{most of a part of a bit of a quilt}

Roaming the pinboards for inspiration, I stopped short when I saw this piece of patchwork, from haven. 

I've been wanting to use some of the old quilt scraps that Justin's grandma gave me to make a new quilt -- to take some of that beautiful hand-stitching and not just recycle it, but take it back to its old life a little bit. And maybe transfer some of that seventy-year-old magic to my slightly more modern choice of fabrics. Red, white and grey -- the official sponsors of Christmas 2011.

Can you spot the antique?

(No, Justin's ten-year-old shirt doesn't count!) 

Happily, my giant pile of "nice fabric" old clothing is shrinking down to a single box. The lid doesn't quite fit on it yet, but we're getting there.

Also in the mix: a pair of baggy Thai trousers from our honeymoon that never quite looked as hip once we were back in America, mikodesign's lovely russian doll fabric, a great stash of red fabrics from my Mum, a rather more revealing top than I'd ever like to admit to wearing, and a couple of those $1.99 a yard! fabrics I see now and then at Walmart and can't resist, though I don't know what to do with them.

Of course, even after cutting and piecing six king-size rows of strips, the whole thing is looking a little short. Wrap it around yourself on a chilly morning and you'll have some frost-bitten ankles. So, back to the cutting board for now...

Babuskha Bowling

Well, the Christmas elves were busy last night. A whole set of Russian Dolls is finished, and they've set sail in the Russian Doll boat (ahem, bread basket) that our recent lovely house-guest made for Tilly. 

Tatiana, Katja, Sveta, Anya, Pinky and Matilda have a long life of fun in front of them. Not only are they dolls, they are also stuffed with little bells, so that Tilly can enjoy them as rattles right now. (Well, she could, if she would remove their heads from her mouth long enough to shake them!)

The dolls also double as skittles for a game of six-pin bowling:

But now they have to go back into the workshop to wait for Christmas, so that Tilly can pull them all out of her new stocking!

To see what others are creating today, stop by their Creative Spaces.

A Russian Doll Christmas

The time has come to make Tilly a stocking, to hang beside Justin's, mine, and Bella's. After hours of deliberation as to whether I should put an 'M' for Matilda, or a 'T' for Tilly, I decided on neither.

Instead, Tilly gets a pretty little Russian doll, which matches the lovely bedding my Mum made for her Moses basket, and the cushions and little quilt she made for the nursery. Plus, a lovely linen doll print, flown in from Beijing, for the trim.

And what will Father Christmas be putting in Tilly's stocking this year? Well, one thing that the little elves are sewing up is a set of stuffed Russian Doll skittles for a mini-bowling game. Here's a little sneak peek into Santa's workshop:

Oh, and I Couldn't Resist...

In case you needed another use for your felt cone
it makes a wonderful party hat
for a little girl who's thirteen weeks old today

Russian Stacking Cones

If you love little collections of gathered beauties, or are mad about Christmas, then stop on over to The Fable of the Table this week... there's a wonderful idea for an unusual and personal decorating idea, and she's giving away a little set of oddities picked up from her travels in China, Thailand and beyond...

This year, my family is planning a Christmas-of-the-century: a family reunion, meet-and-greet-with-Tilly, house-warming, three-week-long, English-countryside, handmade extravaganza. The idea is that, if we start now, there'll be time to get done all the things we want to have ready for Christmas. So, to spur us on, each week I'll be posting a little Christmas inspiration or tutorial. And perhaps you can add a little handmade fun to your celebration this year, too.

Today, I've got a little how-to on making felt Christmas cones. Very easy, and a lovely way to add colour to your tree.

You'll need:

• a piece of felt, about 8" square (I used 100% wool felt as it's a bit sturdier, but acrylic will work, too)
• about 20" of trim (ribbon, rickrack, twill tape)
• scissors
• a needle
• pins
• sewing thread

Cut a curved line across your felt from one corner to the corner diagonally opposite. (You can use a compass to mark this out first for perfection, but it's not necessary) Then, starting about 2" along the curve, cut towards the corner. This will trim away one of the sides, so that your cone won't be so wide. Cut a small curve in the bottom corner of the felt, as shown below.

Take the trim you've picked, and pin it along the edge of long curve on the right side of the felt. It may look a bit bumpy now, but it should straighten out when the cone is joined up. Cut the trim to size once it is pinned.

Using small running stitches, sew the trim onto the felt. A thread that matches the colour of the trim will make this almost invisible, or you can use a contrasting colour if you want the stitches to show.

Fold the cone in half, so that the right sides are together and the trim is on the inside. Pin it, and sew down the long sides of the felt, from the trim to the bottom of the cone, and across the bottom. The only opening should now be at the top, where your trim is. Turn the cone right-side out.

Cut another length of trim for the handle, 10" long. Pin it to the sides of the cone, on the inside. The seam where you sewed up the cone should be halfway between the handles.

Sew the handles to the cone. Again, matching thread will make this invisible. Cut away any excess trim.

Now, fill with sweeties! 

And why not make a couple more in complementary colours? The beauty of handmade things is that they probably won't be exactly the same size, so they'll be able to stack inside each other just like Russian dolls... which will no doubt make for easy storage when they're not in use.

If you make any cones, I'd love to see! Or, if you've got any Christmas projects of your own you're working on, please share a link so we can all have a look.

Zip It

In honour of Tilly's being six weeks old yesterday, I thought it was about time to fire up the old Mean Green Sewing Machine and make a Russian doll cushion cover for the rocking chair in Tilly's room.

Now, when I say "make", what I really mean is sew together the front and back pieces that my lovely Mum had patchworked, and add a zip. Well, and work out how to add a zip... A nice easy project to get me going again, with very fast results! Only one of the three cushions got finished yesterday, but all in the space of time between Tilly eating and Tilly taking a nap. I felt a bit like I was on a game-show, doing a speed sewing challenge!

I just love how Tilly looks like the Russian doll, with her round face, wide eyes, and pursed lips!

It turns out, though, that Tilly might have to wait a while to have the cushion in her room... as soon as it was done, Justin claimed it, and took it off to the sofa for a nap!