Holiday crafting & new machines

I was a busy little elf in preparation for Yule & Christmas. My girlfriend Leslie brought her daughter over so our girls could play and we could have a "craft day". I made cookies while teaching her how to sew pants. We both made pants for the girls, out of rainbow patterned fleece. I'll put up a picture next time we get together since we want to take a photo of both girls in their rainbow pants.

I also made 4 stockings for my family. We went to the fabric store and each picked out fabric we liked. The same day, I bought fabric to make a tree skirt, which I'm really happy with, and supplies to make a new wreath for the front door. I have pictures that I will post later.

Then I made one pair of jammies for Risa. I got the fabric a while ago, but got busy with holiday baking and such so didn't get to make them until December 23... since she was going to wear new PJ's on Christmas Eve. She was so happy to have them!

Hubby asked me a couple of weeks before Christmas if I wanted a romantic gift or a practical gift... I asked him what kind of practical gift he might mean, and he said he knows I really want a serger. Right away, I opted for the practical gift. After all, my birthday and anniversary are coming up next summer, so I can use the serger while I wait for the romantic gift, right? *LOL* We did some research, and found a package deal on a White Quilter's Star 1780 and 2000ATS serger. I received them on Monday, and watched the instructional videos that night. I was so excited to get new machines I could burst! I used them both for the first time yesterday, making a second nightie for Risa. It looks SO MUCH BETTER than the first one. The gathers are more even, the stitching is tight and perfect, the buttonhole is beautiful, and the seams are sturdy and sure not to fray. I have one more nightie to make then I'm going to make something for myself. I can see myself doing a LOT more sewing now that I have these two beauties! The only downside is that the machine doesn't fit in my sewing machine cabinet, so I'll have to replace it.

Happy crafting! I have some bracelets to make today so my hubby can take them to work tomorrow.

Hairstick update and Yuletide crafting

Well, the hairsticks are coming along. I haven't touched them in a week or so because, big surprise, I've got some other projects on the go right now. Since the holidays are coming (okay, they're here) we decided to ditch some of our old decorations and make new ones we would be happy to see every year. We went to the fabric store and bought fabric for stockings and a tree skirt. Everyone picked out their own stocking fabric (except for our son, who isn't even 2 yet), and I got two different colours of the same pattern fabric for the tree skirt.

We also bought stuff to make a wreath for the front door. I finished it that night. I've seen wreaths like this for around $40 or more, but this only cost me about $15 to make. Granted, a lot of the stuff was 50% off, but I'd have to say it turned out nicely. There were also some deep red hydrangeas that I wanted to include, but somehow they got paid for but didn't make it into the car. I was pretty disappointed about that, because they were so pretty and it would have been nice to have a few flowers here and there on the wreath. My hubby was really impressed with the finished wreath, and I have to say I'm pretty happy with it too. It took me about an hour to put together, and I'll be happy to see it every year! I also bought some glittery twigs, but they didn't seem to fit in, so I don't know what I'm going to do with those.

I also have one more project to do... I have to make a skirt tonight for my friend's 5 year old daughter. It is her Yule gift. I meant to do it all this week, but I'm sick with a really awful cold so I haven't gotten around to it yet. I need to make it tonight though, because they're coming over to do crafts tomorrow, and I won't see them again before Yule! Uh oh!

Wah!

I got a couple of jewelry orders this week. One small, one big. Well, I just spoke to the customer of the big order, and it turns out that instead of 9 bracelets, she only wants 3. Hopefully I can revise my supply orders before they're shipped tomorrow, otherwise I'm going to be out a couple hundred bucks. The supplies aren't cheap, after all!