Celebrating the 12 Days

I am as done with the (Row Of the Week) House Block Neighborhood sew-along as I care to be for right now. I will make copies of the last two patterns when they are released and perhaps select fabrics. Everything is in a plastic package.

The boat as block #14 simply did not appeal to me. I found this tent pattern and will add some simple triangles in a green fabric to fill in on the light background. Very simple pieces and much more my style than the sailboat. The quilt has been evolving on its own and is quite wonderful.

And now, its time for me to settle into December. I need to give the house a good clean (even though my housekeeper comes this week too) and then finish decorating. My small tree is one of those 'out of the box and plug it in'. I want to go through the decorations and take some to the thrift store. Its a splendid way to downsize.

I've set up a couple of exchanges on Swap-bot that celebrate the 12 Days. One is called Mother Night and starts the 12 day count on December 20. This one is a candle exchange with each of the 12 Days symbolizing a virtue that both the sender and recipient can invoke for the coming year. The other one is a 'pick 2' package where each day is identified with traditional aspects, and so the sender can select 2 of the days, sending the assigned partner 2 wrapped gifts. There are less than 10 people interested in them, but it does mean I need to do some work for my part. Additionally, I've got a few other swaps that will also take my time. I don't want to just dash off trinkets.

And then the month also starts my dolce preparation. The kitchen spaces need to be spotless before I start, and of course it is a mess to clean up after as well.