Friday Finish - Snowman Kits

The last weeks of school before Christmas and again in June are just crazy busy.  I guess because there is no longer any time to put things off for later.

So with school in mind I did have a finish of sorts this week.  I made 5 double batches of peppermint playdough in order to make "Snowman Kits" for the students. Each kit got a good size ball of playdough, a felt scarf (fabric out!!), buttons, eyes, beads, sticks, and a hat.

The hats were so fun.  I got baby socks at the $ Store.  Then cut off the heel and cuff and folded over what was left to make a cuff for the hats.  After a bit of deliberation I machine sewed the cuff down to avoid fraying and disappointment in the future.  Then College E hot glued pompoms to each one.  They are so cute.

Cut...

Fold, Sew!

The containers also came from the $ Store.  This is much bigger than the idea we used for inspiration, but I think it will be easier for little fingers to manage.  Sometimes you just have to work with what is available.

They came out super cute.  I think the kids will like them.  The best part is that they are done a full week and a half before the last day of class!  I think that means this weekend will hold more sewing and less school prep.  Woo hoo!

Snowman Kit!!

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts to show off finishes.

Stash Report 121017

No fabric in this week.  Whew!

Hmm.  That's what I had originally planned to report.  But, alas, it was not to be.  College E got home for Christmas two days early, so I took the day off to be with her while Little S was still in school (and I was not the lead teacher this week, so it was much easier to miss than usual).  We did a few errands over the bridge and off course couldn't help but pass by my favorite little thrift store on the way back.  2.5 yards for $1

I'm thinking this will be a good baby girl quilt backing.

I finished the Christmas stockings that were commissioned.  The client was thrilled and it was all from stash.  Win Win!!   5.28 yards

Commissioned stockings.

I also made a cute pillowcase as a Christmas gift for the same friend's daughter, who is also a good friend to Little S.  She likes pink, so this fabric was perfect.  The upper band was given to me for pillowcases so I don't count that in or out, but all the rest was from the stash.  The cupcake fabric was a very recent addition, so that was a quick turnaround.  It was a very odd shaped piece so my upper band is wider to make up for the shortage of the cupcake fabric.  It is still cute if not perfectly proportioned!  0.75 yards

Cute cupcake pilowcase!

Fabric Purchased:  2.5 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 99.22 yards

Fabric Acquired This Week: 0 yards
Fabric Acquired YTD: 46.04 yards

Fabric Used This Week:  6.03 yards for Christmas stockings & pillowcase

Fabric Used YTD: 112.56 yards

Fabric Stashed in 2017: 31.95 yards stashed

I'm headed in the right direction - ever so slightly.  Now if I could just get that king size backing finished.

Staying accountable with   quiltpaintcreate.  

Commissioned Stockings

A friend asked me to make stockings for her family.  She went through my Christmas stash and chose fabrics.  When I started cutting I made 2 suggestions to change.  One because I had just received the flowery fabric and it worked better.  The other because the flow just wasn't right and the change worked better.

After the stocking boots were made it was time to decide on the cuffs.  This is where it really needs to be the client who makes the decision.  I have learned to present the options and then step back.

All red?

All green?

Red & green mixed?

How about white?

In the end she went with all red, which is what she had indicated at the start of the project, but it helps to see all the options to be sure that what you imagined is what you really want.

I did add lace to the youngest.  It helps with the red on red and is appropriate for the age and gender. All in all they came out great and the client was very happy!

Ta Daaaaa!

I made lots of stockings when we lived in Guatemala because it was a novelty there and not part of the culture.  But here in the US I haven't made any because my mother knit stockings for all of the family.  Amazingly I still had the pattern from Guatemala.  Why did I even wonder - of course I held on to it!

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts to show off finishes.

Throwback Thursday

Vintage Christmas Stockings

My mother's oldest sister made this stocking for me for my first Christmas. 

The original.

It's debut in 1962.

1963

My mother copied it for my siblings and then the in-laws and then the grandchildren.  No pattern. She just worked from whichever stocking she had access too when the need arose. So they are similar but unique. 

My family's variations!

My older nephew's was the last one she made and delivered herself 4 years ago.  So when my brother and sister-in-law announced last year that they were expecting they were afraid that the new baby would be without Grandma's stocking.  

My mother was a wise woman.  Turns out that she left a blank Christmas stocking in her knitting stash which I have along with the fabric/sewing stash.  It did not have a name so that was left to me, the family seamstress.  I don't knit so it was harder than it should have been.  Finally, in despair I just embroidered it on with yarn and a daisy chain stitch.  It is even more different than the others but that will be part of its story. 

When my sisters examined the finished product they agreed that my mother must have made this one shortly after my nephew's.  She was in a slow decline at that time and I'm sure she anticipated the need in the future and made it while she was able. 

Which brings us to the present.  Does anyone have a pattern for these stockings?  We know that there are others out there but have been unsuccessful locating a pattern.

I was looking at new (to me) quilting/sewing blogs and found My Quilt Infatuation.  Looks like fun so I'm linking up to Needle & Thread Thursday over at my quilt infatuation

Mommy's Christmas Stockings

Many, many years ago when I was born my aunt, who was 11 years older then my mother, knit a stocking for me.   My mother, who was very clever, then copied that stocking when my siblings came along.  As we got married she made them for our spouses and then for the grandchildren.  One year she even bartered stockings for my sister's wedding rehearsal dinner!

Each stocking is slightly different since she only copied whichever stocking she had access to when she needed to make another.  We always joked that she favored my brother since his stocking was huge.  He literally grew into it with a size 13 foot!  Little S gets the same grief among my kids.  But she came along much later and I'm sure by then my mother did not remember what size needles she had used or any of the details.

We have lived in a lot of places around the world but no matter how limited our access to comforts might be I have always made sure we had our stockings at Christmas. 

Does anyone have a pattern for these stockings that you might share or know where I could get it?  I don't knit but College R knows the basics and the nieces as well. Maybe by the time we need more stockings someone will be able to make them.

Have blessed Christmas everyone.

Showing off Christmas memories/crafts/projects and linking up to Quiltville