Taking a breath!

Well, December certainly was a busy month! Now I need a good long break from the hustle and bustle. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families. Sorry I haven't posted recently. I haven't had time for much since before Halloween! I made handmade gifts for all the adults in my family, but I didn't get a chance to take pictures of all of them. I always forget that part. Here are some of the things I did get pics of...

I made "scarves for my sisters", using my precious leftovers of Anna Maria Horner flannels and voiles from my giant log cabin quilt. These went to my sister, my two step-sisters, and my two sisters-in-law. 

I made remote caddy pillows for 3 of my brothers-in-law. Just pillows with pockets, handy for remotes, iPhones, or snacks. ;) Sorry, no pics. 

I finished this crossword quilt for my brother-in-law, who was requesting a quilt. Really, my sister was requesting a quilt for him, since he kept stealing the one I made for her. :) For the "answers" I used his name, and names of his family, as well as some other things. I embroidered all of the letters, and I also embroidered a couple of pharmacy related items (mortar and pestle, and pill bottle), since he's a pharmacist. I used a couple of charm packs of Kona Cotton in the Silent Film palette, as well as some white and red. Some of my favorite colors together. 

I used some Kona Cotton in Ash for the back, as well as some leftovers of charm squares from the front. 

Here's a close-up of the pill bottle. 

I also made a bike lunch bag for my step-dad, and some heart quilted coasters and hot pads for my mom. Again, no pics of these. Don't know what I was thinking... 

The hubs surprised me with an old Singer sewing machine. I think it's from the 1920's or something. Supposedly, it runs, but I haven't tried it yet. Right now, it's just a gorgeous decoration for my dining sewing room. :) We also just celebrated our 10th Anniversary this month! Told ya it was busy... 

Of course, I've also been busy keeping the kids occupied. I love when my son is out of school! I usually get an extra half hour to sleep in, and we get lots more time to play. We had to make some cookies for Santa, and my son had his heart set on gingerbread cookies. It was my first time making them, and they turned out pretty good. Really soft too! Of course, we loaded them up with sugar so Santa could go into a diabetic coma! 

Here's the recipe I used, in case you want to try it:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup molasses

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1 large egg, beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting

Preheat oven to 325F. 

Place brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, and ginger in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.

Stir in butter gradually, stirring well between additions to combine. Add egg, vanilla, and salt to sugar mixtrure, stirring to combine. Pour into a large bowl and add flour gradually, stirring to combine.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough comes together and is no longer sticky, adding flour by the tablespoon if necessary.

Roll out half the dough on a floured work surface to 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough into desired shapes. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until edges are slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. 

*Note: I halved the recipe, and I made my cookies a little thicker, probably closer to 1/4" thick. They were great! 

Hope you all have a wonderfully Happy New Year! Wow... 2014! Time flies!

Taking a breath!