Aloha, baby!

The American Girl Doll of the Year is Kanani,  a "cheerful girl who helps others by sharing the aloha spirit of Hawai’i." She's waiting under the tree this year for my Monkey Girl -- a present from her Uncle Mike.

Kanani comes with a plethora of accessories (naturally), including a shave ice stand and a luau outfit. What she doesn't come with is Hawaiian-print pajamas to match her big girl...

...or a grass skirt to wear over her tank top and shorts...

or coordinating flip-flops and a matching lei.

Yes, that lei took forEVER to make, but that was half the fun. And the flip-flops with the little beaded flowers? I was laughing as I made them, they're so darn cute!

That's the last of the homemade gifts this year -- just in time to pack in the sleigh and head home for the holidays!

Merry Christmas, all! And aloha!

The countdown clock is ticking...

Well, it's that time again -- less than a week until Christmas, and all those projects we should have been working on since June but started just after Thanksgiving need to be finished!

I just put the binding on my last Christmas quilt, to be delivered tonight. I still have to clean up some loose threads, but this one is DONE! It's destined for my girlfriend's vacation home in northern Michigan, where I'm hoping it will be well used.

Where there's a photo op, there's Archie

I'm slowly but surely working my way through my rather large stash of flannel, specifically the pine tree print I used for the sashing and backing here. I had visions when I purchased the bolt of making oodles of snuggly flannel Up North quilts. This is #3, so I have a few more to go. How many constitutes an "oodle," anyway?

In the zone...

Sometimes when I'm really into a project, I get in The Zone and can sew for hours. I'll even forget to eat.
 

Luckily, though, I have someone to provide some not-so-subtle reminders...

that it's time for dinner.

What would I do without him?