Tried out a new (to me) design

Hello,  everyone.  

The new design is a rose, that was sitting in my hard drive. I don't remember where I got it. I'm getting into Christmas prep mode and wondered if it would be a usable ornament, or be part of gift tuck-in froufrou.

This is a 5 inch charm square--quilting cotton. The heart completely filled the side to side dimension. Also the fabric needs a backing. I could see it as the decoration for a small pouch...on a  6 inch square with some light batting behind for support. It would need a reverse side square if it were the front of a bag.l, or it could be appliquéd onto a larger item like a tote.

I could see this heart on felt, too, actually. (With felt backing or cotton backing) A little big for a Christmas tree ornament but it could be hung from a biggish wreath.

This was a fun little break from chores and used up a charm square. 

New Sewing Club Project

Hello, everyone.  We're in normal summer weather in this region: partly to mostly sunny, and if it doesn't rain, the day's high temperature will be in the 90's F. 

In this weather, what we call "air conditioning season" we enjoy indoor hobbies during the afternoons. Like sewing.

This large quilted bow was our meeting project at Sewing Club. I finished the ladt topstitching and assembly after getting home. This purchased pattern required tons of 4" squares to make the bow pieces. It also involved fusible fleece batting for the support of the "ribbons." 

In the execution,  I discovered that maybe the seams of the piecing should have been pressed open, instead of to the side for nested seams like I did. The seams did nest, but they were very thick. Also there was a lot of bulk in the bow tails; maybe leaving out the fusible there would have been wise. 

Topstitching the edges meant stopping to walk the needle over almost every seam. 

After completion, though, the bow came out pretty. I suppose I could see doing another in a different color assortment. It does clear out stash fabrics.

The second little fabric tree is done

Hello, everyone.  When I posted about the fabric table top tree a few days ago, I mentioned that the pattern makes two trees. The areas between the pieces of the bigger tree provide also three more triangles for a companion tree.

It's about half the size of the first tree.

Decorations are once again sequins, pailettes, and beads from stash. There was a little mother of pearl butterfly which got tacked onto the center panel (the "front") for a bit of an accent.

It's nice to have finished one of the "gonna-do" projects in the sewing room.

A new Christmas craft project

Hello, everyone. As promised, a picture of the latest Christmas craft project.

As you can see from the pattern photo, this makes two fabric trees. The first is done enough to stand on the table. It lacks a seam or closure on the third side. If I do a seam as called for in the pattern, I have to find a place to store it standing up. The tree is around 15 inches tall, so this is a little bit difficult. 

If I do a closure on the third side, like maybe some little snap tabs made of ribbon, the tree can be stored flat with such larger objects as the Nativity scene.

The second tree has been pieced and cut out. It needs the binding on the three triangles, decorations, and the seams. (Plus closure?) 

The decorations on the tall tree are sequins, in stash, and #8 seed beads, also from stash.

Speaking of stash, all of the fabric and batting was in stash. I do think that my scrap batting was a bit too thick. If I make this again, I'm going to either cut the batting strips narrower than the fabric strips or buy a craft pack of the extra thin cotton batting for potholders and potato bags.

This is what needs to be done with the batting. 

During the 12 days of Christmas, a look at the Christmas Day wreath

Hello, everyone.  As we all know, Christmas Day was the 25th of December.  The Octave of Christmas, a whole week of official rejoicing, ended on the first of January.  The 12 days, however, go on through the 6th of the month, culminating on Three Kings' Day. In many places around the world, the remembrance of the visiting wise men was, and in some places remains, the day for giving gifts.

At Christmas, the season of Advent, with its purple and pink candles,  is over. Our decorators found a lovely statue to place in the wreath for the festive season. 

On the home front, half-completed Christmas crafts are still being worked on. When the current one is finished, I'll post a picture.

Happy New Year to all y'all!

Merry Christmas!

Hello,  everyone.  On this Christmas Night, may the blessings of this wondrous day be with all y'all.

Fruitcake season!

Hello, everyone.  It is, indeed, fruitcake season. Or it would be, except the stores have no candied peel for sale. Sigh. I have a lemon tree and an orange tree. 

Peels cleaned and sliced for candying

After candying. These are lemon peels. Tomorrow I will candy orange peels. 

The $64 question is: can I make an edible fruitcake patch without any candied citron?

We found the candied cherries and pineapple in the grocery store. Unfortunately there were absolutely no candied peel packages. Thus the preparation of candied lemon peel, and soon, candied orange peel. I don't have a tree that produces citron. I have decided to do my best with what is on hand.

It's a sad thing when you think you maybe need to set an arrival alert with HEB grocery so you can make the traditional Christmas goodies. Really.

The curved-ruler pieced tree is decorated

Hello,  everyone.  It's been busy around the home place, but we're in a calm spot for a few days, so there's time to make a post.

Last year I made a wall hanging Christmas tree. It wasn't decorated--no time, and no plan! This year, a plan grew for decorations for the little tree. First rule of the decorations was that they have to be light weight. The gorgeous rhinestone brooches would make the tree too heavy to be held up by tape on a door. Fortunately, there were a lot of little Free Standing Lace mylar light bulbs left over from the Kimberbell Christmas quilt project a few years ago. I also have a cute little Starlight Mint coaster/ornament pattern from Designs By JuJu. They're about 4" and the free standing applique is very light weight. A couple of FSL ornaments turned up in the Christmas boxes, too.

Now it really looks like a Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas!

Hello, everyone. I just realized that the Christmas season has been so busy that I hadn't posted in a while. Sorry about that!

This is our Flight Into Egypt ornament. That actually took place a good some months after the birth of Jesus, but the photo came out better than the glass Holy Family ornament.

We're expecting a traditional South Texas Christmas, enjoying the official food of the season: tamales! We shouldn't even need jackets for going to Christmas Mass as the cool air of these few days is supposed to slide on out.

I wish for all y'all a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.🎄🪅

Burlap ribbon color play for Thanksgiving

Hello, everyone.  It's Thanksgiving week in these USA and I was inspired to try some things.

Color Play in the dining room:

The runner was a Sewing Club project from way back, using fusible to applique the scrappy pumpkins. The ribbons (from Walmart crafts department,  I had dropped in to get Thanksgiving paper napkins and hit the crafts aisles on spec) are different widths and were cut to an appropriate length by eye.

Color Play at the breakfast nook:

The same ribbons,  draped on the light fixture. Note that the ribbons are not in contact with anything electric. The runner, which actually fits the 60 inch long table, has moved over also.

Yes that is the Spanish IGN map of all of the Caminos de Santiago on the wall. It's easy to refer to it , now that it's framed, when talking about routes or just daydreaming. 

Since there is still some burlap ribbon on the spools, I think there will be some burlap accents added to various small projects. 

To all of my American readers, I wish a happy and blessed Thanksgiving. To all of my readers, as the season of Advent is approaching fast, may you have a wondrous Advent and Christmas season.

Some of the little gifts are done

Hello, everyone.  It's a beautiful,  windy day in South Texas, and I'm working indoors on Christmas gifts for children.

These particular gifts are similar to a project that was done during Grandma Camp a while back: a pencil pouch. The pattern is from the Sulky.com blog, with some tiny adjustments. 

The first of several--only two are ready to take their bows today. Yellow quilting cotton, zipper by the yard acquired during the Houston Quilt Festival the year before last. 

Quilting cotton again, with a dress zipper from stash.

Well, the things from the quilt festival have been around long enough to be stash also.

The little alterations to the pattern: 1) instead of using basting spray to attach the batting to the external fabric, I quilted it; 2) the zipper is topstitched to improve its performance. The lining is not glued or quilted, but the topstitching and the top and bottom seams are enough.

The pencil pouch is a great way to use up fabric pieces that are reasonably sized but not huge. The yellow was actually pieced as there wasn't a wide enough rectangle as it was. 

These are also a chance to practice quilting in straight lines of one kind or another. There are some other pouches quilted and ready for their zippers and elastic straps, just ready for a few odd minutes at a time sewing. The planets was quilted in diagonally set squares and the yellow one was quilted in horizontal lines. 

Christmas season is winding down...

Hello, everyone.  Christmas is not just one day, it's a season. Today is Twelvth Night, Epiphany, the classic end of the season.

Happy Three Kings' Day, everyone. 

If you have a party with the Rosca, may you find the little baby hidden in the cake.

They say "plastic lasts forever "

Hello, everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. 

I was organizing things and opened a drawer that doesn't get much attention. 

These fragments are plastic. (Probably a bag from a forgotten store.) They were in a climate controlled place in the dark. I guess "forever" isn't very long, is it?

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous New Year, going to go dump out the plastic bits. 😀 

Christmas good wishes to all

Hello, everyone.

Adoration of the Shepherds

 Merry Christmas to all, and a happy and prosperous New Year!

A quick little project

Hello, everyone.  This is a gift bag, sized to fit the gift, I hope, as there was no box that was just right in the house.

A materials from stash: quilting cotton for the navy paisley and the lining, plus satin ribbon left over from DD1's wedding several years back. 

I cut 2 16" squares in the paisley and the (not visible) mint-green dots, sewed the lining together around three sides, marked the openings on the outer fabric and sewed them. Remembered that the bag would need to be turned and opened a turning opening in the lining side seam. Used the sleeve board for pressing seams open--worked great! Sewed the top edge, turned and pressed, edge stitched the turning opening closed, then used my Chaco liner to mark the upper and lower seams of the casing. Sewed the casing seams and inserted the ribbons. 

I really enjoy making gift bags like this, and when they get re-used over and over I enjoy the project all over again. 

Reconditioning Old Balls

Hello,  everyone. It's a cool day out around here, but there is plenty of indoor work to do.

Shiny, glass ball ornaments, as we all know, eventually start losing the even shine they came home with. The ornaments are still fine, they just begin to tarnish or otherwise look shopworn.

Here are some that were found to be getting grubby when the tree went up. In this picture they have received a coat of matte Mod Podge (glue) and a coat of glitter. They spent the night drying and this morning they got an overcoat of glossy Mod Podge.

It's my hope that the gloss coat will stop the glitter from shedding all over the place, and make the blown glass balls more durable as well. Not that one should attempt to juggle them! But ordinary existence in the being on a Christmas tree should be easier now. Nothing like 2 coats of glue to reinforce things!

After they dry, the cap will be glued in place and the little wire loop reinsert. Then they will be ready for use.

Working on Christmas decorations

Hello, everyone.  The Christmas season is compressed this year: the Fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve.

We're trying to get the decorations up in a bit of a rush as a result.

The living room tree, with the Christmas quilt on the wall.

The library tree, mostly decorated with eggshell ornaments, with the quilted tree skirt. Bowl full of pincushions in background is just incidentally there. 

The nativity scene, with a new strand of lights. (The old string was dead.) 
These are the progress thus far.

Baby Dolly quilt

Hello,  everyone.  There are various projects in the hopper, but some have to be kept secret until later.

A late birthday gift (the birthday girl was supposed to come over and learn to make a bag but never has time) is one of them. Also various Christmas things.

A Christmas thing that can be published:

This is a baby-doll quilt. At least, it's the top. I used various pieced blocks from stash, print blocks the same size (also stadh--there is a whole Zip lock bag of this size!) and added 2 inch top and bottom borders. These will finish at 1.5 inches. All the dolly quilt needs now is quilting and binding. And a dolly to cover!

The quilt is small enough that I might try doing the embroidery machine quilting on it. Since there is at least one of those patterns in the house. We'll see.

A proof of concept pouch

Hello, everyone.  As y'all may have noticed,  I hate waste. Particularly waste of fabric.

While working on the little rosary pouch recently,  a couple of extra things were made and not used. They were about 4 to 5 inches square, polyester satin, and quilted. I couldn't just toss them.

Today they became a proof of concept for some little gifts.

The quilted outer surface of the pouch is those same bits that didn't work out for the rosary pouch. Zipper is from stash. There is a lightweight polyester lining that doesn't show. And there are a few of the many, many buttons in the stash. (The penguin is a novelty button.) I don't think this one is really nice enough to give someone,  but the button decorations and the idea of the little pouch look like a keeper.

I did use different embroidery threads to sew the buttons on, as y'all can see. I think we can call this Christmas preparations for next year. :-)

It's Christmas type weather for the holiday this year (updated)

 Hello, everyone. Merry Christmas to all!

We're at the edge of the huge cold pool that has rolled down from the Artic.

It's still a lot colder than usual. Today has been low 30's F (near zero C) all day. Last night I think we bottomed out around 30. We have done what we could for our plants.

This is a Desert Rose and a poinsettia, wrapped and with incandescent lights.

A baby avocado tree, also with incandescent lights and a wrap. The stems are still so thin that the lights weigh them down.

I hope they all make it through.

(Updated to correct spelling and formatting.)