The Secret Lives of Snowmen

I'm not a big cartoon fan - but I am quite a fan of Calvin and Hobbes. Perhaps it is the fact that I can quite happily talk for endless hours to my beloved pet - so I am more than able to understand the close and secret bond between Calvin and his dear Hobbes. Although - in my humble opinion - the funniest Calvin and Hobbes cartoons are those of the snowmen that Calvin builds.

Snowmen are so fun. One year at primary school I remember clearly the overwhelming excitement when it actually snowed properly - each class went out onto the playing field were we all competed in a snowman building competition. It hardly ever snows properly in the UK - so this happened all of once! But I remember it quite clearly. Now living here in the US - every year my husband is still surprised at my endless delight when it snows.

My latest Christmas tree skirt has been dedicated to my dear snowmen friends. Giving us all a little insight into the lives of snowmen!!
Did you know that snowmen like to give each other presents?? ...
... that families of snowmen like to gather around and decorate Christmas trees?? ...
... that snowmen like to sneak the odd kiss under the mistletoe too?? ...
... but most of all Snowmen love to sing carols!!!
What carol do you think would be a snowman's favorite? 'See Amid the Winters Snow' or perhaps just 'Let it Snow'?

Christmas is coming ...

Whether you want to admit it or not you can't ignore that Christmas is coming. The stores already have their Christmas decorations out - ready for you to browse and rummage through all the glitter and tinsel.

And here in our little work corner it is no different. Summer seems like an age away. Halloween was barely here (apart from the pumpkin tutorial) and there has been no sign of any Fall or Thanksgiving crafts. The bunnies and I have jumped straight into Santa's sack and I fear here we will stay until the end of the year.

We have been making reversible Christmas tree skirts ...... working on nativity advent calendars ...... (I love how the little pockets turned out for this calendar!)
And the bunnies ... without having a garden to play in have been getting into so much mischief. This little bunny is trying to pretend to be one of the Christmas tree decorations in a bid to become the the fairy on top of the tree this year.I tried to explain that although we are making Christmas crafts now - decorating the tree is a long way off. And this little bunny seems to have been tortured by the other one in what was described to me as the 'wrapping up game' ...
I must give a loud and warm shout out to Janice, Rachel, Louise, April and Barbara (I hope I caught everyone) - all have tagged or given me lovely awards in the past months. I've been terrible at playing along I know - and distracted with moving etc - and I can't tell you how much all the comments mean to me. I loved how and what Jodie (from RicRac) wrote back in August about the whole tagging/award debate - and I'm sorry to be such a party pooper. By the way - have you seen Jodie's Big Selvedge Project - it is truly amazing and should not be missed.

The Last Christmas Tree Skirt of 2007!

Well Christmas is nearly over in the Rachael Rabbit workshop and I will be concentrating on some Easter and spring goodies now. I'll post more pictures of the Christmas Tree skirts on my website soon - but for now - here are some snap shots.

a baby polar bear

Santa and Rudolph around the tree

Santa in his sleigh
Cupid and Dancermachine embroidered skirt with bow detailWhere does Santa live?Santa's housethe reindeer are waiting for Santa
polar bears in lovesnowmen like to give gifts as well

bow detaila very christmasy patchwork reverse

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON - I am now off to the UK and will be back behind Bernie in January!!

Some completed Christmas Tree Skirts .....

I have finally finished some Christmas Tree Skirts - here is the original design ....
.... and the finished product!! The skirt is reversible with a felt scene on one side and a quilted patchwork design on the reverse. The patchwork has a decorative silver stitch along each seam. It looks quite pretty underneath the tree. Although I am pleased with the finished result - I think I have decided that I will use more symmetry in future Christmas tree skirt designs.

I have also made two Christmas tree skirts from recycled silk ties each skirt has a velvet reverse. I would just like to mention that it is REALLY hard to photograph silk and velvet - the light catches each lump and bump and my photographs show wrinkles you can't even see. I think a lot of it is down to the high sheen of the fabric. Does anyone has any ideas how to make this easier in the future?

This white silk skirt has a green velvet reverse, crimson red rope trim and very decorative white fasteners. I have to thank Sarah for this idea - I think it is really effective and they are so pretty you can actually have the fasteners at the front of the skirt rather than hiding the seam at the back of the tree!

This Christmas tree skirt was made from silver silk ties. The reverse is a warm charcoal grey color. It reminds me of the color of Russian blue puddy cats. The rope trip is white, blue/grey & beige and the fasteners are a similar grey color!

I have also decided that I need to start documenting my patterns - and I plan to start posting them on my website on my new Patterns & Recipes page.

Christmas is coming ....

Hurrah - the heat wave has broken ...... or have I hurrah'd too soon? The temperature is perfect .... its even dark and rainy - so hiding in my little cottage I'm feeling quite happy, at home and English.

I've finished the animal quilt and two other patchwork baby quilts - the only downside of the weather is that I am unable to go out and take pictures of them .... which leads me to think that perhaps another photo setting might be needed for the winter months! .....

So I've set myself a task of finishing some 1/2 completed projects ..... today it is Christmas Tree Skirts!!! (check out my Christmas Tree Skirt design page) oh another hurrah for Christmas ..... it is that time of year that we can hang dozens of sparkly things from a tree and not be judged too harshly for it!
... but before we get to Christmas there is Halloween ... and I have a feeling this Halloween will be an extra crafty affair .........