O Christmas Tree

This little lot was bought from the pick n mix in Hobbycraft.  There were two sizes of pot to choose from and this one was the smaller of the two, and less than a fiver.

Combinations of beads were attached to each point of each cushion. 

Then all three cushions were threaded together and a star attached to the top.  I added the loop so the finished ornament could be hung if preferred. 

Not a bad first attempt.  I'm quite chuffed with it.

For more information on how to make this and other ornaments, please visit my tutorial site, A Crafty Natter.  You can find the link on the right hand side, below the photo of Ellie.

Merry Christmas x

Getting creative

So now that each part has been stitched it's time to put them together.

Cut each panel out with a border of excess fabric. 

Whip stitch the edges along the backstitch border.

And stuff with your chosen filling.

The largest section is filled with plastic beans for stability. The smaller ones are filled with standard soft stuffing.  

*top tip - if you are thrifty and save all those snippets of thread, you could use them to fill these.

Christmas exchange

This year Essie and I decided to do a Christmas Exchange.  Whilst I had taken part in a couple previously, this was Essie's first.  We had decided on themes and set to work earlier in the year.

When Essie and her family visited in the autumn, unbeknownst to her I had passed my gift to her husband Frido to squirrel away until the unveiling.

This week, timed beautifully to cheer me up after my eye surgery, and more perfectly with Sinterklaas, we opened our exchanges.

The padded scissor keep features a hidden magnet to attach to Essie's chart holder and keep her scissors safe.  The chart is by Teresa Wentzler and has been adapted to be for scissors rather than needles (although the magnet can hold these also).  I switched the colours to mainly shades of coral, the dragon was stitched with variegated threads and a shiny green silk thread to add texture. 

The biscornu picked up the colours and featured similar celtic knots in variegated coral thread. A smaller dragon was stitched at each corner on the underside, matching the colour of the big dragon.  I had filled the design with plastic beans to give it some weight. A celtic styled metal button finishes off the biscornu nicely.

The scissor fob continued the theme with a silk dragon on one side and an "E" on the reverse. 

Essie's parcel to me arrived on 5th December and we agreed to open them in the evening. 

As most folk know, I'm a little obsessed with the Wizarding World created by JK Rowling.   Essie tapped into this perfectly, creating a beautiful box with a stitched lid.  The box itself is covered with midnight blue fabric with black polkadots.  It's sumptuously padded, giving it a luxurious appeal.  The top is stitched as a perfect replica of a chocolate frog carton featured in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  The design is extremely intricate and I can imagine a great many hours were spent stitching it.

As if this were not enough, on opening the box treasure within was revealed. 

Three chocolate frogs of course! But what else?

Ornaments featuring Harry and Ron...

...and Professor Dumbledore and Hermione 

And yet more! A detailed bookmark (or should that be darkmark) on a gorgeous blue fabric which is already in use as my younger son and hubby are kindly reading me The Philosopher's Stone while my eyes recover.

I am extremely happy with my exchange gift, and Essie tells me that she too is very happy.  It was fun to do the exchange, a little stressful at times, but on the whole very enjoyable.  I think we might be tempted to do another at some point.

Finishes 2007

I had a lot of time on my hands in 2007 to spend stitching. We'd moved "up norf" and with the support of some fellow stitchers created A Crafty Natter, an online chat site bringing together like minded folk from around the world.

Lots of babies were born in 2007 at my sons' primary school where I volunteered. This one was for the year 1 teacher.

Our elder son started karate, followed a few months later by my hubby and his workmate.  This was his mate's birthday gift.

A craze hit A Crafty Natter 'Name Trees'. If you look at it sideways the red one says Joy. The green one says Peace.  These were freebies from an American magazine.  The company who makes the charts will create any names in this style.

'A Strange Kind of Blue' is probably my most treasured stitch. It's a Heaven and Earth design by a Selena Fenech sketch.  It's stitched 1 over 1 on 27ct Laguna and has sparkly Kreinek highlights.

Biscornu fever hit A Crafty Natter.

Another baby sampler. This chart was featured in one of the British magazines and is probably my most stitched chart. At the time of posting I have stitched it 5 times so far!

I spent rather a lot of time in hospital between 2007 - 2011 and created a stash-pack filled with small designs kitted up ready to go to take with me.  One such design was Bob the Builder, for our younger son.

The nursery teacher also had a baby.

Another Mystic Stitch design, Augusta.  When we moved "up norf" we stayed with my husband's parents for 5 months until we found a suitable house to buy.  As a thank you for their hospitality I stitched this right under their noses!