This year’s Christmas crafts:

Star Trek lap quilt for my dad, who helped introduce me to science fiction. I used 10.5-inch blocks, and I quilted using stars, Star Trek insignias, and outlines of the Enterprise (following the icons on the front of the quilt).

A table runner for my mother. I used leftover fat eighths I had from the lap quilt I made for myself this last spring. I sewed a couple of big nine-patches, then cut them in fourths for a disappearing nine-patch runner with a fat eighth in between. I really enjoyed playing with the disappearing nine-patch here.

A Hello Kitty pincushion for my very good friend and a couple of owl pillows for her and her guy. I made the owls using super soft fleece for one; the other has a head made from quilting cotton and a body made of super soft fleece. I finally used up my three bags of stuffing on these projects!

A few hot pads for my mother-in-law. I made a lot of these until finally finding the thickness that seemed to work best (2 pieces batting and one piece InsulBright thermal batting).

It’s been a busy Christmas week, but I have loved the chance to sew up this storm!! I haven’t done much sewing since going back to work full time. That’s been good for my fabric hoarding, but I miss the therapy of creating something. Too bad I can’t take my sewing machine on the bus!