Starting some Christmas sewing ...

 Is it just me or has December come up rather suddenly? It seems like summer was just yesterday ... 

I have been catching up with a week long online sewing retreat with something like 20 workshops so have been completely distracted & the end of November is here. 

Two years ago I made some soft & colourful fabric decorations for the little ones tree - soft with longer hanging loops to make it easier for little hands to handle them. They did not have a many embellishments sewn on which could be put in the mouth so safe for small people. 

I was asked by a friend to gift one to her & so I did another selection of Christmas decorations with interesting beads, little bells & more that I gifted to friends with their Christmas cards.  I handstitched gold or red edges to them all & they were well received. 

I am meeting friends / colleagues soon & wanted to add a handmade decoration to their cards too so having some time, I cut out some trees & a few tiny boots again. I still had some patchwork sections in my Xmas fabric stash (everyone has such a box do they not? ) so I cut an additional 2 trees too. 

All of these are backed by soft red or green felt / flannel.

My process was the same as before - machine stitch around the edge (in red or green thread) then keeping it on the machine, with the needle in the fabric, lift the presser foot & stuff it lightly with soft toy stuffing. I used a wooden quilting creaser & pointer to poke some stuffing in. The rounded edge was useful to ease it in, then the pointed tip could push it to the corners etc. 

Then I simply dropped the presser foot & sewed up the last bit - an easy way to do it as long as you leave enough space to pop the filling in. 

Because these few are for adults, I will add some tiny bells, beads & then blanket stitch the edge in embroidery thread. 

They are well received as gifts & it is a relaxing activity to get one in the spirit of the festive season as it is fast approaching. I know - I should have started sooner, however, they are lovely to make. 

I will share the completed ones soon, please tell me how your preparations are going. Thank you for stopping by, it is much appreciated. 

Dee 🧵🎄🪡📍