Cookies or Goodies?

That is the question I asked when told the Kris Kringle Goodie Bag was called a Cookie Bag. This very cute bag, which has a bizarre method of being put together - quite like making big cookies in fact - makes a really nice evening bag. Just the right size for phone, wallet, lipstick and tissues. I hope that _________ who is my recipient enjoys her bag and the gift inside it.

The sewing group I belong to when home in Australia has a Christmas Dinner every year. Each person who chooses to be part of the Kris Kringle gift giving gets a name to buy/make something for and then you have the fun of making the bag/stocking/hat which has been chosen by the Organisers to hold the gift in.

The Organisers then have the dinner room decorated and lots of Christmas cheer is celebrated with the bags being given out during the night. Lots of ooohhhs and aaaahhhs over the different fabric choices for the bags and eyeing off each other gifts.

Now it's off to the Post Office to post my bag so that ________ is not left without her bag and gift.

Frustration

A lot of frustration! With an international move coming up just after Christmas, I seem to be continually chasing my tail. I have had 1 whole week of no sewing and there are 4 or 5 things on my sewing table, which I know just need 1 or 2 days each to be "done done".

However, not all is lost. I did manage to make a cake for my sons' birthday and have far too many 6 and 7 year olds in my house for a party. Just 30 mins after the party ended, the sky dumped an inch or so of snow all over the place.

Here is the cake. The gold and silver balls on the cake, the kids thought were real, so they were stealing them to take home - vbg........

And, here is our back garden at 6:00pm. Completely dark and full of snow.......

Time for some strong coffee and to face the rest of the day. :)

Stained Glass...

...well not the real stuff, but a quilted Stained Glass, using the "Stack'n'Slash" technique. Furll of Aircraft Fabric. I made this quilt for DHs 45th Birthday. The centre panel is from a pattern in Australian Quilters Companion - issue 26. It was perfect for the fabrics and as it was Quilt As You Go, I was able to showcase the individual fabrics in large pieces on the back.

Flying Free

Looking out the window
You can see the planes flying
In the freedom of the skies.
Where the eagles dare,
The planes have soaring adventures
Diving, turning, aerobatic stunts
Living only for the moment
In that undefined space
Between the outer world and earth

I also managed to finish off a small circular sewing bag, that has been waiting for 3 years to have 2 button holes added to thread the cord through. Pretty happy to have 2 finishes of projects in one day!

Tomorrow is Monday, wonder if I can start another UFO project that has been hanging around for a couple of years? Or should I finish the large carry all bag which needs a lot of binding attached? Not sure, let's see how I feel tomorrow morning. What I need to do is prepare a submission for my Creative Writing Group on Monday week as my turn has come around again, so maybe not much sewing or new writing, but a re-work of a previous piece. Watch this space to see what happens next!

Baubles...

... are such pretty things! And on Wednesday this week, my friend Jane and I ran a class to teach other people how to make them. We had a ball. I would have to say the day was a resounding success.

I had pre-made kits for the ladies to purchase (because cutting the squares of fabric takes quite a while), made lots of coffee and tea and served cake as they folded and pinned the fabric squares to polystyrene balls to make the baubles while talking up a storm. The next 2 photos shows a few of the baubles completed in the class, with each persons choice of colours.

They are simply 2 colours of 2in cut squares pinned into polystyrene balls. A bit of braid covers the edges around the middle, add a ribbon with a bit of glue and a pin, then you can hang it on the tree. The next 2 photos show the ones I had made earlier.

Now I need to go and make a few more of my own, as the ones I had made earlier became gifts.

Great minds....

...think alike and I I found a great mind that thinks just like mine in Berlin. I got to meet my 'quilting penpal' of 2 years - Nicole. She is another "Aussie in Germany" and we were able to spend some quality time together with our families in Berlin. It was fantastic. I am hoping that she and her gorgeous family can come to Cologne to visit us. How great would it be to go shopping at the Christmas Markets with such a like-minded person? The other bonus of the trip to Berlin was to be able to spend some time with my 'best friend' from Cologne who moved to Berlin a few months ago. The wonderful thing is that she and Nicole met, live near each other and will get to do coffee and lunch together. This is just nice.




Now, it's focus time after just having a wonderful 2 weeks travelling through Eastern Germany, Czech Republic and Austria. More about our holiday and the fabrics I purchased in Austria in the next post, along with the completed Aircraft Stained Glass Quilt.