As often happens, my stocking plans changed drastically with time and material issues. I had originally intended to make wool felt stockings like those at Hable . I had trouble finding wool felt, and then what I found wasn't enough for a whole stocking, and then I was pretty much out of time anyway. So I came up with a new plan yesterday and got to work.

This morning, the morning of Christmas Eve, I finally finished sewing the second stocking. We have stockings!



The main fabric is actually from the stash I was collecting to make a Christmas quilt. I think it was put to good use, and I'll have fun replacing it!


My stocking


Peter's stocking

I made a cuff of wool felt (since I didn't have enough fabric to do a whole wool felt stocking), used some of the wonderful pom-pom trim I got from Lisa, and I embroidered our first initial and a little design to match the fabric.





I am definitely happy with how they came out, considering how quickly I made them, and Peter likes his! His main comment though - they're not big enough!!

Since we have family stopping by soon, I'd wanted to move on from stockings to folding laundry (definitely not as fun), but as you can see, Baxter has different ideas!

We had a dinner party early in the month and became motivated to get up our Christmas decorations. We have quite a collection, and weren't even able to put everything out. Having our house festive is such a lift to my spirits! When things are getting out of hand with shopping and work and homemade gifts, it helps remind me of what this season is all about. These are just a few of my favorite spots in the house...



Our banister - lights up at night for extra festiveness!


Our entry table - the reindeer were a post-Christmas Target score - Love that place!


The mantel - the Homer's talk and one of them dances! Classy Christmas decorations!!




We have inherited nativities from both sides of the family - I need more places to put them all out!

And last but not least, of course there is the tree!

I finished up all the totes and eye pillows for the stuffed totes I'm giving! I'm very pleased with how they came out - my sewing is definitely improving! Hopefully the recipients will be pleased, as well.



The eye pillows smell so good - they're just flaxseed and lavendar, to keep it simple. And the tote linings:

    

I love it when I'm this excited to hand out Christmas gifts!!

Labels: sewing

Lots of gifts had to make it in the mail this year... To our extended family I mostly sent homebaked goodies, but I like to include a little something that lasts longer. This year, thanks to the inspiration of the craft-blog world, I made quilted notecard sets!



Each set contains basically these four cards:



It was fun picking out the fabric, and making the mini-quilt to sew on the black diamond card.

Since men aren't normally big fans of fancy notecards, I made this quick glass for a friend in California who's a huge 49er's fan:



I am so happy with how it came out! I made several etched glasses last year, but this was definitely my most successful attempt.

Christmas is drawing near, with several things still on my list... I should have plenty to post if I can just get myself to sit still for a few minutes!

So is anybody still checking in? I have just not been motivated to post here... I am still making things, and still taking pictures, it's the next step of actually getting it up on the internet that's taking a while.

The good news is that my list is coming along!

-  Three more totes.
-  Fuzzy socks and eye masks for in the totes.
-  Undetermined homemade item for two nieces and a nephew. Postpone until birthdays!
-  Wool felt stockings for hubby and me.
-  Determined but unmentionable gift for my sister. (Hi Katy!)
-  Candy and cookies for mailing, work, and neighbors.

The day is still young, so the fabric will be cut for the stockings, and the goodies for work will be made before the day is done. I also plan to finally bind the 2nd wedding quilt, but that might be too ambitious.

On a more exciting note, I got one of my Christmas presents early!



Meet Lucy and Snickers! There are so adorable, and any misgivings I had about getting new gerbils vanished as soon as I saw them! The other animals are quite interested in them, too.





Well, back to work!

* WARNING - Mom, don't read this post, okay?? Thanks!! *






Last year I gave out scarves, this year it's stuffed totes! I have all the fabric cut for four totes, and various bath and body goodies to stuff inside. I got the first tote sewn today, since it's the one that has to go in the mail.



This is for my grandma, who is a big fan of the Red Hat Society and loves red and purple. I got red hat fabric for the lining and put in a couple pockets.



Three more to go! I might slip in a fifth, since I can no longer use the Amy Butler tote I made a year ago... I spilled on it, tried to wash it, and realized how poor my sewing skills were when I first started sewing because the whole thing fell apart. Of course, I may not have time until after Christmas! Here's my list of projects to be completed by the 25th:

Three more totes.
Fuzzy socks and eye masks for in the totes.
Undetermined homemade item for two neices and a nephew.
Wool felt stockings for hubby and me.
Determined but unmentionable gift for my sister. (Hi Katy!)
Candy and cookies for mailing, work, and neighbors.
...

I know I'm forgetting a few things... Well, I'd better get back to sewing!

Labels: sewing

Hi there! Remember me? I didn't really mean to be gone so long. And to come back without anything to show for my absence! Well, I do have pictures!

Big Bend was wonderful. I didn't know there was anywhere like that in Texas. From our campsite, we had a wonderful view, including Casa Grande.



The first day we were there we took a 7 hour hike to the south rim, which was amazing. I got slightly affected by the altitude, since anything above sea level seems like thin air! My favorite part was the variety - we'd be hiking up a cliff one minute, and then find ourselves in a meadow.



The next day we took an ATV tour, which was a blast. Our tour guide was hilarious, and very informative. Peter and I both crashed our ATVs, oops! No injury to us or the vehicle, so it's become a fun story.



We both had a wonderful time, but have enjoyed being home. We spent the last week getting the house cleaned up, running errands, and starting to think about Christmas. All the decorations went up yesterday, and now it's time to work on presents! Just to prove I'm not completely lazy, here's the scene in my kitchen as I type this!



Hopefully I'll be back soon with more to show! In the meantime, check out some of the wonderful things going on with the ladies listed to the right, there - they sure haven't been lazy like me!!