Christmas Gifts 2015

Let me record, before I forget, the highlights of the Christmas gifts -Nina's poo emoji chocolate coated meringues for Ruby, Grace's 'blue Basil with black beard and beret' for Craig, Lily's pottery bells for me and, not pictured, Ruby's handmade body wash and scrubs for everyone.

Frida Kahlo Doll

Isn't this cool?  I can take credit only for putting her together which honestly was easy as pie.  This Frida Kahlo, from Miko Designs was such a fun sew.  I added the ribbon round the bottom of the skirt and cut out the extra Frida head and bird from the printed sheet of fabric, that was decorated with a few extra bits and pieces to get creative with.  There was lovely script on the fabric too, which I cut out and  used to decorate a bag for Frida to go in. (she was a gift).  I also made a rabbit from this same designer, with a gorgeous Parisian skirt and other bits and pieces for Grace, which I'll maybe get around to photographing one day.  

Meredith and Joan and Julie - a collaborative quilt

I'm not the neatest worker

My friend Meredith lives in Berlin, makes things, has a fine eye, studies German, cooks delicious food, explains colour theory, gets organised. She flew back home to see her dying father, arriving just in time to say goodbye. Afterwards, sorting through the accumulations of a lifetime, she kindly thought of me and brought me a bag of fabrics and cottons belonging to her late mother, Joan. I never met Joan, but I'd heard of her thriftiness and industry. She made all the clothes for her family, taught Meredith to sew at age three, and didn't like to waste a thing. In my bag of goodies were bundles of fabric, carefully rolled up with other fabric scraps that Joan had obviously thought might work well together. Some of the fabric had labels: 'good white shirting';'cesarine or sail cloth, washable easy care'. Some was packaged for charity sale, carefully measured down to the inch.

It was a challenge to see if I could make something from these fabrics that felt true to their heritage - something that wouldn't be out of place in Joan's house perhaps - and that also pleased me. This is what I came up with.

Liberty print backing

'Cesarine or sail cloth'

'Good white shirting'

The only fabric not part of Joan's stash I used was a bit of white from some old shirts of Craig's (I feel that Joan would approve) and some linen for the binding.  It feels like a collaborative effort and will shortly be making its way to Berlin where hopefully it will provide some memories of home, family and friends.

Fantastic Mister Fox

I saw a pattern for Felix Fox, by Cynthia Treen Studio at my local fabric stop in Jamaica Plain last year.  How far away and long ago that already seems.  I bought the pattern, meaning to make it for Nina for Christmas but there were visits to New York and Washington and things to do that meant sewing took a back seat.  Also the pattern called for pipe cleaners to be inserted in the arms and legs for positioning and I couldn't for the life of me figure out where to buy pipe cleaners in Boston.

Instead I sewed him up for her birthday - I would have liked him to be a bit more orangey, but the only orange felt available at the time was a bit bright, so he is brown instead.  And for some reason his smart red suit looks rather like pyjamas, but that's okay.

I added the satchel, felt envelop with letter from Mousie Brown, and folder with tiny presonalised pencil and miniature note pad.  This is so very up Nina's alley (and also so very up mine).  I did try to make a cat (but without a pattern) for Ruby, but that is still a work in progress.  My first attempt came out as a possum/rat/bilby cross.  Definitely not feline.

Hannah's Baby

Nina's classroom teacher of the last three years, Hannah, is expecting her first baby. I've made her something, but Nina also wanted to sew for the baby and so she made this set of bibs. I love this fabric (PB&J by BasicGrey), and thought it particularly appropriate for a teacher. Nina is getting to be an accomplished little sewer. She took the curves like a champ and did a very neat job.

Bunting

My niece requested some handmade bunting for her birthday. She wanted it to be floral and vintage with blocks of colour. I hope I nailed it. With all the off-cuts I couldn't resist making some mini bunting for the fete.

What Does a Horse Say on Your Birthday?

Craig turned 47 last weekend. Nina explained that the horse decorations and riddle was appropriate because 1 August is the horse's birthday (in the southern hemisphere). I don't know how or why she knows that.

Lily drew a picture of our old dog Pablo.

Grace drew a picture of Daddy.

Nina made a teeny tiny mouse and a teeny tiny surfboard (it's the third surfboard she's made for Craig now), packaged in the handmade horse box.

And Ruby made her famous ooey gooey brownies. They are very very good.

We went to the footy and sat in the cheer squad and waved flags and pom poms (Thanks Terrence and Bede) and I discovered that Bulldog supporters have a strong sense that the world, most especially embodied by the umpires, is against them and their kind. I was quizzed about my affiliations by the man sitting next to me who must have sensed that I was not 'born a bulldog' like our eldest, who has the certificate to prove it. We provided Lily with the unique (amongst our girls) experience of watching her team win and we had a crazy late dinner with friends in Chinatown which the kids survived fuelled by lemonade and spring rolls.

Whole Cloth

Though I haven't been posting a lot recently, I have not been idle.

I whipped up a small batch of whole cloth quilts. I love making them because they come together so quickly - usually within one day - and really showcase a fabric.

These are all just one metre of 2 quilting fabrics, and with such a small item I thought I'd experiment a little bit with quilting techniques.

This one has overlapping concentric circles. You can see that my quilting has a long way to go. I initially started using my free motion quilting foot and then realised that it was actually easier with a walking foot. Nevertheless, lots of wonky curves, but after a wash and the inevitable rumpling up, I am reasonably pleased. And I just love the fabric.

I played it a bit safe with this one and went for a stippled 'seaweed' effect. I've done this a bit and feel pretty confident now. I tried to make it a bit more polished as I'm planning on donating it, along with my linen 'Maggie Rabbit' to the silent auction at the fete. The top is 'Glimma' by Lotta Jansdotter.

With this last one, I tried straight lines. I didn't want them evenly spaced but I did want them straight, which I didn't achieve - some veer off slightly and I really don't know why! I abandoned the masking tape half way through as it didn't seem to be particularly assisting me in keeping the lines straight. I really admire people who do meticulous, perfect work. I am in awe of those who can achieve the perfect mitred corner. That will never be me, but I am improving. I have no doubt that, five years from now, I'll look back on these and shudder at all the mistakes and terrible sewing, just as I think with embarrassment about some of the things I sewed as gifts years ago. On the other hand, I make things with love and joy and that must count for something, don't you think?

Reds under the Bed

Remember this quilt? After taking counsel from my more aesthetically competent friends on how it could be improved, I finally faced it again and set about trying to fix it.

I am pleased with it now. A few patches to break up the colour and pattern and a bit of hand quilting to add some texture and I think it mostly works. I still probably should have stippled it, or at least machine quilted it much more, and the blocks should have been smaller and the overall design is far from perfect, but I feel that I like it now. It gives me pleasure to look at, rather than just feeling like it's a failure. It's a gift for my Dad and his wife as they move into their new home. Hopefully it will warm them on the chilly Adelaide evenings - my Dad notoriously hates turning a heater on, and I don't know how he will manage with colder weather after years in the tropics of Darwin. In the sweltering Adelaide summer it can lend a bit of background colour. The bits of red are very Dad: his bright red jumpers, his famous red terry towelling hat, his political persuasion.