The big present this holiday was a new cappucino/espresso machine. Woohoo! It has been more than a year without one, and we had really missed having one. We broke two stovetop espresso gizmos and were getting tired of the French Press coffee. I guess we are just coffee geeks.
I've been taking lots of pictures of the winter sky lately. Here are a few as I waited in the car in our driveway.
These were taken through the car window, so there is a slight reflection of my camera.
You can really see my camera in this one.
I think this is my favorite.
The clouds were really striking.
I think this is my favorite because of the bird on the telephone wire in the left lower corner.
This is better if you enlarge it. I love how the underlying shape of a tree is so starkly emphasized with the low winter light.
Here is how the piece looked when it arrived, non-regular sections, mysterious bits covered up already, and two sections available for me to work on. Note the color scheme paint swatches on the upper left. It was all so crinkly and interestingly textured under the mysterious covers.
The section I chose looked like this before I began. Shapes outlined, some painting already there, see the purple and copper?
Before any beading was done. I used a coppery metallic cotton, some black rayon, and purple cotton. The blue parts were painted in with Tsuinienko inks.
Here is how our Buddha statue looks by day, peeking out from behind the Christmas tree. I am quite moved by these pictures, the Buddha looks completely content (of course!) and perfectly placed there by the Christmas tree.
And in some great Christmas decorating news, the missing box of favorite ornaments and the advent calendar the boys have used since forever turned up this Monday. It was in a very strange place in the very chaotic garage, "hidden in plain sight" shall we say? Anyhoo, Joy in Whoville when the boys caught up on hanging their little velcro ornaments on the advent calendar. What do you know, I've raised two sentimental teenaged boys. awwwww. And I was so glad to find all my PEACE ornaments and collection of stars. The tree looks much more decorated now, the pink pinecone isn't quite so lonely.
I received the final Exquisite Corpse to work on, only one square was remaining in the design. The originating artist, Elizabeth informed us that this was an image of ravens and to make them black. You must go see the entire image, it is my favorite of all, so far.
I sewed them on dimensionally, folding in half, sewing down and attaching only one side to create the illusion of feathers. I also couched on top a black ribbon yarn.
Then there was the beading. I used a lot of my black bead stash, and then the background looked a bit bare. So I began stitching on some red or gold beads that went with the painted base fabric. To make the jump between beads I started sewing x's, and I really like how it looks, it pulls together the raven wing and the background. Plus the nymo beading thread is shiny and pretty.
A closeup view of the wingtips where you can see the couching and dimensionality of the wings.
I guess I like closeups.
Oh why not, another closeup.
The final piece, without flash.
The final piece with flash.
So one solution is using a fabric gift bag. No paper required, and very durable, and in most cases washable. Sure they are floppy and casusal looking, but you know what, so am I!
Crazy holiday cats, they all have such goofy expressions. Can you imagine trying to get a coat, hat and scarf on your cat? Hah! You'd have to come visit me in the hospital if I tried it I think.
This one is for a sports loving guy. The Santa print is from a panel print that had Santa Sports boxers. I pieced some strips around it to make it big enough to contain the gift.
This one I made the top differently, making a double stitched channel for the ribbon, leaving a collar at the top. I think it looks a little fancier, although it uses a bit more fabric. But, hey it is a gift right? Be extravagant, besides I bought this fabric on major big time post-holiday sale. Which reminds me, after I made these bags, I'm almost out of holiday fabric, better get some at the upcoming sales for next year...
I like choosing a ribbon color that contrasts a bit, makes it easier when opening gifts in low lit rooms. I use an embroidery stitch of bells or stars to nail down the top hem, it is subtle, but I like how it make the finished bag look, it adds a bit more subtle decoration.
This one was for a smaller gift, and I felt like making something new up instead of just the usual bag. I had some leftovers from cutting out curvy bits for the holiday vest I'm making myself, so I took one that was already a nice shape, did a bunch of stitching on it with some quilt batting underneath, made a facing, sewed it on right sides together, turned it right sides out, made a "hinge" and sewed that to the top of the bag. Then for a closure I used a button with a ribbon stitched on loop.
Donna's Exquisite Corpse from round two has been revealed, go see the whole thing here. This is the square that I worked on. 
A closeup of the beading that I did.
And this is the original version which I did without noting the color scheme that she'd requested. It wasn't written on the piece, but was on an online list which I'd neglected to check before beginning work. Luckily the artist I was sending to, Elizabeth, noticed the wrong colors peeking out from my covered up completed square and sent it back to me. 
I got to pick out allllll this machine embroidery stitching. Hopefully the stabilizer I put on the back will keep the revised square together ok for Donna!
Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Santa always wraps presents, no matter how big or small they are (except for the chair that one year), in wrapping paper different from the regular presents. And the presents are set near the stockings, not under the tree.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? It is hard to pick one, because we're always mixing up the menus on Christmas. I'd have to say I truly enjoyed the cioppino we made a couple years ago, it was restaurant quality, it was swoon-worthy. I think we'll make that this year for Christmas Eve dinner.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, we open all our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning we open whatever Santa brings us. Santa usually brings stuff that parents wouldn't normally give.
Snow! Love it or Dread it? I suppose I love it, since I have to go visit someplace else to find some, so it is a treat. I think if I lived in a place where it snowed every winter, I'd dread it.
Christmas trees
Ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope, not yet, but I''ll be honest and admit that I've been tempted.
Here is what the stage looked like as the show begins. We now have two of the trees at home, the boys are setting them up in their rooms. They're covered in fake fur (very sheddy and messy).
Here are the Sneetches and the Bird Girls, with Horton the Elephant in the middle. It was very hard to take pictures without flash, as the performers are moving around so much. So this one is fairly un-blurry.
Here's another shot of the BirdGirls in the center. Pretty colorful huh? I hope they can re-use the costumes for another production, most of the bloomers were plain white skirts used in two previous shows. 
