Christmas Snow Globes / Baubles for Grandchildren

I started a tradition in 2019 - the first Christmas that I had a grandchild - and made a "Snow Globe" with his picture. 

In 2020 - there was still only one grandchild.

2021?? - I missed that year (2 Grandchildren by then) - but made up for it in 2022 (3 Grandchildren)

2023?? - I missed that again!!!! - but have caught up!

Here are the boys for 2023 and 2024

and the girls for 2023 and 2024

Maybe I can keep up to date in 2025???

Christmas Shenanigans

This is a long post. It's mainly for me to keep track of stuff, so I really do not expect you to read it all and comment....It is all a bit of the "First World" problem...but I treasure all my gifts and all the decorations will be kept and hung.  This is how I have been displaying my collection of decorations gifted from sewing friends over the years.....it is time to add a second string of lights.

Loose Threads

We started Christmas early and met on 30th November.  We met at my place and I had the tree up by then, but not all the other decorations.

Lunch was out at the local club and we had decided to swap bon-bons as presents.  Inside we needed to pack a fat quarter, a surprise, a treat, a reel of thread and a decoration.

Seriously lacking photos...ooops

Sunday Stitchers

This is always fun day - this year we had 13 people.  Everyone brought a contribution for the food & drinks table and it all tasted great.

Many people make something or give a small gift and here is my collection:

Alison - soap
Anita - gingerbread house with wooden buttons and a key holder
Cheryl - fold-up card with pictures of previous SS get-togethers & a lolli-pop
De - Christmas tree made from Suffolk puffs (yo-yos)
Helen & Sandi - star decoration and Christmas spoon
Hilda - purple fabric, some Ferrer Rocher & two little cord tidies
Juanita - fabric pillow to use as a weight...or pin cushion
Lynda - a rock painted as a house - the proceeds of the sale of these go to charity
Maria - a decoration with my name & 2024
Michelle - gingerbread man decoration
Sue - rocking horse decoration

We also swapped bon-bons.  

Inside we needed to pack: a fat quarter, a surprise, a treat, a sewing item and a decoration. 

My bon-bon went to De and mine came from De.........funny how that works!

Our Christmas challenge/present was a Mug Cake with mug. We could provide a recipe and the dry ingredients, or buy the mug cake ingredients as a pack.  I used a White Wings packet and added a Mint Pattie to be melted on top of the chocolate brownie cake....I hope it tastes good.  It went to Anita
I received mine from Sue and it will make a vanilla mug cake with Christmas decorations on top.

SHLIMS

Our Christmas present was to make a drawstring bag, approximately 5" x 7" and fill it.   No rules or guidelines on what to fill it with.

I gifted a chocolate letter for everyone and each bag included a Christmas decoration purchased from a recent Fair Trade market;

Hilda - a Tea Towel - Hilda makes a lot of hanging tea towels

Louise - a felted sloth and a card with wildflower seeds impregnated into the paper.

Maureen - An imitation Lego set to make a pot plant with a flower, some flower-shaped buttons, 3 packets of seeds

Sue - a felted wombat

Here are all the drawstring bags waiting to be opened.
 

I received:

Hilda

Louise

Maureen

Sue

This was such a fun idea....we will continue this on in some form.

We all supplied food ...salady stuff

and Sue made a delicious tequila margarita cheesecake for dessert.

Needle Girls

Always a hoot with this group.

For this year's present, we were given four letters from the words Needle Girls and we had to buy a present to match each of those letters and add an additional present that matched another letter.

I was given N E I and L - very easy to remember when I was out shopping.

My presents were:

N - Notebook (the pages have a dotted gri)

E - Eraser pens

I - Inkjoy pens (that took some figuring out)

L - Lego Christmas decoration (gotta love a challenge!!!)

And I added a Decoration - the angel

Because I am usually picked up and taken to the meetings I also gave each person a mug, a Christmas hair clip, 3 cross stitch needles, a roll of mini washi tape, a tiny rubber ducky and a small Lions Club Christmas Cake....

My presents:
From De

From Sandi

From Lynda

From  Helen

We all brought food - salad and De made the dessert - a ginger & lemon curd delight!

We had a project - after the "success" of our Diamond Dot sewing machine at the retreat - we had decided to purchase a wreath to make.

These are fun to make...maybe when they are small...??? 

but I do not propose to adopt it as a new hobby.

That is all my Christmas meetings for my sewing groups...a load of fun, some useful & some silly presents.

Christmas in our house will be noisy and busy in the morning as DD2 and her partner - and our 2 granddaughters (3 1/2 and 1 1/2) are coming for brunch...then it will quieten down and I may just retreat to my Sewing Room...

If you got this far . . .

Inca's Christmas Wall Hangings

My friend Inca passed away in January this year.  😢

Maureen and I helped her husband go through her sewing things—which were very well organized - and we found a Natalie Bird Christmas panel that had been completed but not made up.
We thought it would be nice to make 4 hangers - Oone for each of her grandchildren.  We aimed to finish them by Christmas this year.
Maureen & I had a planning and cutting day and we each ended up with two piles of stitched blocks and various fabric squares.

We are finished with the hangers and will add a rod to each one to make them easy for the parents to hang.

Mine:

Maureen's

I have finished a few quilts of Inca's as well as these and it brings back lovely memories...I can hear her talking to me as I work!

SS Mini Quilts - Summer

December was the month to show our Summer Seasonal Quilt.

I cheated.  I had planned to make a Beach House themed mini...I have decorated the toilet with Beach Houses...and the beach is very summery...so...

BUT, its December, there are multiple things that need doing that are more important....but - for my birthday Maureen gave me a little bag with stitched beach houses and an extra block with the beach house already stitched and borders on it....so I added some running stitches at the bottom for the sand, backed it and Voila!  a completed very small mini hanging...

If you want to see the craziness of the toilet...go here.

Birthday Celebrations

It isn't an "0" birthday, and I am not a big birthday-celebrating person....but I like to record a few things, especially so I can look back and see when I got things.

Sunday Stitchers

Sunday 17th November.
In 2023 our birthday gifts to each other was to give a stitchery kit. It had to include a pattern or traced piece and some embellishments.  It was to be completed by the meeting in our birthday month the following year.
I received my gift from Sue and showed it at the Sunday Stitchers Meeting in November (on schedule!!!)  I did the stitchery (already printed.....yay!!!) and made a small zippy pouch.  I used the supplied silk ribbon for a tassel.  The two fabrics, thread, ric-rac and tiny heart buttons were all part of my kit.

 

For 2024, we each gave a gift, themed "Bed, Bath &/or Table." Alison organised a random draw.
I received these lovely gifts from Maria. They were all great gifts for me—I love Lemon Myrtle (the soap). The tray is so pretty, and the towel... well, it can hang in the bathroom, but it's too pretty to use! That sounds like an old person, doesn't it?

SHLIMS

Our SHLIMS group met on Thursday 21st November for our usual chat and sewing session.  We went to the local club for lunch and when we returned home - I could open my presents:

Maureen gave me the flowers and a set of cleaning cloths - one for glasses, one for the phone and one for TV screens...very handy!

Louise gave me the box of chocolates . . .very yummy!

Sue gave me a key container with a lovely stitchery of a church on it.

Hilda gave me a bottle of Prosecco - the bottle is like cut glass - very swish - and the plant in the pot....it is now on my kitchen window sill.

Bestie special gift

Maureen & I also swap separate presents.  She gave me this lovely bag with beach houses.  She included one stitched beach house, the original pre-printed stitchery and a pattern...looks like another 2025 project...LOL

Needle Girls

Friday 22nd November

In 2024, our birthday gifts to each other were gifts that started with our initials....mine are SEW (very convenient initials).

Instead of going out - each person brought some food to share.  What a feast!  A particularly good potato salad (compliments of Lynda's husband), ham and zucchini slice.  I provided a salad.
And there has to be cake for a Birthday! - Black Forest Cake....my favourite (from De).

As we are close to Christmas, the shops have a lot of new & different - & tempting - foods to try.  De had alerted us to some Limoncello custard, and there was also Rum & Raisin, Hazelnut and Creme Caramel.  They just jumped into my trolley the other day, so we had a custard-tasting test.

They were all nice...hard to pick a favourite.

I also spotted a Limoncello drink (low alcohol) drink and somehow it also jumped into my trolley - so we all enjoyed a small glass of that!

The gifts:

From Lynda

Serviettes, Christmas decoration with S, Erasable pens, Embroidery kit…a gingerbread house…Walkers shortbread,  chocolate W

From De

Sewing machine hanger, Sticky Notes, Emoji stickers, Earrings, Exfoliating glove, Wrapping paper, Word Search book, 

From Sandi
Silicone cooking tools, Snakes, Scissor holder, Singer Sewing Machine pin, Slap band from Echidna, Extra creamy chocolate, Eat & Co shop ornament, Ecru thread, Excel spreadsheet pin and sticker, Werther's Cream Candies

From Helen

Sewing utensils holder, Egg head salt and pepper shakers (such cute expressions on their faces), Woman pot holder….or pen holder…or whatever!

What lovely and fun gifts! There was a lot of laughter as I opened each present. The Excel things were particularly funny…. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of my projects…. which often causes a lot of stirring from the girls…. Of course, I use spreadsheets for other things….so both these things are so good and so funny!

This is the pin - "Ohh...this calls for a spreadsheet"

and the sticker

The whole day was fun, lots of silliness...a bit of stitching...not a lot!

Family Fun

Out for a buffet breakfast with John, Bec Luke, Peyton & Montana.  There was to be cake afterwards, but everyone had had enough food!

The family gave me a gift voucher to buy a new suitcase—well overdue—I will get one with four wheels and easy rolling.

Phew - the Birthday is over...now we start Christmas get-togethers!!!

Needle Girls Glenrose Retreat

It was time for our annual retreat at Glenrose using the workroom and cabins.
10th - 14th November.

In addition to our regular group of 5 - Chookyblue and Miss Jules join us - to add a bit of variety to our conversation topics and sewing projects.

I arrived around lunchtime so that I could meet up with Jenny who had been staying in the house section and was leaving by 2PM.

I didn't take a lot of pictures - but I've been able to get some from the others.

I started with an optimistic list...and didn't do it all, , , but I am happy with what was done.  

What I did get done:

I made some drawstring bags for some Christmas presents. . . but I can't show them yet.

I finished my Sunday Stitchers Birthday gift from 2023. . . but I can't show it yet.

I added the two borders to this Pansy Quilt (a DV project)

I made two panels into tops for DV.  I had prepared the middle embroidered sections at home.

I added two borders to a large floral quilt top - for DV.  But by Wednesday night I was just too tired, so I didn't finish it

I did some crochet in between other things.

Challenge Project

Each year we have a challenge project...we just love another bit of stress....LOL
In 2023  we made things to match our zippy pouches from 2022.
So, this year we had to make a receptacle for the glasses I gave everyone last year.

I used a Cadbury Drinking Chocolate container and decorated it.

Next year's Challenge???   It is not a matchy-matchy project....😞
Chooky gave each of us a piece of pre-printed sashiko with either a tree or baubles, so we decided to use that as our challenge.  To be stitched and made up.

Stocking Swap

Since 2021, we have had a Stocking Swap. We use a Nancy Halvorsen pattern for the stocking shape and can use either one of the patterns in her book or another design.

And we add an extra.  The 2024 extra was a zip - at least 16" long.

This year I added a machine-embroidered poinsettia to my stocking.  It went to De.

Mine was made by Miss Jules.

Here are all the stockings and zips

We ventured out once - to Warwick Gardens Galore - great food and a lovely gift shop - and to Shelly's Curtain & Craft - always a tempting experience.

As we needed to leave by 9.30AM on Thursday, most of us went back to the Garden Centre for coffee and cake, then shopped in Brysons - another lovely gift shop.  I was able to pick up a few things on my list.

A wonderful week away - always a bit tiring - but mostly productive and a lot of fun!

Thanks, girls!

FNSI - November

The third Friday has snuck up on us again...I have been on a retreat since Sunday - back home Thursday afternoon . . .so I took it very easy Friday Night.

Friday was also the day that Little Winter Shop #5 was released, so I started on it. I did enough so that it will be easy to stitch on Sunday at Sunday Stitchers....a few large blocks of color and minimal counting.

Hope you were all able to get some sort of crafting done.