Can't believe it's nearly December

Boy it has been a long time since I made an entry here! Halloween and Thanksgiving are both behind me now, meaning that the holiday push is now officially ON!

I am prepping for my first adventure going to a sewing retreat! Quilt Camp is in less than 1 week and I have been doing my best to figure out which projects I want to work on there in the free time, and get them ready to go! I can already see that my suitcase will be bursting with fabric!!! I will HAVE to check a bag - wish I didn't but with my little sewing machine and all these projects, there wouldn't be nearly enough room for clothes in just a carry on.

Below is not even half of what I need for a king sized (mostly) low volume quilt I will be taking to work on in my free sewing time. Lots of cutting to do this weekend :)

 Next up, some OLD (read ancient) holiday fabric I dragged out of a box. I matched it up with some solids and a tonal print, and I'm planning to make drawstring bags with this as re-usable Hanukkah gift bags for the kids. We celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah in our house.

Still pulling scraps for the improv class, and I've got a brand new Layer Cake of "Odds & Ends"by Julie Comstock for Faith's Poinsettia block class. I'm not sure I'll do anything more than sit through the EPP class, since it is so difficult for me to do handwork. 

I have been plugging away at my scrap quilt from the class I took in September and I'm much happier with it now. It is still small though, since each one of these blocks finishes at 4 inches. I'm debating whether or not to keep going and make it bigger than a very small lap quilt and/or add a border or two to expand it.

I decided to make myself a bag very similar to the one I made for my partner in Mouthy Stitches 2 I liked it so much! That is nearly ready to sew together. And, I decided to make a similar bag with a London theme for my mom for Christmas. She and my Dad have been to England about 20 times since I was a teenager - they just LOVE it! So this tote will make her happy I am sure.

So much to be thankful for this fall. My sister-in-law's Non Hodgkins Lymphoma was removed through surgery and there is no need for any chemo or radiation, just monitoring. VERY good news! My mother-in-law is recovering from pneumonia that she had over Thanksgiving. Being a lung cancer survivor, asthmatic and not being very physically active - this is very good news as well.

It is my month to be the queen in the Liberty and Justice Bee. I picked a block that I think will be nice. It only uses 2 fabrics besides white, and it is a 16" block, which should work up quickly into a top. I have already received my first block, and I'm looking forward to some more packages to open! It really is like early Christmas! I plan to donate this quilt through Quilts of Valor, to thank one of the many service people who have sacrificed so much for our country.