Five Days of Homemade Christmas Gifts: Embroidered Tea Towels

A few years ago, my mother learned hand embroidery.  She taught herself, which always impresses me.  Each Christmas, for the last three Christmases, Mom has given me, my sister, and my sister-in-law each a hand embroidered tea towel.  Stuffed in our stocking.  I love them.  They're beautiful, practical, and a precious heirloom.  

I recently learned to hand embroider, and taught my daughters.  My second daughter has really taken to the craft and already made my newest nephew a baby blanket, with his name and a design on the corner, and another daughter is making a pillowcase as a Christmas gift.  

A hand embroidered tea towel is very practical and personal.  The time taken, and the thought put into such a delicate looking work of art is special and useful to the one who receives it.

I use my tea towels to cover bread while it's rising, to tuck around fresh-baked rolls to keep them warm, and to throw over food and pitchers to keep bugs off.

If you've never tried the craft of hand embroidery, it's simple to learn.  Embroidery is probably the easiest handiwork I have ever learned.  You can purchase patterns to iron on and use as a guide, or you can draw your own pattern with a washable fabric pencil, which will disappear with water, after you have finished your design.  As I said, my daughters (10, 12, & 14) picked it up very quickly, using their own designs to create handmade gifts.  Tutorials are easy to find online, like this one, and just as easy to find in your local craft store.

Enjoy this timeless art and pass the gift along to a special person who will appreciate your time and effort.

Bailey's Quilt

I finally finished piecing Bailey's quilt and I'm currently beginning the process of hand quilting.  I have never done a quilt this large before, this is going to take awhile!  I may actually have it finished by the time she gets married.  OK, hopefully sooner.  Please excuse the blurred area in the bottom right corner...

My goal is to make one quilt a year for each of my children.  Since I have had the intention to make this quilt for a year now, I'm not off to a good start.  I guess nine years from now, I'll have a normal life again.  And I'll probably have arthritic hands to show for it.  And maybe a nice quilt or two.  ;)

Learning to Quilt

It's fall.  For now, anyway.  Cooler temperatures and crisp breezes make me want to quilt.  This past weekend, I pulled out a simple quilt I started about two years ago and didn't get anywhere near finishing.  Shameful, I know!  However, it was a perfect quilt to let the girls practice on.  It's funny to see how each girl is different in her learning style, talent, and design.  The one that I thought would hate it, loved it and was very good at it!  The one who I thought would have the neatest stitches was the one constantly pulling them out.  And the one I thought would sit and quilt for hours was the one who was always distracted.  Who woulda thought?

The simplicity of this quilt makes it easy to stitch inside the squares and allows for "easy to fix" mistakes.  My inner perfectionist is screaming at the jagged lines and uneven stitching, but outwardly I've managed to pull of the "it's OK, you're learning, honey" voice.  They'll get better.  Right?  At any rate, this quilt has been named The Park Quilt.  Meaning Peanut and Bubba Chubs will have a soft blankie to sit on at the park or camping.

I'm sure the twins will thank them for it, one day.



Fabric Flower

I found an online tut for making this frayed fabric flower.  I made it from the same material as Bailey's new skirt.  Super easy and took me about 20 minutes!  I think I may have found a new addiction, which is a good thing since I'm such a fabricaholic!

Craft Show

My first craft show.....it went pretty well. I actually sold quite a bit, and I will be doing the next one in October. I did notice though, that the term "craft show" is code for "garage sale fodder". I had no idea. Thank goodness for me there were no other vendors with a booth providing my products. But I think if offer more of a "junkie look" to my table, it would draw more customers? Seems to be a trend.....I might try..... (yes, I know I promised to be less sarcastic, but this was a special occasion.)

Here is my booth and another GREAT picture of me. Ugh.

In case you didn't know, Kiley is making beds. Bunk beds, single beds, queen beds, etc. He will also be making dressers, hope chests, quilt racks, side tables and such in the future. We are praying and hoping this business will turn into something financially worthwhile for us. He is super excited and he does a great job, if I do say so myself! His beds are very sturdy, made of solid wood, and made in AMERICA! Just a plug for my man. :D

Check Out My Crafty Mama!

Mom stumbled upon a quilt fabric store in Fredicksburg and went in to see if she could find anything fun for me. Instead, she ended up finding herself fulfilling a long time interest in learning hand embroidery. Check out this tea towel she did!