Christmas stockings

A few years ago, I made Christmas stockings for my family - panne velvet with fake fur around the top. I wanted to make something a bit more special but, as usual, I had only thought of them a few days before Christmas and didn't have time for anything more elaborate.

But this year, with an uncharacteristic burst of organisation, I realised a few months ago that Olivia didn't have a Christmas stocking. This seemed the perfect opportunity to do something a bit fancier for both granddaughters.

And here are the crazy patchwork Christmas stockings I made:

A new beginning for a new year

My craft room is 3.9 by 4.8 metres, with a wall of cupboards along one wall - so there is lots of room for mess. Over the years, as the mess has increased, my sewing machines and cutting table migrated to the adjacent family room, which then also became very messy - a sort-of domino mess effect.

However, over the last week, we have made a huge effort and, with the addition of a sewing machine cabinet, the room is now looking unnaturally tidy, with plenty of space for the sewing machines and cutting table, even when opened out. I'm now looking forward to all the wonderful things I can do in there (although granddaughter Emma has currently turned it into an art gallery).

A birthday dress for Olivia

 I made this little outfit for Olivia's 1st birthday party.

And here she is wearing it at her party. She really enjoyed Pass the Parcel.

Nature bag

Inspired by the Nature Explore Bag at Chez Beeper Bebe (http://chezbeeperbebe.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/make-this-nature-explorer-bag.html), I decided to make one for Emma for her birthday.

I collected all the things I thought should go in the bag: pencils, notebook, magnifying glass, torch and so on.

Then I designed the bag to fit the contents. I made the bag out of a sturdy blue fabric . . .

. . . and lined it with a bright print featuring a variety of bugs.

Here it is loaded up with everything:

The bag was very successful. Emma insisted on having it next to her bed at night - presumably in the event of some nighttime adventures.

A gift for Wanda

I usually plan (and try to make) gifts for people well in advance but this year I suddenly realised that Wanda's birthday was just over a week away, which really limited my options - it had to be quick and relatively easy to make. Fortunately, I had been thinking for a while of exploring the many inbuilt stitches on my Husqvarna Diamond (I think there are more than 400) and decided that this might be a good option for a journal cover.

Here's what I came up with (by the way, Wanda likes puppy dogs):

Postcard swap - Egypt

I mentioned in a previous post that I had participated in a fabric postcard swap in June, through stitchinfingers. I've been wanting to make some more fabric postcard and, of course, the Egypt theme sparked many memories for me.

I received this beautiful card from Mary the day after my previous post - a delightful surprise:

As I forgot to take a photo of my postcard before sending it off, you'll just have to take my word that it was absolutely fabulous (what's the emoticon for tongue-in-cheek?). Like many others in the swap, it featured the Eye of Horus.

More cushions

My daughter-in-law asked for some cushions for her birthday. She only mentioned it two weeks before her birthday but she was happy to wait a while. I then forgot to photograph them before I gave them to her and it's taken months for me to get photos - but here they are at last.

The two in the first photo are a plain yarn and a feathery yarn knitted together.

These are knitted, needle-felted and machine embroidered.