Christmas Stitching Box: Pin Cushion, Maid-Of-All-Work, Needle Minder

We've come to the final three boxes in the Christmas stitching box. They're the smallest and all the same size, each holding a little stitchy something that I use regularly.

The pin cushion box holds a bag of "reindeer feed" and a tiny deer I found at Michael's. 

Here are my supplies for the last two boxes. The glass peppermint bead and the mini Scrabble tiles are from Hobby Lobby and the cocoa mug and cookie plate are from Michael's. The magnets should be available at any craft store.

This box holds my "maid-of-all-work", which is what I call this little tool that I find invaluable. I don't think I've ever run across a widely-used, formal name for one of these, so instead of continually referring to it as a "thingy" I decided to call it a maid-of-all-work because it can be used for all kinds of stuff: poking around on unruly stitches to make them prettier, frogging, picking knots, counting stitches or marking centers, laying stitches, etc. It's just a large needle glued into a bead to make it easier to hold.

In the needle minder box, I used a small, flat magnet to hold the minder in place when not in use. Because I use the super strong magnets on the needle minder, I wanted the magnet that holds it in place to be weak enough to easily remove the minder and use it on my project. These flat magnets with adhesive on one side are pretty weak so they work perfectly. I put a dot of hot glue on the adhesive side and stuck it down, just in case the adhesive wasn't strong enough to withstand the pull of the super strong magnets on the minder.

The needle minder box.

So that's all of the little boxes that go inside the configuration book. For the Grand Finale tomorrow, I'll show the completed stitching box in all its glory, including a few ideas for finishing touches. 

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There is probably no more widely shared Christmas food tradition than Christmas cookies. Christmas dinners may vary, but I bet everybody indulges in at least one Christmas cookie at this time of year. I've sometimes wondered how many dozens of cookies are baked during the holidays. Must be a staggering number! This is one of my go-to cookie recipes. It's a basic butter cookie, so they're very tender, but they have a mild mint flavor that's very nice.

Butter Mint Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
green colored sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Gradually add flour and mix well. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place 1" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten cookies with a glass dipped in colored sugar. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: using a tablespoon will yield about 30 cookies; a small cookie scoop about 20)