Santa was very kind

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

not a creature was stirring, bit even a....*wait!*

OK< so everyone was stirring, and we had two dogs running round like maniacs.

We watched the Wallace and Gromit marathon on UKTV, and our DVD of "Father Christmas: Another Blooming Christmas" and felt like we were kids again. The Wrong Trousers has to be the best short film ever made! 

Christmas day was a scorcher (nearly 40oc/104 F) so we were up early to take the hounds out for a walk. Polgara really wasn't up for walking though, and The Boy had a hard job on his hands dragging the stubborn thing home again when she decided she was over it!

We weren't expecting Polgara, so she didn't have a stocking, but she still had lots of treats.

Juggling balls are really hard to wrap, so Santa hid them around the lounge instead.

 But the rest of the presents were under the tree.

The Boys loved their presents (yup, thats 5 balls!)

And I loved mine. They included my dress form and Ice Age from my christmas list. The binding foot is apparently still on route, so maybe Mother New Year will bring it.

I also was lucky enough to receive the Cath Kidson "SEW!" book as well as a rainbow of lovely thread and some other notions from my mother in law, and a lot of baking supplies from my sister in law; glitter gels and quality food colouring and some gift boxes for delivery of prettified baked goods.

From my parents we got a pile of Poo each :)

Ever since we used Oxfam Unwrapped for our wedding list, we have tended to get these instead of presents. It means someone gets what they need, and we save on postage and waste. Perfect!

As the day was a scorcher, we hung out inside and played trivial persuit and monopoly, drinking Pimms and nibbling on goodies. We had a big Pork roast late in the evening, complete with the best crackiling thats ever come out of my oven. 

Merry Christmas!

Another softie - Another christmas gift

Can you guess what it is yet?!

How about now:?

I drafted my own platypus pattern for a friend I knew would be appreciative.

I love his Biggles style eyes!

He is made from about 2 half fat quarters, though I will need to check that. I'm also going to attempt another one where the underbelly is narrower, so he sits a bit flatter. At the moment he is more of a platypus shaped sausage... so maybe with less stuffing too.

I do like how the flipper tail came out though- its a felt sandwich with the details quilted in. It just needs to be bigger in the next generation!

His recipient loves him, so thats the main thing!

I have two baby gifts to make soon (one is already late...) so I was thinking of another couple of these, maybe a little smaller, nice bright colours, embroidered eyes and with a safe rattle insert...
Lets see if I can manage it!

Merry Christmas!

Buon Natale, 

Geseënde Kersfees, 

Krismasi Njema, 

Joyeux Noël, 

Nadolig Llawen, 

Feliĉa Kristnasko, 

Merry Christmas, 

Jwayeu Nwèl, 

Feliz Navidad, 

圣诞节快乐, 

Gelukkig kerstfeest, 

عيد ميلاد مجيد, 

Frohe Weihnachten, 

Selamat Hari Natal

And from our Christmas guests!

Meet Wonky Wilma II - or is it William?

I finished my second Wilma! 

Though I think this one is a William...

He is made in a much more grown up colour way and all ready to go and meet his new owner on Christmas Eve.

Did I mention that Wilma gave a walking tour of Perth?

He is a lot more sturdy, though despite having thicker fabric and heaps more stuffing, he still has some weak points that developed after a few days. He stands up well on her own though. His ears are a bit different  as I was doing the cutting outside and the wind blew the piece away. Maybe thats why cutting is generally done indoors ;) So I just guessed...

The fabric was a pain to work with- thick threads and loosely woven. I used fray stop on the edges of key pieces, which made things easier. I do love the fabric though, and in my favourite colour combination!

I used the selvedge to make a little stubby tail:

Fabric was $1 from the Salvos,

Pattern... charity donation.

Win!

Crochet Bunting

So... our christmas colours are a somewhat unconventional teal, purple and hot pink. with some white/silver in there for good measure. I find that the traditional colours look lovely and festive on cold dark winters nights, but seem quite dull in Perths bright (if unusually stormy) summer days.

If you've been reading for a while, you may remember the wreath I made for the door (which is now on the mirror after I spent my days pinking up felt circles from the drive, and has been replaced by our old purple tinsel and bauble homemade wreath on the front door) and the cushions (which have a matching table cloth and coordinating table runner).

This year I added a couple of extra bits to drape over our picture shelves.

 The top one is simply felt circles sewn together in a chain.

The lower one is a range of stars I crocheted... loosely following a pattern the first time to understand the process involved in making the tip of the star and then freestyling :D

Hence they are all different- some look more like starfish, with wavy arms, some have 6 points (must have missed/added stitches somewhere!)

Then just threaded onto some white sparkly yarn thats too thick and fluffy for me to be able to crochet with yet!

2012 Christmas Party Dress 2

Well, I did it!

Christmas party cocktail dress:

I left it til the last minute, so the insides aren't as nicely finished as I might have liked, but I did like the end result. Sadly it was an outdoor party and the weather has been pretty cool and there was a strong breeze, so I wore my jacket over it for most of the night

So, its the bodice for Style 1157, with a pleated skirt instead of flared. I pleated the midriff section (I ironed it into pleats onto fusible interfacing and then cut out the piece. Worked really well, and added some extra form to the midriff, which had a habit of sagging.

I also added ruffles around the neck and pleats on the arms. I liked the way the different textures worked with the fabric, which was a kind of shot taffeta, with hot pink warp and black weft, ending up this lovely festive dark pink. It was lovely to sew with, but creased up really easily!

I sewed the bodice halves to the skirt front and back panels, then sewed the side seams. Most of my dresses have side zips, but I think I'm converted- this made any last minute fitting adjustments a breeze!

I think the only thing I would change is to make the "straps" slightly narrower at the back, and lower the back further ( and maybe see if that centre seam is really wonky or if its just how I'm stood?!)

The invisible zipper worked pretty well for my second attempt at one, though I need to get they stitching closer to the teeth without going through the teeth! (which may or may not have happened with this one)

Total cost:

Pattern: $5 (third time used but fanciest dress)

Fabric: $25 (on sale but still fairly expensive)

Zip: $2.50

$32.50? I'll take that. 

Christmas Pudding Treats - 2012

We went to a christmassy gathering yesterday afternoon.
I took one of my stockings filled with small mainly chocolate based treats, plus some extras for their dog. (liver treat reindeer poo, anyone?)
Plus I made some more of my favourite easy christmas treats - recipe here - that look pretty cool but are sooo quick to throw together.

This time they have gummy lollies chopped up on top, and some of them had a splash of amaretto mixed in with the orange juice. 10 minutes work, but they look pretty fancy!

Also- last night was The Boys work christmas party. My 1 real time to dress up for the year :D

And *shock horror* I actually made my dress! Following up on a plan? me?!

Heres a teaser :)

All I want for christmas is...

On offer at Lincraft.- half price! I kind of know that Santa will be bringing me one of these because its already sat in my garage waiting to be wrapped. 

Welcome to the world of grown-up christmas: Buy the present from your husband, wrap it yourself and put it under the tree :D

I also asked Santa for a binding foot. Just to add to the collection.

I love the IceAge movies, but we rarely actually go to the cinema.

Iceage 4 was on my birthday list, but it hadn't actually been released then, s

o now hopefully Santa will bring it.

I loved this fabric from the first time I set eyes on it back in October. But I can't find any of it here in Australia. I was thinking it would be a great fabric to make some stockings for the girls.

Kind of like these I spied when I was searching for a picture, made by Quirkie Craft

Maybe I'll order some ready for next year... because they are just too cool!

Whats on your list?

Christmas Stocking stuffers

I made stockings :) Getting presents in stockings seems much nicer than just unwrapping cheapo paper and throwing it away. These were so quick to sew too. There are tutorials all over the web, so I won't go into detail.
I just cut out a rough fat sock shape with pinking shears, sewed them together with a small seam allowance, and sewed a white band to the top which hid most of the seams. For an extra touch I'm writing each persons name on the top. If I wanted these to be heirlooms for kids to use year after year I would finish the seams nicely, but these are task appropriate!
 

It took about an hour to make 9 of these start to finish, and they're made from some fabric I bought a few years ago that has just sat in my stash because it doesn't fit with our colour scheme anymore. (free? no recent expenditure any way!)

With the scraps I made some christmas-y flowers to add to some of the stockings as little extra presents. The flowers are very quick and easy. There are tutes all over the web for these as well, but basically they are circles folded into quarters (top flower) or half (bottom flower) then gathered along the cut edge to form each petal, finished with some stitches to hold it together, add a button on the front and an attachment method on the back (these are hair bands, but I have similar ones as head bands, broaches and rings)

How cute is the gingerbread lady button :)

2012 Christmas Party Dress 1

Not exactly what I said I was going to do, but I figured this poplin from IKEA would make a lovely dress for the more casual Christmas gatherings in the Perth sunshine. Its the bodice from Style 1157, a vintage pattern from the 70s, plus a simple slightly gathered skirt.

The openings are faced. I need to sort out that line to make it less obvious!

And there is a zip in the side to get it on and off, just from about 2 inches below the arm hole to 2 inches below the waist.

The last few days have been stormy, so it needs a bit of extra warmth.

A party dress you can play with the dog in :D

Wonky Wilma - Add her to your christmas list!

Janet over at Kitchen Table Sewing has developed a pattern for a super cute elephant, named Wonky Wilma, which she is selling to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Childrens hospital. I remember when I was little watching the GOSH TV documentary, and seeing all the wonderful work they do to help cure and improve the life of so many sick children in the UK and their families.

As soon as I say it I knew I had to try and make at least one for a elephant mad friend of mine for christmas, and maybe more for the myriad of small children my friends seem to be sprouting :) Especially since its for charity too! Janet is aiming to raise £1000 in time for christmas. What a great aim!

I've never made a softie before, they always seem very fiddly compared to long smooth clothing seams. I will let you know how I go!

Read more, and get your own pattern here, to support Janet and
the wonderful work that Great Ormond Street Hospital has been doing!

Merry Christmas 2011!

I'm at work, which suck a bit.

In fact, I'm spending the day underground sludge sampling... catching mud, basically.

Whoop!

So Christmas is in Leonora this year. Leonora is a small bush town, with a permanant population of about 400, and another couple of hundred who fly in and out for work. Its about 800km from Perth, and 200 from Kalgoorlie, the nearest town of any size. Most people here are involved in the mines, but there are some cattle stations dotted around as well. Gold was discovered here in 1894, and the town rapidly developed after that.

In Leonora, it seems the Christmas Tradition is to have a massive water fight on the main street in town... everyone comes out with water bombs, water pistols, buckets of water, confetti cannons, then the town fire engine roams the street, sirons blaring, with santa and his helpers giving back as good as they get!

Lots of fun! The days previous had been in the low 40s (Max. ~110 F) and christmas eve was only a bit cooler, so its a good way to cool down! I'm just glad my camera survived, as I got a bucket of water poured over my head while taking these :)



Mini Pudding bites in 5 easy steps!

These are another festive favourite of mine, and so easy!

Mini Chocolate puddings

100g dark chocolate

400g fruit cake 

1/3 Cup Orange juice (mixed with your favourite tipple if you want)

50g or so white chocolate, for coating

Red and green decorations 

Dark fruit cake is probably more festive but it is very rich, especially in our climate! So this year I used a light fruit cake and it seems good so far.

1.   Melt the dark chocolate and crumble the cake into it. Pour the juice over and mix well.

2.   Chill until firm.

3.   Roll into small balls. These are probably about an inch in diameter.

4.   Melt the white chocolate, and either dip the top of each ball in, or pipe in a "custard" pattern,  for stereotypical Christmas puds.

5.   Top with something festive! These are red and green jelly beans cut in half, or you could use sprinkles, or glace cherries and mint leaves. What ever works!

Christmas Gingerbread

I make gingerbread every year for Christmas, often as gifts to hang on the tree.

The last few years I've made a big batch of christmassy shaped biscuits to take into work and share around, especially as I'm work through the holidays.

I use the following recipe:

• 
  
• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
• 125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
• 2 egg yolks
• 375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
• 1 tbs ground ginger
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Depending on my audience I add double the ginger (I love ginger!) and this year I added some chopped "naked ginger" for an extra layer of flavour.

Cream the butter and sugar, add the yolks and golden syrup and beat some more, then add the dry ingredients. It doesn't feel like it will make a dough, and the dough ends up quite brittle, but after 30 minutes rest in the fridge it should be right to go.

Make a hole in the top of your shapes for ribbon if thats your plan. These were just for eating :)

I cut out snowflakes, stars, doves, angels, christmas trees and bells.

Bake at about 180oC for about 10 minutes,until they're are still soft but slightly browned.

Turn out onto a rack to cool, and they'll harden up but still have some give to them.

Cook for longer if you like them with bite!

I love the combination of ginger and white chocolate, so I coat most of them in melted good quallity white chocolate, leaving some bare for those who don't like it. I love the look of the draped chocolate as you pull them out of the gooey molten white chocolate.

Try not to eat them all until you've given them out as gifts!