It's a Long Winter Weekend Before Christmas...

My office is closed on both Monday and Tuesday, so we have a lovely, long 3-day weekend to prepare for Christmas. For that I am truly grateful! The shopping's done (except for one easy item I'll get today), but there are many other things to do before Christmas Day. It's like having a mini-vacation to prepare.

Unfortunately I awoke with a headache that hasn't quit after taking Tylenol Arthritis Pain formula a few hours ago (yep, got that too), so I think it may be tiime to try something else. But enough about that...

I received a cute little Chritmas present from a co-worker yesterday, a little dog cell phone charm:


I had given her a pair of fingerless mitts last month, and she surprised me with this yesterday. Right now he's attached to my purse, because we couldn't figure out how to attach him to the phone. I asked her how she did it, and she said she uses very strong nylon thread, like that used for fishing line. There are books with pattern instructions, similar to knitting books, which contain patterns for all sorts of animals and other little charms.

Right now I am finishing up the homespun shawl (on the last skein!) and I also started a project for me - another purse. Since today officially starts the first day of winter, I decided that the other bag I made has too much of a fall color theme. This one will be made in Lion Suede's Seacrest colorway, tones of dark blues and gray.
I have the fabric for lining it already, and I also want to make a couple of fabric project bags, too. Might as well make it worth it to haul out the sewing machine for several things instead of just one! :)