Life is better with a sister

A while back, I had an evening to myself and decided to watch a few of the Quilting Arts TV shows that I have on DVD.  In one episode (#202-4, to be exact) Pokey Bolton demonstrated a fast and adorable project that just looked like it'd be so much fun.   She strip pieced a background, fused a photo-transfer image of a pet (manipulated in Photoshop to make it look colorful and sort of funky) and quilted it all up into one charming little quilt.  I was so taken by the project that I got to work the next day -- I was in the mood to do something fun and fabric-y and for no reason other than I was in the mood to play.  I pulled up a photo of my sister Laura's sweet german short-haired pointer Katie (taken on a morning walk), assembled some of the pink scraps leftover from the 12x12 "pink" challenge, and I was on my way.  I really had fun machine stitching Katie's fur.  You can find the project instructions on the Quilting Arts website, here. 

Today, Laura came over so we could bake our family's "must-have" Christmas cookies together.  What a great time we had -- we made tons of cookies, for us and for our parents, we had holiday music playing in the background, and we chattered away.  The rolling and cutting and pressing and sprinkling went so much faster doing it together ... and now we are well-stocked with cookies and fudge for holiday desserts. 

At the end of our baking (and tasting) session, I couldn't wait and gave Laura this Christmas present a few days early.  She pretty much squealed with delight and made me very happy.  It's great when something you've made is truly appreciated, isn't it?

What a fun day, and how lucky I am to have my sister close by to bake cookies with!