Christmas Tree & Nativity Up

The Christmas Tree is up.  It was getting late in the season and I was anxious to hang the tree.

This is my wall Christmas Tree that I made in 2021 that hangs from a photo shelf.  The lights are part of the tree so that is a real time saver.

All the ornaments were hung with care.

Most vintage because I have been hanging them on a tree for over 25 years. All with precious memories attached to them.

The teapot from my Mom & Dad's tree. The snowmen my brother-in-law made. The vintage ones my aunt gave me when she was downsizing. The glass star that I bought for my large nativity scene which is packed in boxes. The green ball, a keepsake from one of our family Christmas. Stained glass ornaments bought at the big Christmas craft sale in the big yellow building.

The chair had to be moved to make room for the 2 TV tables that support the tree table top decoration along with the snow angel, the mercury glass owl, the candle stick holder and the glitter NOEL.

The movie I watched after the tree was up.  I have not watched my traditional movies this year but there is still time.

I have Polar Express, Love Actually, and A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart.

This was just the right length.

Some eggnog with nutmeg and cinnamon and a bit of whipping cream for a seasonal drink along wit the movie.

It's nice to have traditions to keep my head on straight when lots of things around me are just upside down.

I put up the Snowpeople Nativity this year along with the LED tree, the green ceramic tree and the great mint green one I got on sale which lights up.

All the players are there - the Holy Family, the 3 Wisemen and the baby lamb.

The table was set up with the red table cloth and plaid place mats.

All looks festive and ready for a celebration, even if it is a quiet one.

Sewing Project - TV Chair Outfit - Chair Caddy

Today, I worked on the caddy for my chair that at minimum would hold my TV remote so I can always find it.

Here's the overall photo.  It is sitting over the arm of the chair on my right.

It has 2 pockets - a small for the remote and another larger for who knows what.

I started again with the stash of fabric that I had assembled for this project.

I realized that the caddy had to have some stiffness as it was not going to sit flush against the side of the chair.

I had a piece of 100% cotton upholstery fabric which I thought would do the job.  The color was within the family of colors but I decided I preferred to have the caddy blend in as much as possible. I checked on the size and it was not too big so I just keep it the size it was. 

I did have enough of the warm grey microfiber fabric I had used behind the headrest cover.  Excellent.

I cut the warm grey fabric to be about 1.5 inches larger than the cotton piece in all directions.  I then folded .75 inches then again to bring that hem over the edge of the cotton.  Once I had ironed, pinned and mitered the corners I sewed a seam very close to the edge all the way around. The cotton would be on the under side of the caddy. 

The pocket was the same warm grey microfiber.  I cut the pocket about 7 inches tall and 2 inches wider than the base to allow for some ease in the pocket(s).

I then used a small leftover piece of the fabric I had used on the cushion cover to edge the top of the pocket.  It was the perfect size.  I serged the cut edges of this piece before I sewed it to the top of the pocket piece.  I top stitched along the seam as well as along the top edge.

I folded the side edges and the bottom edge and ironed those flat.  It was then pinned to the edges first.  I marked the center to make sure ease was evenly distributed. I make a pleat in each pocket and then sewed all three sides of the pocket to the main piece.  I did have to shorten the small pocket for the remote because it fell too deep and it was hard to get out.

With the final project nicely ironed, all the stray threads trimmed, it was time to install it on the chair.

It is long enough that flap that sits on the inside of the chair goes deep between the cushion and the side of the chair.  There is not need for any other mechanism to keep it in place.

I now have an extra pocket which I don't know what it will hold but it's ready for use whenever inspiration hits.

This has been a very satisfying project.

All the pieces are bespoke, just the right color and size, with all the colors and patterns coordinating.

Love IT!

Muttart Conservatory - Christmas

The feature pyramid was decorated for Christmas.  There were beautiful poinsettias in a variety of colors on full display

I loved this variegated one.

The Hellebore - Lenten Rose was in bloom in the tropical pyramid.

I always love seeing this flower.

The tropical space had lost one of the main trees in the center so it was very much brighter but feeling a bit empty.

Fog was covering the pond in the feature space.  Love how the stalks just emerge from the mist and the silver ball reflects its surroundings.

Wooly penguins sporting red and white scarves where resting on a large snowflake.

Wonderful Christmas decor.

A clever tree decorating idea.

Beautiful clear glass spheres filled with red air plants.  They made a really nice looking tree.

The huge red star against the rock wall made for a great shot.

It would make a great Christmas card.

I was glad not to have missed this display as it opened some time in November.

It was pleasantly quiet as long as I avoided the group of  school kids moving from pyramid to pyramid.  I just skipped the Arid pyramid as I was getting tired and they were just ahead of me.

The gift shop has some really nice things for Christmas gifts.

Sewing Project - TV Chair Outfit - Cushion and Headrest Cover

This is my TV chair with its new outfit.

I received this chair from my aunt as a gift this summer and it reclines to bring a footstool.  I loved it.

I have been using the fleece blanket I had on the couch but it is too big and get caught in footstool when I get up and close it.

I wanted a new blanket, a new cover for the cushion I have been using and an updated head rest cover.

There is still a remote control holder to come but I have not decided and designed it.

 

This is the Cushion Cover.

I used the fabric I purchased this summer which matched all the chairs in the living room.  You can see the fabric in this post.

I found a yellow zipper in my stash that would be long enough for a side opening.

This fabric frays very easily so I had to serge all the edges as I went along.

I cut 2 pieces of this fabric 21 inches x 15 inches. This would allow 1 inch seam allowances. 

I followed this tutorial to put the zipper in. It worked perfectly.  I used the selvage edge of the fabric and folded it in 1 inch on both pieces. I sewed the ends about 3.5 inches leaving the center open where the zipper will show.  

The zipper is 14 inches on the 18 inch side. I then pinned the zipper to the opening making sure to mark where the metal bits were to make sure I sewed on the far side of those.

Once the zipper was in I could just sew up the other 3 sides. Make sure you move the zipper pull down before you sew up the sides as that is the opening you will use to turn it inside out.

I did have a large seam allowance (2.25 inches) across from the zipper but it was better to have too much than find I was short.

I had pinned loosely to figure out where the seam should be.  

Sewed it the other sides together and turned it inside out, used my chopstick to push out the corners. My little cushion fit perfectly inside.

I used the grey thread to sew this project.

Headrest Cover

The research and gathering of fabrics I did this summer paid off because the piece of 100% cotton upholstery fabric was in the bucket.

That will work for the headrest cover.  I paired it with a piece of microfiber fabric from the stash as well. 

I laid the cotton over the microfiber and then used my long quilting ruler to mark a rectangle with square corners. 

I then sewed those together leaving a small area to turn it around.

I then turned it inside out and ironed it flat.

I stitched a seam very close to edge to close the opening I used to turn it around and it finishes off the edges nicely.

I had gone a while back to purchase twist pins to keep the arm rest covers in place.

I dug out 2 of them and tacked the head rest cover in place.

I am very happy with the final results of this several day and 3 piece project.

I have 3 pieces that can easily be washed and kept clean.  This will keep my chair clean as well.

I will be working on the remote control holder.  I think it will be over the arm rest

I will keep you posted.

Sewing Project - TV Chair Outfit - Blanket

This is my TV chair with its new outfit.

I received this chair from my aunt as a gift this summer and it reclines to bring a footstool.  I loved it.

I have been using the fleece blanket I had on the couch but it is too big and get caught in footstool when I get up and close it.

I wanted a new blanket, a new cover for the cushion I have been using and an updated head rest cover.

There is still a remote control holder to come but I have not decided and designed it.

I was grateful for the work I had done this summer when I found the great fabric. You can check out this post. 

I went shopping for fabric last week.  I found an large IKEA duvet cover in 100% cotton for a steal of a deal in mustard yellow, white and warm yellow. Then, a warm grey small fleece blanket in a good color.

I decided that the blanket had to be shorter and narrower than the one I had been using.  I spread the grey fleece blanket (50 x 50 inches) and decided I could cut some off the side (10 inches) to make it narrower.  The chair is 33 inches wide so 40 inches wide would be good. 

This was perfect because I had decided that I wanted a footwell on the back side where I could tuck my feet so the blanket would not let my feet get cold.

I first lined my yellow front with some white 100% cotton fabric. The final size is 61 inches tall by 42 inches wide. I created an envelope, turned it inside out and top stitched all the way around.

I stitched the grey fleece blanket to the back of the yellow one with a wavy stitch along the top and bottom edge leaving the fringe hang off the bottom.  

You can see here that the fringe is hidden on the back of the blanket. 

I used the bit left over of the fleece to create a grey fold over at the top where my hands are going to be touching a lot.  This will keep the white and yellow edge cleaner.

I then pinned the 10 inches x 40 inch piece of grey fleece at the bottom and sewed it on the back white side of the blanket. I sewed 2 additional seams to create a narrower footwell in the center of the blanket.

Now that I had the bottom and top edges stitched together I needed to work on the middle.  I decided that I would quilt around the squares on the front of the blanket in the top, middle and bottom rows.

I used yellow thread on the top and grey thread on the bottom so it would neaten up the look of the blanket on both side.

I sewed around the squares on the outside of the square so I was always sewing on the yellow fabric with the yellow thead.

Once I was done,  I later realized that I had sewed over my footwell on the quilting of the squares on the bottom row.  I did have to unravel some and redo it making sure that my footwell was free.

I have tried it out for several days and it works really well. Nice to have a bespoke blanket just the way I wanted it.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It's the first Sunday of Advent.  I placed my advent wreath on the pine secretary this year as furniture shifted when the sofa was removed from the living room.

I added pine cones in the cylinders this year with a small bird perching on a branch in the front.

The first candle is lit which is the candle of HOPE. 

The first candle harkens us back to Isaiah’s foretelling of the birth of Christ and all of the promises God gave us in the Old Testament that would be fulfilled by the birth of Jesus.

I had police cars all over the block this evening.  I was not able to discover till Monday what had happened.  There were many crusiers and officers on the main road which had been closed to traffic. 

Turns out that police were called when a man armed with a knife was approaching people on the street. A confrontation occurred and a police officer discharged his weapon, killing the man. An ASIRT investigation continued into the early morning hours. A TV crew from one of the local news station was on the scene for a while. 

That is totally scary!

We had a bit of snow fall overnight.  There has been very little snow fall this fall.

With the temperature hovering near freezing it disappeared by weeks end.

The Paris Bookseller by Kerry Maher is the book I finished this week.  It is a novel based on a real woman named Sylvia Beach from the USA. When a young woman opens her shop - Shakespeare and Company in 1919 on a quiet Paris street in 1919, she has no idea that she and her book store will change the course of literature itself. 

Her bookstore becomes the hub for English book readers and writers.  Famous writers spend time in her little shop and she becomes friends with many.  James Joyce, the Irish writer is one of these.  When his book Ulysses is banned she takes a great risk and publishes it under the the auspices of Shakespeare and Company.  

She was very loyal to Joyce and went over and beyond to get his book published but the writer was not appreciative. He could not pay his rent, had marital strife, and health issues which consumed him.  Eventually, he did repay the debts owed and the money due her from books sales with a short thank you note. It was a very interesting book.

It was the time of year again to deal with a low pressure tire warning on the car.

It was much less stressful this year knowing what I had learned last year.  I headed off to the service station, put my money in the machine and topped all the tires to 35 psi.

At least it was not -20C like last year.

All is well!

I discovered these cookies this week. I do love ginger and they deliver a great taste.  I am not a fan of a gingersnap and after talking to my sister it was suggested that there may not be any molasses in these.  I believe that is the difference.

It makes a nice end to a meal and they can be in the house and I will not eat the whole box in a sitting.  That is what I need,

Loving them.

They were on sale as well so that is a bonus.

We had our opening of the Christmas Store on Saturday.

We had good attendance.  I met and spoke to quite a few folks from our group. 

I believe several folks left with bags in hand so that is a good thing.

I enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate which was very good along with some beautiful short bread cookies.  There was a nice variety of flavors of hot chocolate and tea and some other holiday goodies.

It was a very good time.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It is that time of year!

December 1st. 

The star wreath went up on the front door.  This is the same one as last year.

That wonderful carved pine cone was done by an artist at the Allied Arts Council.  I purchased it last year at the Christmas Store.

I had a bit of a visit with my neighbour and he was waiting a bit to put up his Christmas decor.  It was a busy day with stuff going on at the building along with my prep for my family get together.

Another tradition for me is to put on one of my many yule log videos in the DVD and enjoy the crackling fire with Christmas carols being sung.

I always do this while I am making my Caramel Popcorn gifts.

It was 4 batches this year to make enough for family and friends.

I have been making this every year since about 1980.

About 43 years that is.  Amazing how that happens.  

There were years when I sold it to coworkers and I did 12 or 14 batches.

The cost of ingredients keeps going up so it is a precious commodity.

I had several folks ask if I was making it again this year!  It was a resounding YES!  They were happy.

Not all things stay the same.  The Glad Storage bags that I have used for years are not longer available.  I used the last of them last year so I had to try and source new ones.   I need food grade plastic so that was a bit harder to find.  I bought these at Michaels but they are pretty short but did okay in the pinch that was this year.

I met my aunt at the Allied Arts Christmas Store that opened this week.  She had been not feeling well and was on the upside and want to get out.

We had 16 tables I believed filled with wonderful art.  It was fun to look through the fiber art, the watercolor, the jewelery, and much more.

I bought this little composite stone bird.  It is made by Lisa Douziech.  It is so metallic and sparkly.  Beautiful color and shine on the resin.

@lisadouziech

We went over the Perks around the corner for coffee and a visit.

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath is a sequel to the book a read recently.  This is again by Garth Nix.  

The story continues with Susan and Merlin and the rest of the magical entourage.  This one starts with a sorcerous map which Merlin gets sucked into and has to be rescued.  Susan has discovered her magical heritage and her powers with stone came in handy during this rescue.

An Ancient Sovereign is running amock in the underworld and needs to be stopped to ensure the safety of human and magical folk alike.

Another great book.

Some of my family got together again this week for a Christmas lunch.  It was organized by one of my sisters and hosted by another.

Tourtiere was on the menu with a great salad.  Then strawberry bavarian for dessert.  I bought caramel popcorn, another brought a cheese ball, there was nibbles and goodies to munch on all afternoon.

This is my sisters tree which rotates and sparkles like crazy!  It was December 2nd and I am glad she made the effort to have it up for your time together as family.

Check out the bling on her tree!  It was wonderful.  With Mom and Dad both gone now we have to navigate what family gatherings will look like going forward.  With our get together in October and this lunch it is looking good!

Christmas Cards - Watercolor - Siblings

I made some special watercolor ornaments to put on my siblings Christmas cards this year.  This is the first year that Mom and Dad are both gone. We are getting together early December for a get together which is close to what would be Dad's birthday. 

This is an ornament I designed myself.  You can read more about the process here.  The ornaments were cut out by hand.

All the designs were hand drawn then I used a permanent black marker for all the outlining.  

I used my Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons for all the painting. The background is watercolor paper with a mixture of Always Artichoke and Garden Green.  I painted a wash on a couple of 9x12 sheets of wc paper.  I made it a bit darker at the top and lighter at the bottom. I did put salt on but it was not wet enough to produce much of an effect. When dry I added a spatter of Always Artichoke.  Once cut to the 4.00 x 5.25 inches I pained the branch and I spattered the pieces with Always Artichoke. 

The ornament has a Bethlehem Star in the night sky colored with More Mustard.  Some Elegant Eggplant and Night of Navy for the sky. On the snow banks in the foreground I used Marina Mist for the wash and Night of Navy for the contours.  Always Artichoke for the tree.

The card base is Elegant Eggplant.

A full moon in the night sky.  The moon is colored with Daffodil Delight with a light wash of Night of Navy for the sky.  I drew a house on the hills with was colored with Ruby Red and More Mustard for the windows.  Elegant Eggplant for the hills.  

The card base is Ruby Red.

This one features a sunrise which I had experience drawing when I did my glass art piece for the window a couple of years ago.

The sky is a light wash of Tempting Turquoise with the sunrise rays being first wash of Daffodil Delight, then More Mustard closer to the center then Tango Tangerine at the center. The hills are a combination of Garden Green, Always Artichoke. 

The card base is More Mustard.

I decided on a water theme for this one and drew a light house.  The sky is a light wash of Tempting Turquoise.  The lighthouse and rocks are done with a light wash of black gouache. The sea is Night of Navy.

The card base is Basic Grey.

This one here is a Christmas flower but I would not go so far as saying a poinsettia.  It turned out like a sunflower in the shape.  The ornament is Tango Tangerine wash.  The flower is a mix of Ruby Red, Bravo Burgundy and Cherry Cobbler.

The card base is Ruby Red.

This one features another Bethlehem Star in the night sky.  The star is More Mustard with a light wash of Marina Mist for the sky.  The mountains are 3 gradient washes of Elegant Eggplant.  Tiny black marker dots in the sky with a touch of More Mustard.

The card base is Elegant Eggplant.

This one features a large star in the center of the ornament.  I did trace the shape from the Stampin Up Star thinlit set, using the smallest one.

The star was washed in Daffodil Delight all over then one half of the points was painted with More Mustard. The ornament is a dark wash of Night of Navy.

The card base is Night of Navy.