I am Lily - stitcher and part time bookseller. Mother to my gorgeous girl, Abigail and wife to Julian. I make time each day to let my imagination potter and add quirky prettiness and handmade comfort to our home and lives. You can email me at lily(at)blockaday(dot)com
sugar plum fairies
Whilst watching the VP debate last Friday - I know, bizarre to be so interested in another nation’s domestic politics - but you know, you Americans occupy a fairly significant position on the world stage, and besides - it’s fascinating!!!! - all that folksiness got me thinking about more ways to needlepoint Christmas.
As soon as the last thanks were graciously accepted, I grabbed some canvas, a small bowl, and drew my sugar plum shape. I will sew her up in the same manner as the stockings, so needed to keep the shape simple, so as not to have impossible to navigate curves and corners.
The colours were no problem - these sugar plums will be cousins to the stockings of course! And for their decoration - at first, I was thinking just simple decorative flowers and hearts etc. And then I had a brainwave! Each fairy will hold something for Christmas - red lantern, christmas pudding, cherries, mistletoe, stars, gifts, lamb, baby Jesus, etc. What fun!
So here’s the first two …
This wee lass matches the red christmas tree stocking - as you can see her face is very pale, and her eyes rather embedded in her eyebrows.
Fairy 2, I made her face rosier, and dropped her eyes a bit. Not sure which I prefer. Maybe I will continue making both.
Now there definitely will not be 25 sugar plum fairies produced for Christmas 2008, but they are so quick and lovely to stitch, that I shall probably just keep stitching until I run out of ideas for what they can hold. You can literally start and finish the stitching of one in one evening’s dvd.
As for next year’s Advent Calendar …. you never know. :-)
6 October, 2008 at 4:15 am
I love these! They’re like Matroyshka (sp?) dolls. So sweet. I can’t wait to see the rest.
6 October, 2008 at 4:16 am
Those needlepoints are fantastic! I can’t believe you actually watched our VP debate. There really weren’t any of the fireworks we sometimes see at those things. Palin and Biden are usually more gaffe-tastic than that.
There are more news reports about the problems we have here with vote counting. In my state, they have tricky wording on one state initiative and may have to send advisors into the actual private voting booths to explain it to people.
Interesting that during the debate, I was stitching up a pile of Halloween yo-yos. I wonder what that means…
6 October, 2008 at 6:35 am
folksie…that is one word for it…
Love the dollies…very sweet, but not saccharin, I think. What lovely things you are working on!
6 October, 2008 at 7:56 am
Gosh, these are sweet and classy, too. It makes me want to make some, and I’m not a Christmas decoration kind of gal. Well done, they’re gorgeous!
6 October, 2008 at 8:55 am
So lovely! I love all these stockings and matroyshka dolls! I try to strat something for Xmas this week and especially next week, when I´m on autumn holiday.
6 October, 2008 at 9:08 am
Very cute! I cut out a blouse pattern during the debate, so I am another strange foreigner watching US politics closely. I wasn’t allowed to turn on the sewing machine until after the debate.
I need to get started on the stitched ornaments I make for the teachers every year. My daughter’s teacher has taught one of my kids every year for four years now, so she’s just about got a whole collection of my teacher’s ornaments :) I am going to miss her next year!
6 October, 2008 at 12:30 pm
What can I say, Lily, you are indeed a maverick! And your ornaments are turning out so lovely!
6 October, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Love the fairies! They are adorable.
6 October, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Oh Lily they are beautiful. I love them. My mother was so good at stitchery. If I wanted something she would stitch it for me. If she were around I’d be showing her your blog!
6 October, 2008 at 5:27 pm
The fairies are fantastic! I can’t wait to see pictures of your house at Christmas! It must be so beautiful :-)
Oh….you have Christmas in summer…..hmmm…. So no snow and cold?!