A Flying Start

Happy 25th!  Our workshop is humming with cheerful elves getting busy with their Christmas goodies. Lovely to have everyone joining in and thank you for all the inspiration and encouragement you share here. A jingly welcome to a couple of new elves taking part in the merriment.

I'm off to a flying start with a finish to share. This little angel could be a very busy little angel granting wishes.

Happy 2015

JanuarY

First item for the New Year is a block.
I will be using it in a special project as the months go by.
Thanks Narelle for bringing us all together again in 2015.

Hugs Dory

January Finish

My finish is a little Anni Downs stitchery that was a freebie.

Happy Stitching,

My January finish.....

..and now this mini quilt can go into the box till Christmas...it feels good to start the year with a finish.

                    

Roll Call and Winners

Firstly I would like to say sorry for being absent for the first half of January ... hard to believe already 1/2 the month is behind us. All I can say is 'the drought' got in the way!  Thankfully we have now had some nice rain to start the grasses growing and only this week have been able to return the last of our cattle to their correct paddocks. So now perhaps I can don my chief elf hat and return to the workshop.

A huge thank you and well done to all the lovely elves who managed to store away their Christmas goodies through 2014. Hope you enjoyed bringing them out from storage and decorating or gifting all your lovely handmade items. My mother, daughter and daughter-in-law were very happy with their new kitchen hand towels. Just as a little something extra ... I have done a random draw and 2 lucky elves will be receiving a little something in the mail.

Random Draw No. 1 ~ I placed the name of each month in a bowl and drew out   **** NOVEMBER ****  So if you posted a finish in the month of November you're one step closer.

Random Draw No. 2  ~  I placed the names of each elf who posted a finish in November in a bowl and the lucky elves are .... Marina and Maria .... congratulations!  Marina, your's is on it's way as I had your snail mail addy. Maria if you could email me your snail mail addy I'll pop yours in the post when I'm in town again next week.

Roll Call

The rules steps are simple:

1       a:    Make an item which you will use as a decoration in your home at Christmas or
        
         b:    Make an item to be given as a gift at Christmas or

         c:    Choose one large project for the year and post your progress each month.

2       Post a picture of your item/s on this blog between the 25th and end of the month. 

3       No stress allowed  :o)  Skipped a month? No problem ... it's never to late to join in.

Please leave a comment on this post if you wish to continue in 2015. I know a few of you have already indicated this but I would appreciate it if you could also comment here. There is plenty of room in the workshop for new elves too ... the more the merrier.

I've decided this year to go with just 1 large project for the year and will post progress each month. Last year I made a start on 'A Merry Christmas Garden' by Gail Pan and would love to keep this one growing.

Merry Christmas 2015

Happy New Year!

Hi Narelle, Happy New Year to you and all the other Elves!  I was wondering if we want to start again with you this year for one item a month, do we need to 'sign up' again, or just continue on here?  I'm still not sure if I will do another 12 items this year as I've got a few other commitments, but I've also still got a lot of Xmas fabric in my stash that I'd like to use up!
Can I just pop in when I've done something with it through the year?

It's been a while . . .

Since I've posted anything.



These will hang from gift bags next Christmas.

On coming very late to the party

Well, I did get some presents knitted but no where near 12! Never-the-less I thought this was such a good idea, and if I'm honest feel a little guilty that I did not join in properly, I thought I would share the photos of my FOs all together here, just before New year is out!

Firstly there is Barndom a pattern by Steven West, knitted for my friend the writer Elizabeth Speller

It's knitted in two shades of John Arbon's Alpaca Sock (green and cream) and the centre is my own hand spun aplaca fibre in a red/green mix

I never quite stick to the patterns I use, in this case I kept knitting with the handspan (the shawl begins with a small garter stitch tab) until it was all used up, introducing first the cream then the green, I think the picot bind off was also my modification.

Then there is a pair of socks in Fyberspates Vivacious a DK weight hand dyed super wash wool.  The pattern is my own, that is I made it up as I went along, knitting the two socks at the same time on two circulars so that I could try them on as I knitted

The cables alternate in an attempt to create a ripple effect

Lumpy space,  for Caron is also by Steven West.  Again I used some of my own handspan, the fibre in the centre is silk brick by Hilltop Cloud, the plum colour Berry Compote by Porpoise fur, the blue and green is Manos del Uruguay fino

The silk in the centre was certainly lumpy (and thicker than the rest of the yarn I used) but it blocked out OK

Caron was so happy with it that she posted this photo on Facebook on Boxing Day

Finally there was a scarf for my daughter's boy friend in four colours of Rowan Worsted pure wool.  I didn't get it finished and had to give him a card on Christmas day containing a promise, which he already knew about because he read my blog!  But it is done now,  here it is blocking, and yesterday I delivered it.

And next year?  Perhaps I shall be a little more organised.  I've also made a resolution, more about that on my own blog

xx

c

Merry Christmas

Thank you everyone for your wonderful contributions to our happy little workshop. It has been a pleasure to be host elf and I do hope you will join me again next year as we craft along filling our gift boxes with lovely treasures to share or decorate at Christmas.

This jar of cookies were a quick bake this morning before family arrive ... if you would like to try them out I have added the recipe to the 'Recipe' page ... very yummmm!

Merry Christmas

It's almost here.

So here we are with Christmas almost with us.My grandchildren are getting very excited.

I finished the Christmas banner and posted it to Oz.

My daughter loves it .

Not a great picture,I took it with my iPad ,I was in a great hurry to post it.

My youngest daughter has only hand made ornaments on her tree ,of course made by me.Its a black tree( not my taste) each year I make her an ornament.

Two baubles this year,made with felt.

So for me it was a very productive year ,as well as the banner and baubles  I made a Christmas quilt,

And a little crochet penguin that I made last month.

So that's my year,very pleased with my efforts,I would never have completed the Christmas quilt without this blog.

Do its a very big thank you to Narrelle for hosting again this year.

A very merry Christmas and healthy happy New Year to you all.Ive really enjoyed watching all your makes,and you have given me lots of ideas for next year.

Love to you all,

 Laura.xxx

Xmas Items for December

I managed 3 items this month

stockings for my GS's

& a Natalie Bird wallhanging.

Thankyou Narelle for hosting us again this year. xx

Merry Christmas.

Happy Stitching,

Last projects for the year.

I made two more items this year to complete the 12 month commitment.  One was a table mat which I saw in a magazine and liked because it was easy, and I knew I had the right fabrics in my stash.

Unfortunately I made a bad decision with the binding by using up strips that I had in my stash, instead of the same fabric all around.  Ah well, maybe next year I'll find time to rip off that binding and re do it properly.  It is sitting on the hall table with a phone and a few ornaments on top of it, so you don't really see much except for the gingham and Christmas braid.

The other item I made up was a stocking from one of those printed panels.  I donated this to a charity for their Xmas hamper.

December Projects

I know I am a little early but I am sure next week I'd forget. Here are my last two Christmas items for this year. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope we'll see each other again next year for more crafting through the year.

Oops, I almost forgot, I also managed to stitch three more of the adorable Advent Animals by Brooke Nolan.

Tis The Season... Finished In The Nick Of Time!

Welcome to my one & only '1 Xmas Item A Month' project for 2014!

I give you

'Tis The Season' - Christmas Stitchings by Natalie Bird (The Birdhouse)

Stitched by little old ME!

I am so pleased to have gone from this:

 

to this:

 

My fabrics are Lynette Anderson 'Christmas Fun', & as you can hopefully make out, the quilting is very simple.

This little book is so good... it features 13 stitchery designs, & contains a few really fun & easy projects to use them. I can tell I'll be stitching from it again in future.

Thank you again & again to Elf Queen Narelle for hosting this great blog & for supporting all of us in our efforts to make Festive items we'll cherish! xo

Merry Christmas To All the '1XIAM' Elves... maybe some of you will be here again next year?!

Anthea at Hibiscus Stitches

December catchup

I see I am not the only naughty elf in the last three months.  I have been busy completing sscs with gone stitchin but I can't show yet.... A fellow embroiderer and I also made 8 of the following but forgot to take a picture..  These were for our embroidery group for Xmas ..

I have also been making another gift but the cats out of the bag now so I can show you all...

And last but not least a Xmas decoration finish...

Hope that makes up for being such a naughty elf

My Santa Sack Swap pressies all sent...

A big thank you to our head elf Narelle you have been so helpful with  all the encouragement.