The final few weeks of last year found me busy with the usual December craziness.....both kids' birthdays and all the craziness that surrounds Christmas.  Having a child who still believes in Santa (the older one has also yet to utter any suggestion that he knows the truth) is fun but exhausting.  The gift wrapping had to happen at a fast pace while they were in school, we had to remember to move our elf Twinkle every night and we had to set our alarm clock for midnight on Christmas Eve so we'd get up and get the gifts under the tree while they were sleeping.

We don't know if this was the last year for the secret, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next year, but at some point we know that the gig will be up.  I'm not sure if I'll feel happy or sad at that point but I know that everything will be easier, we won't have to go to great lengths to hide everything and we'll get to sleep through the night on Christmas eve.

Our holiday was quiet, like everyone else.  It was just us and my MIL for the day as it usually is but the big celebration on my side of the family for New Year's weekend was postponed until June. My niece is getting married then and we're hoping to be able to get together then to celebrate.

Once the big day was over, I spent a great deal of the following week in my sewing room and I'll be sharing what I created soon.  In the meantime, I have some more customer quilts to share with you.

 Before the holidays, my customer Charmaine brought me 2 table runners to quilt for her that were going to be Christmas gifts.

First up is the pretty batiks runner.  I really like the pattern and colors she used. 

As happens, sometimes, I forgot to take a "before" picture so that you can see the difference but I did take an "in process" photo when it was about half done.

The stitching made an already pretty table runner even prettier.

The panto design she chose for this one is Hurricane.  Glide thread in Mocha was used for the top and Light Tan was used in the bobbin.

I really like the way this turned out and I'm betting that whoever received this gift loves it too.

The 2nd table runner is this Blue one, which I think remember she telling me that it was created at a guild workshop early in the year.

This time I remembered to take a "before" pic.  I don't know the technique she used but it made for a really interesting design.

It was an overcast day when I took these pictures right before she came to pick them up so it's harder to see the stitching details in the pics.

The popular panto design Popcorn was her pick this time.  Glide Medium Gray and was used for the top and Light Tan again was in the bobbin.

I always enjoy quilting the pieces that Charmaine brings me to do for her as they're typically different and visually interesting and this one is no different.

I expect that she's been participating in more guild workshops recently, though virtually since that's all our guild is doing right now, so I figure she'll be calling soon with some more fun pieces for me to quilt.  Stay tuned.