Christmas bags instead of stockings

I don’t know how long ago I picked up this vintage sugar sack.  I’ve been meaning to do something with it for awhile now.  But when my hubby and I started talking about Christmas stockings, this idea popped into my head.  We frequently decide to just do stocking stuffers for each other for Christmas. It takes away the whole crazy shopping burden and leaves us with more time to just enjoy the season rather than getting caught up in the madness.  I avoid the mall like the plague during the month of December… unless we just want to go window shopping.

After I had gotten somewhat into the process of making, I decided to do a semi-tutorial.  I was kind of making it up as I went along anyway, based on the size of the sugar sack.  So, I hope that this still makes sense after missing some of the  beginning photos.  The finished size is about 6″ in diameter and 10 1/2″ tall after the cuff is folded down.

For each bag cut a 19 3/4″ wide x 13 1/2″ tall rectangle and a 6 3/4″ circle.  Cut the same out of the lining fabric and a 2″ x 8″ rectangle for the hanging tag.  I used this handy Olfa Circle Cutter to cut the bottoms.  You can also use two pencils & a piece of string, a compass, or a yardstick compass to draw a circle on paper to use as a template to cut your fabric.

Fold the bag rectangle in half and sew a 3/8″ seam along the side. Divide the bag and the circle bottom into four quadrants and finger crease, press, or mark with pins.  Match the bottom to the bag and pin in place.

Continue pinning all the way around.

Place the circle on the bottom and the bag on top and start carefully sewing a 3/8″ seam all the way around the bag, easing the bag fabric as you go.

Turn the bag right side out.

For the hanging tab, fold the 2″ x 8″ rectangle in half, then fold the edges in towards the center and press.  Stitch close to the edge to secure the fabric.

Fold the tab in half and pin it approximately 3″ from the top of the bag lining.  Fold the lining in half and sew a 3/8″ seam.  Sew the lining circle to the bottom in the same way you stitched the bag bottom above.

Place the bag inside the lining, making sure that the hanging tab is at the back, and sew a 3/8″ seam around the top, leaving about a 3″ opening to turn the bag and lining right side out.  Turn the bag, stuff the lining inside the bag and press the edge.  Slip stitch the opening to close up all the raw edges.  Fold down the cuff and hang the bag somewhere to enjoy.

The other thing on our list of things to do is to make a mantle for our fireplace…. something we’ve been talking about doing for several years and yet we just can’t seem to get it done.  Maybe next Christmas.  I’ve been having project ADD lately and can’t seem to finish much of anything. So I am happy that I finally finished this one!!

Thankful Thursday

I saw something like this on Pinterest and had to make my own version.  This a photo of the Grand Tetons from our road trip two summers ago.  The December craziness always makes me long to get away and come back after it is all over. So, instead of wishing away the month I’m going to focus on what I can be thankful for.

I am thankful that our kitchen is all in one piece this year!!  This is what it looked like last year.  And I’m thankful for our cats.  We lost our other two shortly after the kitchen remodel was finished. Oh, and here is a short video of Charlie.  His new thing with his spring is that he likes to jump and catch it like a frizbee. He is one crazy cat!

Asteria update

The other day I was wishing that Asteria was already quilted.  We have been having a cold snap this week. It feels like Holiday Festivities everywhere.  And this would be the perfect quilt to put on our bed right now!  Next year for sure!

You can see how big this quilt is.  My whole shed is covered.  My husband says he likes the stars in the corners.  I don’t know if it is because I made this quilt predominately red & white, or because it is the season, but to me they feel like they could be Christmas stars.

I’m quite happy with this quilt and glad that it helped me find my way back into the sewing room again.

Updated to Add:  You can find the Asteria pattern over at Needle in a Hayes Stack.  I eliminated blocks 5 & 7, modified block 3 and added the red inner border to make a slightly smaller quilt that will fit our bed.  It finishes at 95-inches square.

Random Sampler update

Over the weekend I made a few more flying geese blocks and stitched together the center of my Random Sampler quilt.

When I started this project I never intended for it to be a medallion quilt, even though Gwen Marstons’s lovely example is a medallion.  But when I started adding orphan blocks from other quilts this snowflake was begging to be a medallion center.  The snowflake needed a tiny little filler border to make it 24-inches and big enough for 8 flying geese blocks. Some of the flying geese blocks were left over from the Isabella quilt that I made for Clothworks and my Bloomin’ Pinwheels quilt.  And the cornerstones are the 16-patch blocks from Month 4 in the quilt-along.

Next, I plan to add a small border of that green Brandon Mably fabric. Then, fill in the Random Sampler blocks and others around the outside.  I’m crossing my fingers that it is going to all work nicely together!

Hello lovely holidays

The last seam on the Asteria quilt was sewn.  I promise, I will get a photo of the whole top soon. It looks much more Christmas-y than I thought it would.

We tried to take a Christmas photo with Charlie & Stella. They were not amused.  This is one of the outtakes.  We set the camera on a tripod & shot with the remote.  I think the cats got at least half the bag of kitty treats in hopes to bribe them into submission.

Next up on the design wall: my neglected Random Sampler quilt.  My deepest apologies for letting this one slide to the back burner.

What did you do over the Thanksgiving holiday? (or last week, if you live outside the U.S.) We ate turkey with friends and had a lovely, relaxing holiday.