'Tis the Season?

We have had a horrific shock as a nation, indeed the world. To ease our sorrow, many of us get to work.
If you can give an hour or two and your sewing talent to comfort the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School, send a pillowcase or two to
                                                   Quilters Corner
                                               312 Danbury Road
                                            New Milford, CT 06776
There is also a page on Facebook where you can give your support to the families.

To sustain us through the sad weekend, I made some Beef Stew.

Beef Stew

Then it was on to the baking.

Cookies

 Writing cards, preparing packages, and wrapping gifts consumed most of this weekend. I also baked some holiday treats to take to my book group luncheon.  We were all bringing food and I volunteered for dessert.  I love making sweet treats but shouldn't have them around the house. Using the same stand mixer I have used every year for 37 years, I made Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies.  I also used up the box of brownie mix and added some candy canes on top.

Brownies

Thankfully, we have the extra time to relax about all this this year.  We may even have time to get in another trip.  This time we will visit family up north.

Nana's Surprise blocks in progress

All these things cut into my sewing and knitting time.  I did manage to finish a quilt top called Nana's Surprise, another mystery quilt from Quilters Club of America.  This pattern gave me the opportunity to use up the Dessert Roll I had in my stash.  The fabrics are all the authentic collection from Moda. Very easy project that beginners would love.

Nana's Surprise

Remember the paper pieced tree block I showed a few posts back?  I took four of them to the guild meeting and came home with 5! It was a popular block so many of us entered the drawing. I was one of 4 winners. This gave me the opportunity to get out some Christmas fabric in my stash and make this wallhanging.

In the knitting department, I finished a cap, cowl and scarf combo.

Improv Cap and Cowl

I am linking up with Esther's Blog today. go over there for more Works on Wednesday.