Reflections

The past years have been another of a series of busy times in our lives.  As Christmas gets closer and closer,  I realize how my goals for a handmade Christmas have once again fallen short.

We've been blessed with graduations, marriages, life decisions and personal issues that have turned into positive events.  May God Bless you this Christmas and every Christmas!

Now.... let's get the Christmas Party Started !

Shouting out to all of our authors of the "A Year of Christmas!" blog to help get this active again.  I miss the days when we used to chat and sew and chat and sew.....

Lets warm up the sewing machines with a cute, quick and simple scarf great for gift giving and keeping the chill winds away !

The scarf consists of two t-shirts cut from hem, over and including the shoulder seam to the other hem.   I cut my scarf about 8-10 wide.

Leaving the edges raw, sew the two pieces together on all four sides.  

Now the cut outs..... I used a leaf appliqué pattern.  Trace it onto a water soluble stabilizer and pin to the scarf.   Sew on the lines using the stitch or your choice.   Tear away as much as the stabilizer as possible and spray or blot with a damp cloth to remove any stray stabilizer caught in the threads.   Using appliqué scissors, cut away between the lines as much as you would like to reveal the back layer of the scarf.

And now the fringe.   Cut one inch strips 12-16 inches long.  Pull on each to cause it to curl.  Cut small holes in the scarf just above the stitching line on each end of the scarf.   Loop the fringe strips through and knot as desired.

WALA !  a quick , easy scarf !  This project takes about 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on your skill level and the difficulty of your cut away appliqué design.

Until next time..... keep warm !

Hung by the Chimney with care....

Christmas stockings.  I've always felt that Christmas stockings are  very personal .  The little do-dads, candies, fruits, and gifts are just for the owner of the stocking and as a child I wanted to keep them a secret, my secret.   When our family moved into this farmhouse I decided it was time for me to make stockings for the 5 of us.  Every person needs their very own stocking.






My youngest son was only 4 when we moved here and he just loved the snow!

Son #2 had recieved his Christmas gift early.  At 7 years old he got a chubby little lab pup.  The old gal is still with us today.  She is 12 and he is 19 and a freshman in college now.

The first born son loved trains!  It was so perfect that the farmhouse is just a few hundred yards from the train track !  His stocking is an adorable Santa waving from a train.









Darling Husband is quite the hunter !  For many years he has filled our freezer during deer season!  His stocking is a woodland scene with his favorite animal.

First born is now 22 years old and engaged to be married !  They have been dating for nearly 4 years and a couple years ago he asked me to make his intended a stocking.  I love this stocking, it so represents young love 





 

My stocking is all about Christmas and family.  The star at the top of the tree guides us to Christs birthday, the tree is the growth of Faith and Family, the hearts on the tree represents my husband, myself and our three sons, the cow print background..... well... that's totally me.  I love cows !!

Christmas stockings are not difficult to make or embellish.  Here are a few ideas to get started on your own .

In My Own Style ... free printable pattern

Martha's Wool stockings

Better Homes and Gardens..... one of my faves .

Feel free to comment and add more links to your favorites stocking finds !

Merry Christmas!
May God Bless you and your loved ones on this holiest of Eves !

Counting the HOURS! Whoopie !!!

Whoopie Pies !!!

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania where there is wonderful Amish community. My fondest memories of visiting my friends Mary and Noah were the Whoopie Pies !   Sitting at their table sharing giggles with their children is something I'll never forget.

Make your own memories with this wonderful collection of Whoopie Pie recipes !

Raspberry Creme

Peppermint

Pumpkin

Red Velvet

Dark Chocolate

Basic Whoopie Pie

Blueberry Lemon

So this is what happens

Every year in the Christmas season I wondered why didn't I start sooner on Christmas presents, next year will be different. I think we all thought with this blog to keep us going we'd have a closet full of presents already. I don't but I'm sure somebody out there does.
So what happened to my plans? I always find I can sew and craft like crazy right after Christmas and the month of January because I'm still in the Christmas spirit. We forget that after Christmas we have birthday presents, Valentine stuff, Easter or spring outfits and working on Christmas presents falls to the back burner or gets turned all the way off.
Each month I think I can make something to put on the blog and than the month has passed and it's whoops that didn't happen. I haven't even had time to get on Sewing Mama's lately. We have 6 months till Christmas and I will try to at least make something each month. (hopefully) !! What about you? How is your Christmas closet?

Late March Doings.

 

 

Thanks for looking!
Kristi

March Link List - Warmth in the Kitchen

Free Sewing Patterns for Kitchen Items
More Free Kitchen Patterns
Craft & Fabric Links: Kitchen Patterns
More free kitchen patterns (scroll down to kitchen to find the list)


I'm sorry I didn't break it down better, but there are plenty of wonderful free patterns here. If you have any to add, please feel free to reply with a comment and a link, and I'll add it asap!

Kristi

Rag quilt

This month was comfort and joy so I'm barely squeaking this post in before March. A couple years ago I took apart a blue jean quilt I made for my oldest daughter (but never finished) and made it into a rag quilt. A quilt I had for over ten weeks was finally done in a week. Anyway while trying to clean my sewing mess I came across about 8-10 leftover squares, so of course if I used them in a project they'd no longer be in my mess. Two weeks later I finished this blue jean rag quilt. Well it's all finished except for the cutting to rag it, but hey it's all sewed together. Now the question is: Do I give it away for Christmas or will it find it's way to the back of the couch?

February's Link List: Comfort and Joy

Pillow Cases
The Snuglet (Snuggie)
Blankets and Throws
Bedroom Projects (shams, duvets, etc.)
Gloves and Mittens
Pillows

Snowman ornaments

These snowman ornaments were made for my children out of an old quilt. I traced the snowman from an ornament I received in a swap and used the backing side of the quilt. I added their initials and than grunged the ornaments up.


I bought theses skeleton keys a couple years ago to make each daughter an ornament, a heart still needs to be added with a quote or a message and they'll be done.

I still have the stockings to finish and advent calender to start. This is the first year I've finished up some of my Christmas projects in January. Thanks Sewing Mamas for the push.

Christmas Tree Skirt finally done

I had a hard time deciding on a pattern I wanted to use for my Christmas tree skirt and after going back and forth--I went with a rag Christmas tree skirt. I took a pattern I had and made the piece twice as big,I used different material for each side. One side looks a little more classy and the raggedy side has a nice country feel to it.

Now I need to finish up my snowman ornaments and two Christmas stockings.

Scrappy Goodies

Just a few things that I made from the scraps and leftovers of my stockings and tree skirt. It's awesome when I can figure out what to do with all my scraps!

Stockings - CHECK!

As promised, I have finished my stockings which match the green variation of my previously finished tree skirt from my earlier "Finally Done" post. These are for my family and will be hung and filled next Christmas.

These stockings were based on Moda Bakeshop's His and Her Scrappy Christmas Stockings.

I embroidered them using my Brother LB6770PRW sewing/embroidery machine.

 and I used fabrics purchased from Joann's after Christmas sale (60-70% off) fabrics.

I love how they turned out!

Merry January!

Table runner. Napkins. Gift Bags. DONE!

I finished these on Saturday. The table runner is 65" x 16", exactly fitting between the placemats on my table when it's set for 8 or 10.

I'll spare you my quilting, it's not that great, fortunately, there will me lots of plates on top of it for Christmas dinner! However, I'm relatively pleased with the piecing I did. I did strips with sashing, so if my corner points weren't perfect, it wouldn't be obvious.

Last, some napkins for our table, a set of 4 cocktail size for the gift stash, and a couple little gift bags. I have no scraps left of the cream! I did save the leftovers of the burgandy/gold, as I think I may do a couple pot holders or something later this year.

Finally done!

I'm finally finished! Take a look!

 

 

2 tree skirts down, 4 stockings to go!

Merry January!

Table runners for a non-quilter!

The procrastinating is over, the fabric is here, and I see an hour or so of free time tomorrow.

This is the fabric, 2 cottons with a bit of gold for the runner, and the not-quite-matching-but-was-boxing-day-sale-priced-flannel for napkins.

By posting this, I hope someone might leave a comment with a really simple idea, and that I'll be accountable to actually finish this this weekend!

What are you crossing off your list this weekend?

Tree Skirts and Table Runners Love

One of our own Sewing Mamas, Isabel, recently shared a few quilting projects on the Sewing Mamas Discussion Boards, and we felt it was just too lovely not to share it here on the YOC blog. Take a gander at her gorgeous work:

Tree Skirt

Table Runners

Way to go getting so much done this month already, Isabel!

Merry January everyone!

Working like an elf...a slow elf

So far I've got my two tree skirts sandwiched and most of the way quilted. I'm not enjoying stitch-in-the-ditch at all, but that's beside the point. X-Box was my constant companion all day yesterday, and it looks like she's going to stick it out and grace me with her presence today too. I don't think I'll finish these today, but I wanted to update you with my progress. Can't wait to see yours!

Owl ornament

Here is my first effort at a Christmas ornament. This is one of the owl ornaments  from the links listed below. I've learned a few things with this simple project, including what satin stitching is, and what yo-yos are. (The whites of the eyes) My daughter enjoyed picking the fabrics out for this one and another I'm currently making.