Fairy Princess in Christening Gown

My little god-daughter is a beauty. My girls didn't want to put her down (neither did I!)

  I brought a piece of black velvet to the church for some pictures.

 She wore the beautiful sweater set made by my friend Shirley and looked like a little angel in all the delicate white garments.

 I love this sweet face. I gave her the cross necklace as a remembrance of the day.

Merry Christmas!

 We had a visit from this guy last night. The kids had a wonderful day and are busily enjoying their new "toys". Mom and Dad got a nasty cold, but we had a good day anyway!

Hope your stocking is nearly as big as you are and that your Christmas is full of the blessings of family, friends, love, peace, and good health!!

 This set of pillowcases was my contribution to our "Secret Santa" swap at my quilt guild. For years, we have done a "Yankee Swap" but invariably people got the wrong gift. I always brought something I spent hours making only to receive something someone bought and didn't want. This year, we decided to do a swap where we would choose a name and make something specifically for that person.

The girl I chose was Susie Williams: she is a really nice lady and I figured her taste is similar to mine. I checked with a friend of hers and found out that her master bedroom is yellow. This thread looks gold in the photos, but is actually a pretty vintage yellow- not too bright.

The monogram is "Vintage W" by Needle Passion Embroidery. This is really my fall-back monogram. I have made it at least 6 times and everyone loves it. I love it, too, because I can count on it stitching perfectly every time and with only one color, it is quick to do! I reduced this one from about 100mm tall to 66mm tall, so it would better fit on the pillowcase hem. I am slowly collecting this alphabet a letter at a time. Since it is $3.50/letter, I buy them only as I need them. I hope that the next time I stitch this monogram, it will be for hubby and me!!

Shirley's Sweater Set for Ella

My friend Shirley made this gorgeous matinee jacket and bonnet for Baby Ella's Christening. The pictures don't do justice to the daintiness of this set. The yarn is very soft and fine with a touch of sparkle. Ella will look like an angel in this. I want to get lots of pictures!

 Here is the whole set. I will have to get pictures of it on the baby for you to see how delicate it is.

 Close up of the bonnet. Notice the pretty ribbon rosette at the chin. It has a tiny pearl in the center.

The yoke detail. It is such a pretty, lacy pattern. Shirley says that she has knit this set many times for her own children and as gifts. She knits and crochets gifts for family, friends, and people in need. While she knits, she prays for the recipient. I think that is really special and I can only imagine how many people she has blessed with her talents. Thank you, Shirley!!

This pattern is from Paton's R21 and is posted online for free.

Birth Announcement Onesie

My best friend had her baby last Wednesday. She is adorable!! I quickly stitched out this postage stamp birth announcement on a onesie for little Ella. I think it makes great photos to have the info right there on their little tummy. I made this same design in blue for my Andy when he was born. It was tough to hoop and stitch on such a tiny onesie. The design is 170x100mm. I think it turned out great and Ella and her Mommy love it!

This awesome design is from Sew Terrific, here. The coolest thing about it is that it comes with special Embird files that allow you to type in your information and it will be automatically formatted to the correct size and shape. I had never tried this before, but the directions were perfect and I had no problem setting it up!

Special Sequined Stockings

 My Mom made these to pack some gifts in before mailing them. They are kits from Bucilla and are a lot of work! Many hours go into cutting and appliqueing all the little felt pieces. Then many sequins are hand-sewn on with a little bead to hold them.

 

 These sorts of kits have been made by Bucilla since the 1960s and are still very popular today.

 Here's some detail from the fisherman stocking. Notice the individual fish hanging from the border.

 I love this perfectly Christmasy vision of the Holy Family.
I had a very small part in this project by machine embroidering the names for my Mom. You can't tell that they aren't hand-stitched like the rest!
Are you working on your Christmas projects, too??