Pickledish, Baked Goodies and Embroidery Not Necessarily in that Order

I'm knee deep in Christmas Cheer at chez swing kitten and I hope you all are too! I baked these chocolate gingerbread cookie bars from Martha Stewart and they are divine. Seriously, could be my new favorite Christmas/Holiday treat! However, I just took the Eggnog Cheesecake Squares out of the oven and time will tell if they run a close second! I only wish I had this kind of baking time all year long!

Now that these gifts are safely at their destinations, and one recipient has already opened hers, I can post them here. These may be my most favorite gifts I made this year. I embroidered the designs, taken from a Rainbow of Stitches, on white linen, backed them in cottons I had in the stash, and then stuffed with equal parts fiberfill and lavender. I added the recipient's monograms and I dare say, the monograms add that certain "je ne sais quois". I know I'll be making more of these in the future!

Yay pickledish! I spent the past few days cutting out wedges and I think I actually may have enough now to start piecing the arches! I was originally going to make the 80 by 80 but I'm afraid I may not have it in me to make a quilt top that large! So, I think I'm shooting for the 60 by 60, and then I'll add a border.

I guess you could say I'm going for scrappy pickledish of sorts. I generally chose fabrics in 5 colors: pinks/reds, blues, greens, and grays. We'll see how it turns out! While I did buy some new fabrics, I also chose some fabrics I already had in my stash. Tomorrow I may start piecing the arches. Hooray!

I hope everyone is almost done with holiday prepping and is taking some time to enjoy family and friends now....with some sweet treats too! Happy Holidays to all!