Sunday, November 24, 2019

Xmas Stitch-a-Long, part 1

Hi everyone!

It's been a busy and exciting three weeks. I got a new job, turned in my notice on my old job, and started the new job. Oh, and I still managed to do some stitching.

At the last check-in I was nearly finished with the odd little cherry blossom cross stitch set.


I'm happy to report that I finished the stitching AND the ink all rinsed out just fine. I even found a ready-made frame, so it's all framed and ready to go for Christmas!


Then the next project I wanted to work on was this kitschy Christmas banner from an old Edna Looney kit:


I love these old felt-and-sequins sort of kits. Maybe I just enjoy building up layers of felt? The "bits" part of the kit had gone missing, which meant I didn't have the sequins or beads, though I did have the feathers for the beard. But I cobbled together a few things and voila!


I'm especially pleased with my adaptations of the pattern. I decided to attach the holly leaves by stitching veins rather than stitching around the shapes, and I found some cute tiny red jingle bells to serve as holly berries:


I also found some black "gems" and a red "gem" to replace the missing ones from the kit. The red one was bigger than the original piece in the kit, so I just used it without a background:


In other Christmas news... Many years ago I bought a couple of dozen spools of craft ribbon in a 90% off after Christmas sale with the idea of weaving them together and making a table runner. That took a couple of years to happen, but I did eventually make the table runner. (I'd show you but it's still packed away with the Christmas decorations!) But of course there was a lot of ribbon left over.


I had been wanting to make some Christmas bunting using the old ribbons, so finally made the time to design the project, gather supplies, and even start sewing. First I stitched the ribbons to the blue flannel backing fabric:


Then I cut those into 8-inch rows, stitched the edges to keep everything together, and then cut them into flags:


Finally I zig-zag edged the flags. Next step will be to make the letters, which requires a trip to the fabric store to choose the fabric for them (a bright blue metallic, perhaps?) and then I'll stitch on the felt snowflakes and the letters, and bind them to a ribbon for hanging.


That's still a lot of work between now and Christmas, but I'm hoping to have it done before our next check in on December 15!

Now, I'm sure my fellow stitchers have been just as busy on their projects -- I think a few will be doing their own happy dances this time! Check out their work on the links below:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, LindaHeidi, Jackie, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary MargaretRenee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, SharonDaisy, Anne, and Connie.

See you on December 15th for our next check-in!

19 comments:

  1. What a wonderful happy dance for you! Lots of happy dances this update. Beautiful!

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  2. I've always wondered whether the print comes out of those kits. I'll be confident enough to buy one now so thanks for that. You're finish is beautiful! We're happy dancing together :-) You've made a lovely job of the Santa too. Your bunting is so unique. Love it! I'm going to have a rummage in my Christmassy fabrics and make some bunting to send to my daughter who is living and working in China for a few months.

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    1. Thanks Avis -- and congrats on your finish, too! It's fun to mix up my projects a bit, though I wonder if I'm not just stalling on the next big needlepoint project!

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  3. So many happy dances this time round! Congrats Sunny, your cherry blossoms look stunning and great to see the ink washed out so well. Your Santa banner is super cute! I love his beard and the little bells for holly berries are perfect. Can't wait to see your bunting progress, I have a feeling you will be dancing again very soon! Jenny xx

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    1. Thanks Jenny! I'm really happy with the Santa ... and you're right, the bunting is coming along nicely.

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  4. Wow! You have been productive with such amazing projects. Your cherry blossom is GORGEOUS! Congratulations on a truly stunning piece. And your Santa is absolutely fabulous! I love your adaptations to the kit. Your ribbon project is off to a gorgeous start as well. Beautiful work! I cannot wait to see your update in December!

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    1. Thanks Renee! Somehow doing more crafting has just made me want to do even more crafting! Probably the longer nights and cold weather keeping me inside.

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  5. oh my! you have been busy!
    love the Santa banner!
    claire93

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    1. Thank you Claire! I love those old felt-and-sequin kits!

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  6. Congratulations on your finishes!! The cherry blossom goes so perfectly in that frame. I also love those old time felt and sequin holiday projects!

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    1. Thanks Connie! I have a few more kits in the stash downstairs, but I think I'm going to shift gears and get started on my big needlepoint (which I probably won't manage to finish in 2020!)

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  7. Sunny! What a very productive November! Finished projects, new job, new designs!! Congrats! Looking forward to seeing this finished bunting!

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    1. Thanks Kathy! It's been an exciting few weeks. And so far the bunting is coming along really nicely, so I should have something to share next time!

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  8. Kudos on your lovely cherry blossom tree finish and framed! I adore that Santa..so clever and that ribbon bunting you are making. I wish I could dream up uses for things like that. It's not even December yet!

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    1. Thanks Jocelyn - I think once I finish the bunting that'll be it for Christmas crafts for the year. Though I did also unearth a bunch of "wintry" cotton that I clearly imagined making into a quilt at some point... But that's for later!

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  9. Grattis!! And a Happy Dance for you! Cherry Blossom is gorgeous and the Santa is cute!

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    1. Thanks! I feel like I've got my stitching mojo back!

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  10. Your Santa is a darling! The cherry blossoms finished up beautifully.

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