Christmas

Here is the status of the sewing area just after finishing 5 days of sewing...



I did some tidying up... but there were thread and snips of fabric everywhere... and tons and tons of down! I remade another old down pillow into a small pillow for Mister e and no matter how careful I am with my sewing there is still loose down when I cut off the excess.

My main project was four sets of pyjamas and matching night caps for the kids. For now they all think it's cool to get pyjamas from mom/auntie... I'm sure there will be a day that it won't be so cool. For now, I'm taking advantage of it.



I always wondered what exactly a night cap was when we would read "A Night Before Christmas" as a child, so I thought I would make my kids and my niece and nephew night caps (with tassels) to match their new pyjamas. They opened these on Christmas Eve and all changed into their pyjamas for a reading of "A Night Before Christmas" by Papa... and they all put on the night caps! In fact, my niece insisted on sleeping in hers and became greatly distressed if it came off. She still had it on Christmas morning!

There was a lot of sledding. Even little Mister e had a go.



Then the night before we left to drive back to Portland, we had a blizzard...



About 10 inches of snow fell. We had to do some digging to get to the van in the morning, but we made it home safely. I will post more pictures of the Christmas goodies and project materials later... as well as a picture of my finished glass ball wreath with looks magnificent on it's perch above the mantel.

I love my daughter but....

... my serger dials are not to be used to contact Space Command or guide a boat into dock..... it took me a half and hour to sort them out.....

Glass Ball Wreath

I have loved glass ball wreaths ever since I say my friend, Mo's. I have collecting glass balls for a year to make this bad boy. Look at how they sparkle and shine in a pile. This picture is my computer desktop for the holiday season... sparkly....


So I worked away for an hour or so in my studio, wiring these balls onto a styrofoam wreath. The floor in the studio is concrete. You get one good bounce, surprisingly, and on the second hit it makes that pop and breaks. So if you are fast enough, you can catch it on the first bounce. I was not so fast, so there were a couple of casualties tonight...



This is as many as I can wire on. Tomorrow we are on to the hot glue phase.



I'm going to glue the balls together at key locations to give the wreath a little more structure and to keep some of the balls from popping off. Then I will fill in with some smaller balls. I think I need to scrounge up some little guys.. about 1" in diameter would be perfect in gold or green.... hmmm... time for a Goodwill run.

Mister Judy Sale!

My sister and I have a childrenswear business named Mister Judy, and we are having a sale! 25% off all clothing through the end of the year!




Come and check everything out!

Pillow Project

I have a few old feather/down pillows that don't stay fluffy anymore. I run them through the dryer with a trio of tennis balls, but after one night of sleeping on them they deflate. So I have recycled them into throw pillows for the couch.
First I shift all the down to one side and pin it in place:



Then I sew along the pins and eventually serge the edge too, so the down doesn't escape:



Then I make a lovely pillow cover for my "new" down form:



In this case, some lovely Amy Butler fabric. The pillow is a little smaller than I planned... I had an accident with the serger, and it caught a bit too much fabric.