Friday Finish!

 

Well, I just realized it was Friday and I almost forgot to post. Quite the hectic week with holiday preparations. We had a nice dinner with the kids, and today we mostly rested.

This week I Finished a nativity, that I started last year. I thought it would be fun to try and have something different to add to my collection. 

The bad thing with this panel was, the pieces did not line up exactly so I sewed them by following the front facing pieces since they are the ones that you see. I stuffed them and sewed the bottom after, seemed easier for me to do it that way.

One new thing I did this year was, make corn bread with a mold. I like how they looked and fun for the table. They actually tasted better than when I do them in a pan. The silicone mold was also nicer since they popped right out, no sticking. 

We did shorter rides lately, not as many birds to see, so no photos. Next is pulling out all the holiday decorations and getting the house ready, Christmas is coming fast. I have done a lot of online shopping, so most of the gifts are here and I can enjoy relaxing a bit and getting my cards out. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and can enjoy the upcoming holidays.

Friday Finish!

I have decided it is time to get going on Christmas, it comes so quick and I am always rushing, so I am starting early. A friend gifted me an older book, Kindred Spirits Christmas. I love the older books and designs, they are prim, easy to work up and can be modified, if I want.

This one was a large stitchery, so I reduced it for a smaller pillow. It is 9" x 7", just the right size to set in a grouping or on a cupboard. I really love the design and think it would be fun in bright colors or with applique figures, so I may do another for people who don't do prim. The material on this one is a medium brown, but it is hard to see that in the photo, this one I may keep for me.

I also want to do at least one new thing each week, something I can make to give or hide in stores during the holiday. I loved doing this, it worked up quick and you can use felt, which is easy to get. I happened to win a batch, years ago, so now I can use the green bolt for these trees. If you like the idea of giving gifts to others, just to bring a smile, you can check out my facebook group; DSmiles4miles.

I didn't add a hanger yet, but I will add a tag with a saying and the group name. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, we have one nice day and one rain day, so I plan on making the most of tomorrow and checking out areas, we missed last week.

The pattern for the trees and other free felt patterns can be found at Touch the Beauty.

Nativity Punch Needle!

I decided it was time I made something with my nativity design and I wanted to try something a little different. I enlarged the design and made it in the shape of a stable. I punched the main designs in a #3 height and the background in a #1 height. I also did Joseph's beard in a #4 height to make it more scrappy.

I really didn't get the 3D look that I was going for, but it is raised. I also did a horrible job on the punching, way too big so it took me all week and my hand is tired and numb, lol. I really like the idea though, so I think I will work on another and maybe make it more detailed, will have to think on it. The other problem is when I stuffed it, it puffed out, so that killed the background being in the background. I think another idea would be to make a wool stable shaped frame and put the piece behind that.

You can get my free designs from the previous post and make your own nativity. It works in all mediums and I did do a cross stitch, as well.

I would also use better colors, but I was digging out of my scrap box, really need to use those up.

The finished piece is about 8" high by 6 1/2" wide. I used a dark and lighter wool yarn for the roof and sides, by bunching it up as I sewed and laid it flat on the bottom.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am down with the flu, so hoping I feel good enough to go shopping this weekend or no one is getting any presents, lol.

I did antique this piece, but it came out lighter and too bold, compared to the actual piece. Also this week, I have taking off the word verification and hopefully the junk mail won't return.

Christmas Nativities

One of the things that killed my arm, was a lot of sanding. I do have a small sander, but you can only do so much with those without taking off too much, so most of my sanding is done by hand.

Years ago, I made a few nativity sets and kept one for me, now I am trying to recreate them. I had to use my set to work from, since I have no idea where I got the pattern, I thought it was from an old BHG Christmas issue. If you happen to have this magazine or book it came from, please let me know which one it was, so I can see if I can get a used copy.

This is the set I made. I love it's simplicity.



This is the first, new set that I attempted. I made it smaller and use brighter colors. It was not what I wanted, and I got carried away with the black. It does look better in person, the flash makes everything stand out more. Now I am working on 4 sets at a time, still in the painting stage. I have to do a coat and then go over again with a second coat. I guess trying something over again, is not smart when you are making a few at a time and rushing to get them done. They will not be exactly like the first set, but hopefully the recipients will like them.