Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 3rd day...

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...


...inspiration! Sometimes, you see an idea or a chart online and it takes hold of your heart. You cannot seem to put the idea out of your mind. You are compelled to start the first stitch.

I find the online blogging world to be very inspiring. Often I am amazed at the beautiful designs that talented stitchers offer to us all. On Christmas eve, I found this free design on Danybrod's blog and could not get it out of my mind. I immediately thought it would look so nice stitched and placed together with this quilt I made last year. So I started stitching it on Christmas Day. I then remembered a frame I had in my stash and went to look for it. By great fortune, I had already started the design on a stitch count that made it perfect to fit this frame and stand. Today, I framed it ready to use in my January decorating. I like to decorate with a winter theme in January as a transition after the Christmas holidays.

While I was busy stitching, I decided to change the French text to English. I also changed the top line and a few of the snowflakes to make it fit the design. I am so pleased with the results!

Fabric - cream jobelan 26 count, stitched 1/1

Thread - DMC 3021 and 3032

"When snow falls, nature listens."

~ Antoinette van Kleeff

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."

~ John Ruskin

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 2nd day...

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...


...yarn and a crochet hook! I always loved feeling yarn in the shops but, when you do not knit or crochet, in the shops it stays. But this year, when I found yarn that was soft and pretty at a shop here called Action, and for only 94 cents per skein, I decided it was time to fulfill a dream to learn to crochet and make my own granny square afghan. I choose purple, light grey, pink and dark grey.

I used this tutorial from a blog and away I went. I am enjoying making them although I feel like I need practice. I want to make this afghan large enough to really wrap up in so I guess practice I will get as I only have 12 made so far...

Can you believe that I am already thinking ahead to the next one from granny hexagons? Humm...maybe I should finish this one first. *grins*

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 1st day...

Today is the first day of the 12 Days of Christmas. I thought it would be fun to reflect on the needlework year past and look forward to the year to come in the coming 12 days. I hope you will join me here or perhaps even decide to create your own 12 Days of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas...


...a renewal of my bobbinlace hobby has taken place just recently. My mother bought me a black pencil pine tree and small candle lights for my lace ornaments. This is larger than the green tree or white branches I used to use. It also shows the lace so much better! The tree is now standing in my quilt studio.

I am currently working on another ornament which is on my lace pillow. These are some of the ornaments I had made in previous years...

In my quilt studio is a schwibbogen from the Erzgebirge area of Germany. On one of my visits, I was able to buy this Christmas light with the 'official' symbols of the area. You see this in some villages as you enter in a very large form. It contains the figures of the three major industries of the area...a wooden toy maker, miners and a lacemaker.

During that same visit, I bought a bobbinlace pattern for in a schwibbogen. It was not easy to puzzle how to work this pattern but I am still proud and a little amazed that I was able to finish it. I want to give you an idea of how it looks at night so I laid it on the floor lit up. Enlarge the photo to see the lace closer. Jos called the man in Germany that makes the wooden frame as one of my lights has burned out as you see and we are not able to replace it here in Holland. He is kindly going to send me a couple of extra lights.

For me, Christmas is complete when I can use my needlework throughout my house to create a festive feeling in our home.

Here comes Santa Claus!

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane

Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer pulling on the reins

Bells are ringing, children singing, all is merry and bright

Hang your stockings and say your prayers 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Yes and just in time! I finished my Santa Button sampler yesterday. It needed a night to let the glue set before I could reveal my finish...

I used green buttons to match a color green thread used and also had this frame in my stash which worked really cute with this design. I found out that it was not a regular frame so I had to think of a way to make it work. I made a top half of a pinkeep and glued it into the opening. You can find my step by step pinkeep instructions here on this old blog. I left the instructions there as I often hear the people are still using them.

I hope your Christmas eve is full of wonder and magic as well as a little needlework. I am going to start my needlework 12 Days of Christmas as of tomorrow. If you can join me, please do.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Christmas fun!

Yesterday evening our annual Christmas party was here for my quilt group. There seemed to be more excitement this year as we had Secret Sisters. We were all anxious to find out who our Secret Sister was when we got our handmade gift from her.

I had Bep as my Secret Sister. She loves batik fabrics so I bought them especially for her. What I had left after I made her gift, I folded up and wrapped with a ribbon for her to keep.

I sewed a folded bag for her to keep her thread and scissors together as she quilts and inside...

A large wooden spool wrapped with a crazy quilt pincushion pad...

which holds a pair of scissors with a beaded fob to make the pincushion and bag.

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Enjoy a slideshow of all the members with the gifts they received. As you can see on their faces, everyone really enjoyed their gifts and rightly so. There were many beautiful things made. You can click on the slideshow to see the photos larger. We had a wonderful meal and I had fun creating games and giving out many gifts. It hardly seems possible that another quilt year is already coming to an end.....

Busy as an elf!

Yep...that's me! I have been busy stitching on my Santa button sampler which I will share in another post again. I thought I would show you some other things I have been busy with. Now one major project cannot be shown yet as it is a gift made very personal for my Secret Sister in my quilt group who reads my blog. It has to remain a surprise just a little longer. Wednesday evening is the annual Christmas party and my house will once again be full of love and laughter. I can't wait!

I made my sister-in-law Becky a scissor fob and my mother a winter key chain.

Last week, a friend came over to spend an afternoon making a new bobbin lace ornament. It has been a hobby that I have neglected lately but since I have a new lace ornament Christmas tree which is larger than I used to use, I need to make some more ornaments. I got out a lace pillow, linen thread and my bobbins. I pinned my prikking to the pillow....and then....I froze and could not remember anything. We started and everything came back to me even a special stitch used to turn corners. My friend laughed because I said I was blank and then explained to her how to make the stitch. Guess it was not gone from my memory after all!

The new Christmas bell looks pretty hanging from the tree. We are making another one when we get together next week once again. I promise to share photos of the entire tree then.

Remember that this was my year to finish as many UFOs as I could? I have not been able to give any stitching or quilting much thought during the autumn as we were moving but now that things are settling down again, I really wanted to finish just one more quilt UFO. This holiday stitchery quilt is free BOM from Gail Pan.

I loved it the moment I saw the first word. Words are powerful and poetic. What more so than words that evoke a warm holiday feeling inside.

Immediately, I knew what fabrics I would use for this little quilt. These homespun fabrics came from the shop of a friend from Friesland that died on Christmas eve a couple of years ago. It brings something special to this quilt.

And now before I could blink an elfen eye, there are two rows put together. One more row to go and it should be ready in time for this Christmas eve.

I cannot tell you how much I feel like a piece of my soul has returned after not being able to concentrate on my needlework for week's on end. I am so very thankful that I can spend time nurturing that place in myself where I find peace and happiness...in the eye of a needle.

I hope you are enjoying peace and happiness on this December Sunday evening!

SAL Christmas tea

When I told you I was back in blogland, I had not intended on not posting for so long. I have been extremely busy...some things I can show you which I will in my next post and others which I cannot as I am still busy with a gift for my Secret Sister in my quilt group. In the meantime, I just had to share my fun day today...

When two of my quilt friends and I went to a quilt show in France this past September, we bought an adorable stitching pattern together to use for a SAL. It had to wait until my move to the new house was behind us but had decided to invite them both here for a SAL Christmas tea.

I set the table early this morning including a little table gift for them. The heart ornaments at each place were for them to take home.

Our menu included:

Cranberry tea

Sauerkraut-sausage rolls

Christmas toasts with pesto and parma ham

Dutch egg ramekins

Russian teacakes

Blueberry crumble

Lemon kwark ice

Dark chocolate peanut clusters

Mandarin oranges

It is fun to plan a menu and create a tea for friends.

In my studio, there were more gifts. I gave them a Santa door hanger.

Bep, Saskia and I got down to work although at times we could not see to stitch while we were laughing so very much. I just love these ladies! We never fail to have great fun together.

This is the pattern we bought at the market of the quilt show. There were many wonderful designers there but this is one we simply could not resist!

And here is our start to the SAL. We will get together again at the end of January for the next pillow to be started. I am exhausted and feeling pain from having done so much but it is a good feeling to have been able to treat some friends to a fun day.

I am looking forward to sharing more projects with you this weekend. I am back to full speed stitching again and it is wonderful to have a needle and thread to hand again!