 12"). and in case anyone was wondering, as far as my nephew is concerned, i was the hands-down winner of the auntie of the year award. i also made a mini owl as an appetizer gift for ms. pumpky.

the owls' names from left to right: zeke, zeus, and zettie.

then there was the quilt that i was working on. since it was for my brother and sister-in-law, i could not tell you about it, just in case they decided to read my blog. they were married back in june and i had dilly-dallied my way through six months trying to finish up their quilt. i figured i should finish it before the end of 2010. finally finally i got it done. what a relief. from start to finish, it was definitely the most labor-intensive quilt i have ever made, but it was worth it. i totally love it and i think they do too. unfortunately my pictures are not stupendous, but you'll just have to enjoy it despite the crap photography.

the quilt is about 5' x 6'. i forgot to take a picture after i sewed on the label. oops.

hope y'all had a merry christmas and a joyous boxing day. boxing day is the mister's birthday, so that day rates a little higher in our world than it might in yours. and of course, a happy new year to you and yours!

naturally.

i never run out of things that i need to sew. the current list includes two quilts, a gym bag, some yet to be determined christmas gifts, and all sorts of goodies for my nephew. oh and i have an etsy shop that has not been getting its deserved attention. right. naturally that means it is time to wander the internet to find a gazillion other projects to add to the list. there are so many amazing blogs and so little time.

so with "nothing" to do today, i decided it was imperative that my nephew have the most perfect handmade advent calendar in the world. right. he is 11 months, so i am sure he would agree this is a necessity. i used this adorable design as inspiration (a little pocket for each day...too cute!!) and spent the last two days "whipping" it together. clearly, i am shamelessly bucking for the auntie of the year award. 

the cutest advent calendar in the world.

i figure if i want that coveted title, i better end this year with a bang. last week i was thinking chickens. but i just discovered these owl pillows, which i think are the bees knees.

well i guess that would be the owls knees. me thinks that perhaps for christmas the nephew is getting some owls instead of a chicken. thoughts? or perhaps you have a better idea...do tell!!! meanwhile, i am off to go work on one of the quilts.

let the drooling begin.

my life is ruled by two lists. the first one is my to-do list. yuck. the second one is my project list. FUN!! occasionally the two overlap, although this is rare. it has become increasingly obvious that the longer my to-do list, the more likely i am to work on my project list. in fact, today i actually added something to my project list AND completed it, prior to finishing my to-do list. oops.

today's fiasco started a little over a week ago when mrs. nipper knapp declared that she was about to sew her first zipper. she is not to blame, it's just that i simply had to tell her the secret trick to sewing zippers, which turned into a zipper tutorial. then i found out that she was in fact making zippered pillows and the next thing i know, i am gazing at our sad and grungy couch pillows, which have seen a little too much life (and drool...ugh). naturally, because i do not have anything else to do, i figured i might as well kill some time making new pillow covers. this is my first foray into making pillows (i used the super-easy tutorial from design*sponge) and i have to say, i am supremely pleased. so mrs. nipper knapp, the mister and i would like to thank you for being the inspiration that provided us with splendid new couch pillows.

our happily mismatched new pillows.