Tree Skirt Finally Done

I've been working on a tree skirt for Christmas for about 3 weeks. There was no rush, so I took my time and enjoyed the creating of it. I used fabric my mother gave me, (again!) and made my own patterns for the leaves, berries and chickadee birds.

Initially, it wasn't as large as I wanted, so I decided to add the blanket binding to the bottom. That was pretty expensive, considering it cost $5.00, but since everything else was free, I finally broke down and bought it. I doubt I could have found a custom tree skirt for $5.00, even after Christmas.

Close up of birds.



I zig-zagged all the appliques and it made me really wish I had a sewing machine with more embroidery settings. The machine I have was bought before LeLe was born. It's been a hum-dinger, and is till going strong after all these years. The cabinet that houses it, is beginning to look a little worse for wear though. I have to keep it covered up it is so distressed, and it's not solid wood, so I can't refinish it and spruce it up any.

I think most of you already know that I collect chickadees. Yes, they are traditionally Christmas birds, but I love them all year long. They are just easier to find in December. I've never had a nice tree skirt, and am anxious to place it around my tree this year. I have a couple of plans for more Christmas items before I put my tree up. One is a quilted (maybe) wall hanging that I will try to fashion with a pocket on the back. That way I can just slip it over a picture already hanging. The other is a Christmas stocking for little doodle bug that's on the way.

Matching Blanket

I finished the matching blanket this morning. It wound up 34 x 46 in size.



I found that working with the thinner flannel is not easier than working with fleece. The fleece is very forgiving when you go in a line you don't particularly like. (Had to back up and use the seam ripper once or twice) And the back of the fleece looks nicer when it's all finished. I could always double the flannel, but I don't want to make it too heavy, since it's meant for a receiving blanket, not a heavy one. Most embroidery has some kind of scratchy backing on it, for stablization. I'm afraid it would be too rough for a baby, so I'll have to come up with an alternative.

All in all, I'm fairly pleased with the result and I hope the new mother likes the set.

Monday's Work

Our church is giving a young mother a shower this coming Sunday, so I thought I'd try to make some things I've been seeing. I went to Walmart, (where else would I go?) and purchased a package of cloth diapers, and a yard of blue flannel. Using fabric my mother gave me, I created six burp cloths.




I made three of them simple, with just fabric on the lower part of them, but added the baby's initial, and trimmed the edges of the other three, just for variety. Tomorrow, I plan to add the initial to the flannel, and bind the edges with more of the same fabric. I'll post when completed.

This and That

I reorganized my craft closet....again. I'm hoping I've rearranged things to be more easily accessible.



While looking for new places to stash junk we didn't want to throw away, I found something....



I made these when Jared was very small.(About 25 years ago) I cut them all out on my trusty old band saw, and painted them. I also made a flat wooden boat, but It just didn't ever really float for me (ha) so I got rid of it. And Jared never played with these, no matter how cute I thought they were. Maybe Leann's baby will want them.....I can see the smirk on LeLe's face in my mind's eye.

And today after months of tedious work, I finished a Christmas ornament.



I don't think I will ever go to that much trouble again. I created the design myself, by drawing it out on graph paper, then spent countless hours cross stitching. And I wound up with this very small ornament. That is just too much time for something so small.

Aside from that, I've been making some blankets for Christmas gifts and looking online for ideas of things to do when I'm finished with all the Christmas gifts I'm making. Can't post pictures here, for fear the recipents will accidentally find them...

Matching Pillow

Here is the pillow I created to go with Madeley's blankie.



I purposely left the edges rough, and time will fray them gently.

Madeley's Blankie

I created this for a new little arrival in our church family. I took regular solid colored fleece, and bound it with a retro print. I then added a mongram, and some little flowers. It is approximately 60 X 53 in size. I plan to create a small pillow to match, out of the binding fabric.

New Stocking

This one is for a little boy in British Columbia. I enjoyed painting it and I hope he likes it.