show and tell.

i thought maybe you all would like to see this before i took it down! i know this garland doesn't have to be strictly "Christmas" and i could have kept it up through january...but i realized last night that my room was feeling cluttered (even though it wasn't - messy, that is) and this was a big part of it. it's really amazing how much bigger - more open - my room feels once i disassembled my twinkling winter wonderland. (i'm sure it will make a reappearance in the future. i really did enjoy those little glowing lights.)

i made the "banner" garland by cutting triangles from various pretty papers and sewing them to a length of ribbon - adding in a few felt snowflakes for interest. very easy.

i really enjoyed making this lovely. (it's this pattern - made with worsted weight yarn and size 9 needles.) the scarf grew quite quickly with the larger sized materials, which is great because it was needed to wish a special friend a happy birthday and safe travels.

and here is the big picture of my most recent project which has been featured here in rather little pieces. ;) it's quite small, just the right size to go under my laptop on my desk. i pieced the tiny squares in a color gradient using this technique. (and some interfacing made especially for the purpose with a pre-printed grid, thanks to my sister who had some in her stash! i highly recommend this method of sewing tiny squares together - takes all the headache out of keeping rows straight and matching points...) i kind of winged this desk mat with the excuse of trying out freehand machine quilting before attempting it on a more traditionally sized quilt (i got a jelly roll for Christmas and am formulating plans). turns out that as a "little brown bird," winging things is right up my alley! (*cough*)

that's all for now...there may be another show and tell installment soon, but i make no promises! we'll see if i can bribe some people for pictures of already gifted handmades. until then, you'll just have to listen to me ramble. horrors. :)