I lost most of my holiday decor when I left California in 2019. (Including all the ornaments my kids made over the years.) A few things made it. I’ve made a couple new pieces for Christmas and Halloween since, but mostly for the bike shop since I’ve spent that whole time building up the business. I think this year I am going to make more Christmas decor for the shop. We have a stocking for Bean, the dog, (that I hang in the shop since it’s named after him) but I want to make matching stockings for the rest of us.
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Such a nice idea to make matching stockings for the whole family, not just the dog.I hope you are able to make a few nice decorations this year. Maybe even bike-themed!
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Day 23: i have made zero progress on my Christmas craft but I did finally take my daughter to an ocean beach during summer. Poor kid has grown up just 20 minutes from the ocean and only has been to the beach in the three other seasons. A winter February day? Check. Flying kites in Springy April? Check. Long walks in autumn’s October? You betcha. Roasty toasty summer where her super pale mom burns to a crisp? Took 6.75 years. Lol
And yes, multiple sunscreen applications and still I’m part lobster. Lol
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I’m only a tiny, tiny tiny little bit jealous, it looks great there! I avoid beaches in summer due too paleness, too.
Has anyone been productive for Christmas this month? While I had a good start, finishing a gift for Mr. Imma, after that it’s not been as great. I still haven’t sewn those ornaments together, or finished stitching the last couple of them (might get around to that later today) or made plans for other Christmas gifts. I am halfway through my birthday kit though. It’s been a chaotic month with lots of hospital visits and lots of work to catch up on afterwards. Super simple cross stitch is all I’ve felt able to do.
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I’ve been so distracted and tired. But The craftalong has been good for me insofar as getting my seasonal thoughts in order-ish. List making, brainstorming over coffee, that sort of thing. I’m in that phase of the “should do” blotting out the “wanna do” items which is not productive at all. I just stall out getting nothing actually done. Plus we’ve had such hot days so everything is moving at a sloth’s pace over here.
We have about 21 weeks until Christmas, ideally I’ll have a list in hand to make a reasonably attainable plan for completing said list thanks to this thread.
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Is it still so extremely warm over there? I’m glad that this thread is helping you plan, even if now is not the right season / weather to get anything actually done.
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It’s not consistent but it is frequent. For example, it was seasonably hot Thursday (getting to 90°F) and then Friday our outdoor activity got canceled because of heat index going to 100. Between tomorrow and the next day, it will be 70% humidity and 100°. But today it’s like 75. And raining.
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I (finally!) finished something! This is the “Five Golden Rings” entry in Satsuma Street’s ongoing 12 Days of Christmas ornament series.
Apparently the gold rings refer to markings on a pheasant’s neck, and not jewelery. Who knew? Also, there are more birds in this song than I realized! 
The eye is a bit more iridescent than the first picture makes it look:
The first four in the series are all put away, but I’ll have to get a group shot at some point.
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So nice! I have been eyeing those patterns for a few years! Might have to bite the bullet and get a couple this year!
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Ooh, do it! Her designs are whole stitch only with only a tiny bit of backstitch, so they’re a joy to stitch.
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That is why I also love the Prairie Schooler patterns. The designs are made to be nice without needing a lot of backstitching to make them look like something!
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Really nice! Did you stitch him on paper? I’ve never stitched on paper before, does it feel very different from stitching on fabric? I like that you added beads and sequins. If you are planning to put those ornaments in the tree, the sequins are going to look so festive, reflecting the light.
I’ve stitched a few Satsuma patterns and they were all fun to stitch, I think one now lives with @AIMR and one of her Satsuma stitches lives with me (the one with the crochet border).
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He’s stitched on 14-count perforated paper, and it’s not super-difficult to stitch on. You wouldn’t use a hoop or Q-snap because the paper would get crushed, but of course the paper offers its own stiffness that fabric wouldn’t, so it’s a nonissue. I backed him with glittery felt to give the ornament a little extra “body” and also to catch the lights on the tree as well. I think threading the beading needle was the most fiddly part of the whole project!
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It’s August 1st and I haven’t finished anything else, buttttt I’m close to finishing the sampler:
I’m watching a dog this weekend so I’ll be spending a lot of time at home and I’ve set aside a bunch of things to frame / finish. Several of these are Christmas themed, so I am making progress.
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Those pastel buildings are gorgeous!
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It’s been a fun stitch, with the summery colours and all the different elements. It doesn’t get boring because you’re finishing a whole thing every day, a car, Santa, a little house. It’s by Little Dove Designs .
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It’s so pretty!
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How cute!
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I finished my sampler today! (pics to follow). One more thing to add to my frame-before-Christmas-pile.
I also had a brainwave for a new Christmas project. Usually my mum asks for handmade socks, quite a few of her handknit socks were out of rotation because they had very small holes in them. Now I’ve darned these, I think she doesn’t need any new socks this year, but I found some light grey yarn in my stash that I think came from my friend. My friend is an impulse supply buyer but then does a big clear-out every once in a while. Light grey is not really my colour, but my mother wears a lot of neutrals. In winter she wears cardigans and sweaters a lot, so I’m going to knit a simple basic cardigan for her that goes with a lot of outfits. I’m thinking of this one: Ravelry: Harvest pattern by tincanknits I have plenty of buttons so I’m pretty sure I can make this completely from stash.
My mum used to knit a lot and when you visit her unexpectedly in winter, you can sometimes catch her wearing one of the sweaters she made in the 1980s. She puts on “nice” clothes for visitors, but the ones she made herself are timeless classics (nordic style, lots of blue) that don’t look dated. She doesn’t remember what brand of yarn she used back then, but the material is still in good condition after 40 years.
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Perfect idea!
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