I know I am not alone in wondering how December got here so quickly this year. They say time flies and I think they are right! I had a lot of items to complete at the start of this month so I did what any good type A person does and I made a list. It had six items on it that I wanted to finish before the end of the year...with one of those items being four things and another being nine things...I might have been setting myself up for failure, but I'd never know unless I tried, so off to work I went.
On the quilting side, I had a box with four shirts from my friend's dad (he passed away earlier this year and I offered to make something with some of his clothes). Her mom asked me to make something for each of the five grandchildren and I thought pillows would be nice - I could incorporate some of each shirt and it would be something they could really use. Once I got going, I realized that I had more than enough shirt fabric to also make pillows for his three children and wife (my friend, her mom and her siblings). This was a fun labor of love and my mom contributed by embroidering the center blocks. I mailed off the pillowcases and had Amazon deliver the pillows just in time for their family holiday celebration and I hear there were smiles all around and some very touched people. I am so happy I could use a small bit of my skill to help her family remember their dad/grandpa/spouse.
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| All 9 pillowcases - they are for 16" pillows - the four at the top/left are for mom and kids and have shirt fabric on the back, the five in the middle/bottom are for the grandkids. |
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| One of the pillowcovers in a pillow form I had at home. |
Once I finished the pillows and had them in the mail, I was free and clear to work on the other items on my list. On the quilting side, I had a quilt to bind and a quilt top to assemble. The binding was the first project and I really like how this cute Christmas quilt turned out. It's from a pattern called Got Cookies? and is a mix of quilting cottons and wool felt for the embroidery. It's meant to be Santa and Rudolph looking in the window. I quilted it to look a bit like windowpanes with wind outside and I am pretty pleased with the end result. It wasn't finished in time for Christmas this year, but will be all ready for next year.
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| Got Cookies? quilt |
My first FFO came early in the month - the assembly wasn't hard, but did take a while to hand stitch. Block Party 31st is a design by Cathy of Hands on Designs and I stitched it in 2023. She gave great instructions for this mattress finish and I just love how it turned out.
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| FFO of Block Party 31st - stitched with called for threads on black cashel linen |
The next project completed was a stitched piece I started in December 2023 - I worked on it on and off for just over a year and am really happy with the finished stitching.
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| Begin Row by Bent Creek Stitched on 36 count Medusa's Gaze by Lapin Loops with called for threads |
Next up was another stitching piece - and for this one, my goal was to finish the next reindeer who happened to be Comet. I had some challenges when I started this one so wound up stitching the antlers twice (insert eye roll) but by the end, I really loved it. I like the vibrant blue and yellow colors. I have three more reindeer to finish on this piece before it will be a finish, but I am glad to celebrate each reindeer as a partial finish.
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| Crystal Comet by Hinzeit Designs Stitched on 36 ct. White Opalescent linen with called for threads |
After this stitching milestone/partial finish, I was back to fully finishing. I got my projects finished off one at a time. Winter Squirrel is an ornament I stitched back in January and I wanted to finish it like it was in the Just CrossStitch Ornament magazine, so searched on Amazon to find the small tarts and fit it into the tart with some rick-rac and a ribbon on the top. I hope that my friend will like this gift.
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| Winter Squirrel FFO |
The next FFO took longer that expected. My mom and I both stitched this piece from the Let's Talk Stitching pattern by Hands on Designs and we started working on it the afternoon of her birthday, then for several hours the next day, and I finally finished mine the following morning. I am really pleased with how this bag looks and it is much bigger than I anticipated. It will fit quite a few projects in it!
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| Stitch and Stow bag - all the fabric was from my stash |
My last FFO was completed on the afternoon of the 31st - nothing like working until the last minute! It is a piece I stitched back in 2021. I always planned to finish it as an ornament, but earlier this year, Helen D (@eastcoast.crafter on Instagram) shared her "tree" finishes for some pieces she'd stitched. They were so cute and I knew they'd be a perfect finish for this one. The stitching is backed with a piece of fabric and a placecard holder is the "tree," glued between the two layers of matboard. I am really pleased with how it turned out and my daughter immediately claimed it. That's quite alright with me, she is the biggest cat lover in our house!
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| Christmas Cat Tree from the 2011 Just CrossStitch Ornaments issue Finished as a tree |
Have you been counting as you've read? That finishes off the six items that were on my list (including nine pillows and four FFOs). Somehow, I still had a few hours left in the year so I picked up a project started earlier in the month and was able to finish it too! This is Rowdy Jay from the book Stitching in the Forest by Max Pigeon. I started it on the winter solstice as part of a stitch a long with a few other stitchers to select and stitch any of the bird patterns by Max, designer from Pigeon Coop Designs. I really enjoyed stitching this piece and love the finish. I plan to FFO it in an oval hoop/frame and gift it to a friend who loves to watch the birds in her yard.
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| Rowdy Jay by Pigeon Coop Designs Stitched on 14 count Fiddler's Cloth with called for DMC Threads |
In the end, I am really pleased with all I got done in December - I do tend to work well under pressure, but I am also really happy to have all of these things done.
My December stats also represent where I am at the end of the year. I'll do another post soon to wrap up my year more completely, but here's how I did on the things I track.
Stitching time with Kathy at Life in Pieces:
Days with 15 minutes or more of stitching time: 27/31 = 87%
Stash Reporting with Donna at quiltpaintcreate:
Fabric added this month: 3/8 yard (Christmas gift)
Fabric used this month: 4 3/4 yards
Fabric added year to date: 21 1/2 yards
Fabric used year to date: 33 3/4 yards
Net fabric used: 12 1/4 yards (hooray, another year with more usage than purchases!)
Project completion tracking (just me):
Stitching projects: 3 finishes, 5 fully finishes = 39 projects waiting to be FFO'ed
Quilting projects: 1 finish, no new starts = 6 quilts waiting to be finished
I'd say that wraps up a good December and the year. Like I said, I'll be back soon to share a bit more about my full year in review. Until then, happy crafting!
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