More crafting fun!!

Just a quick update before I go to bed.  C and Mr E decided to feed my addiction and got me a gift certificate for more fabric!!  I'm the luckiest crazy crafting lady in the world.  Now......to decide what to make!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's the post you've all been waiting for!  I finally gave away my last hand made Christmas gift and the recipient loved it!!

Here's my brother with his Christmas gift...a Batman quilt made in the Turning Twenty pattern.  This is the original of the pattern not one of the variations.  I would definitely attempt this pattern again as it was very easy!

Here's a close up of the quilt.  It's folded in half.  I haven't measured the final dimensions but it does cover the top of a queen sized bed.

I will update the post later with more pictures and fun things.  I got a TON of quilting supplies from Santa and I have a friend helping me with the Harry Potter quilt.  But now...time for Christmas brunch with Mom, Dad, brother Josh and Big D.  I can't wait!! Ham quiche, hash brown bake with cheese and mushroom soup and old fashioned molasses muffins!

UPDATE!!

So here are some pictures of the wonderful sewing fun that Santa brought me for Christmas...

Tim Horton's coffee for my new coffee maker, hand soaps, body spray, body wash and shower gel from Bath and Body Works

Two new Head Chef kitchen utensils from my brother and a bottle of Christmas cheer that Santa left in my stocking!

The best part!!! The large quilting ruler is what Tiny T's mom got for me two weeks ago.  My Mom and Dad got me two cutting mats, a square and triangle ruler, binding clips, quilting pins, tape measure, quilting pen and a magazine.  My Grandpa gave me another gift certificate to Fabricland which will most definitely be put to good use!!  With the material I bought for the Harry Potter quilt, I should be all set for a nice long cold winter full of quilting and fun!

There was also the obligatory personal hygiene items in the stocking, socks, new dish towels for the apartment and a toque to cover my bad hair cut.  (Everyone thinks its cute, I think its too short!!)

Here is the green and grey that my friend Nessie is going to use for her Slytherin quilt.  She is helping me test the pattern.  The green is similar to the red and yellow I have, but she wanted something different for the grey.  She thought it would add her own artistic flare.  I think it will be an amazing and cozy quilt!!

Well, now that I've spend the day snuggling with Big D on the couch and watching "The Walking Dead" (very Christmassy, I know) with him and my little brother it is now time for Christmas dinner.  So I bid you adieu and a Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

Sew begins the insanity!

I have two steps left on my final Christmas sewing project.  With the end in sight for my quilting projects it was time to splurge and spend my Fabricland gift certificate.  Ok, the real reason is they had an AMAZING sale on. Buy one meter of quilting cotton get TWO FREE!  That's right folks, three meters for the price of one.  If I had a credit card with no limit I would have bought the store.  (Actually, maybe it would just be easier to move in there).  I picked up the fabric I would need to make the Gryffindor lap quilt as I managed to figure out the yardage for those four easier than the giant house quilt.  I have two friends already willing to help me with testing the pattern and my measurements.  I just need one more person to help me test run Hufflepuff.  Here is what I found.

I'm very happy with the colour and the slight pattern on the material.  I think it will be a little more interesting than just plain material.  I hope it turns out well.  I can't wait to see what my friends pick out for material.  I told them as long as they stick to the appropriate colours for their house, I wasn't concerned about the pattern on the material.  Both are fairly new to sewing and/or quilting.  If they can figure out what put together for the pattern, then it should be simple for everyone.  Here's hoping there isn't too much tweaking involved.

EDIT: Thanks to my cousin for the suggestion of changing the title!

14 Sleeps till Christmas!

Here is one of the two post I have been waiting for.  I can finally unveil some of the Christmas sewing I have been doing!!!

Today was early Christmas with Big D's family as his Dad and Step Mom, R and Tiny T, are going away to Mexico over Christmas.  We drove to Tiny T's mom's place in Brandon for a wonderful day of gifts, far too much food and lots of laughs.

Big D bought me a new Kitchen Aid coffee maker with every bell and whistle imaginable.  The coffee maker I had before worked just fine but was very basic.  I wanted to get one that had a timer to set on it so my coffee would be ready to go in the morning.  It has that along with a removable water tank, filter, reusable basket and self cleaning mode.  He also got me a new alarm clock that charges and plays my iPod.  Yes, there is a trend of me having a hard time getting up in the mornings but hopefully these two things will make it a little easier!

My brand new coffee maker!!

We got his dad some personalized autographed pictures from two of the former Winnipeg Jets.  If you're not familiar with the story, we lost our NHL hockey team many years ago.  Just this year, we got them back and there have been many promotional opportunities since.  Two of the big name players, Dale Hawerchuk and Bobby Hull were at my office building signing autographs.  It seemed to be the perfect gift for the man who loves local sports teams but has just about everything.  As for Tiny T, I made her a table topper in the same pattern as the many others I have been making.  She loves anything purple, so when I saw this material I knew it was perfect for her.

Here's Tiny T with her Christmas gift!

A little while ago, when we were out for dinner for Big D's birthday, Tiny T's mom was chatting with me about all the crafting that I do.  She made mention that she wouldn't mind trying her hand at quilting.  I found a very lovely book with all the basics and a few nice projects that should be easy for her to complete.  She was very pleased with it.  I also made her a project organizer.  My mom made one a few years back, which I now have along with the pattern for it.  It's a very simple fabric outside with zip lock bags inside to organize multiple projects.  I used some decorative ribbon for a tie closure instead of the velcro the pattern called for.  My Mom used the velcro and over the years it has come loose.  I thought the tie closure would be a little more durable in the long run.

Here she is with her book and her project organizer.

She wasn't the only one who received crafting gifts.  I received a very lovely quilting ruler and a gift certificate to FabricLand!  That will definitely help me with completing my Harry Potter quilt.  I can't wait to start working on that but I must finish the last little bit of my Christmas sewing first.

16 Sleeps till Christmas!

 

Praise the sewing gods! My machine is not broken after all. After discussing the matter with my Mom, we decided that it was the thread I was using that may be causing me issues. In the interest of being thrifty, I bought some thread at the dollar store. Turns out it might not be of the best quality and was causing the machine to act up. I swapped it out for some better quality thread and was able to happily sew away on some Christmas presents!

I feel like I'm neglecting my blog lately with not being able to post about all the projects I've been making. I can, however, update you on the Harry Potter quilt I've been designing from the knitting pattern from Rosemary. I did some reconfiguring of the designs in an attempt to make it smaller. I've was able to bring it down from 7' x 10' to a more manageable 5' x 8'. That still makes for a large quilt but at least it won't be bigger than Tanka. I did a quick mock up in paint with the basic colour scheme I'm thinking of using.

I'm going to invest in good fabric for this quilt, not scraps and bargain bin finds. It will likely be expensive so I'll have to do it in stages. My theory is, if you're going to make something this epic, why cheap out right?

I still want to do the lap quilts of the individual houses. Those should be slightly easier given that they are smaller and the fabric count will be partially done thanks to the work done on the giant quilt. I'm going to need some test quilters to help me with the lap quilts. If you know of anyone, or even yourself, that would like to help me test out the pattern, please comment or e-mail me.

With that being said, I have a weekend full of Christmas celebrations! Big D and I are attending a get together and my Aunt's place tonight. (The same one that I created the website for! Have you ordered your jams and jellies yet?) Saturday is a busy day of work for both Big D and I. We're both doing overtime to cover Christmas expenses and bills. Sunday we are driving to Brandon, MB which is 2 hours away for early Christmas with some of his family. It should be a very fun filled weekend. Unfortunately, that means I won't have a lot of time to work on my Christmas projects. Oh well, there's always the next weekend!

Santa's coming soon but Murphy made an early visit...

Wouldn't you know it, I've been so on top of my Christmas sewing and what happens, my machine starts to give out.  It's my third one in four years and they've all been used.  The first one was just a small Singer featherweight I got from my Great Aunt which didn't make it after one quilt.  I then bought a used one which was destroyed in a move and this one was a $25 bargain I got a year and a half ago.  Granted, this poor little machine has been used and abused with all the costuming its done and non historical projects.  I just didn't think it would die this soon.  It is a Singer from the 1950's or around there.  I'm not entirely sure of the year.  It's started looping the thread on the underside of my material despite fixing the thread tension and re-threading the machine.  I also think the motor is going because its taking a lot of coaxing to get the old girl moving.  I can always use my mom's sewing machine to get my Christmas presents done but I feel kind of lost without my own now.

I did get a lot of decorating done around the apartment.  My Grandpa gave me what he said was "a few decorations" he didn't need anymore.  Big D and I went to pick them up and he loaded down the back seat and trunk full of decorations, most of which were hand made by him or my late Grandma.  So now, the decorations that once filled a house have now been placed in every nook and cranny possible in a studio apartment.  Christmas has literally thrown up everywhere in this place!  I have to admit tho, it's very warm and wonderful to have so many decorations that have memories from years past.  Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Santa and Snowman lights my Mom and Dad gave me.  They are hanging on the balcony on the inside so I can see them through the door.

Ceramic Santa's Village my Grandma made around 1992.

Ceramic winter village made after Santa's Village between 1992 and 1993.

Wooden candles I believe my Grandpa made, ceramic one horse open sleigh and lamp post made by my Grandma in 1978 and a terra cotta pot Santa apparently made by me and given to my Grandparents in 1996!!

Wooden Christmas trees made by my Grandpa and painted by my Grandma.  No date marked on them but memory serves they are from the mid 1990's.  The JOY figures are store bought.

Ceramic carolers made by my Grandma. No date on them.  Snowman train is store bought.

Ceramic light up Christmas tree made by my Grandma in 1977.  My mom has a matching one that was made for my Great Grandmother.  The little reindeer is obviously store bought but oh so cute!  Notice the quilted table runner underneath.  I don't believe this was made by my Grandma but likely purchased at a craft sale.

The tiny little Christmas tree.  It's 4.5' tall.  I say tiny because my parents have a 7' at home.  The lights are new but all the decorations are from my Grandpa.  Most are wooden ones made by him and painted by my Grandma.  They include bells, doves, stockings, snowmen and Christmas trees.  there are a few others too including some Christmas Winnie the Pooh ones my Grandma had.

So that is what I've done with Christmas decorating.  It doesn't look like much but every flat surface is covered.  The villages are occupying the dining room table as the bases are too wide for either shelf.  I would absolutely die if those fell and broke.  Seeing as how the table is not available for use, the coffee and end tables have the Christmas place mats on them.

Hopefully I'll be able to sort out my sewing machine trouble soon.  If anyone has suggestions for fixes I would love to hear them!  Hope everyone is having fun with their Christmas shopping, decorating, baking and crafting.  Remember, only 19 more sleeps!!!