Christmas Garlands (& Runners Galore!)

Certain little elves have been hard at work, making Christmas garlands.


If you know these elves, please do not mention that you saw this post! They are super excited about this Christmas secret. I'd hate for them to accidentally spill the beans about who will receive their garlands. Spoiling the surprise would be so disappointing for them, and I would hate to be the cause! 



Back in September, Sally @ Wonky Patchwork showed a lovely Christmas Star garland made by her daughter, Venetia. (Sally's blog is delightful - be sure to snoop around and say "hi" while you are there!)

I loved the idea of making star garlands with my grandchildren, and happily the kids were enthusiastic, too! 

We decided to add hearts and gingerbread men to the mix. Yup. We like a challenge!

We hand drew the stars, but traced cookie cutters to make the other shapes. We made templates of all the shapes out of cardboard cereal boxes.

Making templates.

The two had great fun choosing scraps for their projects, and were ever mindful of the recipients' tastes. Fine tipped sharpie markers were used to trace shapes onto fabric. (My table bears witness, but I don't mind. Call me crazy, but I love seeing little reminders of a life well lived.)

Tracing shapes onto fabric.

I was impressed with the thought behind the design process. Each child had definite ideas about shape, colour, balance, and even the thread they would use to stitch everything together!

Laina's garland, ready to stitch.
We used craft felt as the base for the shapes. Cutting craft felt can be a bit tricky, so I helped Riley get smooth edges on his huge heart. As for the rest...a few signs that things are hand made just adds to their charm, in my opinion! 

Thankfully, Riley (6 years old) chose mostly stars, so it was easier going for the cutting AND the sewing.

Riley's garland, ready to stitch.
I don't have a picture of Riley sewing. He sat on the chair between my knees so I could operate the foot pedal of the machine and he could "drive". He did all the pivoting, steering, and reversing, but is a bit unpredictable, so I thought it would be safer for me to provide the "gas". 

Here he is, proud of his accomplishment!



After this shot, I pressed the heart flat!
And Laina's big finish!






Thanks for the inspiration, Sally!

Meanwhile...Runners Galore!

I'm working on a final stack of table runners for the Secret Santa program explained in this post. Fortunately, the deadline is not Dec 1st, as I'd thought. The program runs until Christmas Eve, so I can keep picking away at 'em as I have time. (whew!)

Ready to bind.
 Three have been requested for Monday, so I finished these ones today to be sure they are ready.




This deserves a happy, "WHOOP WHOOP!".
I'm extremely pleased with the way the table runners are turning out. Sometimes simple is best!

Linking up with:
Whoop Whoop Friday, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Finish it up Friday, at Crazy Mom Quilts
Fabric Frenzy Friday, at Fort Worth Fabric Studio


Try, Learn, Grow!
Carole

Comments are welcome and will be answered by email where possible. Thanks for looking around!

Comments

  1. I love that you got the garland idea from Sally, and boy do they look fantastic! :) And good for you on the table runners - it sounds like you might make your goal after all!

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  2. What adorable elves. It sounds like you had so much fun together. I'm glad you had more time for the runners. They are so cheerful.

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  3. Just love seeing kids sew and create and of course those proud faces holding their beautiful garlands! Great job Riley and Laina!

    Yay for extended deadlines! Your runners look wonderful :)

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  4. I just love this post! It is sweet, genuine, and a great example of love and giving. Soooo Christmassy!

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  5. It was so nice to read ab out you sewing with the grand-kids - what a lovely time you all had. Great finishes too. You can all be proud of the results!!!!

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  6. You've been busy! Lovely to see your Grandchildren at work and they have done a brilliant job!

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  7. Thank you so much for your lovely, kind words. And I love those garlands - gingerbread men were a genius addition! I've shown Venetia and she was so chuffed her making led to these, and she now has plans to make a heart garland like your Grandchildren's hearts for Valentine's Day, and definitely some gingerbread sewing for next Christmas. Thank you! And Happy Christmas to you and all your family XXX

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