Some of you may have noticed that my site was down all day yesterday… Last week it was down for a couple of hours but then fixed itself, so we figured it was a problem with the host site. But last night, when it had been down for the whole day, we thought something else must be wrong. My husband spent a few hours doing some detective work, found the problem and fixed it. However, when I told a couple of “computer” friends (these guys really know what they’re talking about) what my husband had done to fix it, they were like, “What?? How did he get into that control panel (or whatever it was)? He shouldn’t have access to that! One wrong key stroke and your whole site would be gone!!!!” So I am really glad that my husband was able to fix it and that we didn’t crash the entire site permanently!!! Hopefully, this will be the end of our technical issues.

Even though it’s just 5 days until Christmas, it is still busy, busy, busy in the studio! I’m working under a deadline for a fabric line (it’s OK, deadlines are good for me…) I’ve done something which I’ve never done before- I’ve set up a little studio in my family room! I just put up a card table & folding chair, my good lamp, and my basic supplies. This way I can sit with the family in the evening and watch favorite Christmas movies, and still get a little work done. Plus, sometimes it’s really nice to have a change of scenery. I have really enjoyed sitting by the Christmas tree to paint, instead of sitting at my desk where I sit 80% of the time :)

My daughter found a YouTube video tutorial for “arm knitting”- you use your arms as knitting needles so the project goes really fast. It took her just a couple of hours to make these scarves for her friends. You can find the video tutorial here.

This week, I’ve added some new patterns to my shop. These are downloadable patterns- which means you can get them immediately. No waiting- just click and start creating!  Plus, fabric and wool flower pins make excellent gifts– these are all pretty quick projects that you could definitely get done in time for gift giving.

Don’t you love vintage quilts? And accessories made from vintage quilts? Here is a way to get the vintage look without actually cutting apart a beautiful old quilt: My Scrappy Quilt-y Pin! Looks great on a coat, jacket lapel, or tote bag. You can have lots of fun going through your fabric stash for this!

Here is the Wool Flower Pin– this has been one of my most popular patterns ever. Again, it’s great for using up the bits of wool in your stash. There are different flower shape variations included in the pattern, so you can have a great time coming up with different color/shape/button combinations.

There is also the Ruffled Flower Pin–  so many variations for this. You get options for 2 sizes, and it can be made with wool or cotton or a combination of both. There is even a suggestion for how to use up some pretty fabric selvedges in this project! Or add some colorful ribbon… the possibilities are endless.

Finally, I’ve added a pattern for a Wool Snowflake Penny Rug (table runner). The finished size is about 12 x 24″. Metallic thread really adds a little “sparkle” to this pretty project. Also includes directions for snowflake ornament. It’s the perfect cozy project for winter hand-stitching!

If you are looking for more Christmas inspiration- check out my Pinterest board! Lots of ideas here…

So that’s what’s going on in my little corner of the world… What have you been up to! Are you caught up in the holiday madness, or are you finished all of your shopping/wrapping/baking/etc. and now able to just relax and enjoy? I still have all of my wrapping to do, and a little baking. But I think I have plenty of time this weekend to get it done. I’m trying to relax and enjoy the season, and I hope you do the same :)