Hot Chocolate, cookies and crafting.

Another evening at Church with the ladies, sharing cookie recipes (yes and tasting them too) drinking hot chocolate having a chat and making plates for Christmas cookie sharing.

We had glass plates and festive napkins.  Peel the napkin till you have one ply.  Cut out the bit of the pattern you want (fiddly with it being so thin.) then time for the glue, and glitter if you want.

Cover the back of the plate with the glue.  If using it sprinkle on glitter where you want it.  Place your cut out right side down.  Spread more glue over the back and add your background tissue. Seal it all with glue, let it dry.

Once it is dry trim the edge (carefully) with a sharp knife (we had a scalpel) and the plate is done.  Sadly they can't be washed just wiped.  We all had fun making them.

Close up of wreath

Tulip plate and a stray cookie

Christmas wreath plate

Christmas tree plate

Second can you make question

The second suggestion made by a workmate was for draw string bags in organza.  White organza with silver, intended to hold the handmade jewellery which would be part of her contribution to the Christmas Craft Fair.

So yes I could, made a couple up to check it was what she envisioned and then use up the fabric provided. 

Twenty six bags later (all various sizes) and they all needed ribbon.  The amount it would take was not something she had anticipated, my stash was no use as thin ribbon was not something it contained.

A general shout out at work for thin ribbon and the bits and bobs came in.  There was some fine recycling going on here as the hanging straps from many a top were cut out (on on memorable occasion the cutting took place at work with the donor still wearing her top) and turned into the draws for the bags.

Drawstring bags

 I took the bags in as they were finished (as ribbon was available) so I don't have a picture of all twenty six.  Some are now apparently destined to be reindeer food bags.  I am not convinced the edible glitter will stay in the bags, we shall see.

Drawstring bags.

Quilted Christmas Stocking

So suggestion number one was to make Christmas Stockings.  The lady at work brought in some upholstery weight material in green and gold, some nice beige for the back (left over from re doing some chairs) and wadding too.

I looked at some images on Google then ritualistically sacrificed a cereal box to make a pattern and set to. 

I had a simple plan. Stocking shape in the material with predominantly green colour as the right side, add the wadding with lining material as the backing for that and quilt it.

Cut a rectangle of the same material for the cuff sew it on with the green as accent as the right side, fold down.  Sew back and front right sides together (which also sews in the sides of the cuff). Sew the ribbon for hanging into the seam then turn it out.

And done.
                                                 

Christmas Stocking

                                                                          The gold ribbon on this and the first few like it was originally wrapped around a large box of chocolates I received as a gift (yum), I do like to recycle things were I can.

Sadly or perhaps fortuitously I ran out of the backing material before I ran out of the green.

So a trip to one of my favourite places to shop, Northern Textiles.  They make curtains, and in the back room sell end of rolls at very reduced prices.

Of course looking for more backing resulted in finding some more green and gold material for the front.

I had picked another material that could be turned for the cuff.  Whilst it was being cut I mentioned there was some material with the right sort of pattern and contrast but it was pink and not in a traditional colour.  The very friendly and helpful lady doing the cutting remarked not everyone is into traditional and that pink might be just the thing and the best seller to boot (that was a pun).  So some of the pink came home with me to and I set to sew stockings. 

The new green material lent itself to FMQ rather than the straight line quilting from the first material, the pink however was just fine with the straight line work. 

FMQ Christmas Stocking

Pink Christmas Stocking

Trio of Christmas Stockings

I had enough wadding and lining material (from my stash), the re-purposed ribbon ran out but I had some nice cream ribbon that worked fine for the rest.  Marathon runners talk about hitting the wall during a run and I hit the wall with my stockings, I am not too good at doing the same thing more than once, in this instance the changes in colour helped me keep going however at 19 my sewing energy all petered out, an odd number (in more ways than one) to feel the need to stop but that.s how it worked out.

19 Christmas Stockings all in a row

 Wish us luck in selling these at the Christmas Fair and raising money for Sarcoma Research UK. I'll let you know if the shop lady was right and and the pink is the most popular.  

On 9th September I mentioned in my post Ice Bucket Challenge, crafting style that my choice of charity had been prompted by the death of someone I worked with.  Her loss after a short fight with cancer shocked and saddened her work colleagues, devastated her friends and left a gaping hole in the lives of her family. 

A sense of disbelief has pervaded as we have all half expected to see her smiling face, twinkling eyes and to be delighted by her dry wit.  Alas that is not to be, at work our collective grief has coalesced and focused, as such emotions often will, into a need to do something!

So as Christmas approaches on its usual winged feet it was suggested we raise funds for the charity she and her family nominated when declining floral tributes (other than family) at her funeral, namely  SARCOMA UK.  Charity events are not an unusual thing at my place of work although generally they consist of bake sales (also dubbed the trolley), book sales and recently (Great British Bake Off inspired) baking competitions.

I think that perhaps something more personal was required this time to satisfy the yearning to reflect the feeling held.  The Charity Committee suggested a Christmas Craft Fair with items made by all the staff who could contribute and sold to all in our shared use building.

The first item to go into production was the knitted hedgehog, I knew there were knitters but not that there were so many. Theses are just an example of the positive Prickle of hedgehogs being produced. Black, silver, pink, purple, white, sparkly, in small medium and large the needles are clacking them out. However, they are so cute demand may  still out strip supply.

Knitted hedgehog

Knitted hedgehog profile

Whilst a great item, this outlet was not for me, and I wondered what I could make in the time that would appeal.

I asked the question on Facebook quilting groups and suggestions for mug rugs ( how can you make things with the sole purpose of them getting dirty!) or patchwork bags, so that weekend I was mulling that over, thinking what was in my stash, how fast how many?

Monday I come into work and the "can you make" question greets me followed by "I have some material you could use I will bring it in",

The next day the components for suggestion number one arrive along with the material for suggestion number two from a different person.

So personal non-deadlined projects took a back seat and the work for the fair began.  Between now and 28th of November (the day of the sale) I will be posting about the things I have been making as well as (like the hedgehogs) things others are making when I can sneak the odd picture.

On the 28th or as near as I can get it I will post how things went (I might sneak a few no fair items in as well possibly).

If between times you have any ideas (quick becomes more of an issue) I would be delighted if you would share them.

A little update

Not being chronological in my doings here, I had promised myself I would work on my cross stitch WIP at least once a month.  Promise broken, shame on me.

I have been working on several other things for an event later this month (more on that later) and on some quilting but that is not much of an excuse.

Anyway I have made a little progress and here it is.

A touch more on the blue and some darker tones against the ecru.

Hallowe'en Trick or Treat blog hop

Welcome to the next letter of the blog hop for Hallowe'en organised by Jo over at Serendipitous Stitching.  At time of posting I don't know what order I am in the hop so if you arrived here at random and want to join in, use the link on the right hand side to Serendipitous Stitching, start at the beginning and I will see you back here in a bit.

Now the rules for the hopping stops are simple, we share a picture for the theme and pop in the letter to be added to the others collected on the hop.

I had to do a bit of thinking on this one, the only thing I had a picture of fully in theme I shared last year (all hallows eve on 31.10.2013) from my try at pumpkin carving.  Then I remembered an item I made for my brother who is a sound and light engineer.  For a little while his business cards (which were orange, a very hallowe'een colour of late) bore the legend "sound wizard".

So I made this for him and I think the wizard (on 18 count and originally intended as a book mark) looks suitably scary in his purple (another hallowe'en colour ) robes.  The musical notes on my version were stars on the original design. I had no picture of the finished item, got in touch with my brother all digital due to distance and asked did he still have and if so could he take a picture.  A happy yes to both (it lives on the wall of his home studio) and here he is, Sound Wizard.

Sound Wizard

I can almost hear you asking where's the letter and the link to the next step.  Well you have kindly hopped into my blog world and here is the reward.

and now you have it added to your word, just hop on this link to keep your journey going. 

    

http://minnie-allxxs.blogspot.co.uk/

Jo's 500 Followers Blog Hop - Becca

 500 thats a big number and the land mark number of followers Jo who can't think of a clever nickname from Serendipitous Stitching has reached.  To mark the occasion those of us who were able to do so are taking part in an impromptu blog hop.  The theme is very King and I, "getting to know you", or rather getting to know one of our fellow blog-ing Jo followers.

So I have newly met (via the magic of the blogverse) Becca of Finding Flapjack

http://findingflapjack.blogspot.co.uk/

So let me introduce you to her, Becca lives in the UK in the bit of the country that falls between the South and Scotland.  I have a similarly North Easterly direction, although a bit more North and East. Becca is an intrepid explorer with the courage to talk about her journeys of discovery in her blog. Now these explorations are not in the main geographical but the rather more scary explorations of self, who we are, who we want to be and the steps to get from one to the other.  Oh and the occasional leap of faith with mini sewing machines.

Becca has a strong positive faith and is open and brave enough to share it. She kindly provides the option of meeting all of her on her home page or just the bits we might be comfortable with on the faith page or the craft page of her blog.  (I am impressed enough with the pages part as my technical bits of blog posting are somewhat slim) OK back to the introduction, Becca and I have a few things in common in addition to the part of the world we live in.  Mothers who make good flapjack, a liking for Dr Who although I am not sure either of us is a Whovian, a strong faith, and an eclectic taste in crafts although we do not share all of those crafts.

Crochet is amongst Becca's talents it is most certainly not one of mine nor is cooking, which the cakes you can view but sadly not taste at Finding Flapjacks indicate is one of Becca's.

We both like classical music although I restrict myself to listening to it, Becca plays violin.  Within our coinciding tastes falls nicely a delight in the lyrical beauty of Isaiah's symbolism and the musical interpretation of many of those words in Handel's The Messiah. 

As part of the 500 hop we are asked to choose a picture of a piece of our own work we feel (having met) our new acquaintance (and future friend?) would like.  I have shared this particular image before on my post entitled Christmas Card Inspirations 12 December 2013 so I won't go into the whys and wherefores of it again however I hope Becca will like my Christmas embroidery which incorporates Isaiah 9:6 into a multi national nativity.

So hop yourself over to Finding Flapjacks  and sample for yourself either your normal faire, be it faith or craft or perhaps the whole smorgasbord of self Becca offers.

And if you did not get here from Serendipitous Stitching hop over there too, meet Jo and the rest of the 500.

Oh and in case you were wondering, this is where my introduction was made  blog hop.

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Dragon Mirror (woodwork)

This involves a dragon design you have seen before (if before you have visited with me) in the posts titled, anyone with ability 13.01.2014 and dragon egg 17.04.2014.

The item in question was made at the same time as my Celtic knot dragon box on my post of 19.01.2014 and was made from the same source wood, scraps of skirting board.

The idea foe this was born from my dislike of throwing stuff away and wanting to do something with the round mirror from a used up plastic compact (not the refillable kind) which I had managed to knock loose when I dropped it.  (I note that when I did not want to detach the mirror one little drop and off it popped, attempts to purposely remove mirrors from their plastic housing have subsequently been less effective.)

Dragon mirror

The first bit was to cut the circle for the mirror to drop into.  Smaller at the front and the full size at the back.  Then to carve the dragon.  Chisels to take away the thickness around the tail then onto the grinders for the rest.

The beads which finish the item off are haematite, a by product of the mining industry this semi precious stone is a favourite of mine.  It is heavy and can be magnetised as it has a high iron content.

The beads are glued on.  

The pink on black flowers you can see in the mirror are the case for my phone with its super dooper digital camera.

Oh and it is about 7 cm wide by 12 cm high.

Wedding samplers, cross stitch.

I have made a few cross stitches to celebrate or commemorate weddings.  Most of them small enough for a fairly quick sew to be sure they would be finished on time.  One  made for  two work mates, one for Heather ( from the young women's quilt), one for a child hood friend.  That one was a bit of a giggle in retrospect.  The pattern had white rabbit bride and groom in formal wedding attire, top hat and tails, white dress and veil.  I knew the white rabbits were OK symbolism for that cultural connection,  what I had not considered was the traditional Chinese bridal colour...red. I was not the only one a bit surprised by that, the bride had kept it as a secret from all.

For my friend with the cross stitching wife I made a cross stitch sampler of the song "in the bleak mid winter" the brides favourite carol sung at their December wedding.  This was not made for the wedding itself as previously noted but as a Christmas gift with wedding remembrance mixed in.

My best efforts however went into the sampler for my best friend, I had lots of notice for her wedding , more than a year to get it done.  I consulted with her for several months over patterns, likes dislikes, suitable symbolism, colours, verses ext.

None of the "for weddings" designs fully appealed to her so a composite was the answer. A picture in the middle from Cross My Heart Inc's Artistic Landscapes, Sunset Silhouette and the verse (Apache Marriage Blessing) which most appealed down the sides, names at the top, date at the bottom.  I worked out the positions for the lettering on graph paper, that felt like the tricky-est bit of all, some of the letters at the top and bottom had to be overlapped to get it all to fit. I sourced the letters from American School of Needlework , The Ultimate Cross stitch Alphabet book by the Kooler Design Studio.  Leaves at the top and bottom of the poem at either side with lilac rose buds ,(the Groom, best man and other gentlemen of the wedding party were to have lilac roses for their lapels) in between each verse.  These were stitched over two to get the proportions balanced.

Wedding Sampler

Here it is before I had it framed, laid out on my bridesmaid's dress with one of the flowers I would wear in my hair. 

It took, from start of the design to completion, seven months and as previously mentioned I had it professionally framed.

Bride and groom

I presented it on their wedding day at the reception. Happily they were both delighted.

This picture of them with their gift was published in Cross Stitcher the following May, which we almost missed, it was a work mate of the groom who spotted it , mentioned it to him and set us all on a hunt to find a copy.  One for me, one for them one for the grooms mother (also a crafter and cross stitcher).  Happily we did find them.

It was rather fun to see it in print, even if they had not included the details about the source of the patterns and had used the time for the whole layout and design and stitching process as if it applied just to the sewing to make it fit with the theme my letter was published under of projects you couldn't put down.

Cross Stitcher May 2003 

Article in the May 2003 Cross Stitcher

I still like the middle picture although the branches on the tree were rather bitty, I hope one day to do it for myself. 

Oh and in 2024 I found a Forestella song to link to this picture

Ice Bucket Challenge, cross stitch

So the charity theme of 2014 appears, so far at least to have been rather wet and cold.  Both sensations I prefer to avoid, and avoid them I have.

Fortunately for all concerned ,one has challenged me to dowse myself with iced water.  I would have said no, with capitals I will freely admit.

However, the Dragon of Dragon Dreams Inc (find her on Facebook) bless her fiery imagination came up with a way for me (oh and I expect many another stitcher) to join in the world wide charity challenge whist staying warn and dry and doing something we love.

Her "The Summer of 2o14" design  with her signature dragons joining in is a delight.  And it is free to download from the Facebook page with the on-line version of an honesty box.  You download with the promise to donate a $5 minimum (or equivalent) to the charity of your choice.  

The pattern is great, just a few colours so you can stick to the set key or easily change the shade, add some sparkly bits (I added some blue blending filament to the water for mine not that it shows much in the picture) there is room for some lettering, go for Dragon Dreams "Surviving the summer of 2014" or choose something more personal to you or the charity you support.

So if you are visiting my blog, consider yourself challenged to sew nice little dragons and their bucket challenge and donate to the charity your conscience prefers. 

Ice Bucket Challenge
Dragon Dreams Inc

No words on mine yet as I am undecided. Oh and my donation, made in memory of a colleague  from work goes to SARCOMA uk

I added this link 12.04.2024 to a solo song written and performed by one of Forestella. There is an explanation before the song so give it that as well its a lot of the reason I chose to add it here.