Happy New Year!

Thank you for following, reading, and leaving comments on my blog - I appreciate you.

May 2014 be a creative year for everyone.  

We had some mild weather for a few days over Christmas and some fresh snow but it has turned frigidly cold again.

I finished the mistletoe  just in time for the New Year!

melting moments .....

I found this log cabin Santa pattern before Christmas and had to try it out.  You'll find the tutorial here.  The block makes 2 Santas and I made mine smaller than the pattern called for.

Christmas was a quiet one for us this year since our family is scattered far and wide.  However, we still had a Tourtière

 for dinner on the 24th and turkey on Christmas Day; and, of course  Christmas Crackers to pull.   Shortbread and fruitcake are always on hand during the season.  Here is a really easy faux shortbread recipe that I often make year round:

MELTING MOMENTS

2 cups flour

1 cup butter (or margarine)

4 tablespoons icing sugar

Mix well and roll into balls.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet

and flatten with a fork dipped in flour - I used a glass with a design on the bottom for these ones.

Garnish with a nut or cherry if you like.  Bake in a 350 F oven for about 15 minutes.

The edges should be a bit brown but the tops still white.

In our neck of the woods December has been unusually cold and extremely windy but with little snow.  Some days it was even too cold for Little Dog to have a run. But I am pleased to report that it warmed up considerably for Christmas and there was some fresh snow ... here's Little Dog helping move snow.

Before Christmas I did some sewing for myself.  In the fall I'd made a note to self that I needed to make some shorts for this coming summer and so I did.  Using the serger they sewed up really fast and that makes me wonder why I was avoiding making them.

I came across this scarflet at a link party  - I love it and the instructions were excellent. 

 

I couldn't resist making a prim heart from red ticking ....

and the little owl turned out smaller than I expected but he's a nice addition to the wee tree.

 

Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

a gift and some finishes

I'm enjoying stitching 'minis' and for some of them I prefer 

monotone.  While I was stitching this one I knew

exactly how I wanted to finish it but in the process decided

on another idea .... not sure if the end result was

Plan B or C but definitely not Plan A!

For this one I used a design from here.

This beauty was a gift from Valma.  I love it -
thank you so very much! 

show and tell and some freebies

May I introduce you to Pete the Bear.....

He is soft, cuddly and baby proof.    I met him over here. 

Here's another dainty x-stitch  - this time from Luli.  Be sure
to have a look at how she finished hers - that girl
is some creative!

This is my favourite Christmas quote.  I stitched it
on a piece of drop cloth and left the edges raw - they should
fray nicely with time.  It was a freebie. 

I really like the Scandinavian/Nordic Christmas designs so I  stitched a red snowflake  on some white twill for my version.

I made this candle mat for a gift.  The redwork
stitchery is from Val Laird; the wee piece of
fabric is what I used for the backing. 

This is the handmade card my kid sister sent me for my birthday
 - I love it!

 Claire offered some cute 'Tis the Season' designs and this
is one of them.  I stitched it on perforated paper and backed it with white felt.

 

There's a party going on here.

Zakka-style ....

I made this to use as a coin purse but I can see myriad uses 

for it so I'll  likely be making a few more.

  There's an excellent tutorial here.

 Some hexie and wonky tree mug rugs...

Christmas cards

I made a few cards for Christmas. Most of these are going to
family members with whom we don't exchange gifts.  Other
years I've made a stitched ornament to tuck into their
 cards but thought I they might like a change this year.
Perhaps I should stick with ornies.  
I couldn't resist showing off the hedgehog ornie - he is so cute!

This fella was late for the photo shoot ... he's one of 
Lynn Brown's designs. 

 

another finish ....

As soon as I saw this chart I knew I had

to stitch it .... I was not disappointed.

It's quite dainty and stitched up rather quickly.

You'll find the chart here.

 

WIP, UFO or vintage ......

Years ago I always used to sign and date my x-stitch pieces but learned that dating them wasn't always such a good idea.  I stitched this one way back in 1990 - that's  .... well, you can do the math!  It was a kit that I received as a gift and I had no idea how I wanted to finish it so I rolled it up in tissue and set it aside.  After a few long distance moves I've been sorting and downsizing my 'junque' and in doing so I came across it - no longer rolled but totally flattened and badly creased  ..... at least now I know what I did with it.  I decided to make it into a cushion cover and with the assistance of my colour coordinator (the man of the house)  we auditioned several fabrics and this is what we came up with.  We were both pleased with how it turned out.

 As I mentioned the stitched piece was badly creased so I used a wee bit of persuasion and look what happened .....  Yep, the red in 'Greetings' ran - curious that only the thread in that one spot ran.  Well, it is what it is.

 I made an envelope opening, my favourite, for the back from sheeting and stitched the edges of the opening with a stitch that looks like snowflakes, which is hard to see in the photo.

 I'm not sure if this still qualifies as a WIP, UFO or

 is it already 'vintage'?

sewing and crocheting for baby ....

Sewing and crocheting for babies today is much more fun
 than it was when my children were babies and that's a good thing.

Here's what I've been having fun with ....

 You're right, these are for that new little fellow 
arriving soon.

You'll find the bib patterns here and here.

Be sure to check out Blogathon Canada going on here. 
It's on all week and there are lots of bloggers to meet
 along with some great giveaways. 
I'm also linking up here.

 

Christmas sewing and stitching

Christmas is my favourite time of the year - I love everything about it!  Here are a few of my new projects .......

 The 'cookie plate crumb catcher' was a design 

offered by the craftyquilter.com.

Check out her variations of this design - quite lovely!

Making this I learned that I'm still not very good at

making the star block.  This was the first time I'd ever

applied binding to an octagonal shape and it was a breeze - whew!

There were no cookies in our home so a wee plate of

brownies had to suffice.

 Santa is one of a whole series of snow globes from here. 
I'm currently working on the winter one.

Something different for my Merry Christmas redwork.

My Victorian cone. 

WIP is finished!

This shawl has been my WIP for a couple of months and it's finally finished!  I didn't like the border that the pattern called for so I changed it.

I Remember .....

I remember

having fun ....

We received a couple of inches of snow yesterday and with the temperature on the mild side it's made for very icy conditions but it looks pretty.  I had some fun in the 'sewing' room today and I just had to show off share .......

 The large angel is made from a piece of drop cloth and back stitched .   The small angel (see the red ribbon) is made from a paper clip, ribbon, and a bead - I know, not a very good photo of her.  The upper nativity is from round clothes pins and the bottom (left) one is made from chunks of wood.

  I now have an owl pincushion to add to my collection - he was fun to make!

 

I crocheted this guy the other evening but put him all together today - I love him.  I must admit that I wondered about all the fuss over owls but I totally understand now.

some finishes ....

Remember these 3D pinwheel blocks?  I did actually finish them and the photo shows front and back.  For the backs I used two blocks that I'd made ages ago. 

 Hmm, does this mean I made reversible mugs mats?

 I finished Lavender Girl as a birthday card for a friend.

An angel for the Christmas basket.

This was one of the lily of the valley that I stitched this summer whilst at the cabin.  It became a lavender sachet to tuck into an  elderly friend's Christmas card.
 By the way I'm linking up here.