end of the year

My last post was not so much to say look at how shoddy the workmanship is on this applique, but to say "look at how fabulous and wonderful something can be that isn't precise and perfect." You can see that in the beautiful tentmaker applique but can you see it in your own work?

There is one shop down in the Khan that turns out stunningly beautiful applique that you can't see any stitches on and is very precise and smooth and flat. The price is also much, much higher. And believe me when I say there is much much shoddier work out there than the one I showed yesterday. It's actually well made, otherwise I wouldn't have been encouraging my friend to buy it. The only thing that matters is how much you enjoy it.

Here's a bit more Christmas for you and yes, my decorations are all still out.
I made this little piece out of wool, which I am fiercely allergic to, so I had to take breaks from it. I know there isn't the best contrast on this piece, but the rich red wool is some that my Mom bought way back in the 1980's to make a coat out of. She hated how the coat was turning out and took it all apart. After her death, her sister and I each kept some of the wool. I thought this was a fitting use for some of it.

There's a fun little purple christmas tree in the center that I blanket stitched on first. The words Merry Christmas string across the top, and then gathered around the tree are the names of all our immediate family: me, my hubby and the cats. I drew out the design on paper first as a guide, and then just stem-stitched all the lettering in without marking (six strands of embroidery floss for the Merry Christmas and three strands for all the rest). The not marking wasn't by choice at first - I couldn't figure out how to mark the wool. I like the way the letters scrawl anyway and I think it looks better than if I had written it out carefully first.

I'd originally intended my name to be above the tree, but it leaned enough that the name fit better underneath. And that made a great spot for the year on the left side.

I really like how this turned out. I think I'm going to have it framed very simply.

I like the idea of this little family quilt. It could be done very easily with cotton as well. Free-piecing letters for the names or adding them in - after all the layers are put together - with stem stitching or quilting.

And it certainly wouldn't have to be just for christmas. Maybe a heart in the middle for your special valentine?

Changing the subject, my sweetie and are are very low-key, or boring in fact :) We have a very quiet celebration planned for New Year's Eve tonight. Some champagne and probably the usual bedtime of about 9 o'clock. It's good that we're compatible that way and neither one of us wants to go out to a party and stay out late.

Wishing you all the best for 2006. Cheers, everybody.