Showing posts with label hooray for holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hooray for holidays. Show all posts
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Merry Christmas to all!
It's time for Abner's annual Christmas message. She improvised this year...to very cute results. Happy holidays from our family to yours.
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
DIY: Quilt-as-you-go Christmas stocking tutorial
My patchwork group got together recently to make up some quilt-as-you-go Christmas stockings. I've been wanting to try quilt-as-you-go for ages and now that I've tried it, I'm going to be doing much more of it. It's so quick an easy and is a great use of scraps!
Here are some quick instructions for you to make your own quilt-as-you-go Christmas stocking. If you've never tried this technique, even if you've never made a quilt before or even if you're new to sewing, this tutorial will be easy to follow.
DIY Quilt-As-You-Go Christmas Stocking
All seam allowances are 1/4" unless otherwise noted.You will need:
- Stocking pattern (use any pattern you like or draw your own - this is one instance where size doesn't matter)
- Batting slightly bigger than your stocking pattern
- Strips of fabric wide enough to extend past the edges of your pattern
- Coordinating fabric for back and lining which is tall enough to fit the length of two stocking and wide enough to fit two stockings side by side.
- Thread and the usual arsenal of sewing equipment for a basic sewing project
Making the front of the stocking:
Using your pattern piece, cut one stocking shape from the quilt batting. I used one of our family stockings as my pattern.
Dry fit your strips by laying them out as a test before sewing. Make sure they're going to cover the batting entirely.
Beginning at the bottom of your batting stocking, place the first strip right side up so the edges of the fabric extend well past the edges of the batting.
Lay a second strip on top of the first with right sides together and the top edges aligned.
Sew along the aligned edge (going through both fabrics and the batting).
Fold the second fabric up to lay flat on the batting. Press.
Repeat steps 3-5 until the entire stocking is covered.
Turn the stocking over so the batting is facing up.
Trim away excess fabric following the contours of the batting.
Cutting the back lining and backing of the stocking:
Fold a piece of your coordinating fabric in half so that the fold runs along the top edge of your fabric.
Lay your stocking front on the coordinating fabric with the top edge approximately 1/4" past the folded edge of your fabric.
Cut one stocking piece on the fold.
You'll wind up with what looks like two boots joined at the top...like this:
Making the front lining:
Lay your stocking front on a single layer of your coordinating fabric with the toe pointing the opposite way as your stocking (i.e. place right sides together). Cut out one stocking piece.
Place your stocking front and front lining pieces right sides together. Stitch along the top edge and turn the piece right side out. Press the top edge.
Open up the newly assembled stocking front and lining and lay it right side up.
Making the loop:
From your coordinating fabric, cut a piece 2.5" x 6". Fold the piece in half lengthwise with right sides together and stitch along the long edge opposite the fold. Turn the piece right side out and press with the seam centred down the middle.
Assembling the stocking:
Fold the loop in half with the seam on the inside and position it at what will be the top back of the stocking (i.e. where it makes sense to hang the stocking from).
Open up the stocking back/lining piece and lay it right sides together on top of the stocking front/lining.
Pin the edges.
Stitch all the way around leaving a 3" opening on the sole of the foot on the half without batting.
Clip the curves.
Turn the piece right side out and sew the opening you left in the sole closed by hand.
Carefully push the lining into place and press.
You're done.
Here's the one I made with my patchwork group. I didn't use a sewing machine at all on this one. That's 100% handmade, baby.
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
We were on a break
Please excuse the quietness around these blog parts lately. It's been term break for little Miss Abner for the past two weeks so we've been up to our eyeballs in fun and excitement! Our adventures were many, but our photos were few. Here are a few of the highlights for your viewing pleasure...
Looking chic as we headed north for a wee day trip with friends.
Braving the rope swing for the first time. How would you like to have this beautiful spot for a family getaway? I feel so lucky to have generous friends who let us join in the fun at their spectacular holiday house.
Enjoying the first of many Crunchie bars aboard the Crunchie Train. Dunedin has its very own Cadbury factory and every year they host "Cadbury Week". It's an all-out festival of all things chocolate. We did chocolate decorating, rode the Crunchie train up the Taieri Gorge, and took in our first Jaffa Race.
What you're looking at is 25,000 candy coated chocolate balls racing down the steepest street in the world. They do two races, sweeping the entire street (by hand) between races. It is extremely bizarre and totally awesome.
The children (and plenty of adults) help out by digging in the gutter and grabbing as many Jaffas as they can before the sweeping crew comes. Forget the five second rule - these things have rolled down a busy city street and came to rest in a GUTTER for Pete's sake. Eeeeew!
There was plenty of other action happening during the break; we managed to take in two plays, go for plenty of walks and go to a movie as well. I fear we may have set the bar a little too high and Abner will come to expect this much fun on every term break!
Looking chic as we headed north for a wee day trip with friends.
Braving the rope swing for the first time. How would you like to have this beautiful spot for a family getaway? I feel so lucky to have generous friends who let us join in the fun at their spectacular holiday house.
Enjoying the first of many Crunchie bars aboard the Crunchie Train. Dunedin has its very own Cadbury factory and every year they host "Cadbury Week". It's an all-out festival of all things chocolate. We did chocolate decorating, rode the Crunchie train up the Taieri Gorge, and took in our first Jaffa Race.
What you're looking at is 25,000 candy coated chocolate balls racing down the steepest street in the world. They do two races, sweeping the entire street (by hand) between races. It is extremely bizarre and totally awesome.
The children (and plenty of adults) help out by digging in the gutter and grabbing as many Jaffas as they can before the sweeping crew comes. Forget the five second rule - these things have rolled down a busy city street and came to rest in a GUTTER for Pete's sake. Eeeeew!
There was plenty of other action happening during the break; we managed to take in two plays, go for plenty of walks and go to a movie as well. I fear we may have set the bar a little too high and Abner will come to expect this much fun on every term break!
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Happy Mother's Day
Mother's Day has nearly past here in New Zealand. Thought I would share a few pics of our family sharing the day together at Sandfly Bay. We did plenty of walking along the beach, checked out the sea lions resting on the beach, built many sandcastles, destroyed just as many, splashed in the ocean, and made the long trek back up the sand wall to the car park. All that, plus we went out for breakfast and had ice cream in Portobello. Phew. What a day!
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I hope your day is as sunny and fun as mine was.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Sunday, 25 December 2011
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Easiest Wreath Ev-ah!
Wanted a wreath for the door...didn't want to spend any money to make it happen.What's a crafty girl to do but dig into the craft stash and see what she could come up with.
This project required nothing more than cardboard and yarn. Lots and lots of yarn. How it's made should be pretty obvious, but I will point out a few details that might help in case you want to make one yourself:
If I were going out and buying materials to make this again, I would probably go for more traditional Christmas colours. I think an assortment of reds, greens and creams would look lovely! But it sure was nice to use up yarn I'd had sitting around for nearly a decade!
As a bonus, it matches my couch perfectly.
This project required nothing more than cardboard and yarn. Lots and lots of yarn. How it's made should be pretty obvious, but I will point out a few details that might help in case you want to make one yourself:
- I used four different yarns (2 boucle and 2 chunky) which give an interesting texture
- I alternated between the yarns as I wrapped (i.e. 3 times around with blue boucle, then 3 times with blue chunky, 3 times with green boucle, 3 times with dark blue chunky and repeat...) I wanted the different colours and textures to blend together a bit
If I were going out and buying materials to make this again, I would probably go for more traditional Christmas colours. I think an assortment of reds, greens and creams would look lovely! But it sure was nice to use up yarn I'd had sitting around for nearly a decade!
As a bonus, it matches my couch perfectly.
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Hey, Christmas tree, cute skirt!
I picked up a slew of Christmas fabrics after the holidays last year with good intentions to have a pretty new tree skirt made in time for the holidays this year. I even had the pattern designed sometime in January! To no one's great shock, I didn't even start cutting or sewing until just a few days ago. Thankfully it came together quickly.
I love aqua and red together. Don't you? To me it says Christmas without beating you over the head with holiday spirit.
And who doesn't love gingham? I used my bias tape maker to produce a few meters of straight strip (i.e. non-bias-cut) binding and attached it by machine. This goes against my usual preference to hand sew, but seeing as I was finishing the binding while The Dear Sweet Husband was out buying the tree, time was of the essence.
For the backing I used a piece of remnant fabric my aunt gave me some time ago. Lately, we had been using it as temporary curtains in our kitchen, so I guess I know what my next project is going to be.
My favourite part is the closure I came up with at the back. See how some of the squares are positioned to overlap with one another? When they're aligned properly, you almost can't see the two halves coming together behind the tree. If you're going to try this detail yourself, be sure to clip and notch your corners very carefully and press very well before top stitching.
Obviously I started this before we had our tree, or our tree stand for that matter, so I had to guess at the sizing. I suppose the skirt should probably come up to cover the stand a bit more, but I'm totally fine with this. TDSH picked out one good looking stand!
When I have more time, I will stitch some circles to properly quilt the layers (just like on my regular quilts), but this will do beautifully for this year.
I love aqua and red together. Don't you? To me it says Christmas without beating you over the head with holiday spirit.
And who doesn't love gingham? I used my bias tape maker to produce a few meters of straight strip (i.e. non-bias-cut) binding and attached it by machine. This goes against my usual preference to hand sew, but seeing as I was finishing the binding while The Dear Sweet Husband was out buying the tree, time was of the essence.
For the backing I used a piece of remnant fabric my aunt gave me some time ago. Lately, we had been using it as temporary curtains in our kitchen, so I guess I know what my next project is going to be.
My favourite part is the closure I came up with at the back. See how some of the squares are positioned to overlap with one another? When they're aligned properly, you almost can't see the two halves coming together behind the tree. If you're going to try this detail yourself, be sure to clip and notch your corners very carefully and press very well before top stitching.
Obviously I started this before we had our tree, or our tree stand for that matter, so I had to guess at the sizing. I suppose the skirt should probably come up to cover the stand a bit more, but I'm totally fine with this. TDSH picked out one good looking stand!
When I have more time, I will stitch some circles to properly quilt the layers (just like on my regular quilts), but this will do beautifully for this year.
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