O Tannenbaum ...... my Christmas CAL finished!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!

O Tannenbaum - OTannenbaum

My Christmas CAL FINISHED !!

Last minute crocheting and beading until 3am .............. !!

Then added lights - electric and battery then hung on all the ornaments

My Window display for this year

Surrounded by all the worksheets

 

My version has a hollow interior - perfect for hiding presents and storing all the decorations in ready for next year - has a zip up the back for easy access + lights

Lights are easily pushed through the crochet fabric

 

A Tutorial - How To will be posted soon !!

 

This Crochet Along (CAL) is still available FREE on the T B RAmsden website

The Christmas CAL

 

Thank you T B RAMSDEN for all your support this past year - may all have a wonderful relaxing Christmas and all success for the New Year!

 

Also dedicated wool packs are still available from A WOOLLY TAIL

CHRISTMAS CAL - YARN PACKS

 

A YARN  PACK with the CAL worksheets would make a wonderful Christmas Present to any crocheting friend or relative for them to work on in the New Year

 

Also all my thanks to A Woolly Tail for all their support and encouragement over the past year

- hope all Woolly Tailers have a wonderful Christmas (feet up no doubt on yarn packs) and a successful 2017!

A few little details ................... all the ornaments were made with WENDY SUPREME COTTON DK - with the added sparkle !!

The STAR - with additional beads front and back - for that added sparkle!

 

DADDY SNOWMAN - beaded eyes nose and buttons

 

 

MUMMY SNOWMAN - with beaded and floral hat + beaded eyes, nose and buttons

BABY SNOWMAN - plaits and beaded eyes, nose and buttons

 

Close up of tree and ornaments - holly leaves, candy canes, angels, bells, hampers, snowmen ....... plus glowing festive lights!

 

This ANGEL has a shell bottom to the dress

 

 ANGELS - each has a different dress!

 

Pink ANGEL

 

CHRISTMAS HAMPERS - ready for filling with treats - pink, lilac, yellow and silver

 

BELLS for ringing in the New Year - pink, yellow and silver

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Raffle Quilt done - 'Parterre'

Combination of applique and piecing - hand and machine quilted (in the ditch and freemotion)

Back view

 

Joan Lumpkin (a dear departed and very talented quilting friend) did the applique and piecing

Mary Dale put the pieces together - then became very ill, (for a year in and out of hospital) but back with us again :-)

and I framed it with borders and quilted and bound it - and did my back and hips in, in the process LOL

So a quilt with history and been several years in the making, with various ups and downs!!

 

Decided to call it 'Parterre' as it being green with flowers in a diamond design was rather like a formal parterre garden ... we did think of 'Calamity Jane/Joan'  ....

 

Was in our Craft Groups Xmas Raffle and won by my good friend who is friends with all of us who made parts of the quilt.

We put it on her bed this afternoon and being 60" square fitted the top of a double bed perfectly - and it looked good in her bedroom :-)

 

 

 

The Christmas Raffle Quilt ....progress ...... so far

This quilt top was pieced by a dearly loved member of our quilt group - Joan, who made wonderful quilts with a lot of hand stitching. This quilt has hand stitched floral appliques and some fun flying geese triangles  - I have been finishing it off adding borders and about to piece the backing and then quilt it .................... and this will be in the quilt groups Christmas raffle ......so had better get busy!

Christmas Tree CAL - a little further ahead!

Further progress with the T B Ramsden CAL - 3 snowmen , 3 angels, 3 crackers, 3 bells - all require finishing off with embroidery etc

Fiddly but fun!!

3 Snowmen - Daddy Snowman sporting a hat and scarf : Mummy Snowman - modelling a straw hat with flowers on it and pink scarf: plus little girl snowman in plaited scarf with bunches

Hope to embroider faces etc tomorrow

Ding-a-ling - 3 bells - just need finishing off

Crackers - almost finished !

Angels needing hair and faces to be embroidered - each in a different coloured dress with a different hem

Christmas Tree CAL - The ornaments .....

The ORNAMENTS - so far ....

Whew ...making progress!!

Spent all weekend crocheting like a maniac to try and catch up with the T B Ramsdens CAL ...... which I started back in October ...well yes ... err umm things got in the way ...as per usual!

Christmas Tree CAL

Angels part done - yet to add hair and faces  ............... and lots more to make!!

 

Back at the start in October - tree in progress

You can download the FREE patterns here T B Ramsden -

Free CAL Patterns

There are separate patterns for the Tree plus ALL the ornaments - angels, snowmen, candy canes, parcels, snowflakes, bells, crackers etc

It is a really fun yet different CAL!

 

You can buy dedicated yarn packs from A WOOLLY TAIL - CAL Yarn Packs

 

It is not too late to get crocheting and catch up! You have time to get this all put together - if you get cracking making those crackers!!

 

I, as usual, changed things a little - I used the green Wendy wools but used the sparkly Wendy Supreme Cotton for the ornaments as I wanted a little bit of sparkle and added just enough Christmas bling

But I can ask Julie at A Woolly Tail to put together an exclusive, dedicated Sparkle Pack just for you, if interested?!

A pastels or bright's version .... :-)

Also I have changed the patterns a little - to ring the changes a tad .....

the colours and ...... .I have given the angels edged skirts, the crackers coloured edges  etc

Also plan to make the tree as a container for everything for storage of all the ornaments and so I can hide a few Xmas presents in there as well ;-) ;-)

 

Will post pics and a 'How to' later on!

 

I know I am awkward ................LOL :-))

 

The colour changes came about as I wanted this for a special little girl who likes PINK!

Dolly II Makeover - in progress

Torso - drying off under the ceiling fan

Legs drying

dehumidifier helping

Head - kept the painted eyes .............. for now anyway

So far she is 'armless - they are to be done ............. bit like spare body part surgery ..

 

Think the theme for these Mannequins is

 

'What goes up must come down'

 

 - seeing as they are made-over with decoupage using the Financial Times

Takes ages to get it right!

Her hair used all the photographs of watches, advertised in the FT

 

I should have done a 'before' photo - she had a broken neck (that had been badly repaired - all she needed was the Frankenstein bolt in the neck, to be the bride of Frankenstein!! LOL) - lots of chips , scrapes and dents ....poor girl was in a pretty sorry state ................ but starting to look happier now I think ...?

Peninsula Craft Show this weekend 29th-30th OCOBER at Ipswich High School for Girls WOOLVERSTONE

Well it is that time of year again for

 

PENINSULA CRAFT GROUP's

Annual Craft Show

at

IPSWICH HIGH SCHOOL for GIRLS
WOOLVERSTONE

SUFFOLK

10-5pm Sat & Sun

29th-30th OCTOBER

£1 entry and plenty of free parking

Light refreshments

This is on the Shotley Peninsula just outside Ipswich

 

Here I am my things stacked in the Sitting Room ready for the off - yet to get my rails, stands and dummies from the Attic

I will have garments, accessories and all sorts of things plus patterns for sale

 

Set up takes us all day Friday to be ready for everyone Saturday and Sunday

The Music Room is our exhibition room and The Orangery our sales room with a coffee/tea area with those all important cakes!!

I always come back a size bigger as the cakes are just soooooooooooo good :-0

The Sales pay desk is in the reception area

 

As usual lots to see - this year, everyone will have their own area in the Sales Room

We always try to arrange things differently each year :-)

 

Look forward to seeing everyone - do pop by and say Hi!!

 

Dolly Makeover ................ ready for next exhibition

Dolly - front view

She even has a funky new hairdo!

Dolly from the rear

Close up of Dolly's face

 

ALL done in papier-mâché care of the Financial Times ...she is still wet so see what she looks like when dried

I am now utterly exhausted !

 

Next will be her legs and arms ....................

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

This is what she looked like before - badly chipped, cracked and in a very sorry state!

 

Dolly - chips, cracks and other damage!

Dolly very chipped and scabby

Dolly - long crack up the neck

 

The Garden, Gnomes and Mushroom Quilts - a co-ordinating series of quilts

Cot Panel Quilt - with roundels featuring fun garden gnomes and mushrooms

Hand quilted

Detail of a corner and the hand quilting

Detail of the quilt

Showing the co-ordinating spotted backing and the hand quilting from the back

This panel's subtle and unusual colour combination inspired the following quilts ...... all in co-ordinating fabrics and colours

Each a different size

Not-Mushroom Quilt - Throw sized

Appliqued Fly Agaric Mushroom (free motion quilted) surrounded by strip piecing quilted in the ditch  

Mushroom centre piece free motion quilted

Quilt and matching backing

Quilted in the ditch

 

Garden Strippy Quilt - a larger sized throw single bed topper

Strip pieced, with machine embroidery, free motion and quilted in the ditch

Plain and floral fabrics - with contrasting machine embroidery

Combination of free motion and in the ditch quilting

Detail of embroidery and quilting

Detail of the embroidery and quilting

Detail of the machine embroidery and quilting

Detail of the machine embroidery

Detail of machine embroidery and free motion quilting

Back of the quilt - matching backing and illustrating the free motion quilting

 

Spring Bunnies Quilt - Free motion quilting

Larger cot panel in lovely fresh mint greens and white, with a little pink and peach

Edged in strips of pink and lavender

backed in matching pale soft mint green

 

Intensely free motion quilted

 

Close up of the bunny family and the free motion quilting

Detail of the corner and edge quilting, and strips along the side

Detail of the bunnies

The central medallion area

 

Detail of the back - in a matching pale green - shows the quilting detail