Get your stuffing at the ready...,

...it's almost December, and this year's christmas tutorial is on it's way!

Cross stitch,

I've noticed recently quite a few craft bloggers, mainly Hillary, getting into cross stitch. When I think back to the years (12 in total, I think) spent designing cross stitch day in, day out, I wonder exactly how many cross stitch designs I must have completed. I have no idea.

For those who are newer to this blog, my first job after leaving University was as a Needlecraft Designer for Coats Crafts UK, chances are any cross stitch, tapestry or embroidery kit with an 'Anchor' brand label made between 1994 and 2006, I will, to a varying degree, have been involved with the design.

There are some of my designs still around,

the Owl was probably the best selling kit I ever did, and once designs retire from the range, they quite often pop up again in magazines.

I left Coats when we relocated from one part of the UK to another, my parting gift was this little gem.

One of my first designs for Coats was a set of 3 miniature victorian style stitchettes, one was of a bath, one was a jug and bowl, and the third was of a toilet. Two were discontinued after a couple of seasons, but the toilet remained for a good few years. Once it was also discontinued, it became my ambition to get a loo back in there,

and 'flush flush' is still in the range today!

Edited to add - No, I didn't stitch any of these designs, Coats have a team of outworkers who do all the sewing. The design team churn out designs at such a fast rate, there was no time for any cross stitch!

Pom poms,

I don't enjoy making pom-poms, it hurts my fingers. But sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Twice.

So on that note, I'm off to clean the toilets, both of them!

Leftovers...,

As primarily a softie maker, I quite often have leftover bits, pieces, and softie limbs. Some I just throw out, while others give the impression that they could actually have a second lease of life as something else.

This was a trial run, so didn't get used for the final piece. It's been sat on my desk all week,

...while I ponder what I could do with it. It's fringed felted wool, with a piece of wire running down the centre (which can come out if need be).

Any ideas?

It's far too early for the 'C' word...,

...isn't it! But having been handed a (rather long) Christmas list by Lucy, an idea began floating around in my head. We've just started watching season 4 of The Wire on DVD, so I was after a bit of light hand sewing to do in front of the TV. There are quite a few patterns available on the internet for stuffed trees, but I decided in the end to adapt my own by altering the vase I make for the flower stems.

And, here they are,

also, inspired by the tree print fabric picked up at the Festival of Quilts this year.

I do need to come up with a christmasy tutorial for this year, are the tree's too obvious?

I can tell others are thinking of Christmas already too from my blog stats, the Elf hat tutorial is getting quite a few hits, as it does every year. That was the first tutorial I ever did and quite basic compared to how I would do one now.

Still, I bet there are a fair few kids wearing Elf hats made out of leggings on their heads for the school christmas play!

The bag and the bunny...,

A while ago I asked for help with ideas for a christening gift I had been asked to make, well, in the end, I kind of adapted the book bag idea, into a toy bag inspired by Stephanie's one, using the Beatrix Potter prints from my fabric stash.

It all begins with a rabbit softie,

the back of the bag has 'Beatrix' embroidered on it as the little girl it is for is called Beatrix,

the rabbit lives in a pocket on the front,

and the bag is lined with the Beatrix Potter prints.

It's gone off to the christening today, so bye bye bunny!