Let me shout it from the rooftops - ds1's quilt for Christmas is finally finished!  If you've been following along with my Christmas update posts, I know you're thinking "Well, it's about time already!" 

A wonderful tutorial for making a ragged quilt can be found here.  One of the nice things about a quilt like this is that you don't have to "play by the rules"...and I didn't.  I did use 6-inch squares, but I didn't quilt them using the "X" as shown in the tutorial.  Instead, I free-handed a square and then meandered inside each square (no two blocks are alike on my quilt).  An example of one of mine.......

I also threw in some surprises.  It will be fun to see how long it takes ds1 to find them all.  Here are a couple of examples.......

Also spread throughout the quilt are 4 blocks with pockets.  I thought that would be a fun way for him to tuck away treasures, I'll just have to be sure to check them before washing!

I only used a 1/4-inch seam allowance so it's not as "ragged" as the prior quilt I made for him in this same fashion.  I'm pleased with how this one turned out, but I do like the look that a bigger seam allowance gives.  This quilt was made entirely of old clothing or articles of clothing I found at yard sales, thrift stores, etc.  For the batting I used some of dh's old t-shirts.  It took me much longer to complete this project than I anticipated, but I did go a bit above and beyond in how I chose to quilt the squares.  I wouldn't have done it differently though.  Each one was made with extra helpings of love.  There were also some bumps in the road that affected how long and often I was able to work, plus I don't have a sewing machine so the entire quilt was done by hand. 

Now I'm ready to start cutting the fabric for ds2's ragged quilt.  The fabric has been washed and is drying as I'm typing this.  I had more fabric than I realized so I can make him a larger quilt than I expected.  That also means it will take me longer to complete the project so I have to really stay focused and remain diligent.  After that, I still have two pillowcases I intend to make for my two sweeties.

I'm also happy to report that my Christmas shopping is officially finished!  Hooray!  I love to have it completed before Thanksgiving so I was feeling a bit stressed that I didn't reach that goal this year.  However, do not underestimate the zoo gift shop!  I've been in some really terrible gift shops in places you would expect much better.  The zoo we visited recently had an awesome gift shop and I was able to knock out the last tiny bit of my shopping.  I feel like such a weight has been lifted from me.  I really do not care for crowds or traffic so I try to stay out of the stores from Thanksgiving until January if at all possible (with the exception of buying groceries).  It just makes for such a relaxed Christmas season and I can really enjoy the time with my family baking, watching Christmas movies and television specials, laughing, admiring beautiful decorations, etc.  

The other thing on my agenda is to come up with a Christmas Day menu.  I don't want to have the same dishes that we have year after year on both Thanksgiving and Christmas (the only thing that differs is that we maybe have a turkey for one and a ham for the other).  I think dh is on board with me with the exception that he is really wanting a ham.  They are $5.29/lb. at our local health food store (Beeler's all-natural ham)...can you say OUCH?  I would love to have some sort of nice seafood dish.  We'll see who wins    what happens.  I'm perusing a variety of magazines from the library and all of our cookbooks for ideas and having a wonderful time doing so (I love to browse through recipes)!

As promised, I'm sharing another recipe today.  You can find my recipe for pear bread here.  This is not something that I make exclusively during the Christmas season, but I do tend to make more then than any other time of the year.  It's one of dh's favorites.