A little while ago I won a give away on Kate’s blog. It was a set of Christmas log cabin blocks. This was most fortuitous as the Advent Calendar I was planning to make last year (two weeks before Christmas, with a new baby) for some reason never got done. So this is what I’m thinking.
I’m going to applique ‘Noel’ to the top and bottom of the calendar- can’t see the bottom because the table’s not long enough. Attach the blocks as little pockets and then cross-stitch the numbers above each block.
I’ve started squaring up the blocks, now I just need to fiddle a little to work out the best way of attaching them to the back ground fabric. Suggestions welcome. Please.
In other news, I may never need to buy fabric or yarn again. It seems that my reputation as a crafter is spreading. One of the women who works with us is moving house, she used to sew and knit. She asked if I’d be willing to take her stash off her hands 🙂
She brought the first instalment around on Tuesday. I sorted through the yarn and tried to be as ruthless as possible. The small tangled bits went straight into the bin, and stuff that I didn’t want to knit with has been put aside to go to women who will knit it up for charity; some of it I passed on to a student of mine whose 7 year old daughter is madly french knitting. The rest has gone into the stash. The fabric is washed and is just waiting to be ironed and put away – not all of it is cotton or quilting quality, but I’ll find a use for it I’m sure. I’ll take a picture of that when it’s all folded neatly. Apparently there is more fabric to come. I’m going to need to sew faster!
It’s ironic really, because I am the Anti-Stash. Seriously, when I started quilting I was determined to buy only for the quilt in progress and the next one on the list. I stuck to that pretty well too, I occasionally buy fat quarters ‘just because’, but the majority of fabrics in my storage boxes were either earmarked for use, or leftovers from previous quilts. It seems now that I have a fairly substantial stash. I’m not complaining, because I am rescuing the fabric from the garbage heap, and it’s nice to have fabric to play with when the urge strikes without a trip to the store, but it seems odd to me that I’ve ended up with a stash in the first place.
Well, the child is sleeping, the dishes are done, I’ve finished work for the day and it’s Knitting for Gifts day, so I’m off to work on the sock for Mum, and maybe sneak in a little fabric ironing.