Monday, December 31, 2018

Christmas 2018

This is the only nativity on display at my house this year. 

Craft sales and other projects took up much of my time and the results it was coming down to Dec 23 to decorate.



Then the battery in my car died on Sunday night and I had to get some help to diagnose the problem. Thanks to my brother-in-law who came when I called; my sister who drove me home at midnight, and my brother with the knowledge to determine the problem.


I borrowed this book from the lounge in the apartment building at Mom & Dad's.  I had read the Lilac Bus but the Firefly Summer and the Silver Wedding were new to me.

The Firefly Summer was long in places.  It covers the re-building of a mansion which burned down in the early 1900s.  It is in a small Irish town and the consequences of coming to town bringing American tourists is a concern.  The pub nearby will likely lose it's business, the project manager is happy to have a big project during the construction phase, the local kids used to play in the ruins and now that has changed.

There are a couple of tragedies which take place.  Again, changes are taking place with sadness and adjustment needed.

It has a great ending.




We had a wonderful Christmas lunch with around 40 in attendance.  We had a children's gift exchange and an adult exchange.  This is the wonderful food provided in our potluck. 

Mom & Dad enjoyed have their extended family to celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

We had great weather for all of us who traveled several hours to get there. 
Boxing Day was a wonderful day.   The sky was blue, the sun was highlighting the hoar frost on the trees.

The snow machines were started and those who wanted a ride got a ride across the yard and fields.

I am getting ready for New Year's Eve.

Enjoy!



Tuesday, December 25, 2018

More Sewing - Pot Holders

I worked on some more pot holders as gifts this year as aprons were not in much demand among my siblings.

I love the soft muted tones of the fabric in the center of this set.  The 5 inches squares were given to me by a quilter friend. I added 100% cotton black borders around the square and the back is solid black.  

The stuffing/batting is 100% cotton.

The top stitching is around the center square and well as very close to the edge to close the space where I turned them good side out.

The loop was placed in the center of the square.



I paired an olive green/khaki green organic print with an olive green solid on the back. 

This is a 8.5 inch square which brings it down to 8 inches when completed. 

The stuffing is 100% cotton.

I used my quarter circle template again this time for this set. 

I just pinned the paper to the corner and then sewed following the curved edge.  Repeated for all 4 corners.








There was just enough burgundy fabric to complete this set of flat potholders.  I have enough floral to make another set.

This was left over fabric from the shirt smock apron I made earlier.

The stuffing is 100% cotton.

I chose the half circle template for the top stitching on this set.

It was nice to use up some smaller pieces of fabric.

All wrapped up for Christmas gifts.

Monday, December 24, 2018

Christmas 2018



Merry Christmas and Holiday Wishes to all my blogger friends.  
Have a great season and I will see you in 2019!

Monday, December 17, 2018

Mosaic Monday - Recent Photos

I do have my Christmas wreath on the front door.  I updated it this year with a vintage glass ornament. It is deep red with gold dots and has a matte finish.

I used a clear wreath hanger since I don't have a gold one which would work best.

I am still working on the decorations on the inside.













I recently finished another Maeve Binchy book called the The Copper Beech which is the tree in the Shancarrig school yard.  The book follows several young people who have carved their initials in the bark of the tree.  Eddie becomes a pen pal to someone in Scotland. They share many interests and letters go back and forth between them.  They eventually share telephone calls but only after he discovers that he has been writing to the "girl".  She eventually comes to visit Ireland and decides to stay!

I broke down and bought the lastest Kate Morton book - The Clockmaker's Daughter.  It is as epic as her previous books.                                                                 It involves a long abandoned mansion, families in recent history as well as many years ago and some delightful mysteries involving a blue gem.                                                                    It is written in the from the Clockmaker's Daughter point of view who lived in the house.  I resisted just reading day and night but I have to admit the last half was consumed with little eating and a few bathroom breaks.                                         The colorful tile was a purchase at the art show in early December.  It is art by Val Enders. 

It is decorated with a process called Alcohol Ink Painting.  It is 3x6 inches.  The color is vibrant and gorgeous!  It seems that it may have a clear coat over the paint to protect it.  

It has a hanger on the back which allows it to be hung and enjoyed.

I bought this little metal yellow bicycle last week.  It was filthy but after a soak in soapy water and some tender care with an old toothbrush it was bright and shiny.

I am working on scenarios to place into for my photography.  I think a white picket fence would be great or a nice tree like the front of the Binchy book cover.

I am sharing with Mosaic Monday #7 hosted by Angie at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf.


Saturday, December 15, 2018

Gold and Green Holy Family Favors

I made over 60 of these for our Women's Ministries Christmas Brunch today.

I cut dark green linen card stock with the Sizzix Bigz Ornament #2 die which allowed me to cut 2 at a time.

I cut the Holy Family with the Penny Black Manger Thinlit Die from gold card stock.  It is attached to the top ornament with a gold star tiny brad.  The top was then adhered to the back one with quick dry adhesive.  These were pressed to ensure good adhesion.
 

The JOY satin ivory ribbon was cut to exact 8" to ensure I had enough to do the lot.  I used a piece of heavy card cut to 8" inches long.  I then wrapped the ribbon front to back until the roll was empty.  I then added the elastics to keep the ends I place while I cut the ribbon at both ends.  The 3yds on a roll produced 13 8" lengths.


I folded the ribbon with the words facing away from me and the pushed the fold through the ornament hanger.  The 2 tails were pulled through the loop and pulled taut.

The ends were trimmed at a slant with scissors.

A great reminder of the Reason for the Season.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Game Night - CH - 1st Letter Game

I headed to Compassion House to lead time playing the 1st letter game.

We start with a phrase that describes an object.  We take the first letter of each word and place them vertically on a sheet of paper.  Then those in the group try to guess what the object is based on these clues.

One little red wagon ornament. OLRWO.

I have prepared a 10 prizes for those who guess the right phrase to describe the prize.

The box of Christmas cards are a result of my making the left overs of the 3 classes held in November.  It holds 10 cards.

The Metro Mug was a hit.

The pastel micro fiber dish cloths were appreciated.

These were a few of the items I had in my goodie bag.

We had a great time and then I shared a cup of tea with a couple of folks.

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Photo Coasters


With the poor results from my last sale I decided that I needed to expand my products with my photography as cards and calendars are not as sought out as they once were.  After a lot of thought, tossing and turning in the middle of the night the idea of photo coasters came to mind.

With a bit of research on-line and digging through old craft supplies which I kept through the de-stashing this summer I found Chipboard Coasters.  Being square they pair up really nicely with the 4x4 photos I have designed for photo calendars.

Digging through what I had on hand a put together several sets.  It was a long process as 3 times one has to wait while things dry and press.   I am very happy with the end result.











































I backed the coasters with fleece because that is what I had on hand, it does not ravel and is easily cut with scissors or a rotary cutter.