Skip to main content

Getting ready for Christmas

Christmas is creeping up on us..... and I have made a start on my Christmas present making. By it's very nature I can't share much here, but there's a few things I can show you. I'm also going to update my slideshow with some cards I made for last Christmas and some other photos I found on my camera before I wiped it!

To start with I spent yesterday morning finishing off four cushions: two for James, and two for Jane (guess who's is which!)

Firstly two pirate cushions. Both are the same so here is a picture of back and front. The pirate fabric came from Harrogate and the spotty and stripey fabrics came from the Fat Quarters. The cushions have envelop backs to I don't have to do any slip stitching, and so they are easier to wash (vital for a three-year-old!).





The pink ones are inevitably for Jane. The pattern came from a summer issue of Qutmaker magazine, and I have been collecting up fabrics to make a quilt of the same pattern but in blues and browns (with cream instead of black). The pink fabrics came from Linda, as I only needed a1.5inch strip of each colour, so she got back nearly a full fat quarter. The black is a tied dyed effect and came from the Fat Quarters. I have quilted both cushion covers - my first attempt at machine quilting - using an orange peel motif. I am thilled with the result - I hope Jane is too.

After the first failed attempt at making a mobile phone case for Vicky (the phone was just a bit too big - the case was fine - it was the phone's fault) i have now comleted a replacement (on the left).

The one on the right is a joint birthday present - it is a phone sock for Aunty Barbara (Aunty Barbara's birthday present) which will stop her using an actual sock to protect her phone (birthday present for Benjamin who seems to be a bit embarrased!). The one for Vicky is exactly the same as the original, but a little bigger. For Aunty Barbara's I used some fabric I got at Harrogate - I bought two fat quarters, one with a small print pattern and a matching one with a larger print. I used the smaller print pattern for the back of the case and the beinding round the top, then cut out a single motif from the large print pattern and appliqued it to the front.

Having already mentioned that it was recently Aunty Barbara's birthday, there was of course also a card: this stargazer lily design came from Cross Stitch Collection over the summer. I've already stitched a slightly smaller design from the same collection and I bought the fabric (turquoise 22hpi linen) in hope of stitching the main, larger design.

Will keep you updated as and when I make something that I am able to share this side of Christmas.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

365 Quilt Challenge 2016 [A finish]

I can't believe I've just typed that heading! When I made the block for January 1st 2016 I could not have imagined the journey this quilt would have taken me on. So make yourselves comfortable and grab a cup of tea, because this blog post may get lengthy! I'd seen the 365 Quilt Challenge on Facebook. I think every quilter on Facebook must have been aware of it. Loads of my friends had signed up and it kept popping up as a "Page you might like" thing. In the end, in November 2015, I joined the group, had a poke round. Decided it wasn't for me. One of the things that really put me off were the fabric requirements: you needed x amount of dark dark fabric, x amount of medium dark fabric, x amount of dark medium, medium, light medium, light, background.... I just couldn't get my head round those requirements. I'd looked at the mock ups on the wesbite and couldn't bring myself to pick a colour. I put it to the back of my mind. But I had obvious

Hidden Agenda [A Finish]

This is very possibly my favourite ever finish - I know I've said that in the past, but this one is going to be hard to beat. This time last year, I attended a day long lecture/workshop with Tula Pink and it was inspiring. Having not really loved her fabrics in the past (but loved her patterns), I suddenly saw them in a new light, linked with my 2018 new year's resolution to try more fussy cutting). Fast forward 8 months and I confess that my Tula stash has expanded quite a lot. I found some UK shops with older ranges of fabric, splurged on a few destashes and found the odd piece of her fabric already in my stash. The plan was always (and remains) to make a Smitten quilt, but I'm well aware that I have plenty of fabric to make other projects as well! So when I saw the Hidden Agenda quilt pattern by Angela Pingle, this fabric sprung instantly to mind.... and we all know I love a rainbow! And what could be better than rainbowfied Tula? I was ably assisted by my friend Ti

February Embroidery Along [A Finish]

I've really been enjoying my embroidery this year, after not doing very much last year. One of the challenges I set myself at the start of the year was to learn to colour tint my fabric before adding the embroidery - I love buying the pre-printed panels, but I'd like to do this myself as well. And the opportunity to learn this arose in February. Meg Hawkey of Crab Apple Hill Studio hosted a stitchalong to celebrate National Embroidery Month, and the first step was colour your fabric. I bought the pencils she advises,  the blending stumps, something called fabric extender and the pigma pen. And I gave it a go. My first attempt ended badly. Because the one thing I didn't buy was a new, clean paintbrush. So when I came to add the fabric extended, it went all bleary and muddy as, despite cleaning the paintbrush thoroughly, it obviously wasn't clean enough. It was unsalvageable so I started again, and I was so much happier with the results. The practice piece was, in

Labels

Show more