What happened to settling down for a long winter's nap?

 This is what I was doing just the day before Christmas - putting the binding on my husband's lap quilt.....I did get it done and he loves it.  I neglected to point out the quilting mistakes I made......It's just as warm whether the points all match up correctly or not!

 Did you get moose moccasins for Christmas?  I had a pair when I was a kid and I've always wanted another pair.....I only waited about 45 years!  Good things do come to those who wait.  These are so comfy and now I totally understand how the Indians could glide silently through the forest.....

 These are some of my German sewing machine attachment tins.  I do not have machines to match them all, but I do have a nice collection of vintage German hand cranks and treadles.  We find ourselves seeming quite German at times.  My grandmother (whose parents were German) sang "Oh du lieber Augustin" to me when I was a kid.  I just recently remembered that and was surprised to read the history of that song;
"Oh du lieber Augustin" ("Oh, you dear Augustin") is a Viennese song, composed by Marx Augustin in 1679.
At this time Vienna was struck by the bubonic plague (see Great Plague of Vienna) and Augustin was a ballad singer and bagpiper, who toured Vienna‘s inns entertaining people. The Viennese loved Augustin because of his charming humour in bitter times, and they called him "Lieber Augustin" (Dear Augustin). Once he was drunk and on his way home he fell in the gutter and went to sleep. He was mistaken for a dead man by the gravediggers patrolling the city for dead bodies. They picked him up and dumped him, along with his bagpipes which they presumed were infected, into a pit filled with bodies of plague victims outside the city walls. Next day when Augustin woke up, he was unable to get out of the deep mass grave. He was shocked and after a while he started to play his bag pipes, because he wanted to die the same way he lived. Finally people heard him and he was rescued from this dreadful place. Luckily he remained healthy despite having slept with the infected dead bodies and Augustin became a symbol of hope for Viennese people.

 Now that the Christmas holidays are over, I'm back to crafting primitives again.  Today I made this little wool mouse family.  Can't you just picture finding them in your pantry???

 Here's a fun name for a sewing machine - the Silent Princess!  This is what's known as a 'badged' machine - made by a major sewing machine company (in this case, National Sewing Machine Co.) but the seller could choose the name they wanted.  There is an amazing number of unusual sewing machine names out there.

 For the upcoming Valentine season, I crafted these herbal hearts.  (Try saying that really fast a few times...)

 ......a passel of barn cats,

 .....a few primitive rag dolls,

 four crows, and...........

......have been doing some thread crochet flowers and leaves in my 'spare' time!

It's been a busy season, a lovely Christmas time with lots of good meals, board games, lots of music, singing around the piano and cozy fires.  Richly blessed we are and thank God for His graciousness to us. 

I'm still trying to get used to the emptier nest that we have now that my oldest daughter has moved out.  She's just down the road, but still her place at the dinner table is empty and now her rooms are my sewing & crafting studio.  I see her every day, but it's not quite the same.  Maybe harder because she's been at home so long, but it's making me feel older.  Times they are a changin'.  

On another note, I'm enjoying Winter and wish it would slow down just a bit more!  Seems like there aren't enough hours in the day for all I'd like to accomplish.  Yesterday I cleaned out my milk room and kidding pens in preparation for the upcoming goat kid arrivals (soon!).  Today I have the sore muscles to prove it!  We've gotten two seed catalogs in the mail and we're already imagining this year's garden (always better than the last one, of course).   Before you know it, the days will be longer and we'll spend more time outside once again.    But, for now it's still Winter and the new year is just ahead.  My prayer is that everyone who reads this blog will find the peace that can only be found with our Saviour Jesus Christ who died to take away our sins.  If you don't know Him, you'd better get acquainted quick!  This life goes by so fast and all of us will one day stand before Him.  Will He recognize you?