Last year I thought about making advent calendars for my niece and nephew. But my niece was only 9-10 months old and I left it far too late... isn't that always the case - I always forget that you need advent calendars a month earlier than all the other Christmassy stuff.
But this year I remembered! And one of those advent calendars is now finished (the second is a little way behind).
The design is based on a pattern in issue 13 of Love Patchwork and Quilting but I made a few changes... I made the whole thing bigger so I could fit on the kids' names (to prevent arguments, perhaps not this year, but definitely in the future);
I quilted the background with a fairly wide cross hatch just to give it some more body when I fill the pockets with goodies and prevent the front sagging too much, and that meant that I bound it rather than bagged it;
I embroidered the numbers because I don't own stamps and also embroidered the top of each pocket but attached them to the background by machine (the opposite to the pattern); and I made the pockets by cutting a piece of fabric double the size, stitching all round RST, and turning through. And I didn't have a pocket for 25th December - you get enough presents that day without chocolate!
But I did add the pom pom trim to the bottom - I've never used it before but it is perfect. And I loved the chunky buttons in the corners.
This was quite a bitty project with lots of hand work. I need to keep momentum going to get Ellie-Jo's finished, and I'm sure I'll be making one for Mia in the future.... for now, this is another tick off my Finish Along list!
But this year I remembered! And one of those advent calendars is now finished (the second is a little way behind).
The design is based on a pattern in issue 13 of Love Patchwork and Quilting but I made a few changes... I made the whole thing bigger so I could fit on the kids' names (to prevent arguments, perhaps not this year, but definitely in the future);
I quilted the background with a fairly wide cross hatch just to give it some more body when I fill the pockets with goodies and prevent the front sagging too much, and that meant that I bound it rather than bagged it;
I embroidered the numbers because I don't own stamps and also embroidered the top of each pocket but attached them to the background by machine (the opposite to the pattern); and I made the pockets by cutting a piece of fabric double the size, stitching all round RST, and turning through. And I didn't have a pocket for 25th December - you get enough presents that day without chocolate!
But I did add the pom pom trim to the bottom - I've never used it before but it is perfect. And I loved the chunky buttons in the corners.
This was quite a bitty project with lots of hand work. I need to keep momentum going to get Ellie-Jo's finished, and I'm sure I'll be making one for Mia in the future.... for now, this is another tick off my Finish Along list!
Comments
And I'm impressed with all your sewing time. My three kids do not let me sew nearly as often as I'd like (and one's in school all day!).