I made several people these sets of kitchen towels and dishcloths:

I also made some Christmas themed insulated mats that can be used under casserole dishes:

Rob knitted flower headbands for Nora and Megan:

He also knitted a couple of shawls that are going to be worn in a campus production of Fiddler on the Roof this spring. Here's one of them:

I made a jungle themed quilt for Ryan but unfortunately forgot to take a picture of the finished quilt. Here's a picture of the layout:

I made these little fleece sleep sacks for Ryan and the new baby girl:

I made another one of these wreaths from an old hymnal:

Jan, one of my faithful readers from Iowa sent me this delicious cookie recipe in a lovely Christmas card. I had some of the little Christmas cupcake liners which fit into the mini muffin tins and decided to use them even though I did make them after Christmas. These cookies are quite tasty and would also work for Valentine's Day or for a shower or tea.

Cherry Miniatures

1 3 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (I used almond extract)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
(plus more for decoration)
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used pecans) (almonds might be good too)

Glaze Ingredients:
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
approximately 1 Tbsp. cherry juice

Cream softened cream cheese and butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add combined dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir in cherries and nuts. Place rounded teaspoons of dough in miniature muffin pans that have been greased or lined with miniature cupcake papers. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 mins. or until lightly browned. Remove from pans and allow to cool. Make glaze and spread cupcake tops with it. Decorate with cherries. Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

To make glaze:
Combine sifted powdered sugar with enough of the cherry juice to make a glaze.

Keep this in mind for your next event when you need a pretty, dainty little cookie.

Becka

It's been a while since I last posted. Life has gotten in the way of blogging. Our family from Michigan was here this past week and we had several activities planned for the whole family. We really enjoyed having them all here and will miss them as they drove home today. We will see them again pretty soon when they come for Nora and Topher's wedding in April.

A while back I mentioned that I had been working on some projects that I couldn't show yet. Well, I have actually already given this one to a friend who will be going away for Christmas, so I'm free to show it now. I saw this post about making a wreath from a paperback book and thought I would try making it from an old hymnal for my friend, Judy, who teaches music.

I found this old hymnal at a thrift store and thought it would be perfect for this project. The pages were a little larger than a regular paperback book so I had to devise my own method for rolling the pages, but over all it was a very fun project to make and I was pleased with how it turned out. I'd like to make more of these in the future if I can find some more old hymnals.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week and making progress in your Christmas preparations.

Becka

I made some tea wallets for some friends and family members who are tea drinkers. They were fun to make and hopefully will be useful for the recipients. I hadn't made covered buttons in quite a while and found that the little tool that you use to help cover the buttons (it is included with the button forms) has been greatly improved since I last made some. I found this tutorial for the tea wallet.

I also made some table runners for a few people. I took a class at one of our local fabric stores to learn how to make these, but I was able to find some instructions for the basic technique at this source. These were fun to make and I hope to make myself one for next Christmas!

Here are a couple of pictures of completed table runners:

Here's a close up:

I don't always have time to make as many gifts as I did this year, but I started early and enjoyed making them.

How about you, dear readers -- did you make any gifts for Christmas this year? I know of one family where the siblings all make something for each other each year, rather than purchasing something. They have become really creative and learned some new skills over the years.

Becka