I am obliterating my to-sew list! Here’s what I accomplished over the past couple weeks.

I made eight corn sacks (portable heating pads) – three on commission and five as presents for people who have been really kind to our kids over the past couple years at church. (This is five more than were on my original list.)

I especially love that navy/mustard owl combination.  I was using the scraps left-over from the blanket I made for Mark, back when he was still B2.  I had to do a bit of tricky piecing to have enough for a cover. My kids are practicing for careers as hand models for me, too.

the cutest little fingers, EVER

and those are so long and grown-up!

posing of their own design

Next, I sewed four little baby birds. I always make these for my nieces and nephews for their first Christmas.  This one is for my brother’s son, born in March 2015.  The other three are for some friends, whose initials I’m not revealing.

Finally, I fixed the Roman shades in our office.  Two of the three were becoming inoperable.  One of them just required a new string, a relatively easy fix.  The other looked like this when opened.

After I took it down, I discovered that over two-thirds of the little rings had disintegrated (as in, the plastic rings had crumbled into dust – weird.) After some trial and error (including sewing on and then cutting off about 12 plastic ones), I discovered I could get metal rings. Hopefully these will outlive the shades!

replacing all the rings on this shade = 15 new rings!

much better!

I also decided to be realistic about what I could expect to accomplish for late Christmas presents, as discussed yesterday.  So my “should have been done by Christmas” list is gone!

Items to sew next now that the first list is finished:

1. Sew a large neutral tablecloth for our dining room table (have had the fabric since spring 2013) (already started working on this)
2. Actually get the dining room shades installed – clearly I should not have allowed myself to cross that one off the list.
3. Sew hot pads for us (and a tutorial for you)
4. Design and sew a new bathroom curtain and fix the bathroom bath mats too.

**********

As for books, I finally have an actual finish to report.  I finished Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality, and Mortality by Richard Beck and it’s a great and certainly thought-provoking, challenging book.  Read it. Thanks for letting me borrow it, Eric!

Books still to read:

Books borrowed from friends and family:

1. The Wisdom of Stability by Wilson Hargrove
2. That Distant Land by Wendell Berry
3. Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
4. First Impressions by Sarah Price
5. Road Song by Natalie Kusz
6. Creed or Chaos by Dorothy Sayers

Books we own:

1. The Quotidian Mysteries by Kathleen Norris (I’ve been almost done with this for probably two years and it’s SO good but somehow, I haven’t read that last quarter or so of it.)
2. Gender and Grace by Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen (I read this in college but I’d like to read it again.)
3. Intimate Allies by Dan Allender and Tremper Longman

I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Finish It Up Friday.