Our Christmas 2014

Here are the bits and pieces I have been making for Christmas in situ (although I did not make everything, in fact Baby MiH had his own contribution). I love the natural theme I followed this year, but I really do not have enough ornaments for the house, but it something I can add to next year and the following ones - and replace (slowly) the ones I bought on the high street some time ago. 

The woven star was found on Etsy but they don't seem to sell them anymore.

My cross-stitched ornaments next to Baby MiH contribution

The crocheted gingerbread man from last year

No tree for us - a toddler, a baby and a Christmas tree, it was too much to handle.. However my Mum has a Christmas tree - so presents will be at the feet of a tree - and everything will be in order. 

I am really happy I had spent the time making Christmas decorations - I love how for once I can display what I have made - but maybe it is the process of making Christmas as early as I want that really appeals to me! 

Wooden Snowflakes | Christmas 2014

Christmas is nearly here - and I am making the final elements to our decorations (during afternoon naptimes, so it has to be quick projects) - thanks to easy tutorials found on Pinterest. I will put everything up on Saturday night, so that when Baby MiH wakes up on Sunday (for his birthday) it is Christmas! Yes my boys will have to love Christmas as much as I do, 

This last project is one I was really keen on making when I pinned this picture a wee while ago. Unfortunately I did not have enough big wooden beads to make a massive snowflake - maybe another year - but I do have small ones to make ornaments the size of my straw ones. 

You will need 48 beads - which is quite a lot for a big snowflake. The original tutorial can be found here, but I worked it out from the below diagram really, It took me half an hour per snowflake, some thread and a needle (because my beads are so small) - et voilà, two more ornaments. 

I was not sure how to use these small beads so I am very pleased they have become such beautiful ornaments that compliment my colour scheme. 

Only 12 days to Christmas!! We are off to France - we managed to get Little Baby MiH his passport on time! So it is going to be very exciting to have 4 generations around the table. Cannot wait!

Yarn and Twigs | Christmas 2014

Baby MiH is a collector - mainly of stones and twigs - stones fit in his pockets and he is able to point with twigs, which is great fun as far as he is concerned. I love going on walks with him, he finds everything wonderful - but at the same time, every walk takes forever. So I decided to make the most of his 'presents' to me and incorporate them into my Christmas decoration.

I did make him have a go at making these Christmas decorations - with NO success whatsoever - and resulting only in knots in my yarn. So maybe next year - or the year after... 

So for the time being, we will be focusing on gathering more twigs. It makes walks much more interesting as Baby MiH is looking purposefully - and of course this is also an opportunity to introduce new words in his vocabulary. But it also means I am much less frustrated at his collection habit, and in fact I get quite keen to find more twigs (of a certain size etc). 

I am sure you will have realised now that thankfully I have spent a lot of time at summer camps - where making this ornaments was part of our weekly routine - all helpful some 20 years later... 

The colour scheme of the ornaments matches the pompom garland one. I am stuck at the moment because I have ran out of the cream yarn (is that really cream?) - so I am waiting for a happy delivery soon. Except for that yarn (Rowan Revive, which is a recycled fibre), the other yarns are from my stash - pompom garlands are a great way to destash. I am using a pompom maker (you can read my review here) - so much fun!

None of this takes a lot of time - but will make an interesting addition to my Christmas decoration. Have you tried to incorporate your children 'presents' in your Christmas ornaments - would love to get more ideas! 

Cross-stitching patterns | Christmas 2014

I finished two patterns for my first Christmas ornaments and I have now cut the burlap to size - which looks a bit tidier. I have not chosen the backing fabric yet nor how I will hang them, but at least I have an idea of size (especially if I start going for another pattern). 

Both patterns were cross-stitched on burlap fabric (I have a big piece of fabric in my stash, but you can try Ebay) - I think the red thread is my favourite. I used 3 strands of thread in each case - but the red looks fuller somehow. Or I may be biased towards that pattern - it is definitely my favourite out of the two. 

I am not a cross-stitched expert and I have not got any software to transcribe the design onto an electronic pattern sheet, but I reckon you should be able to work it out from the pictures (and do a hand-written pattern as I tend to do). However, if you know any free pattern making software - let me know, and I will be happy to transcribe everything! 

I am really happy with my progress - at this stage I am not sure whether to add another pattern and another thread to my ornaments - or just keep it at two colours, two patterns... I went through my Embroidery Pinterest Board again and I saw so many patterns from last year that I like that I may just have to add another pattern. 

Slow Start | Christmas 2014

I made a very slow start on Christmas decorations - well singular decoration in fact. I will be using this template (you can find more of my Christmas embroidery inspiration here) on burlap with cream DMC thread. I am using 3 strands at the same time to make it stand out a bit on the burlap - I may move to red thread next. 

I do love working on Christmas stuff though. 

Getting started | Christmas 2014

It may seem a bit early but as you may have seen on my IG feed, I have Christmas on my mind - big time! There may be a simple explanation for this. I will be giving birth in November (if all goes well) so December may be fairly busy at ours (in a very good way, of course). And I am also planning Baby MiH's birthday (and maybe mine if I get round to this) in December. So I need to start now (or probably should have started in August). But the silver lining is that Christmas craft books are very much available at my library. 

I found two that are full inspirations - The Christmas book by S. Goldsmith will probably be my inspirations for edible presents, and Christmas crafting in no time (C. Youngs) for ornaments. That should get me started. 

Have you started thinking about Christmas? I am hoping that I will have time to make some handmade presents, but may give myself a break this year...