Getting Ahead for Christmas

Not in most areas of my life (where I'm later than usual in printing Christmas lists and labels for envelopes....and yes, I do know that it's still fifty-something days to Christmas it's just that I like to be prepared) - but in making sewn Christmas decorations.

First of all the little house that I'd talked about the other day, inspired by the magazine cover and my own plump trunked trees.  I've added some beads and charms (and no, tiger tail doesn't poke through two layers of fabric and some wadding very easily for anyone who was curious).  I think that I'm going to re-do the window dressing, though, as the longer bugle beads didn't allow me to echo the shape of the window as I'd wanted to.

The second is a little decoration made like a paper snowflake (you know, folding the paper, snipping away, reopening it - you probably spent time doing this at infant school, even if you haven't done it since).  Instead of paper I used fabric with a fusible sheet on the back, so after snipping I could just iron the motif onto fabric before finishing the little quilt off.  More opportunities for adding beading and extra stitching ,of course....

I made another hanging decoration with an angel stitched last night at the Richmond and Kew Quilters meeting - a workshop led by my friend Lesley, and using one of the designs (and the threads) that she provided. The little wreath beside it is a starched fabric version of this.  It's fast to make, but slightly fiddly.  As it was fabric, rather than just leaving the holding together to chance, I ran a line of stitching around the central opening.  I think that more practise would help even up the outer 'petal's on it, although I was quite happy with the evenness of the inside gap!

Inspired to make your own snowflake?  Surely you've seen the virtual snowflake snipper by now?  If not, and you've got five minutes to waste, click here and you'll be able to snip some snowflakes to get you into the winter mood, without needing to clean up small diamonds of paper from the floor afterwards!  It might be useful to know that the scissors only work when the button on them is green, not when it's red - so you have to pay attention (and not suffer red/green colour blindness) to be able to play. Have fun!