Happy New Year!

 

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy year with lots of stash and oodles of finishes!

 

It's Stitchy Planning Week!

 

My favorite week of the year! For many years, my annual, just-for-me tradition has been to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's Day in my sewing room, playing in my stash and planning my projects for the coming year. It's the perfect week for me. The busyness leading up to Christmas has passed and there is the feeling of a pause, taking a breath before the new year begins. The house is clean and decorated, the cooking is done, the snacks are laid in. What better time to indulge in all things stitchy?

I haven't been able to have a proper Stitchy Planning Week for several years, so I'm very much looking forward to this one. I putter in my sewing room, tidying where needed. I go through my stash, and usually clean it out a bit. I plan my projects, and make lists (I love lists) of ideas and supplies needed. Most importantly, I look forward. I wrote about this aspect of stitching a long time ago and I find I understand its value even more ten years later. It is absolutely vital to have something just for you that pulls you forward. Even with everything I've been through since I wrote that, and especially in the last few years, I never lost my love of stitching. 

Or--let's be honest--my love of shopping for stitchy goodies. And right up at the top of my list is fabric. I love fabric. I have a lot of fabric. I always need more fabric. Here is a plug for some beautiful fabric and the nice ladies who dye it:

In early December we made a trip to Texas (bonus baby pics coming up!), and while we were there I got to visit a new-to-me fabric dyer, Under the Sea Fabrics. Actually, we all went: Mr. Wonderful, my mom, and my aunt. Before I get to the fabric, I must praise the ladies there for making our visit so enjoyable. I always visit a new LNS with some trepidation, as it seems most stitchers have a "LNS horror story", including me. The very worst shopping experience I have ever had was in a LNS. So here I was, with my husband and two elderly relatives in tow.

They could not have been more kind. They were warm and welcoming, made sure my mom and aunt were looked after, and even supplied Mr. Wonderful with his favorite coffee, so I could concentrate on my fabric shopping. It was wonderful, and my mom and aunt (who don't get out much) were still talking about it the next day. If you're anywhere near San Antonio, TX and you love fabric, it's worth the trip.

Now the fabric! I had a hard time making up my mind, but I decided to choose colors that were different from anything I already had.

Top: Heaven's Fury, 32 ct. Jobelan; peachy and pinky with a bit of yellow

Bottom: Scylla, 28 ct. linen; blueish green

Hamlet, 32 ct. linen; this picture is very true to life

Top: Ceres, 28 ct. linen; grayish brown, or brownish grey, depending on the piece

Bottom: Anubis, 32 ct. linen; cinnamony brown, not as orange as the picture

Gorgeous fabrics. You can't really go wrong with anything you choose. And they have tons of opalescents, if you love those. I think the last two are my favorites, but they're all beautiful.

I've got a little cooking and baking to do for New Year's Eve/Day, but once that's done I plan to retreat into my sewing room and who knows what I'll get up to. Stay tuned and find out!

Bonus Baby Pics! Trip to Texas: 2022 & 2024 (They were so tiny! *sniffle*)

Merry Christmas!

 

Caterpillar & Clothes Pin Display Stands

Years ago, I posted a tutorial for homemade display stands that has been one of my most viewed posts. They're easy to make and you can really fancy them up in any way you want. But for my Christmas village I wanted display stands that didn't show and were quick and easy to make. I came up with what I'm calling Caterpillar & Clothes Pin display stands. Let's make some.

All you need is some clothes pins, some pipe cleaners, and a hot glue gun.

Take the clothes pins apart. 

Glue the pieces back together as shown. It just so happens that this creates the perfect angle for the stand.

This is the caterpillar part. Wrap a pipe cleaner around a ruler 1 1/2 times so that you have a double section on one side and a single section on the other. Snip off the remainder.

Line up the bottom of a clothes pin stand with the bottom of the finished piece and make a small mark on either side of the top notch on the stand. Put some hot glue on the double section of the caterpillar and glue it onto the marked spot.

Slide the stand into the caterpillar. You'll feel the notch catch and secure the finished piece to the stand.

And that's it! When you're ready to put away your finished stitching, just slide the stand out of the caterpillar.

My Christmas Village: Day Five

 

It's the last day of my Christmas Open House and it's time for the big reveal: my very special little village in all its cozy, wintery, Christmassy glory! Enjoy!

Another year in the books! I hope you've enjoyed visiting my Christmas village. I have about half a dozen more buildings/shops I'd like to add in the coming years, including at least a couple of "renovations" similar to the Main Gate and the Pottery shop. This has been a really fun project and it turned out just as I hoped it would, very personal, with each building reminding me of someone or something I love. If you'd like to see how I made the invisible display stands for my village, come back tomorrow for a first-ever Christmas Open House Bonus Post!

Thank you so much for joining me this year, and for all the kind comments you've left. It's so heartwarming to know there are so many of you who look forward to this every year, and it's humbling to be a part of your Christmas. I hope all of you have a wonderful and safe holiday season, and that Santa brings you lots of stash, or more time to stitch, whichever is tops on your list! 

From our home to yours: MERRY CHRISTMAS!