Christmas sewing

The lack of blog entries since late October is down to one factor (pretty much!) - Christmas sewing. As usual, I had LOTS of plans and ideas, which kept growing in complexity and number right up to early December. That's when I realised I'd better reign it in a bit...we were leaving for the UK for the holidays on December 18th and everything had to be finished by then. Of course I then had to throw in some extra little pouches the day before we left, just, well, because!  So here's the results of my Christmas sewing...

Zipped pouches for teacher gifts (x3)

Dumpling pouches (from the Michelle Patterns tutorial)

Christmas coasters

Fat quarter bags - perfect for little girls who love bags!

The Morehouse Merino Baby Alligator scarf (pattern here)

Stockings for my children, my niece and my nephew

The inspiration for the stockings came from Cluck Cluck Sew, but then I decided to add an initial in cross stitch on each stocking (because it's good to ADD more work when you're already under time pressure...). I didn't want to use Aida cloth for the cuff, so I used waste canvas on quilting cotton. Using waste canvas isn't difficult, but definitely not something to try if you've never done cross stitch before. And I realised after the 'L' that I really dislike using metallic embroidery floss. REALLY. So the other letters weren't quite as sparkly, but definitely less painful to complete! And experienced quilters shouldn't look too closely at my stockings. My half-square triangles were a 'learn as you go' experience, so the first couple of stockings weren't quite as perfect as they should be. But then, hey, most toddlers care more about what's inside the stocking than the perfection of the quilting, right?!

There was also a quilted advent calendar that didn't get photographed but hopefully I will do that soon. 

So that's it for this year. Being on holiday means I can't sew, but I am knitting a cowl from some wool I bought this summer. With any luck, I'll actually manage to finish it in time so my aunt can wear it this winter. Oh yes...and I've indulged in a bit of fabric buying while in London...more on that later!