the home straight

Only three days until Christmas. The countdown continues on a daily basis, along with speculation as to whether it will snow this year (the general consensus is no, sadly), how excited we are about Christmas (this fluctuates from "not at all!" to can-barely-contain-themselves beyond excitement excitement), and how many presents Santa will bring this year(a bag of coal or a stocking full of presents?).

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we've been shopping and making. Paper chains, patchwork baubles (a big hit with the girls), gift tags, and gifts.

A gift for my sister, finally finished...

And very secret presents for daddy, which must not on any account be revealed.

outside in

It just seems plain wrong to be buying lilies in December, however much I might like them. It's slim pickings in the garden but the one thing that is blooming (or berrying?) is the enormous holly bush. It's so damn Christmassy I couldn't help but bring some inside to get us in a festive mood.

Now that I've finally met my deadline and written the story that had seen me elevate procrastination to a higher art, I can finally turn to Christmas with a clear conscience and a renewed sense of purpose. Bring it on...

patchworking

This is something I saw on the Guardian website and since I just so happen to have a lot of little bits of lovely fabric hanging around after making my mum's quilt, I thought it just might work for me. I bought some super cheap plastic baubles on sale in Ikea the other day, dug out the paintbrushes and got to work. You will need:

Plain, unadorned baubles. The cheaper, the better.
PVA glue, a small bowl and a paintbrush
Lots of fabric scraps, in small squarish pieces

• Mix the glue with water (about 50/50) in a bowl.
• Hang some ribbon through the top of your bauble - or, if you're doing it with small children and you think they'll get sticky hands on your pristine ribbon, use string and replace it with ribbon once your bauble is dry.
• You can either dip the fabric in the glue and stick it on or use your paintbrush to slap it over the fabric to affix it to the bauble. Cover the whole thing in a crazy patchwork fashion.
• Hang the baubles up to dry with a piece of newspaper underneath to catch any drips. You could string the baubles from a knitting needle balancing on two piles of books, for example.

Hey presto. A family heirloom in the making.

beauty

Some people do it so well. So much beauty in their everyday lives. That's what so wonderful about blogland - seeing the beauty in other people's lives and being amazed by all the astounding talent out there. This small moment from the talented Geninne.

crafty goodness

More crafty goodness from Sania Pell. What I love about her ideas are that they are totally doable. They don't usually involve a trip to the craft store for weird specialist items that I'll never use again and the result is always so simple yet beautiful. Might try this one... just got to find a little feathered robin.

c'est fini

Well, after three hours of hand stitching the binding and several more hours over several days hand quilting the damn thing, the birthday quilt was finally done in the wee hours of last night. Tom Waits on the stereo (LPs no less) and the fire burning next to me, it was a pretty pleasant way to spend the evening. Or it was until my hand starting cramping. Anyway, it's done. And it looks a lot better and far less wrinkled than it does in this picture. Curse you iPhone. Come back Nikon - how I miss you and your variable depth of focus. Sigh.

getting our Christmas craft on

There's something about Christmas that spurs me to make things. Makes me feel more festive and I like the process as much as the results. Brown paper and baker's twine, luggage labels and a festive stamp, handmade Christmas cards, all make me feel good about the holidays. The quilt for my mum is coming along slowly. I spent a quiet Sunday afternoon in front of the fire, hand quilting it. Since it's not so very big, that is doable and I like having more control of the process, even if my stitching isn't quite as neat at the machine's. Plus a quilt on my lap is a good way to keep warm.

Coming up, an oil cloth shopper and lunch bag for my sister (who, I'm pretty sure, doesn't read this blog) with more fabric bought from purl soho.

We went and got our Christmas tree from a local farm yesterday. For someone more used to buying a tree from Ikea, this was pretty exciting. And when it turned out that the woman selling them had been born in Kenya (like us) and lived in the same small Cheshire village forty years ago (she'd been in Brownies with my sister), I was gobsmacked at just how small this big old world of ours actually is.

knitting

As soon as I read the title of this particular scarf, I knew it was the one for me: Mistake Stitch. I can do that, I thought! I bought some beautiful yarn in John Lewis a month or so back (in the sale), some bamboo needles - important for the simple aesthetics of knitting - and started work. Scarves and blankets are about my limit, and this one was easy. Cast on 39 stitches, K2, P2, K2 and so on until you're left with a single purl stitch at the end of each row. I've cobbled the ends together to make a cowl and it's just about the right length. Just what I need to keep me warm in these cold winter months ahead.

autumn

Apparently it's autumn until December 21st. How can that be? While it certainly doesn't feel particularly autumnal out there (definitely more like winter to my tender tropical temperament), the trees still seem to tell it like it is.

**this moment**

A Friday tradition that I see around the blogosphere. Christmas shopping interrupted for a moment to sit and read this from the library. A cup of tea (and a Chelsea bun) an essential accompaniment, of course.

advent

Today marks the first day my girls get to eat chocolate for breakfast for practically a whole month. Hooray! December 1st also marks the official first day in the run-up to Christmas in our household. From now on, we get to play Christmas songs - like this and this and of course this - as much as we like (and we like) and start decorating the house. The cries of "when will we get our Christmas treeeeee?" started last week (soon, I say, very soon - be patient!).

Several years ago, I made these advent bags for the girls. Back in the day, I didn't know one end of a sewing machine from the other but my good friend Sarah showed me how easy they would be to make, and sure enough they were. Simple pouch bags and the numbers are stuck on! All the same, they have been a big hit. Each day we have something special to do: 'Paint everyone's toenails', 'Have an indoor picnic', 'Dress up for dinner', 'Go star gazing' and 'Make gingerbread people' are just some of the ideas that crop up in our advent calendar. Granted, when things get busy, some of them slide and we end up cramming three or more into the weekend, but we do them all the same.

It's just one of the traditions that make Christmas special in our family. How about yours?