Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop 2025 - My Day

  Today's my day on the hop.  

First up is this gnome baking some gingerbread cookies.

While I don't remember ever cooking cookies growing up, and very rarely doing so once I moved out (any cookie dough usually got eaten before being cooked...lol). I do like gingerbread cookies.   Here are links to a couple of recipes that sound good.  Nope I won't be making them this year, I'm in the midst of making lifestyle changes so that I can drop over 100 pounds in order to have hernia repair surgery w/o a 50-50% chance of failure.  =(

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-gingerbread-cookies/

https://www.lovefromtheoven.com/gingerbread-cookies/

And for this blog hop, I couldn't resist making a little wallhanging with another gnome to hang in my office.

This dapper fellow just decided that he needed to bake some gingerbread cookies for his Christmas party.    All fabrics used were either from my prefused fabric scraps or the scrap fabric bins.  

Batting was also a scrap that was exactly the size of the wallhanging....gotta love it when that happens.

The cookies started life as jewelry findings found at Hobby Lobby.  The band on the hat is scrunched up Christmas trim that I bought at some point in the past....I've no idea how many years ago.

This fellow will stay around through January or February because I don't have another one made to put up.

Gratitudes:

1. Vacation is coming up shortly - 11 days off in December, work 10 days........I can live with that!

2. Officially 20% of the way to losing the amount of weight the surgeon has told me I need to lose before getting the hernia repaired.

Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop 2025

 The 2025 Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop begins on December 1st.   Be sure to come back and check out what everyone posts.

DECEMBER 1^st

^ Just Let Me Quilt

Hill Valley Quilter

Karrin’s Crazy World

Lynn's Blog

Quilted Delights

Quilt Schmilt

Selina Quilts

 

DECEMBER 2^nd

^ A Quiltery

Ms P Designs USA

Bumbleberry Stitches

Texas Quilt Gal

Beaquilter

Quilted Snail

^ 

DECEMBER 3^rd

Just Because Quilts

Just Sew Quilter

Kathleen McMusing

Songbird Designs

Quilting Between The Rails

Words & Stitches

 

DECEMBER 4^TH

 MooseStashQuilting

Scrapdash

Sew Many Yarns

Happy Cottage Quilter

Days Filled With Joy

That Fabric Feeling

Gratitudes:

1. Rainy Days

2. 

ScrapHappy - November 2025

    Welcome to Scrap Happy Day where we post about the scrappy projects we've worked on over the past month.   

Be sure to check out what everyone else has done with their scraps this month - Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys, Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen, Sunny, Kjerstin, SueL,  Vera, Ann, Dawn2, Carol,  Preeti, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa, Tierney, and Hannah

For years I've stored all my needles stuck in various scraps of fabric.   And since they were just tossed in a drawer would frequently jab my fingers on the points.  Time to do something about it - a needlebook was soon underway.

8 orphan HST's bought from the scrap barrel at one of my fav quilt stores in town made for a fun cover.

And what I have to admit is a not-so-pretty string-pieced block was used for the inside of the needlebook.  I was foolish enough to buy this in a bag of scraps from the quilt store.

Inner pages were made from a piece of aida cloth that had been in my moms stash and a scrap piece of batting.  Embroidery needles will go on the aida cloth, sewing needles into the batting.

A button and piece of ribbon to keep it closed when not needing a needle and it was finished off.

Gratitudes:

1. I didn't break any bones when I argued with a sidewalk, just deep bruising.

2. Weather is getting wonderful to be out in for my walking these days, and that makes the need to exercise so much easier as I work to get ready for needed surgery (hopefully next year).

Halloween Blog Hop - My Day

Welcome to my day for the Out of the Dark Blog Hop!   

Be sure to check out what everyone else has posted today as well.

Thursday Oct 23

Just Let Me Quilt

Sew Many Yarns

Kathleen McMusing

BeaQuilter

The Quilted Snail

For my project I decided to make a mini wall-hanging for my cube at work.   And since I've started collecting gnomes, I thought what better to make than a gnome with his pumpkin for the season.

Roughly 8" by 10" made from an enlargement of a free coloring page that I found online.  All fabrics are from my scraps.   Mr Gnome fabrics were in my prefused scraps.  =)  Pumpkin is an embroidered applique.

Hanging in my cube at work.

Backing shown at work because I forgot to take a pic of it at home...oops.   The striped backing and binding, also from scraps.

Gratitudes:
1. For improving test results from the arthritis doc on my gout.

2. For friends who sign up with me for crazy things like 2 - 5K races a month apart and a challenge to walk 2026 miles as a team next year. (part of my working to lose weight and get in better shape!)

Out of the Dark Blog Hop is this week

 This week the Out of the Dark Blog Hop is happening.   Be sure to check out what everyone posts about!

Monday Oct 20

MooseStashQuilting

Karrins Crazy World

Scrapdash

Just Sew Quilter

Quilt Schmilt

Tuesday Oct 21

A Quiltery

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Lynn’s Blog

Ms P Designs USA

Melva Loves Scraps

Wednesday Oct 22

Just Because Quilts

Quilted Delights

Songbird Designs

Crazy.bout Quilts

                           Quilting Between the Rails (on Facebook)

SelinaQuilts 

Thursday Oct 23

Just Let Me Quilt

Sew Many Yarns

Kathleen McMusing

BeaQuilter

The Quilted Snail

 Gratitudes:

1. For pictures that delivery men post to show where they delivered a pkg

2. For  the cooler weather and rain here in AZ.

ScrapHappy - October 2025

   Welcome to Scrap Happy Day where we post about the scrappy projects we've worked on over the past month.   

Be sure to check out what everyone else has done with their scraps this month - Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys, Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen, Sunny, Kjerstin, SueL,  Vera, Ann, Dawn2, Carol,  Preeti, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa, Tierney, and Hannah

In trying to find a couple of commissioned projects this month that need to be finished up, I found a bag of precut squares of cat and dog print fabrics containing 3.5", 4.5" and a few 6.5" squares.  Rather than squirrel them away, I decided to use them to use them up instead.

First up was this quilt top made with most of the 3.5" squares.   I based this off of a picture I'd seen on Pinterest.   Background squares were also precut years ago.  Still have some of the 3.5" squares left that I haven't decided what to do with.....thinking maybe a tote.  But that's another days project.....

Here's a close up pic showing most of the prints in the heart.

Next up was using the 4.5" squares.  I once again dug into the stash of precut squares for the background fabric.  Both of these will be finished as is and then donated.

Third and final top made from the precut cat and dog print squares.  Sashing fabrics were remnants that I'd picked up in a remnant barrel somewhere along the way.  More precut background squares were used to make the 9-patches in the top.

Close up of the border fabric and sashing fabrics, and yes these were also scraps.

Gratitudes:

1. For surgeons that care enough about outcomes to give honest feedback about needed surgery and a plan to get there.

2. For friends who are willing to be there with me as I work to lose the weight and get in better shape.