gifts we made

Between two handmade shows (which I completely failed to photograph) and a slew of handmade gifts, my Bernina saw a lot of thread this holiday. Although I scheme and cut and piece weeks in advance, I never seem to be able to sit down at my machine until midnight before the item is needed. But somehow it all gets done and, hmmm, now I guess I know why I slept almost the entire Christmas Day. Here's what I've been doing in the wee hours of the morning:

:: A couple of days before Christmas Eve, when we planned to exchange stocking gifts with my siblings, I saw this modern take on the coaster and pulled out my stash of felt. Each sister received a custom color palette and, for perhaps the first time in my handmade career, I kept a set for myself.
:: Homemade bread is a familiar smell in this home, particularly when gifts are in order. Our everyday oatmeal bread sees the oven most often, and flies out of here. I have a hard time deviating. This month I've been flattening out the dough after the first rise, spreading it with cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins, and rolling it back up. The cinnamon-raisin trick would probably work great with our flax seed bread, too.
:: Over the last two months, I have made more than two dozen sweater texting gloves and sold and gifted nearly all of them. So, if you wonder who is snatching up all the wool and cashmere sweaters at Goodwill, now you know. And if you want a pair, let me know. I'm working on a new stash.
:: What does a girl do with all the leftover thrifted wool and cashmere sweaters? Why, make a fabulous sweater blanket, of course. Piecing 12" squares, this two-sided upcycled blanket became a gift for my brother and his wife. It was kind of hard to part with, but since I sewed the blanket together 12 hours before I gave it to them, I didn't have a lot of time to covet it. Plus, I think they liked it.
:: Finally, to satisfy my desire to be a bootlegger, I concocted a little limoncello. I warn anyone who receives this potent beverage, it goes down easy. Take it like medicine: Do not drink (other) alcohol. Do not operate heavy machinery. It may cause extreme drowsiness or personality changes. Hopefully good ones.

We also made a lot of these Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies, which were delicious, and Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. And although I'd love to make the Chocolate Nutella Cookies my cousin posted about this week, I may have to wait until next December. Quite frankly, I am cookied out.

If you made any gifts this Christmas, please share. New ideas always welcome.