Small Gifts and Christmas Rush

I am sure it's a very busy time of the year for everyone. Christmas is just around the corner and there are still so many things to do. Every January I promise myself that I would start getting ready for Christmas some time in October or at least in early November so I would have plenty of time on my hands and would avoid the mad rush. Well, easier said than done. I was not able to keep my promise yet again. I waited for too long, I was in September mode until almost two weeks ago. So of course I could not avoid the madness of trying to finish some gifts on time. But somehow I managed. Hurray! I made a few things for my friends that I hope they like.

A few presents this year were inspired by some talented people. Dina from Bossymamma made a Christmas Tree Wall Hanging using crazy patchwork. Her tree inspired me to make this small tree decoration that is only about 12cm tall and has diagonal patches. I used paper piecing for the first time (Yay!) for this project and it was quite interesting. Might even try something more complicated next time.

Three mug rugs of different sizes to go along with tea cups and mugs. While working on Crazy Patchwork, inspired by Catherine from Knottedcotton, I knew I would not stop just at one. They are too much fun to make. The smallest rug is just 14cm by 14cm. Sakura Park fabric is really cheerful and goes nicely with linen.

Amy from NanaCompany inspired me to create this apron. I can't say that this is a completely new idea to me. My Dear Mum used to make lovely aprons for her friends for different occasions. Her aprons did not have much frills or lace but a pocket was a must have thing. Mum always went for crazy combinations of prints because she mostly used offcuts of fabrics for aprons. It was a long time ago, so Amy's work helped me remember some of the things my Mum created and inspired me to make this gift for someone special.

Thank you Dina, Catherine and Amy for inspiring me! So far it's a been a wonderful year of sewing and stitching, creating and learning, making mistakes and trying again. I hope you are having a great time finishing off your creations, wrapping presents and simply counting days till Christmas.