Christmas at the Eleventh Hour

Not that I wait til the last minute or anything, but it looks like I've only bought one (1) Christmas present so far. No sense waiting til the last minute, I always say.
But luckily while I was taking a break from quilting another one of Charmaine's gynormous quilts, I found a mess of these mug rug patterns over at Beaquilter.

Bea's designed them all in EQ7 and, if you have the software, she's willing to share the project file with you! And even if you don't, you can use any favorite block and adapt it to make your own mug rug design. They are so quick and easy, I might just be giving these to everyone on my list. Don't know how it'll go over with the 2-7yr old crowd.
And while we're talking about being unprepared for Christmas (cuz 364 days advance notice is never enough), raise your hand if you've ever run out of gift tags at 11:59pm Christmas Eve! Be honest... I've used scrapbook alphabet stickers stuck directly onto the package, a rectangle of wrapping paper folded in half and written on (but the 'pages' don't lay flat - they curl into each other unless you iron them. And yes, I did), brown paper grocery bags cut with my pinking blade rotary cutter, magic marker directly onto the wrapping paper...very classy. Then one year I designed some gift tags in EQ and printed those out, even though they weren't Christmas-themed. They're available Here. Maybe if I can find a few minutes I'll put together some Christmas ones before...well...Christmas. 2012, more likely.
BUT! Look what else I found!

Gift tags designed by Jim Shore! They're free (yay!) downloadable, and already formatted for stick on labels. Or you could print them on cardstock, cut 'em out, punch a hole in the corner and tie them to your packages. Check 'em out on his website, Here
Break-time's over - back to quilting!

Baby Planking

17 month old Sofie came to see me at my studio the other day. But since Nana's always busy, I couldn't hold her the whole time, so I set her down on the floor. She turned into jelly and collapsed in a heap.

She stayed there like this for a good 10 minutes, til Meg picked her up. Then she just stared at me, giving me the evil eye. That kid cracks me up.

December 2011 Desktop Calendar

The last calendar of 2011: a partridge in a pear tree! Click on the calendar to expand image to full size, right-click and choose Set as Wallpaper or Background. To really jazz up your desktop, right-click on your background and choose a color that coordinates with the calendar - you'll be the envy of your cubicle!