last of the year

I was busy with other things in December which didn't leave much time for sewing. Not to worry, though. I know the sewing will pick up again after the New Year.

One of the things I did do was to make new covers for our dining room chairs. I covered the seat panels and then made new covers for the cushion pads that sit on top too. The fabric I used is from a pair of curtains which were reduced in Dunelm Mill. They were originally reduced to £40 (I don't know what the full price was) but had been reduced again to £20. 6 chairs covered and 3 cushion pads made for £20? Not too shabby!

This photo only shows 3 of the 6 chairs I covered. I'm delighted with them!

I also didn't do much of the Christmas cross-stitch but here's the photo of what it looked like at the end of December. The white line under the snowmen is the halfway line so there's as much to do down below that as there is above. Surely I'll get it done by December 2024?

That's it for 2023. See you in 2024!

November's makes

I made another orphan blocks quilt in November. In this one the blocks are all 14½" square (14" when sewn into the quilt) which are a good bit bigger than my "normal" size of blocks - usually about 9½" square. It made the quilt go together really quickly.

The back is a dark red fleece.

I made a new Christmas tree wallhanging using half-square triangles. I added some yellow and red ric rac and a yellow felt star to the top of the tree. It has been hung on the wall since I made it in early November!

The back shows off the quilting really well!

I started a tradition a few years ago of making Emily and Isla tree decorations to hang on their family tree for now and for their own trees when they have them. I'm very happy with the ones I made them this year. These ones are the dala horse ornaments from Embroidery Library.

I embroidered their names on to cotton tape and hand-stitched them to the back so the girls would know which one was theirs. Mind you, being that their favourite colours are purple and pink, it was probably pretty obvious which one was for which girl!

Another Christmas tradition for me is to make a diary cover for Joanna. This year I embroidered the cool chick design from Planet Appliqué. I love it - and, more to the point, so does Joanna!

This is the front:

The back:

The side pockets:

The lining - which isn't seen when the diary is being used.

This is where I was up to with the Christmas cross-stitch at the end of November. It's nowhere near finished - maybe about halfway done - but I knew it wouldn't be when I started it. Hopefully it will be by next Christmas!!

Just December to blog about and I'll be all caught up. It shouldn't take me long as I haven't been doing much sewing - been busy with other things, apparently! 🎅🏻 🎄

September and October makes

This is what I made in September. It looks like I didn't make a lot but I made a few blocks for quilts as well which I didn't take photos of for some reason!!

First of all, I made a couple of nighties for Emily and Isla. These are made from downie covers from Asda. This is one side of the downies - the other side was used for more nighties which will appear later in this post as they were made in October.

I then made a couple of "horse blankets" for the girls. I think the story was that they had one pony and were always fighting over it so we got them another one and I made these blankets for them to keep warm.

I also spent some time on my cross-stitch. This is where I was at the end of September.

Now, on to October's makes.

I had made a Carpenter's Star block and, for some reason, I cut out twice the number of pieces I needed so, naturally, I had to make another one! I then made them both into quilts by adding more blocks around the Carpenter's Star. I am so chuffed with both of these!

Carpenter's Star quilt 1 - front:

... and back:

Carpenter's Star quilt 2 - front:

... and back.

Here are the nighties I made for the girls from the other side of the downie covers:

Then I made orphan block quilt number 5. I think this one is my favourite so far ... but then I say that about all of them when I finish them! 🤣

This is the front:

... and the back:

And this is where I was at the end of October on my Christmas cross-stitch.

Only November and December to catch up on now and I'll be up to date. I wonder if I'll manage to get that done before the end of the year? I suppose we'll have to wait and see!

another orphan block quilt, some blocks and Christmas cross-stitches

I finished another orphan block quilt in August. This is orphan block quilt number 4!! -

... with its label on the back. I couldn't be bothered making one on my embroidery machine so dug this one out of the box. I used ones like this over 20 years ago so definitely time to use this one up!

Next I started making more blocks for more quilts. Most of these are just random things I'd seen on youtube or in magazines.

I needed a new pouch to hold my phone, membership card and locker token for when I go swimming. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Way back in 2020 - during the pandemic - I bought myself this cross-stitch pattern and fabric. I got the pdf chart here. I did little bits of it then put it down. I decided this year I was going to finish it. This is it before I brushed off the chalk lines or ironed it. I love it - the sentiment is so true!

I then bought myself another cross-stitch chart which I had seen on someone's blog. It was quite hard to get a hold of as it's an American chart but I was delighted when I finally managed to find it for sale in the UK. (I just checked so I could give the link for where I bought it but it's no longer in stock - and it looks like the shop has gone too!) This is the chart:

This was my first stitching of it -

... and this is where I was at the end of August.

So that's August done. I'm catching up with myself ... slowly!

orphan block quilts and some dresses

Let's start with the orphan block quilts I made. These are all from July this year. I have to say, for quilts being made with odds and ends, they turned out rather well!

Orphan block quilt 1 -

... with its label on the back.

Orphan block quilt 2 -

... with its label.

Orphan block quilt 3 -

... with an "ordinary" label as opposed to an embroidered one.

Next I got some summer dresses made. Once I made one, I ended up making 4 and wore them all repeatedly over the summer. The pattern is the Lena shift dress from StyleArc on Etsy. I lowered the neckline by about 2" and didn't use a facing on the hem. I mean, why would you??

The first two I made out of a downie covers from Asda's. I love them!

The other two were made from fabric which Santa Claus got me last year. I love these too!

So that's July's makes recorded. Still a few months to go before I catch up with myself.

pinafore dress, skirts and sewing bags

I'd made myself a pinafore dress earlier this year and my daughter, Jo, loved it so much she asked me if i'd make one for her. So I did. The pattern is the Mildred pinafore from SewgirlintheUK. It's a very easy make and is very comfortable to wear. I can see myself making more of these!

The front with its kangaroo pocket ...

... and the back with its patch pockets.

Next I made some summer skirts for my granddaughters, Emily and Isla.

These are Isla's ...

... and these are Emily's. I had so little of the purple spot fabric that I had to join pieces together to make the pockets and used some ribbon to cover the seams as the spots didn't line up!

I made some oven gloves for my daughter, Debbie.

Then I made a couple of work bags for both girls to hold their sewing bits and pieces. I used my embroidery machine to appliqué their intitials on the outsides.

Needless to say, I lined them with their favourite colours! Pink for Isla ...

... and purple - lilac really - for Emily.

Those were the things I made in May and June. Still got a few months' worth to go before I catch up with myself!