A Crafty Christmas Day!

Good morning!

I hope you have had the most amazing Christmas day!

In my house we have a very low key approach to Christmas. We have Christmas supper on on Christmas Eve - sausage and mash by candle light - and new PJ's that we stay in until after Boxing Day!

Christmas day is all about presents, playing and relaxing, including pizza for lunch!

My boys voted for pizza 3 years ago as they didn't want to stop playing for a traditional Christmas lunch. They can munch pizza, watch movies and play in peace. For them that makes Christmas perfect!

So I get to spend a couple of days wandering around the house in PJ's, drinking coffee and sewing!

With the boys all distracted by the new toys, I can grab my sewing machine and put together a new quilt top in peace - everyone gets the perfect Christmas!

This year Santa bought me 3 craft books:

I got Little Stitches by Aneela Hoey,  Simple Crochet by Sara Sinaguglia and color, block & quilt by Emily Cier (and the workbook too!).

All 3 have had me itching to try something out. The color, block & quilt book was recommended by Angela Walters, and she is right - it is a fantastic resource for colours and fantastic modern blocks! But getting out the sewing machine, cutting mat and rotary cutter isn't allowed on Christmas day, so experimenting with her blocks will have to wait until Boxing Day!

I love Simply Crochet. So many gorgeous designs and ideas, but no wool...

So that left me with Little Stitches! I have never tried embroidery before, it has been that appealing, but since meeting Aneela Hoey on Twitter I have been exploring the world of embroidery. It is amazing what you can create with some floss and a hoop!

Luckily I had bought a hoop last week on a whim, and I have hundreds of flosses from teaching. So I chose a design from the book and this is the result as I went to bed on Christmas day:

I changed the colours recommended so it will go with my room. I am thinking cushion cover as I have a bundle of Aneela Hoey's Sew Stitchy line just arrived from Fabric Worm....

Today I start maxi's quilt... I can' wait!

Have you managed anything crafty over the Christmas break?