Christmas gnome ornaments

Every Christmas I try to find different ornaments for the grandchildren. There are now 13 grandchildren and I wanted to actually make the ornaments this year. I thought of cross stitching small motifs. There were little doggies in Santa hats, snowmen, gnomes or mitts but when it came down to it, cross stitch takes a long time. Even small things are time consuming and that was something I really didn't have. I did a little surfing on the internet and came up with gnome ornaments. These had a youtube video that were made from yarn, stuffing or cotton balls and either a toilet paper roll or a paper towel roll. Lots of yarn was needed for 13 ornaments but since I have a stash of different coloured yarns, it was nice to use some of it up.

This was so easy to make and the youtube video was very helpful and informative.

The nose was supposed to be a wooden bead but since I couldn't find any small enough in my local dollar store, I did find a sprig of greenery that had gold sprinkled 'berries' and I thought they could look very festive.

I actually made 15 gnomes. Two were my samples and I have since given one away. Eleven of the grandchildren live very close and they will be able to pick their favourite. Two have already been spoken for but I didn't want to hand any out until their Christmas tree was put up.

The youtube video was one put out by Taffleberry Lane.

Retreat quilts

This past weekend I was at a quilt retreat. It was just about an hour and a half away. It was a great weekend and productive.

A huge room with wonderful lighting. Large windows too.

I managed to finish putting this 26" X 26" quilt top together. It was a free pattern online that finished at 13" X 13" but that was way too small for me. I am planning on hanging this on my wall just beside the front door so that it will be the first thing you see. I'm not sure whether or not I want to put a border on it or just bind it.

This is the other quilt I was working on. I was just laying out the charm squares. It did get put together but my camera battery died. I shall take a better photo of the finished top. It too is a free pattern online that uses up a whole charm pack of 42 squares.

All in all, a successful weekend. Great company but way too much food.
 

Some extra sewing

I was asked by my middle daughter to make some bicycle seat covers - two of them. She wanted something that she could add a bit of foam to so that riding long distances would be more comfortable. This request, of course, was last minute. I had to finish sewing a sleeve onto the back of a quilt for the quilt show but I put it aside. Luckily, I had a roll of plaid upholstery fabric that I was able to use. I searched the internet for a DIY (Do It Yourself) bicycle seat cover and not only did I get a tutorial, there was even a youtube video. It turned out to be easy peasy and because the upholstery fabric had a rubbery backing, I didn't have to finish any seams. My sewing stash included some half inch twill tape that I used for a draw string.

If you click on the photos, they will enlarge.

Apologies for the small photos but I was unable to enlarge them from my email. I should have taken a photo of them once I had finished them and before I handed them over but once again, I forgot. Perhaps I will get a chance to take photos once they return from their trip.

I did get the sleeve sewn onto the back of the quilt and the quilt show is this weekend. I will have photos from it in the coming week.

Quilt show in Toronto Sept. 23 - 24, 2023

 

Quilt related

 Just a couple more rows for the Row by Row. 

A clearer picture or the finished rows.

I liked the look of this but the instructions that came with the kit were not very good at all. I ended up appliquing the top kite part.

This was a fun one to figure out.

 I may just use these last two as standalone quilts to put up on the wall.