Merry Christmas to Us: A Snowy Quilt Finish

My shopping is all done and the packages are all mailed.

The decor is finally all up.

I found a new flocked tree that, sadly, isn't as fluffy
and full but it's thinner size allows me to put it in new
place--and less mess is not a bad thing either.
We're growing on each other.

I even have our new winter quilt finished

and on our bed to enjoy not just for the holidays

but for the next couple months!

Loooooving it.
And during the day it really brightens up our room.
A lot like when there's snow outside--that snow-glow.
Still waiting on that.  <sigh>

I can't seem to find any solid black pillows to offset that
plaid one--right now everything seems to be Christmas
or buffalo plaid, or both.  If you're thinking that I should
make my own, sure, but I'd much rather work on a quilt.

Some day when the weather is just right and hubs is home
to help, I want to get a full pic outside but it is a white quilt
so conditions will need to be perfect.  Of course,
having been made just so to fit on our bed, that probably is
where the best view of it is to be had.  Off the bed,
it looks a little unusual.

SO,
I have two solid weeks to sit back and enjoy the rest of

Advent, preparing in all the right ways for Christmas.

Some spiritual reading, extra prayer and a lot of thinking--
likely while I'm working on something.

My next project?

I'm feeling a pull to do some knitting--maybe
after the holidays?--but I have already started on
a coffee-themed quilt for a special friend who will be
going through a rough major surgery just before

Christmas.  Above are the outer corner blocks and below
I've added in the center blocks but these will all be
farther apart once I fill in with the rest.  I'm constantly
laying this out as I sew to keep the coffee cups
all facing upright.  No one wants spilled coffee.

I'm a little hesitant about how this

one will turn out with the fabrics I've chosen.

Typically I would have chosen something "prettier"
for what I think are her tastes but since we have
coffee together, I went this route.  Any thoughts on
these colors?  They seem a little manly but the cups
are delicate and there are flowers in the fabrics.
(I could just as easily start another and gift this to
my husband's grandma...but I'm not sure the love
of coffee is there.)
Today I'll be working on the chain blocks.
As quickly as this is going together, I hope 
to have another progress pic tomorrow.
The pattern will begin to make more sense then.

One more note definitely worth mentioning:
Our cadet won his first college pole vault competition!

Happy holiday quilting!