Christmas Sewing

Once I got my cast off, I had a lot of catching up to do! It had been months since I had been able to do anything in my quilt room. Now the holidays were approaching and I had things to do!! I didn't go to physical therapy after I got my cast off-the dr. said that I needed to just jump back in and use my hand. The problem was pain and swelling. It lasted for weeks and was really getting me down. I was able to eat with my right hand, but I still couldn't hold a pen, much alone a rotary cutter. I was so frustrated. So I decided to start off slowly.

My daughter, Melissa, wanted to make matching pajamas for her kids and all their cousins to wear for Christmas. I thought it sounded like a fun idea and I volunteered to help her. I bought yards and yards of flannel fabric and matching red T-shirts. I packed my serger and off I went to spend the day with her. 

We had the best time! She was cutting out all the pants and I was sewing them up almost as quickly as she could cut. Then she threaded the elastic through the waistbands and presto-pronto--we had made eight pairs of pajama pants in under five hours!! I left the shirts with Melissa-she had decided to applique their initials on them. 

A few days later all the grandkids came to our house to decorate their Christmas tree. We also baked Christmas cookies, ate pizza and had a quick photo session. I knew that Christmas day would be a chaos of toys, wrapping paper and ribbon and that I would never get them all together for a picture....

All the girls gathered in front of the Christmas tree and lots and lots of pictures were taken, but Ollie was having nothing to do with it. You see, he's two. Enough said.

So, we moved to the stairs and plopped Ollie into the picture. Even a Christmas cookie bribe didn't make him any happier. But I still love the picture and I sent it out in my Christmas cards. 

I think their pajamas came out really cute--we may have to make this an annual tradition. 

I hope your holidays were happy too! 

Grammy

Repurposing Christmas Cards

I just can't stand to throw away something that I can reuse, repurpose or recycle. So, when I saw a pin on Pinterest that showed making gift tags out of your old Christmas cards I knew I just had to do it. I went through all of our cards from this year and found 40 that I thought would work. I have some scrapbooking supplies (because at one time I thought I might like to do that as a hobby too, but that's another story), so I got out my die cutter and the two dies that I have that are for cutting tags. And here are a few that I came up with.

These are smaller tags, cut with two different shaped dies. Several were just fussy cut off the card and I punched a hole in them.

These are bigger tags. I love the one with the dove and the one with the button. The dimension adds a lot of interest. 

Apparently snowman cards were popular this year. I do have lots of gift bags and wrapping paper that snowman tags will be cute with.

These two tags were my faves. They look like they were made just to be repurposed into gift tags. 

I have enough tags for all my Christmas gifts for next year. All for free.

Now, back to my quilt projects. Happy Stitching. 

Christmas Crafts and Gifts

This is my last post about Christmas! I couldn't write this before Christmas because I didn't want my family members to see what I was up to. And then after Christmas my husband and I went out of town for our anniversary. Now the new year has started and I am just getting around to posting this. Looks like I am starting out the year a day late and a dollar short. 

I told my husband that I wanted more Christmas "spirit" this year and one way I was going to get it was by making gifts. I love handmade gifts and so does my family. 

It all started with some "Clifford fabric" I found in an Amish quilt shop last September. My oldest granddaughter, Katelyn (9 1/2), has loved Clifford since she was a tiny toddler. As soon as I saw this fabric I knew I had to get it and make her some pajama pants for Christmas. And every grandmother knows you can't make something for JUST ONE grandchild-you have to make something for each and every grandchild. So, this Christmas I made something for each of my 6 granddaughters (and my 2 daughters, my mom and my husband.) I had a great time and it was just what I needed to give me that good old-fashioned Christmas spirit.

I have made each of my granddaughters Christmas pillowcases. I owed one to the two youngest and these are the fabrics that I chose for them. They are Christmasy and young and fun. 

These are Katelyn's Clifford pajama pants. I loved the coordinating fabric and just had to have it for contrasting cuffs and waist. 

I made this purse for Emily (she will be 8 on Sunday). She is such a girly-girl and I knew these cute flowers were perfect for her. This pattern is the Amy Butler Frenchy Bag.

Madison is 6 1/2 and is a huge Snoopy lover. Her Snoopy dog goes everywhere with her! She wanted a backpack for her Snoopy to wear and this Peanuts fabric was perfect. I am going to make her a matching one as soon as I get some more fabric. I also made her a pillowcase from this fabric for her birthday last year. 

Four and a half year old Sofia loves Tinkerbell, so I got this fabric to make an I-Spy bag for her. The idea is not an original one. I just did a Google search and found a pattern I liked. Most of the items inside her bag are cute buttons.

I did put a pocket in the back for the card to be tucked into when not in use. 

Sofia's sister, Chloe, age 2 1/2, also got an I-Spy bag. Nothing but Minnie Mouse fabric would work for her.

Ella, 15 months, got a ball. It was challenging, but a lot of fun to make. She loves throwing it and it is so easy for her to pick up because of the way it's made. 

As you can see, none of my projects were complicated or too time consuming to make. Each was catered to the interests and likes of the recipient. And they were all loved on Christmas morning-bringing that Christmas spirit and joy to all. 

Happy New Year.

Christmas Decorating-Our Bedroom

On the coffee table in our bedroom is a plaster of Paris Nativity I purchased 30 years ago. It was a kit that came with the paints and you finished it yourself. My husband has a much steadier hand than I do and so he painted it for us. There was also a stable to assemble included with the kit. Through the years our children all played with it and now our grandchildren do. The paint has chipped in a few places over the years, but the kids have always played with it tenderly and it has survived intact. It is the sweetest Nativity I have ever seen. 

I love a live Christmas tree. Nothing beats that sweet smell of Christmas. We wanted a really tall live tree to go in our great room and two years in a row that live tall tree we bought decided to take a tumble after it was decorated! At that point, I gave in and said, if it's gotta be tall, it's gotta be artificial. So, my husband and I agreed that our bedroom was the perfect place for the live tree we both wanted in our home. 

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Decorating-The Entry

I guess this is really the room I should have started with, since it is the first impression you get of the house when you enter. I bought two small trees for either side of the furniture here and this is the first year that I have decorated them-sticking with my red and gold theme. (I have to confess at this point-I don't think you could find a red or gold ornament within a 50 mile radius of my house now! I have been stalking the shelves.)

In 1983 my in-laws were into painting ceramics. They made us a Nativity, which, to this day, is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. Their attention to detail was perfection.

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Decorating-The Dining Room

The dining room is always so fun to decorate. I love setting a pretty table. About 31 years ago my mother gave me some Pfalzgraff Christmas dishes. They are white with a Christmas tree on them and I think they are called Christmas Heritage. Over the years I collected more and more. I have lots of serving pieces, including casserole dishes, a coffee server, and a two-tiered cookie plate. Several years before they quit making it I found it at an outlet store and bought LOTS of dinner plates. I have over two dozen now, which is just about right--we will have 20 here for Christmas dinner this year.

I love my plaid tablecloth-it keeps the room from feeling too formal to me. This year I added the charger plates to the table. I think I am liking them. I love to have the table set during the holidays-it looks like a dinner party is happening soon. 

Again, I got an idea off of Pinterest. I loved a chandelier that I saw, so I used it for inspiration. I folded a garland in half, twisted it together and then wound it around my light fixture. I hung various size red ornaments at different lengths from red ribbons. I also added a wider ribbon and more ornaments in the garland. 

This table is long and requires a large (or long) centerpiece. I have learned through the years that a couple of candlesticks just don't cut it here. I bought these gold candles at Michael's 60% off last week. I was tickled to death! Again, greenery wound on the table, interspersed with candles of varying heights, and gold ornaments mingling throughout. Nothing real original, but I thought it looked pretty. 

Last year I found a Christmas tree that fit perfectly into the corner of the dining room. We enjoyed having it there while we were eating and it is the only tree that can be seen from the front of our house. This year's decorations are red and gold (of course) with a simple ribbon garland. 

It will be fun to have Christmas dinner at this table. But, with 20 people here, there will be two more tables to set. I will work to make them just as festive. 

Happy Holidays.

Christmas Decorating-The Great Room

Every year I say I am not going to leave anything until the last minute. That I am going to be ready early for Christmas. That I am going to have time to just sit back, relax and enjoy the season. HA! It never happens-and I am not sure that it ever will. 

I know I go overboard at Christmas, but with six granddaughters, it is so fun to decorate. The girls just love it. And I have to admit that my husband and I enjoy it too. 

I put up 8 Christmas trees in my house this year. It took me 12 days to get it all done! But, when all of the Christmas lights are on in our house, it feels like a Christmas wonderland and the little kid in me comes out. 

I decided to go with a gold and red "theme" this year. The first place that I decorated was the fireplace and mantel in our great room. The mantel has greenery with white lights, wired ribbon, gold pillar candles and gold glass ornaments. 

This is a close up of the mantel. 

In the fireplace I put more greenery, ribbon, and red ornaments along with the candles. I got these candles at Michael's (they were 50% off). They hold tea light candles that burn for 5 1/2-6 hours. I love them because they flicker and glow so beautifully when lit. This was not an original idea-I saw something similar on Pinterest and thought it would be fun since we never build a fire in this fireplace. I got these live poinsettias at Home Depot on Black Friday-they were only $1.00 each---score!

Here is a close up of the fireplace. You can see the candle glow-it amazes me how much light they give off. 

Next I moved to the banister. I put the same greenery on it every year, but I decorate it differently. I have put pinecones, cinnamon sticks and berries in it. I have done it with red and white stripe ribbon and red and white ornaments-a candy cane effect. I have also learned over the years to mark my greenery where I swag it. I use Command strip hooks  on the spindles and hook the greenery from them.

This year I used the same ribbon that I used on the mantel and red and gold ornaments.

Then it was time for the tree to go up. This is a 12 foot tree and comes in five sections, weighs over 125 pounds and requires an 8 foot ladder! It is no easy task to assemble and decorate. But this year we got it done in just 5 1/2 hours. This tree has all of our family ornaments on it-all the ones we have collected over the years-the ones the kids made in school and we bought on vacations. It's an extremely eclectic mix of decorations. I love decorating this tree-it's a walk down memory lane every year.

Tomorrow is a peek at my dining room. If I can't be quilting, I have to show you what I've been up to. Besides, I love this time of year!!

Happy decorating!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

This was sent to me by a friend and made me laugh out loud when I read it-I wonder how many other quilters think Santa would say the same thing to them. 


'Twas the Night Before Christmas
I'm glued to the tree.
I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?
Or a quilt kit, I said, with a smile on my face.
And that's when I heard him. "Hi, Santa," I said.
"You know good little girls should be in bed."
"I know I should Santa and now I've been caught,
But I was just so excited to see what you brought."
"Well, let's take a look in this room where you work."
He shook his head quickly and left with a jerk.
I heard him explain as he put it in gear,
"You've got enough stuff, I'll see you next year."

Author Unknown

Happy Quilting.