Merry Christmas To All

 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inns (Luke 2:6-7). 

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were afraid.

 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 


 (This small nativity set is from a kit/pattern that I purchased many years ago and cannot remember the name of the company that made this.  If I find the kit or remember who is the creator of this I will certainly credit them. The fabrics used are from Cranston Printworks.)

“A Visit from St. Nicholas" or Twas the Night before Christmas

 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

by Clement Clarke Moore (1779 - 1863)

Santa and his sack full of toys.  This has been set out each year for Christmas at our house.  I love the little doll that sticks out of  Santa's sack.  The "kit" was a printed piece of yardage made by Cranston Printworks (if memory serves).  Just cut, sew and stuff, of course you could embellish any way you like.   I think it is out of print now.  

The Wonky Leaf

The Wonky Leaf

  Some time ago I decided to do some stitching, a lot of stitching.  I can't quite remember how exactly I did this little piece but I do remember that I did not use a hoop, hence the wobbly wonky-ness. (I just made that word up).  In any case it is heavily stitched and feels much like a fabric patch that one might sew onto another item, maybe a tote bag or even a denim jacket.  Maybe one day it will end up on one of those items when the mood strikes me.  It measures just under 6 inches long and about 4 inches wide, is beaded.  The threads used are Sulky brand, except for the black - not sure what I used for that.
  The lesson here is USE A HOOP to obtain a flat piece.

Half Square Triangle FUN !

 So I have lots of half square triangles now and am playing!  Just thought that you might like to see what I have been up to with them.  Here are a few pictures of layouts that being contemplated for you to look at.  Enjoy!  I don't know if I will actually use these layouts but it is fun rearranging the pieces.  I take photos of each layout so that I can compare each layout to see which one or ones that I like best.  None of these fabrics are from my own dyed stash, all are purchased fabrics and you may recognise some of them as they are from a years old collection.    I am attempting to minimize my stash somewhat! Ha.  Then I can proceed on to my own hand dyed fabric collection.  I am imposing this upon myself as a goal to the treat ahead.     

The Half-Square Triangle

  In trying to use up some of my fabric stash I have been sewing up a storm of half square triangles.  If any of you have ever worked with half square triangles before then you know that they can be tricky to make and time consuming to sew.    But I found a web site that offers a free pattern in different sizes of these little gems  (http://www.QuiltingAndWhatnot.com). You just have to print it then cut and sew!  You will have lots of half square triangles at your disposal...along with lots of fun and creativity to boot.  You could even join a half square triangle swap to add variety to your project.  The possibilities are endless! 

i

hanging rows of half square triangles

half square triangles

random layout half square triagnles

directional layout half square triangle

Blue Green Line - Spirals, Stripes, Salamanders and Dots

  Now showing the Blue Green Line set of fat quarters hand dyed by yours truly.  Though the colorway is limited and the designs are simple, but the techniques were varied in creating this grouping.  I used mono-printing, stamping (with my own stamps that I designed), painted on thickened dye, dye paste and over-dyeing.   The designs are spirals, stripes, salamanders and dots.  Again I have used fat quarter sized pieces of 100% cotton fabric.  This is an easily managed size to work with, although larger pieces of other designs and colors are in my stash that I have also designed, you just need more room to spread out! Here are a couple of views.  Have a look, hope you like what you see.

 

Some of My New Fabrics

Here are just a few of my newest fabrics.  All are 100 per cent cotton, hand dyed and printed by me!  Hope you like seeing them. 

These are fat quarter size.  They have been dyed at least once, then over dyed for additional texture (fish fabric).  Then each was printed using fabric print medium using my own designs. 

They were very much fun to make.

Watch for more next weekend!

Disappointing Results

The results of the Rhode Island Small Quilt Challenge are disappointing as there were no entries.  I thought there would be at least a few entries, but I guess with the economy and busy lives of people there just was not enough interest.  That's okay though - I am onto my next project that I may include on this blog at a later date.   I haven't any pictures to show at this moment - but check back this coming weekend and I will have some of my hand dyed fabrics to see.  Have a great day everyone.