Well hello there, happy Saturday!

It has been honest-to-goodness true Wisconsin winter this week and I have gotten to put all of my cold weather gear to good use ~ it was fun getting our tree in actual snow this year, and it reminds me that we haven’t had very wintery Decembers the past few years. My outside before-and-after school door duty has been a BRACING bookend to my work days, that’s for sure!

This weekend is our annual girls’ holiday outing and my sister and niece are coming to town to join me and my girls for a holiday play at a local community theater. We started this tradition back when all the girls were little and we used to take them to a Christmas symphony performance and the girls would all dress up and the youngest would sleep through and oh, the memories! Time, SLOW DOWN. Now there is only ONE kid who still qualifies as a kid!

Today’s missive is, as usual, eclectic ~ let’s dive in!

A Family Drama and Some Creative Reads

I decided to read a perfectly seasonal family drama over Thanksgiving break, and I’m glad I prioritized it then since the story takes place on and before a family’s Thanksgiving gathering.

The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill was such a pleasant, hefty surprise, and I just loved that the traditional “home for the holidays” family drama had some decidedly modern and unique twists that kept me reading and guessing. This has a melancholy, but ultimately hopeful, tone, and might be perfect for you if you don’t love lighter fluffy holiday reads and are willing to tackle heavy topics in your fiction.

The rest of my recent reading was one middle grade review title for School Library Journal as well as a LOT of quilt-related reading!

I had so much fun requesting a gazillion quilt books from the public library after attending the events at UW in Madison last month, and I have settled on a few that I am definitely going to be purchasing for my inspiration-library.

My daughter and I loved reading The Quilts of Gee’s Bend and Stitchin’ and Pullin’, both technically written for middle grade readers but perfect for anyone interested in textiles and American folk art history.

The titles I plan to eventually purchase for my collection are The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood and Sunday Morning Quilts and No Scrap Left Behind, both by Amanda Jean Nyberg ~ all titles that celebrate improvisation and making the most of materials already on hand.

Some Random Tidbits

• I have been easing into my holiday cozy reading over the past week or so ~ I am hoping to get some of those, and past favorites, shared with you soon! In the meantime, definitely check out Michelle Martin’s delightful selections as well as the always-fun holiday recommendation collaboration between Nina and her librarian friend!

• I am hosting a cooking baking contest in my library this month ~ students bake at home and bring me cookies to judge (what. a. tough. job.) ~ and the very first entry was SO GOOD. (NYT gift link). I’m definitely making this one myself soon! Students are required to use a recipe from NYT Cooking since the contest is a way for me to promote usage of paid library resources ~ and it’s also a great way to ensure that I add a plethora of great recipes to my virtual Recipe Box!

• Ann Friedman Working Artist’s Prayer is one of my very favorite things ever, and it has earned a permanent place in my Notes app:

  Before we begin, let's recite the working artist's prayer: Grant me the serenity to accept that I do some creative work for money, the courage to make art I don’t sell, and the wisdom to know the difference.

• I found the artist Jen Hewett via a wonderful Culture Study podcast episode and I have been dreaming about creating with her new Reimagined Landscapes line.

• If someone wants to send me on my dream retreat, I’ll take THIS ONE for both me and my daughter please! We’ll even be willing to camp instead of staying in the available lodgings to save you some money ;-)

• Speaking of Sherri Lynn Wood, I signed up for this FREE CLASS (on Zoom) on January 3!

• I’m gifting this to both of my adult kids this Christmas (and also trusting that they still don’t read my newsletter!). I’m SO glad I bought this for myself last January, and I know the youth will make good use of it with their partners and friends.

• I sewed my first half slip last weekend! I am trying hard to make more of my fall / spring clothes work in the winter, and that means wearing the same dresses and skirts over leggings. And that means … static. My old slips don’t fit anymore, so I decided to make a new one, and I also sewed in a lining on a flannel shirt dress. Both turned out slightly messy, but perfectly functional! I bought 8 yards of this lining fabric from Mood Fabrics awhile ago, and I’m loving it.

And that’s all for today, my friends! I hope you have a weekend with enough time for reading and resting, and as many minutes / hours with other humans as you desire ♡