Christmas is really near, isn’t it! Oh my, I should be putting the finishing touches on gifts, but instead I’m up in the wee hours sewing little mittens.
It seems as time goes by my Christmases keep getting pinker and frillier. Oh well.
Wishing you a merry little Christmas!
Wow. December is really flying by! It really makes me feel grown-up to say that, because as a kid it took forever to finally light all those advent candles and make it to Christmas Day.
Last weekend I had a nice trip to see The Nutcracker, go to the German Christmas market, and get a little frozen! But now I’m back in my warm cozy home, working away on Christmas projects.
Such as sending out Christmas cards
Trimming the tree
And having lots of sweets!
I thought I’d share a few Christmas projects that I’ve enjoyed making. Two are actually from last year and one from this year (so far).
First off, a ruffled tree skirt. Last year was my first year having a real full-sized tree in my own home. Up till then I’d only had my tabletop “apartment tree.” So I wanted to commemorate the occasion with a new skirt that really matched my style. I had seen quite a few tutorials on making a ruffled skirt and decided to give it a go. As usual, I blended ideas from different sets of instructions and came up with what worked for me.
My skirt is actually not sewn at all. I didn’t sew much at all last year and therefore didn’t think my machine (or I) could handle all those ruffles, so I took the glue gun approach. Normally I always opt for a more lasting (i.e. tedious) approach, but I would really recommend the glue gun over trying to sew something of this scope. Sure, it eats up a lot of glue sticks, and you should take breaks, but it’s a satisfying and low-stress project– I watched Miracle on 34th Street while I ruffled away.
Advent Calendar!
I love advent calendars, and have fond memories of them from when I was a kid. I was inspired by this lovely tutorial, but after searching for a long time for a wooden house style, I eventually gave up and bought a brown paper craft advent calendar from the craft store. I painted it white, covered the drawers with fabric paper and made little hang tags with my number rubber stamps. Inside are little chocolates and typed messages of Christmas activities.
I’m quite tempted to try a cross-stitch advent calendar, as I just found I nice pattern in my new Japanese sweets cross-stitch book. So there might be a new calendar next year…
Lastly, fabric trees. These are a pretty common Christmas sewing project, but my first time making them. I liked being able to use some of my Rachel Ashwell fabric in a new way. I’m working on some pink trees now.
I got the pattern from this Japanese site, but there are several tutorials and variations out there.
We had quite a snowstorm yesterday, so I’m cuddled under a quilt with some cocoa, nursing a bit of a cold. Hope to get my shopping done soon, but I may have to do it from my sofa!
A month or two ago, I was browsing a local thrift shop when a Christmas cross-stitch kit happened to catch my eye. I recognized it immediately as one my mom had made many years ago. And although the package was tattered, it had never been opened. So I decided to purchase it and make a matching one for my home.
I spent a few nights stitching away in front of Christmas movies, and was happy that the sampler was a swift and stress-free project. After I finished, I showed the kit to my mom, and she remarked that mine came with a red frame, whereas hers was in a green frame. But neither of us realized that the patterns were actually slightly different until she brought hers out of storage for us to compare.
I think they are definitely from the same era, series, or manufacturer, and I like that they are not identical but still linked. You see, my mom lost interest in sewing before I was born, so we never did any projects together, but now it sort of feels like we have!
I’ve also been sewing lots of Christmas bows.
And packaging up ornaments and candies for little Christmastime gifts.
We got our first real snow yesterday. Time to bundle up, stay cozy, and keep stitching!
Sweet dreams!
swan laine 