Sharing some of my Christmas Crafting
Christmas 2011 was not a very crafty Christmas for me. I made things... I hope people liked them. But I did also buy a relatively high proportion of my gifts this year. Mostly, this was a decision based on time. I was knitting a jumper for Mr P, after all, and was conscious when making my Christmas lists that I simply wouldn't have time to knit a lot of other things.
I did, however, decide that a very special couple deserved something handmade. I've made embroidered cushions / pillowcases before, but I thought that an actual portrait demanded an actual frame. Mr P was sure there would be some way to make technology provide me with an outline sketch of a photograph, but I decided that elbow grease might work just as well, dug out a spare lamp, and cleared the lightbox section of my desk. In fact, it got double use this time - once to trace the outline from the printed photograph, and once to trace that outline onto the fabric. I'm afraid I failed to take any pictures of the work in progress, but here's the finished item, in its frame and ready to travel north to its new home. It isn't the most artistic of productions, but I'm pleased with it, and that will do for now.
And then there were the curtains. I've been promising Mr P (and myself, if I'm honest) that I'd make our flat some curtains for a very long time, and splurged on some sale fabrics in early October, only for them to sit in a tidy pile and wait. When my sister mentioned that she and her boyfriend would really like some plain curtains for their new cottage, I decided it was time to finally work out how a proper pair of curtains was put together. A bit of googling (and yes, I did turn to Kirstie Allsopp amongst others) and advice from the local curtain shop later, and my sister's new bedroom was draped. What more could my own curtains be waiting for?
Well, other than header tape, which I couldn't get until the shops opened again after the New Year, nothing but the imminent arrival of guests, apparently.
I love the sailing curtains in my office (which doubles as the guest room), though I do need to take them down and rearrange the gathers. Elsewhere, our balcony door now has a heavy drape (and a matching draft-excluder is in the works); and Mr P's study / my sewing room has what I think of as 'the gentlemen's club' curtain.
I did, however, decide that a very special couple deserved something handmade. I've made embroidered cushions / pillowcases before, but I thought that an actual portrait demanded an actual frame. Mr P was sure there would be some way to make technology provide me with an outline sketch of a photograph, but I decided that elbow grease might work just as well, dug out a spare lamp, and cleared the lightbox section of my desk. In fact, it got double use this time - once to trace the outline from the printed photograph, and once to trace that outline onto the fabric. I'm afraid I failed to take any pictures of the work in progress, but here's the finished item, in its frame and ready to travel north to its new home. It isn't the most artistic of productions, but I'm pleased with it, and that will do for now.
And then there were the curtains. I've been promising Mr P (and myself, if I'm honest) that I'd make our flat some curtains for a very long time, and splurged on some sale fabrics in early October, only for them to sit in a tidy pile and wait. When my sister mentioned that she and her boyfriend would really like some plain curtains for their new cottage, I decided it was time to finally work out how a proper pair of curtains was put together. A bit of googling (and yes, I did turn to Kirstie Allsopp amongst others) and advice from the local curtain shop later, and my sister's new bedroom was draped. What more could my own curtains be waiting for?
Well, other than header tape, which I couldn't get until the shops opened again after the New Year, nothing but the imminent arrival of guests, apparently.
I love the sailing curtains in my office (which doubles as the guest room), though I do need to take them down and rearrange the gathers. Elsewhere, our balcony door now has a heavy drape (and a matching draft-excluder is in the works); and Mr P's study / my sewing room has what I think of as 'the gentlemen's club' curtain.
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