Christmas Already?

Despite getting ready to enjoy the May long weekend, the official start to our summer, I've also been at work on a little Christmas project that's been lingering in the bins.

Several years ago now, Jane wondered if I would like five Christmas stocking panels which had been sitting in her stash to make up for the Holly Bazaar. Not wanting them to go to waste, I said 'yes' and so instead of sitting on her shelves they have since spent more time sitting in mine. 

There are four different patterns centred on a birdhouse theme with only one duplicate in the bunch.

While digging for something else (as usual) I pulled them out a few weeks ago and asked Roberta to quilt them for me; she used the fun Moulin Rouge panto. She also quilted a panel of fabric large enough for me to cut five stocking backs out of, using the same holly and ribbon fabric front and back. It's a little tough to see the full quilting pattern on the dark green but you get a good sense of it where the batting shows.

I've got them all trimmed up now and will turn my attention to what to bind them with. Maybe the holly, or maybe a wee gingham? Time to play with a few options....M

Three of a Kind

Remember those Christmas stocking panels that Linda gave me from her stash a while back which were on my TO DO list for the Holly Bazaar? Well, they are now finished and ready for the craft table. All three have similar but different designs, each with a cute little birdhouse, hence three of a kind. Thanks again, Linda!

I quilted the fronts with a diamond pattern and found a nice soft gold that worked for the backs, quilting those too.

This creamy holly and berry print worked great for the linings; I think it was called Snow Day, which is just perfect in its own way.

To assemble them I took a page from Betty's book, binding the top edges first and then running a binding around the outside edges. That way it's nice and neat and gets a little extra hit of colour from the binding.

And I was able to use a red and white Debbie Mumm check from my stash to bind them with. It worked beautifully but because of how it was printed I had to cut the binding on the straight of grain. I prefer working with a bias binding, especially when there are curves like this, but it didn't work out too badly in the end.

I like the shape of this stocking so I'm going to trace out the pattern for future stockings. I'm so happy to have them finished and added to the pile for the bazaar because it was starting to feel like I wasn't getting much done. Now, back to the list....M

Baylea's Bonanza

Dori wasn't the only one doing Christmas sewing this year. About a week before the big day Anne saw an idea for a Christmas stocking and just knew that she had to make it. And it's not your regular Christmas stocking. It was for our little four-legged friend Baylea that lives with Betty, so of course it needed to reflect the owner.

Isn't it great? You could almost say it is 'paw'-fect.

No detail was overlooked. She started with a fun holiday fabric...

cross stitched Baylea's name across the cuff and sewed on the dog paw pads...

quilted it with a great little bone pattern, and bound it all in a cheery stripe, all ready to be opened Christmas morning.

Needless to say, it was a big hit, especially since she had stuffed it with lots of little goodies....M

Christmas Stockings For The Pile

Three days to go, so it's almost time to wrap up the stitching and switch over to baking a few things for the Holly Bazaar so I've finished two Christmas stockings (actually, these are stockings two and three - the first one has been given away already).

We've got a stocking pattern that we've been using for years but I wanted to see if I could get one that was a little more elongated with more of a pointy toe so when we were at Jane's cottage a couple of weeks ago Betty kindly drafted a new pattern for me and cut the makings of three stockings.

I put them together using Cluck Cluck Sew's tutorial for a lined stocking with a cuff. It's quite fast and worked well, but I think I'd also like to try the new stocking pattern and bind the edges the way I'm used to doing it and see what that looks like. They are lined with a fun red and green gingham.

Both the front and the back of the stocking are quilted with a diamond grid, which is a little different than the tutorial - she just quilted the front - but I like the body it provided.

So my little pile of goodies is almost finished.

Almost. I know that the little felt decos that I make are popular so Sunday I cut the makings of 12 of them out to see if I could have a few ready as well. They are all prepped and ready to go and 6 are already together.

I've used a different set of snowflake buttons for them than I have in the past - they are much finer - and I like them....M

Chillin'

She really had no intention of starting a new quilt, but a quick stop at Stedman's before we landed at the cottage resulted in a new bag of fabrics and, within an hour of landing, Anne was washing and ironing fabrics so that she could start cutting (notice all of the essentials - ruler, sewing machine, jelly beans and beer...).

No hand sewing for this one - she was off to the races making HST blocks four at a time. She wants a lap quilt for her sun room and this is it, a mix of beautiful blues and aquas with a little green thrown in for good measure.

It's a nice crisp combination, and at the rate that she's going it will be done in no time.

Linda has been working on a few Christmas stockings and brought them to show us.

It's the same pattern for all of them but all are very different, and very beautiful. This one had lovely lace embellishments.

Just love this bird fabric and the swirling quilting pattern; she's just trying to sort out what the binding will be for this one. Yes, it's July, but the big guy will be here again before we know it so it's a good idea to get some of these projects started now....M

And The Stockings Were Hung...

...by the chimney with care.

This post is going to look a little dated, but, given that these stockings were all Christmas gifts for family and friends, I couldn't post them before Christmas without revealing my sister Betty's hand. She's been a very busy elf, deciding last February when we spent the weekend at Jane's cottage that these were her mission in life.

She made these 6 as well as stockings for both Michael and Lili; we delivered those when we visited China in October but she forgot to snap a few pics before they were packed up.

It's the same stocking pattern throughout but each one is a beautiful work of art on its own, cross-stitched, pieced and quilted with much love. Adorned with bells and buttons and fabulous trims, they are a delight to behold. And she doesn't hesitate to give the credit for much of her lovely fabric selections to the delightful art of klepto quilting.

She integrated an orphan block that Jane gave her into the three for the boys and then personalized them from there. Brad is a Lakers basketball fan...

Dustin is big into hockey and loves the Montreal Canadiens...

And Ted is a huge Boston Red Sox fan. He might be 25, but he'll always be her boy, so she incorporated this bear pin that a dollmaker friend crafted when Ted was just a tiny tot.

She pieced together the main block for Leanne's stocking and then worked her magic for the rest of it.

Each one is absolutely gorgeous and, like those that she gifted to The Official Cookie Tester and I several years ago, will become cherished mementos and an important part of Christmas for years to come. Hopefully Santa will be able to take his eyes off of them long enough to remember to fill them with goodies....M

A Little Fabric Therapy

Jane recently had her cottage winterized so she and Betty and I decided it was time for a weekend getaway to do nothing but play with fabric. What a great idea! It's always so interesting to see what everyone is working on and to share fabrics and techniques, lots of great laughs and maybe a glass of wine, or two, and it was really neat to be at the cottage in the winter.

Saturday was so snowy that often we could not see the ice fishing huts that were lined up out on the lake, but it made for a spectacular walk on Sunday morning.














Around this time of year I start getting weary of winter with its cold and snow, but this was magical. Made you happy to be Canadian.

Betty has been working on her Five Dollar Quilt using the blocks she bought at the garage sale this summer and a box of vintage blocks that she inherited from mom. It is going to be a work of art. Surprise, surprise.

Not all of the blocks are the same size so she is adding borders to make everything fit and is doing an amazing job of it. She brought the blocks to show us what she has been doing but spent her time making Christmas stockings and got a good jump on them.

She's been busy cross stitching names and now has the makings for several cut and ready to assemble thanks to Jane giving her the keys to her Christmas fabric stash and letting her go to town.

She also cut lots of different bias bindings for them and tried using the Clover bias tape maker that I got last year to so see if it would go faster.

It worked perfectly.

















She only ironed one side down, which is what she needed, and not only sped through the process but avoided singeing her fingers at the same time. Bonus!

Next time I'll show you what Jane got up to...M

Crazy Eights

I thought it was pretty cool when I figured out how to make 4 HSTs at one time but last week I saw where Lynn from Sew'n Wild Oaks had a method for making eight at a time. What's a girl to do but try it, right? And what do you need to help you make them?

Why, a new Magic Wand, of course! Who doesn't want a magic wand? (I could use one for more than quilting). So I found one on the weekend while I was out doing errands and it followed me home. This one is pretty basic, with the only demarcation being a groove down the centre of it, 1/4" from each edge, but the Omnigrid version wasn't available and I was anxious to try it, so I took it. Actually, I paid for it and then I took it...

I selected two 8-inch squares of fabric and went to town; Lynn's tutorial is very well explained and they came together quite easily. I particularly like the size chart that she provided for cutting.

Of course, I hadn't really thought about what I'd do with them when they were made, and didn't want to get into HST production for a new large project, so I made them into pinwheels for the front panel of a Christmas stocking. There were just enough.

This is the same stocking pattern that I've been using all along, I just modified it slightly, simplifying the design by removing the prairie points and extending the length of the stocking.

I also tried a new quilting pattern for the bottom part and quite like it.

The back of the stocking is a solid panel of fabric, quilted the same as the bottom of the front; the others were totally reversible. It's the same snowflake fabric that I used for the cuff. And I still had red gingham binding left so I finished it off with that.

Wa la! A new Christmas stocking.

I'm having withdrawals from making things for the bazaar and haven't really landed on the next project to get my teeth into other than a bit of hand quilting on Confetti, so this filled the void.

There are still a few journals that I could cover - maybe I should sit down and finish those off and I could put that pile away. Am I the only one that keeps piling piles on piles - what one friend referred to as her piling system? A sorting of my sewing room is long overdue...M

It's a Wrap

There are times when I just don't know enough to put my hands in the air and back away from the sewing machine, and this past week was one of them. With the journal covers in hand I couldn't resist the temptation of trying a Christmas stocking or two. I think I must thrive on the thrill of the deadline.

Anyway, out came the Christmas fabrics and pattern and I was off to the races. I hadn't made these before but it's the same pattern for the stockings that I showed you last year - the ones that my sister Betty had made for the Official Cookie Tester and I a few years back. I have been wanting to try them for years so I figured there was no time like the present.





The green check fabric is the lining - fun!

They are lots of fun and, with so many potential combinations, I can see more of these in my future. And the quilting was fast on them too. I didn't want to go through the hassle of marking them and then removing the stitching lines so I used a little painter's tape.

I loved not having to draw the quilting lines.

For the first one I aligned the tape with the edges of the prairie points using my ruler and then stitched along both sides of it. Then I removed the tape, placed one edge along a quilting line and stitched alongside the other; when all the lines were completed in one direction I did them in the opposite direction to create a grid.

The line of prairie points helps cover the start of the quilting too.

The tape also helped keep the prairie points out of the way of the stitching. One piece of tape did both sides of the stocking and it was much faster than marking and removing the lines.

Love this fabric combo

For the upper section/cuff I marked a few lines because it was quilted in a different pattern. And on this one I went back to the variegated blue/green thread that I've been using for the journal covers.

The second one went together even faster

On the second stocking I tried a different quilting pattern and ecru thread - vertical lines through the sock and diagonal lines on the cuff. To make the diagonal lines closer together I just placed the tape half way between the first two lines and followed from there.

The longest part of putting these together is the hand stitching for the binding, but even that goes together relatively quickly; prep a few of them and it's relaxing hand stitching in the car or in front of the TV. So, a few new additions to add to the the craft table at the bazaar.

Ready for the finishing touches - at 6 a.m.!!!

And, despite my best laid plans, I was burning the midnight oil to finish off a dozen little birds with beads and ribbon (I'm blaming it on having to do a trip to Toronto for 3 days).

Sweet tweets

Regardless, they all got finished and to the church in time and another Holly Bazaar is now in the books...M