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Thankfully we have no snow here, but it is possible, although very rare! My snow people are the woolly kind from a pattern by Bonnie Sullivan.

This photo is deceptive because the piece is quite large, 45 X 14 inches, but of course is very hard to show in a photo.

To show each of the snow people in detail, I have split the photo into three sections.

The wool has been a delight to work with, and I have used Sue Spargo perle threads for the stitching.

I had a starry fabric that I used for the backing, and ...

As far as my blog is concerned, I had disappeared into a black hole for six weeks. The same goes for my sewing room, hence the title, Slim Pickings, because I have made only a few small items.

August is normally a busy month for us with lots of family birthdays, but throw in the mix some hospital stays (all good), basketball finals, book festivals and every specialist appointment landing at the same time and you get the picture. We did not have a single day without a commitment. But the positive out of all of that is that it ...

 I've completed stitching three pair of tiny felt Christmas Stockings, which were handed out at last month's quilt club meeting.  Each set of stockings came with an extra strip of felt.  These will be hung on the display of Christmas Trees in December, our club's entry in the Avenue of Trees.

Red, white and green

After putting my thinking cap on, I had worked out how I wanted to decorate them.  They are tiny, so keep it simple, I decided.  Sadly, I failed miserably with blanket stitch, so just did running stitch instead.  I'm sure it ...

So, I hope we all went crazy embellishing the stockings from yesterday. How many did you end up with? I have nine.

Now, pull out your larger beads in all kinds of sizes and materials. I have glass ones, plastic ones in all kinds of colors and sizes, bits from broken jewelry, wood and metal beads. Decide the order in which you want to string your stockings. Note that the openings have not been stitched closed. Leave them open for now.

Begin the string at the bottom of the stocking you want on the bottom end. You can use two ...

I was looking at the Prosperity Sewing Hens I made a few weeks ago, and mulling over the Christmas in July event I wanted to do. I briefly considered making hens out of Christmas fabrics, when another idea hit me. What about Stockings instead? A wish for abundance at the holiday time with family and friends, an abundance of food and maybe even a few gifts. Maybe you can see me rubbing my hands together with glee, what an opportunity to embellish!!

Start by downloading the pattern – Abundance Stockings

For each print, cut one piece of fabric 4-inches x 9-inches ...

 My Quilt Club meeting had a theme of Christmas in July.  We were shown how to make a folded Christmas Star, it seemed rather tricky to me.  And there was a special supper provided, that was much appreciated by the members.  The highlight of the evening to me was the special Christmas themed show and tell.  We were asked to bring a couple of Christmas items and talk about them - I took a Christmas table runner, and a Christmas quilt which had a particular memory for me.  What I found really interesting was that some of these things were made ...

Today we finish the table topper. Final assembly will include setting triangles to put the bell blocks on point. Cut 3 squares of background fabric 11 x 11-inches. Cut two of the squares on the diagonal once to create four large triangles. Cut one square on the diagonal twice to create four smaller triangles.

Sew the four smaller triangles to the bottom of each of the four bell blocks along the hypotenuse of the triangle. The 90-degree angle should be the point at the bottom.

The setting triangle will extend a quarter inch past the edge of the block. This ...

Did you work on your bell blocks yesterday? Today’s step has only one block, so you’ll have time to catch up if you are just starting.

Cutting instructions are in this pdf – Star Block. Note that these blocks are 10-inch finished size.

Pair the gold print 3-1/2-inch squares with the BG 3-1/2-inch squares. Sew HSTs using the Chain Piecing Method.

Press to the gold side.

Trim to 3-inches square.

Arrange HSTs, BG 3-inch squares and center Accent square.

Sew the HSTs together in units of two.

Sew the block using the web method.

Press seams opposite ...

Get ready for a fun fortnight of ideas and projects to jump start your holiday sewing for your own pleasure and for gifts. I have a new table topper design that we will start today, and sew over several days. Then I have more projects to make for gifts or for yourself. It will be two weeks of fun, and it starts today! This is a Mystery Quilt Along! But don’t worry, we’ll reveal the design this week. So, put on a Christmas movie, watch the Hallmark channel or Great American Family channel for round the clock Christmas ...

Learn how to make the most of your holiday sewing time with these Christmas sewing projects and tutorials. Whether you’re looking for handmade gifts, festive decorations, or a quick project to enjoy with your favorite Christmas movie playing in the background, you’ll find plenty of inspiration here.

There’s something about Christmas sewing that feels a little different from the rest of the year. Maybe it’s pulling out those holiday fabrics you’ve been saving, making gifts for family and friends, or creating decorations that come out year after year. Whatever your reason for sewing, Christmas projects ...

I have been keeping busy with quite a few projects, but it has taken a while to achieve a finish. That’s fine and of course with the cold Winter weather arriving, I am sure the finishes will follow. Cold equals time inside sewing!

I have been hunting out all the charm packs that have been squirreled away. I want to use them in projects. This quilt is made from 2 charm packs of A Breath of Avignon..

The centre stars are made from the neutral fabrics, leaving the brights for the outsides. I used a red and white spot ...