I have started a quiet book for my kids. I started simple, so I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed and could achieve a sense of accomplishment without actually doing very much.

This denim pocket page will hold a notebook and pencil for little notes, and I was thinking it would be fun to put a mailbox page next to it, so the kids can write a note and then mail it.

I started a pinboard for quiet book pages, so if anyone has anything fabulous, shoot me a link. (stitchhack at gmail.com) If you are also a pinterest junkie, HERE is my slowly growing spectacular sewing page, too.

These fish and the seahorse will be for an Under the Sea themed page. The fish will have velcro. I am still brainstorming on whether there are other ways to make that page interactive or if I should just velcro it all.

In very shocking news, I have actually, finally, miraculously Finished Something! This was actually a UFO for more than a year. When I was president of my local quilt guild I joined the state guild, which included a newsletter. There was a block of the month in the newsletter that included this paper pieced potted flower one month. I love paper piecing because of the scraps it uses up. (We won’t talk about all the wasting. No, we won’t.)

I decided not to make the whole quilt, but this block made a great casserole-size hot pad, which someone on my list has requested for Christmas.

It is so nice to start checking things off of my list this early. Last year my sister had a crazy, horrible accident late in September where she cut her fingers off, and gave birth at the end of the re-attachment surgery. She and I spent the rest of the year working on recovering as she took care of her newborn baby. Also, I was pregnant at the time. And Christmas just sort of took the back-burner, and then got burned on the stove, if we want to take the metaphor way too far.

Anyway, here is to a Happy Holiday Season to all this year!