Since the on-line search did not pan out, I up and said to Dear Hubby that I could make plaid matching his and her flannel bathrobes for the two. I  already had 6 pairs of flannel PJ bottoms in the making for my crew. So just how difficult would it be to find 12 yards of matching plaid flannel? A lot harder than I expected! I found out that our local Joann Fabrics flannel comes only  8 yards to a bolt. What is up with that!? And since it was now so close to Christmas, there was not two partial bolts of the same fabric to be had. Oh bother. I could go to the local quilt shop, but their flannel is expensive. I had already bought flannel there for the PJ bottoms when the shop held a BOGO for each yard of fabric purchased. It was their anniversary sale the first weekend in November. And a great sale it was! My only other option seemed to be to check out the local Hancock Fabrics store. Boy was I pleased when I found they carry bolts of flannel with 12 yards per bolt! And I was even more pleased when I found a bolt of green plaid! And then I learned they had  Simplicity patterns for one dollar each! I bought two of the same pattern so I didn’t have to trace anything. A his and a her pattern each! Now I just hoped I had the right plaid to make the couple happy with their homemade Christmas gifts.

Here they are wearing their PJ bottoms, matching green plaid bathrobes. Notice they are also wearing slippers – given to them by daughter # 2 who did not know what I was up to with making PJs or bathrobes!

This is a streamer made of punched out butterfly and scalloped circle shapes.

I used the streamer to decorate a baby gift for a friend. The gift is a baby blanket with an appliqued butterfly, purchased, not crafted by me. The butterflies decorating the outside coordinate with the blanket inside!

Next I made a gift tag using more butterflies and a little paper ribbon technique I saw on a blog. It took me a while to locate the source of the ribbon. It’s Every Life Has A Story! blog’s post: {Make It} Paper Bag Ribbon.

Gift with streamer and tag:

Julie does lots of painting on her papers, tags, fabrics before sewing. I do plan on experimenting, following her instructions, but for now, I’m happy with my scrap paper results. I hope Becky and baby Rachel will be pleased too!

I finished this tote today.

It is going to a friend I will visit with later this evening. Shanette, director of Kibbutz El-Shammah, is here in the USA visiting from South Africa! Friends and I have made several quilts for the staff of the Kibbutz, and I wanted to give her a little something at our visit tonight. If I find an updated link to the Kibbutz – I’ll update this post.

Last week I finished this pillow – another one for my daughter. This is a Pink Chalk Studio Pattern – free download. (Thank you Kathy!)

Next up is a braided table runner. I really need to clean the kitchen so you can see how great it looks on the counter! My DH remodeled the kitchen two summers ago. We did a good job of taking the during pictures – but not good at posting or showing the completed job! Must put that on the ‘to do list’!

And here is my Block of the Month (BOM) hosted by 3 Creative Studios. Pop on over if you are interested in joining in! Plus they have lots of other goodness offered on their website! Check ‘em out!

This is called Wonky Half Log Cabin Pillow, from a tutorial on Jacquie Gering’s blog,  Tallgrass Prairie Studio.  (Jadquie has lots of tutorials available, and I must say, this one was very well written! It’s the only one I’ve used so far.) I love this design! I made a quilt similar to this years ago and donated it to an auction. Years ago as in before my blog existed! This pillow is for my daughter. I have a Chevron quilt in progress for her, and used the left over strips for the pillow.

This is the front cover to a little tote that opens like a book. I made this as a gift for the OWOH project that starts January 25. Come back to my blog on the Jan 25 – Feb 15 for a chance to win it! The design could also be altered to create a journal cover – I’m thinking of future projects here.

I can’t count this one for OPAM, because I finished in back in July. That was when I planned on being busy making Christmas gifts for 2009 – my personal Christmas-In-July-Sewing-Event! But this is the only one I completed! LOL I still plan to send it to my MIL as a thank-you for the Christmas gifts she sent our family. I think the snowmen can be displayed throughout the winter season.  It is small, 8″ across, and I think could be used as a candle mat, coffee mat or just a decoration. And if it gets used as a pot holder – I’m OK with that too!

There is a link on the side bar to OPAM if you are interested in seeing what the other 199 ladies are working on this year!  And do check out Lisa’s OWOH Event to join in the blog hopping to see what hundreds of other creative people are up to and consider joining too! All the rules are posted on the event page.

There are pockets on the front and back inside to hold the clothes.