I plan to use them as gifts for some of my pen pal friends and as ornaments on my own tree that features handmade decorations.
Cheers! 'Til next time...
Greetings Blog Friends,
As crafters, we all have had things that we designed, made, then realized our vision did not translate well to the finished product...aka FAIL. Well, my Christmas bench pillow project from last year was one of those! Here's a picture of that:
I'm happy to report that my bench pillow is now properly and appropriately clothed. I basically remade the entire cover. I pulled all fabrics from my stash, removed the house doily from the old cover, appliqued it to the new background fabric, did some minimal quilting to keep the layers in place, and voilá, the new finished product!
Another fun hand sewing project to share for next time. 'Til then...
Greetings Blog Friends,
Another season is upon us and I've been busy in "Mask" production once again. This time, an array of festive and holiday motifs are gracing the faces of family and friends.
Cats, dogs, ornaments, snowflakes, holly and even Santa are on display this month:
Greetings Blog Friends,
I want to share some of the hand sewing I've been working on the past few months (actually since June). These are the four felt Christmas stockings that I have completed:
Lodge Santa. This one will be an extra gift for grandson Conner this year. He will be 18 and is still using the stocking I made and gave to him when he was a baby! He is an avid fisherman, so this one is a perfect fit! This was Conner's old one:
I have been making and gifting these Bucilla felt stockings for over 40 years. My daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, parents, close friends, husband and myself all have at least one, some of us are on our second one! Each new member of my family or circle gets one (as well as Betty the cat, Dino Sinclair, the traveling Dinosaur and Morty our resident sock monkey). No one is left out!
These, along with the quilts that I make, are going to be the legacy that I leave behind. There will come a time when the grandchildren will get married and have children of their own. I have started to produce and will stockpile these stockings to insure that the tradition and legacy they represents continues long after I can no longer make them. I will continue to make them all year round and will share a bit of Christmas with you throughout the year.
More hand-made goodness next post!
Greetings Blog Friends,
A few nights ago, Denis and I took a drive to the shore of Lake Michigan to the city of Manitowoc, to take in the sights of Evergleams on Eighth. It was a clear day and a mild evening (about 40 degrees), perfect for a walk on downtown streets. On display in storefront windows, we found many examples of Evergleam aluminum Christmas trees. These trees were made in Manitowoc in the 1950s and 1960s. Our favorite was one decorated with vintage ornaments. Some of the store windows were beautifully decorated, too.
Merry Christmas!
Greeting Blog Friends,
Here is the Christmas installment of my Seasonal Kitchen Towel series.
This is based on a June Tailor, Inc. project, which includes a pre-printed batting piece as the patterns. I took a copy of the original batting pattern, and am now making towels from my own fabric stash. I plan to make towels for all seasons/holidays. This was a fun, easy-to-make seasonal item that adds some whimsy to my kitchen/dining room décor.
The Bucilla felt stocking class of 2020 is in the queue for next time. 'Til then...
Greetings Blog Friends,
Today I would like to share a quilt finish a year in the making. I first made this quilt top in late December last year in 2019. By the time I finished the top, Christmas was over and I was already in prep mode for our trip to Florida at the end of January. So, this lovely quilt top wound up in the hanging file (closet) and patiently waited its turn to see the light of day again. I'm happy to say that it is now finished and will be in use in my own living room this Christmas season.
NOTE: I wanted to take this photograph outside on
a sunny day and is taken off our
backyard deck. Because the sun is so low
in the sky now, the colors have a warm late afternoon hue and a limb of our backyard tree created the shadow you see.
This quilt is based on a pattern I have used before...Switchback by Purple Pineapple Studio. I love it as a scrappy layout. The original pattern featured only four vertical columns; I added a fifth to make it a little wider. This quilt is made from stash fabrics in a variety of flannels that I have had for years and from leftovers from recent quilts. It’s name is based on some of the flannel prints. They evoke a strong sense of nostalgia and of “home”:
These photos give you and idea of the true colors in the prints.
