Homemade Christmas

I hope you had a great Christmas and a fun time bringing in the new year!  My Christmas was spent at the beach with my family – we’ve never been to the beach on Christmas day before, so it was nice to have a few hours relaxing in the sun.

New Year’s Eve was pretty quite, boyfriend and I went out for dinner then spent the rest of the night playing games – then fell asleep before midnight! Must be a sign that I’m getting old…

As for my Christmas presents this year, being a poor student and all, I decided to go with homemade presents for the family. First up – Becs.  Having made her polka dot apron last Christmas, I decided to use the leftover fabric to make some matching potholders/oven mitts, which double as hot spots on the table. They took about a day to make, from two layers of black quilting fabric with the polka dot on the top, and wide ribbon as binding.  The cupcakes were hand-embroidered, same as on the apron.

Next was Dad.  There’s a thing in our family where we always steal his hankerchiefs, so I thought it only fitting to give him some that could be easily identified.  I outlined everything in pencil first then hand-embroidered over the top, with his initial and a little picture on each one.

When I told Mum that I was making the other’s presents and asked her what I could make for her, she requested a bag from a pair of jeans like I’d made before.  After hunting around I found some jeans that were Billabong brand, her favourite, and topped it off with a homemade scarf in guitar fabric.  The patch on the back was hand-embroidered from the detail around the bottom of the jeans.

All were very happy with their presents  This year I was also charged with table decorations, so I thought I’d try my hand at embroidery there as well.  I came up with felt placemats with Christmas trees, and felt coasters with holly and berries, using a mix of hand- and machine-embroidery.

In knitting news – I finally finished the February Lady Sweater! Photos to come soon.  Now I’m working on a cricket vest for boyfriend… so much cabling…!

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