Tea party mug rugs

Still revealing Christmas handmade gifts, this time with some mug rugs I made for my tea-loving mother-in-law. I had bought the fabric this summer thinking about her but could not decide what to do until Amie and I challenged ourselves to make some mug rugs. I ended up making two sets: one with Christmas themed fabrics (no pics.. oops) and this one. I'm still not too sure what's the best size/ratio for a good mug rug but these can accommodate a regular tea cup with some room to spare for a cookie or two. I'm definitely going to make more of those. It's a great way to use up scraps... and scraps is somethings I never lack of: I have a really hard time parting with cute fabric scraps regardless how small.

Christmas table runner

I know Christmas was a while ago but I wanted to show you the fun table runner I made. Amie and I put our Christmas fabric stashes together, and after cutting a bunch of strips and piecing all that together, we both ended up with a runner top. I finished mine with in-the-ditch quilting. It does make my dinning room table look so much more cheerful. 

Envelope clutch revisited

Another Chrisms gift now revealed. This past summer,  Amie (Kitty Cats and Airplanes) taught me how to make her adorable envelope clutch. 

I recently found a different type of interfacing than we used back then: stiffer and thinner. This prompted me to make a new version of the clutch that would be a bit bigger too, with a gusset to make access easier. 

I ended up making two .. . one for myself and one for a friend that has a soft spot for yellow and grey.

I will definitely reuse this form for more cute little clutches :)

Reversible table runner

The holidays are behind us and it is time to share some of the handcrafted gifts that came out of my studio this year. This table runner went to my sister in Switzerland and she loved the colors and the fact that you can use either side either for a formal setting or for a fun colorful table.

I confess I was tempted to keep it... but I can make another one as long as I find a fabric combination I fancy for this use

What I've been up to this week

My studio has been very neglected this week. I only visited to wrap and label presents - no crafts. Instead, I want into baking overdrive. 15 dozens of sugar cookies, 250 chocolate Grand Marnier truffles, various other creations for Christmas parties. 

Hard to resist all that chocolate

Lots and lots of cookies

Fist batch of royal icing decorated cookies

Second batch - Making progress with the technique 

I'm glad I am taking some vacation time starting Monday evening to rest up. This time of the year is always a bit stressful. There is so much to think of. The days were stretching from 6AM until 1 or 2AM.  The list kept being scary so I ended up crossing a couple of items off to keep my sanity:

- Christmas cards - done 

- Handmade gifts - done - removed from present list : the play tent 

- Handmade ornaments - done  - removed from the list : bunting and garlands

- Holiday baking - done - removed from the list : gingerbread

- Photo album - Postponed 

- Holiday shopping - Mostly done - I have 2 more days next week to finish since I refuse to brave the weekend crowds at the mall

Still on the list: 

- Plan Christmas eve menu and grocery shopping for the family visiting

- Cook and bake some more

Unexpected items: 

- Straighten up the family room that is cluttered due to the water heater almost disaster

- Paint the baseboard that my hubby suddenly decided to replace (I'm still wondering about this one...)

Added item: 

- Take a long hot tub or 2 since the new water heater provides unlimited hot water on demand

- My letter to Santa : can I have time for a nap please ?

How's your Christmas list coming along ? 

What I've been up to this week

Another whirlwind of a week. Sewing, crafting, painting, decorating were all on the menu. We put the final touches to little bug's new bedroom and (after sending her to Aunt Joan for a cookie baking party), we moved her belongings into the new room. She will be there at noon. I'm so impatient to see her face when she opens the door for the first time!! Pictures to come for the big reveal. 

More Christmas gift finishes of course nothing that I can show right now... frustrating. I've taken time to do some wrapping/hiding while there was no little people in the house. 

Also dug out the decorations, just a few things here and there, the big even starts after we bring home our tree. The expedition is scheduled for this afternoon. YAY!!

We will be on our way to the tree farm as soon as little bug is back home. Sooo excited!!

Canvas success

It has arrived ... and sure enough I'm in love

The minute it got there I knew I had to put it in this shadowbox frame. I got a second copy for a Christmas present. I think the recipient will be thrilled. But shhh I'm not saying who it is.

New toy : Ruffler attachment

My Pfaff sewing machine came back from the "spa" (read Sew n' Vac tune up) on Friday in great shape. No more clicking and clacking: it sounds all smooth. Actually it's been better than it ever was since I "acquired" it second hand (as a barter deal) 3 years ago. The tension issue I had in the past couple of weeks are gone. No more thread breaking, bunching and other irritating problems that made me consider shopping around for an affordable replacement. The strike plate even looks like new. It's been so nicely polished I first thought it had been replaced. I'm so happy now that I know I have a few more years with this machine. So I bought a new toy attachment to play create fun stuff with: 

I know, I know. This is a scary metal beast. It looks complicated and ready to pinch or bite. Believe me it's a great toy: it's a ruffler foot. I know you can do ruffles without one. But when you do a LOT of ruffles this is the bomb. Wait until you see what I've been doing with it! I'm having tons of fun. Well worth the $15 I spent on it.

The downside is I can't play too much with is just yet. I still have to finish a couple of things on my Christmas list that need to be shipped to my family in Europe this Saturday at the latest. So I had to put my new toy away until I'm done with those. Priorities, priorities!

Stash disclosure

More scarves on the way after a little shopping trip. Yes yes, my bad. But also remember I'm MAKING a lot of presents this year. Unfortunately there hasn't been not much sewing going on the past two evenings. The major cause : this is my on-call week for work. What that means: I get all emergency calls for my department from 5PM to 8AM during week days and all day Saturday and Sunday (yes, you are reading this right and that's on top of the regular work week). Thankfully I only have to do it for a week every 6 weeks. And mostly, it is pretty quiet. Except not so much so far this time.  

At least I was able to catch up on emails, work on couple of tutorials and I'm consoling myself of the lack of crafting by dreaming about the great things I'm going to make with my new stash additions:

Don't you love the combination of chocolate brown, pink and lime green?

And how about this sweet field of flowers on an Turquoise background? 

Scarf overdose ?

Still furiously sewing to keep on track with having hand crafted gifts for friends and family this year... 3 more finished. I had fun putting together the red one but I'm not sure whether I want to go through the trouble of making one more ... It was a LOT of work. It's also a birthday gift so it will be in the hand of the recipient in the morning. I know she will love the color. I hope she'll like the funky edge too. 

Another variation on the kimono scarf - 2 of this color scheme  are now finished on top of the 3 in cream pink and turquoise. I counted I need to sew 4 more, I got to dig through my stash, I'm afraid I may just run out of chiffon fabric this weekend - or overdose on scarf sewing before that. Maybe it's time to put those aside and get my nieces presents started. I have to ship presents for my family in France and Switzerland by the end of the month to be sure everything gets there on time - Sometimes even priority mail takes weeks to get to destination. 

I also stated on a few more Christmas ornaments, they still need the final touch though so no pictures yet.

The Kimono scarf

First item stricken off my Christmas list. OK I still have quite a few to go but this is a start. Cream, white,  black and pink with a highlight turquoise cuff. A classic design with a twist. It will look so good on a business suit, jazz up the dullness but remain classy and feminine. I'm making at least 2 more just like this. One of them will land in my wardrobe.

 

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