A Small Box Ticked...

... is better than no box ticked at all. Today was the turn of the needle book and pin cushion. I used Japanese charms from the swap, and very precious fussy cuts from my Super Buzzy piece of fabric.

I love the charms I chose for the needle book. They set just the right retro mood - I think.

And the pin cushion is two sided. Simple, but effective - I hope.

Now I am working on the next item on my list. I feel like I just might be able to do this after all. Maybe. Well, at least I have hope.

Susan

Angels Sang...

... and laughed, and grinned, and remembered their lines, and generally had a very good time.

One angel in particular had a very good time indeed. After the last few months I cannot think of a better thing to see.

Susan

Good News

Cinderella shall go to the ball Angel Gabriel shall be in the play. I took Emily back to the doctor first thing this morning and she agreed with me. It is was a very mild dose of chicken pox and Emily is on the mend already so fit to be seen in public. Em was then dropped off at school, halo in hand, ready for the dress rehearsal. Woohoo! We shall attend the evening performance tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, I am still going in circles here trying to make Christmas presents and keep life ticking over. To keep this from being a photo free post I shall show you some photos of sewn circles to keep with the general theme round here these days.

Now, I must get back to whatever it was I was doing. The girls are only in school until Wednesday the 19th. Days to accomplish things are running short.

Susan

Getting Into the Spirit

It has been all about Christmas here this weekend. The girls succeeded in talking himself into a bigger, fatter, taller tree than we have had in years when they went out on their mission to get one yesterday. I chose to ignore the fact that the youngest tree hunter had spots on her tummy and was not supposed to be out and about. Really, could I tell her that she couldn't be part of the tree buying expedition?!

Not only was the tree big and fat, it was also decidedly, wonkily drunk. No amount of adjusting the screws in the stand could get this one to stand up straight. Other than that, it is a very nice tree.

The ornaments went on. I talked about our collection of Christmas ornaments last year. I think the word eclectic may come into play. There are some classic traditional. Then there are the traditional 'I have children and look what they made at school' ones. The girls are the keepers of the ornaments now, and I have no say in how long these will adorn our tree. Some I like more than others.

There are the ornaments I gathered in my travels. After all, every tree should have koalas, kangaroos, tropical fish, Chinese New Year figures and the like. Some conveniently remind me where they were purchased.

And then there are the handmade - by the girls, and me, and purchased at craft fairs.

In the kitchen, Emily and I wrapped dozens of mini sausages in bacon, stabbed them with cocktail sticks and put them in the freezer. I also made 1.5 kilos of sausage stuffing and that went in the freezer as well. Finally, I made the mincemeat for the tarts, liberally laced with booze and set aside to mellow.

What with the Canadian Christmas parcels being posted yesterday, the tree going up and the food preparation going apace I am feeling a bit more positive about everything. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas round here. And about time too!

Susan

Parcels Out and Parcels In

I am thrilled because I have finally managed to post the two main parcels off to Canada today. I tend to think I am making progress when I have those out the way. I may be fooling myself, but right now that's okay.

And in return for two parcels going out, two replaced them by arriving. The first was my Stitch Tease Bee Secret Santa gift and the person who made for me was Helen - runquiltknitwrite - who lives in Switzerland but originally hails from Newcastle so we have a love of that city in common as well as a love of sewing.

She sent me a lovely package which Emily witnessed the opening of. And promptly pounced on two of the items, claiming them for herself and Helen (my Helen). I am sure that was what Helen intended but didn't have a chance one way or the other.

The hoop is beautiful and the detail just wonderful. I love the star button on his wand and the jingle bell on his hat. I have already hung the hoop over our fireplace. And then there was Emily clutching the hand warmer, all thoughts of itchy chicken pox spots forgotten. Thank you, Helen!

The second parcel was a complete and total surprise to me. My friend Di - Random Thoughts Do or Di - sent me a cushion cover that I had so admired online, treats for the girls and some hard to get in the UK Mexican chili peppers so I could try out her enchilada recipe. Di and I both love cooking as much as sewing and often talk food. I've a chicken to roast for dinner tonight so hope to have enough meat leftover to make the enchiladas this week.

The sweets Di sent the girls are chocolate covered sunflower seeds which I have never heard of or seen before. They were a hit - as you can tell by the well depleted tubes. And they are planning which cupcakes to make for Christmas so they can use the fancy paper liners and toppers. I took a close up of the card Di sent because I think it is so fabulous and Di needs to tell us all where she got them made.

But the main part of the parcel is the cushion cover and it is just so pretty. Combining perfectly sewn curves, hand stitching with perle, some of my favourite fabrics - quite frankly I was gobsmacked to receive it but oh so very happy too. Thank you, Di!

Just in case you think I have been slacking there has been some making going on here - between a rather traumatic day spent in the malls trying to find Christmas presents. Do people really actually enjoy crowded shops and all that? Honestly, online shopping is the way to go.

I made another crochet bunting but it has already been wrapped to be sent to someone before I got round to taking a photo. Additionally there was another candlemat and hoop. Despite this photo looking like deja vous and as if I am just photographing the same items in different setting - that is a new candlemat. Honest! And you can tell it is a new hoop as I embroidered the star rather than appliquéd one on. Out of curiosity, do you prefer the star like this or appliquéd, or do you really care?

Well, I have a chicken to roast, things to make, and the other three are currently out buying the Christmas tree so I presume I will soon have a tree to decorate too. Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Susan