Thankful Finishes - 1 XMAS Item(s)

Worked on many things in November, some close to being complete, and thankfully, some completed!  One of my nieces had started making Christmas cookies and goodies a couple of years ago, and I thought about making her oven mitts with matching towels and adding a couple of cute baking accessories, but never got too far with the idea.  Then last year she mailed us some of her treats, which was a nice surprise!  (I have made Christmas cookies and sent them to many of our relatives each Christmas for almost 20 years, only missing the year my son decided to be born the Tuesday before Thanksgiving . . . when he wasn't due until after the New Year!!)  So, at an after Christmas sale at my local quilt store I found the sweetest fabric, and decided to try an apron from a book I had bought awhile ago.  It is the closest to garment sewing I have tried in many years, I can actually say it was fun to make, and I would love to make more!  I so wish I had bought more of the same fabric, I don't have enough left to make another like it.  It's a little big on my DD (she's only 13) but my niece is nearly 30 and I think it will fit nicely.   My other XMAS items were so fast and easy to whip up, I am very grateful to my "quilting sisters" Bee for showing us how to make them.
They are candle mats, although you could use them as soup mats or whatever else came to mind.  I made two from the scraps of Apron fabrics, and the other three are for my sister.  There are two patterns, one with three of each fabric and the other with four of each fabric.  I am going to make one more for my sister to even it out.  I have more cut out for my mother in law's Christmas gift, along with a couple of candles.  On my "someday" list, I'd like to reduce the size of the templates, so that they would be the right size for mug mats, wouldn't that be cute?
I also managed to finish another WISP/UFO!  I designed this little baby quilt over a year ago and cut out most of the fabric, but never got around to finishing it.  It went together so quickly, I felt silly for procrastinating so long.  I just love the colors, they lift my mood whenever I look at it.  I used citrus varigated thread to quilt it and it worked beautifully.  The Batik on the back is so lovely too - almost used a microfleece on the back, but it seems more like a summer quilt.   We enjoyed a very quiet and

relaxed Thanksgiving, a nice break before the rush of the holidays.

 Our dear Samantha does not look relaxed as she supervises my DH as he carves up the turkey.  Much to her dismay, he refused her demands offers of assistance!  Happy Quilting!