Season's Greetings!

I'm a little late to wish you all a Merry Christmas but I'd like to send my very best wishes for the season to everyone. Wherever you are and however you celebrate I hope you're all having a safe, happy and love filled time.
We had a busy and fun Christmas day. It was the first time in a very long time that we didn't spend Christmas Day here at the farm; ED hosted us all at her place.

There was lots of food, lots of laughter and lots of chatting. It was family, extended family, and friends, so it was lovely to catch up with everyone again.

It seemed like one of the hottest days so far this summer so a cool down between courses was necessary.

I made a couple of Christmas gifts this year. Last post I showed a sneak peek of some stitchery I was doing. Here is the stitching completed —

And here is the little wall hanging finished —

I'm not sure if you can tell but I finished it with walking foot stitching in the ditch of the borders and then free motion quilting around the outside of the stitchery elements. 

(The pattern is Chilly Penguins by The Birdhouse.)

I put little triangles in the top corners so that a piece of dowel could be inserted and used for hanging —

I managed to find some Penguin tree ornaments too. I gifted them last week to my son's family so that they could enjoy them in the lead up to Christmas.

Now the big question....why the penguins and cold theme when we obviously have a very summery Christmas?

Our son is currently working in Antarctica. He's a diesel mechanic and has been doing maintenance, repairs and rebuilds of the generators and 'power stations' down there. An amazing opportunity and experience for him, even though it means he is away from his family for a while.

Although internet usage is limited we were able to chat yesterday, and he's been able to message and send photos through when the satellites are in the right place. He's been working at both McMurdo Station and the South Pole.

Below is one of the world's most isolated power stations. Apparently there were no bolts (or nuts) left over after they had stripped this down and put it back together again! 

I have also made a couple of quick and easy pillowcases —

These were made using the popular Burrito method (just google that for a whole lot of tutorials). However I've always been unhappy with how this method doesn't include an internal flap for helping to keep the pillow inside. So I fiddled a bit and adapted the design to add one. It was actually only a couple more seams and I'm a lot happier with the finished result.

So I think that's enough of a ramble for now. I'll share some more next time.

'til then,

happy stitches,

and compliments of the season,