Maggie's Christmas Stocking

Maggie's stocking hanging by our fireplace

     A new grandchild born in 2015 meant it was time to make another stocking for Christmas.

Templates on stocking pattern

     I went to my favorite place to look for ideas, Embroidery Library.  My daughter requested Santa and his toyshop.   I found this Santa checking his list.  For the toys I chose these toys.

First hooping. Note the crosshairs and outline of stocking

    I printed out templates with my software after I reversed Santa.  The stocking pattern is the same one I used for her older brother which I also got from Embroidery Library.  I laid out the templates and marked the centers.

Detail of the first hooping

     I then traced the outline of the stocking on a large piece of white felt with a disappearing marker.  I marked my centers and then hooped the felt along with a piece of heavy stabilizer.  

All 94,315 stitches

     Three hoopings and 94,315 stitches later it was ready for me to construct the stocking.  

Back of stitching with traced pattern

     I again traced the outline of the stocking, but this time on the wrong side of the fabric/stabilizer piece.  I cut it out and then sewed some eyelet lace that was leftover from her Christmas dress as a faux cuff.  Also added a bit of green ribbon.

Name and faux cuff detail

     I then cut another piece of felt for the back and two pieces of candy cane flannel for the lining.  The flannel was leftover also from her dress.

Santa detail

     I sewed the outer pieces right sides together and turned it right side out.  Then I sewed the two lining pieces right sides together but left an opening along one long side.  Then I placed the stocking inside the lining, right sides together, and stitched around the top, adding a loop of felt for hanging. 

Toys detail

  Pulled it all through the opening I left and then quickly machine stitched the opening closed and placed the lining into the stocking.

All done

 

      So different from when I made the stockings for my children.  They were all from kits I bought and spent hours and hours hand stitching them.  They all are still being used though some 30+ years later.

Christmas Decorating 2015

Cedar chest in window bay

     The day after Thanksgiving I start to decorate the house for Christmas.  It usually takes all weekend long.  This year a couple of rooms took a little longer because we had rearranged them and I had to figure out what to put where.

This is where the tree usually went

     The living room was the biggest difference.  We removed one bookcase and changed around the other pieces.  We did this to better accommodate our large family when they come over.  We opened up the room to provide easier access for those relatives that use walkers.

I like the poinsettias under the glass, keeps the top clear for food and drinks

     The cedar chest that was behind the couch is now in the window bay.  We moved the two small lamps from the dining room and placed them there.  Normally a large plant is in this sunny window but now the nativity scene resides there.  This also means we can't put the tree in the window like usual.  We will move a chair and place it in a corner.

Angels in a new spot

     The couch now faces the large window bay and is flanked by matching chairs.  The glass fronted bookcase now stands where the tall bookcase was.  Since the tall bookcase is no longer in the living room, the items that were normally displayed there at Christmas were either put in different places or I got rid of them.  

Temporary bookcase in the foyer

     That tall bookcase in now temporarily in the foyer until we can decide what to do with it.  I used it to display my teddy bear nativity set and some other teddy bears.

Family room fireplace

     The only real change in the family room is the addition of two new stocking holders.  Our daughter and son-in-law had a girl in February and our son and daughter-in-law are expecting in April.  So fun to see all those extra stockings on the fireplace mantel.

Santas sharing a new spot

Thanksgiving Meal 2015

Cheese and cracker turkey platter

     We celebrate Thanksgiving on the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day.  Our son from Iowa comes in and we have my husband's two sisters and their spouses and children plus our two other children, their spouses and children.  My mom also comes.  This year we had 17 at the table.

Caramel apple sangria

     We started with a cheese and cracker 'turkey' platter that my son put together.  He did a great job and it looked a lot like the photo.  I also had a tray of veggies and dip.  For a holiday drink we had Caramel Apple Sangria.  It was a nice light drink to start the festivities.  My son also mixed this up for us.  He opted to slice the apples into very thin slices instead of chunks.

Pumpkin soup

     The first course was Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup.  It was very tasty but a lot of work.  I did use a fresh pumpkin from our garden.  That's hard work cutting and peeling a pumpkin.  Next time I might opt for a recipe where you roast the pumpkin first so it would be easier to cut.  It also took a lot longer to cook than the recipe called for.

Butternut squash and cranberry quinoa salad

     Our salad was Butternut Squash and Cranberry Quinoa Salad.  I was so glad I opted to buy the butternut squash already cut up.  So much easier.  I did make some without nuts as my other son is allergic and the grandkids are a little young yet to have the nuts.  My squash did get a little overcooked cuz the grandkids came while I was sautéing it and I got involved with them and almost forgot about the squash.  Fortunately my daughter rescued it.

Green bean casserole

Roasted carrots

     For sides we had Healthy Green Bean Casserole and Spice Roasted Carrots.  Both the green beans and carrots were from the garden.  I really enjoyed both dishes though the carrots were a bit charred.  I haven't done roasted vegetables so maybe that is the way they are supposed to be.  My mom thought the green beans were a little spicy but she is used to very bland food.

Sweet potatoes

     For sweet potatoes this year I made Heavenly Hasselback Sweet Potatoes.  Yum!!  I really enjoyed these but they took a bit of time.  Peeling 14 potatoes wasn't that bad but the slicing was harder, especially after cutting up the pumpkin.  Again I made a few without nuts for my allergic son and the grandbabies.  I made a nice pork roast since I don't like turkey or ham.

Biscuits

     For the bread I made these mouth watering Butter Dip Biscuits.  Mine didn't look quite as nice but they were sure delicious.

Cheesecake

     For dessert my husband made Cranberry Crown Cheesecake.  We tried the version with yogurt cheese.  I drained the yogurt as they instructed but very little liquid came out.  As a result the filling was quite watery compared to when you use cream cheese.  It therefore took a lot longer to bake but it finally solidified.  I was quite tasty but not the same as cream cheese cheesecakes.  My sister-in-law also made some pumpkin pies with canned pumpkin and Cool Whip.

     My other sister-in-law provided the wine.  We had a lovely meal and lots of great conversation.  We also enjoyed some football watching and lots of playing with the grandchildren.  Family, food and fun!  And of course my husband and I start the day running the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot as we have for the past almost 10 years.

A Name on a Christmas Stocking

Taking apart the stocking

     It's that time of year again when people are starting to decorate for the holidays.  A request I often get is embroidering names on Christmas stockings.  Sometimes it's as easy as hooping the stocking and stitching but oftentimes it involves taking apart the stocking.

Crosshairs from painter's tape for placement

     In this case I needed to remove the cuff from the stocking in order to stitch the name more easily.  Because the cuff was velvet and had a lining and I wanted only one layer of fabric I needed to take it apart.  Often times when you have two layers of fabric, the top layer will shift and cause problems with stitching.

Topping basted in place

     When deciding what font to use on an item, I look for clues in the item.  In this case I looked at the font used for Merry Christmas and chose one that would compliment it in my software.  I had also measured the size of the area I had to work with and sized the name accordingly.

Starting to stitch the name

 

   I marked where I wanted the name to be and then hooped a sticky stabilizer.  I pressed the fabric to the sticky but also added some pins to make sure it wouldn't move.  Then I placed a water soluble stabilizer on top and basted it down.  This step insures that everything stays in place.

Finished stocking

     After the stitching was all done, I removed the stabilizer from the top and bottom.  I then lightly pressed it from the wrong side and then reconstructed the stocking.

     I believe these extra steps help to present a professional looking item.  So when you ask for a name on a stocking, remember it might take a little extra work to make it look great.

Clothing Quilt

Pile of clothes

     I had a client that came to me wanting a quilt from her mom's clothes.  The mom had recently passed away and she wanted something to remember her mom by.  She also wanted one for her aunt, her mom's sister.

One of the shirts

     We discussed different ideas and finally settled on a large lap sized quilt that she could use while watching television.  It would be 48" x 72" plenty big enough to snuggle up under.

Cutting apart the shirt

     I examined all the clothing to see which ones which be best.  They were mostly knits and fleece.  As they were on the larger size I determined I could get 12.5" squares cut from them so there would be less piecing involved.

Ready for pressing and interfacing

     Because I thought just twelve inch squares would be boring I also cut some 6.5" squares to make four patch blocks to go with the other solid squares.

Interfacing I used

     My biggest problem was going to be how to stabilize the fleece fabric.  I use Shir-Tailor on the backs of T-shirts when I make T-shirt quilts but fleece will melt with the hot iron needed to fuse it in place.

My EuroSteam iron

     My new iron to the rescue.  This EuroSteam iron produces plenty of steam but does not get that hot.  I did a test and sure enough I was able to due the interfacing to the fleece without melting it or otherwise damaging the fleece.

Ready for fusing

     I cut apart the garment and pressed the pieces to be sure all the wrinkles were out.  Then I fused the interfacing to the wrong side of the pieces.

Cutting the large square

Cutting the small squares

     I then used my rulers and cut out my 12.5" squares.  Then I cut some 6.5" squares.  In some cases I centered a motif from the garment.

Centered design element from garment

     I kept cutting apart, pressing, interfacing and cutting until I had the squares I needed.  I cut a few extra so I would be able to play around with the layout.

All cut

     I sewed my four patches with just two different fabrics in each.  I felt the quilt was going to be busy enough without using four different fabrics in the four patch block.

Rulers I used

     Then it was time to play around with the layout.  After I got two pleasing layouts I sewed the squares together.  Normally when I make quilts I press the seams to one side but because these fabrics were bulky, I pressed all the seams open.

Back of finished quilt top

     The client was originally going to put on a fleece backing but couldn't find a color she liked.  She chose a Minky-like light grey fabric, much harder to work with than fleece.  I laid out the backing fabric on the floor, right side up.  Then I laid the quilt top down, right side down.  I pinned all around and cut the backing to size.

Pinned together

     I stitched it with right sides together, leaving an opening for turning.  I pressed the seam and turned right side out.  Then I top-stitched close to the edge to keep the backing from rolling forward and to close the opening.

Button in place

     Knowing that the Minky-like fabric was very likely to stretch if I tried to stitch in the ditch to secure the layers I opted instead to use the buttons from the clothing to tack all the corners.  I pinned with quilt pins around each of the intersections.  Then once again I played around with placing the buttons.

Buttons taped in place

     Once I had them where I wanted them, I secured them with blue painters tape.  I then took it all to the sewing machine and used the sew on button stitch to secure everything in place.

Label

   

     The last step was using my software and embroidery machine to create a label.  I used a cotton fabric that was similar in color to the backing fabric for the base of the label.  I then chose two shades of purple for the lettering and frame as my client had said it was her mom's favorite color.  I pressed under the edges and hand stitched it in place.

     What a wonderful way to be able to keep something around of your loved one.

Kids Sewing October 2015

Bella and her purse

     I started my after school sewing lessons back up the week after Labor Day.  On Mondays I have Reese, Bella, Aviva and Grace.  Reese made a denim skirt with pretty gold shell buttons on the back tab.  She is going to take a break from sewing for a little bit as basketball season has started for her.  Bella finished her purse from last year and is now working on some capris.  Aviva is working on a pair of pants and Grace just finished her back slit skirt.  She added cute daisy buttons to her tab.

Reese and her back slit skirt

    On Tuesdays I have Michelle, Ellen and Cara.  Michelle is working on a pair of shorts.  Ellen is working on a dress for her sister.  She is having a hard time with the narrow hems and slippery fabric.  I think we may have found something to make it easier.  I'll let you know next time if it worked.  Cara is getting very close to finishing her coat.  It has taken her almost a year but she is doing really well with it.

Grace and her back slit skirt

     On Wednesdays I have Lindsey, Natalie, Makayla and Hailey.  Lindsey is working on a tree skirt and Natalie finished her tank top.  Makayla and Hailey are both working on peasant blouses.

Grace's buttons

     Because I took off two weeks for Australia, the girls are a little behind where they would normally be at this time of year.  Next week there will be some changes in the schedule as things keep changing with the girls.

Natalie and her tank top