Settling in for Winter

Sam's latest addition to his Minky collection (in red)

It seems that our sunny, 60-degree days are gone and Winter is here...my sewing room reflects our chill with stacks of flannel and fleece.  My daughter has had an ongoing request for a Minky snuggi/slanket/blanket-with-sleeves, and that sort of sewing is just not all that interesting to me, so I've put it off for nearly two years.  Last year, after waiting until November, I ordered some periwinkle "double-faced" minky on ebay, and it didn't arrive until January (I neglected to notice it was shipping from Korea when I placed the order).  When it did arrive, it was nothing more than purple, rough fleece, even after several washes.  I donated it to Goodwill because no one in our house was willing to wear it. 

This Christmas, I ordered fabric that should have at least arrived in time to wrap it up unmade for Christmas, but the heavy snow in Little Rock and Memphis delayed its arrival by several days.  My daughter didn't even get to see it before leaving town on the 26th.  She will be back this evening after a week in New York and I haven't done anything with it.  Well, I did wash it and dry it twice.

Minky for a "slanket" and Flannel to line

On our way out of town for a weekend trip last Saturday, we stopped at the Rabbit's Lair to pick up some flannel for PJs for my husband and son.  The guys are rarely the recipients of my sewing.  I even packed my sewing machine along on the trip with the intention of whipping up a couple of pairs of pants for them. The Rabbit's Lair is such a lovely quilt shop, and they carry a beautiful selection of quilting cottons and wools. It makes me want to start quilting again whenever I visit.  The flannel was nearly out of stock, but what was left was half price.  Sam picked out a vibrant lime green and Steve grabbed some Christmasy holly print for his. 

Steve's "Christmas" PJs

Sam loves to shop.  Even for fabric.  He talked me into stopping at Hobby Lobby as well and grabbed some red Minky "for a blanket".  So we have that too.  I never even unpacked my machine all weekend!  But I did wash/dry the flannel several times to shrink it completely. 


Sam's selection for pajama pants



I am hoping that these are quick projects, because I have committed to sew for myself in 2013!  I even have a plan for Stitcher's Guild SWAP (for me).  My goal is to at least get the 11 pieces finished in 2013 even if I miss the SWAP April deadline.  At the very least, I am trying to use it to push myself to finish my "Chanel" jacket that I started over a year ago.