Friday 27 December 2013

All I Needed Was A Deadline

It's been so long since I put up a post. Unfortunately I have not been whisked away to some romantic tropical island by Mr Stitch to lead a life of leisure. The sad truth is I just got out of the habit of sewing
 
I have hardly sewn a stitch due to a  series of events in my life the last few months. So much happening, so little time....just too tired, but mostly too many hours spent on the road. It seems sewing is a bit like exercise. You are either in the habit of doing it regularly or you're just not. Once out of the habit, it takes a special event to get me started again.
 
 I needed a deadline to get me back into the swing of things. So two weeks out from Christmas I decided I REALLY needed to get started on a stocking for my nephew's first visit from Santa. As they live far away, there was the chance it could get held up in all of the Christmas mail.
Here it is.
 
 
Fortunately it arrived in time.

 
Just a panel I quilted by machine, but a start.
 
Then three days out from Christmas I was still stuck for gift ideas for my boy's partners so I thought I would 'just whip something up'.  A jewellery roll seemed appropriate and I had made them before, so no time waisted trying to work out the pattern.
But you know what those days leading up to Christmas are like.
Amongst the business of cooking, cleaning, visiting relatives popping in, wrapping gifts, watering the garden in the 40 degree heat (that's 104 degrees Fahrenheit for those of you who measure on the other scale), I managed to complete one of the two jewellery rolls. The pressure was off slightly in that we won't see our eldest son's partner until the New Year. Have a few days grace on that one. It's stared, but not finished.
 
Evening of December 22rd, choose fabric and cut out pattern. It's hard to see in the photo, but the lining faric is a micro dot.




 
Afternoon, December 23rd, commence sewing.


 
At 11.39pm December 24th....item completed. So lovely to sit and sew again with Carols by Candlelight on the TV to set the mood. Our family usually turn all the lights out and light several candles to make us feel like we are there too. This year it was Carols by Candle/Craft Light.


 


 



I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day with their family and friends. Have a safe and happy holiday. I am off to enjoy the cooler weather in the garden, top temperature today only 31 degrees!!
Then a bit more sewing on that second roll.