Christmas season 2016

Happy New Year's Eve, folks! I hope you had a really wonderful Christmas! It always seems to come round so fast, and then travel by even quicker, doesn't it?  I was woefully unprepared this year, not even sending out cards, but I cram-packed in as much as I could manage!

An opportunity came my way in August that led to my taking an acting role in a local live-radio stage play of the 1940's classic, It's a Wonderful Life.  I played Josephine, the Superintendent of Angels, and my role could be described to that of a narrator.  I met a whole new group of friends, faced fears I didn't realise I still had, and learned heaps about the intricacies of putting on a production.  The culmination of three months' work led to three performances in mid December...

With my family in the Green Room after my second performance.

It was so heart-warming to be in community with such an amazing group of people, praying together, learning together, and having heaps of fun in the process.  The whole purpose of putting on the play was to gift the community - we prayed for each person (known and unknown) who came to the shows - that they might be touched in some way that benefits them.  Believe me, with a serving heart there's not much room for ego, I don't think I'd be able to 'put myself out there' if ego was involved, because I have very little confidence and would compare myself unfavourably to others.  This may sound so corny, but my heart was full of love and joy when I was on that stage.  It was beautiful.

I'm having issues with my back again but it just held up enough thanks to having a chair on stage to rest when we weren't up at the mike.  We are all hoping to put on something else next year... watch this space!

My family and I love to go to the  'Carols by Candlelight' performance that is put on by the local council.  This northern-hemisphere girl still finds it fascinating to enjoy Christmas in Summer... and this is one of those times that I embrace it - sitting outside with hundreds of other people - while being entertained by some true talent.  My son's girlfriend, Sweet B, came with us this year, aren't they cute?  They will have been together five years next March, and we are hoping there are many, many, many more years to come!

My two kids and I also squeezed in a trip to the beach before the heat of Summer well and truly kicked-in.  We were on the rounds to collect gifts that I'd bought off eBay!  Ha ha!  You know I'm the eBay Queen, right?!

I didn't get in much sewing time, but managed to finish this advent calendar for my daughter a day late... actually I stayed up until 4am on the 2nd December to finish it!  My sewing machine wouldn't sew through all the layers so I hand-stitched all the pockets on... my fingers were red-raw by the time I finished but I was determined that she wasn't going to wake up for a second day without an advent, fortunately for me she'd forgotten all about it on the 1st December, and had no idea that I was making her one!  The final result wasn't exactly as I'd envisaged and the pockets are wonky due to the hand-stitching... but it doesn't matter.  Perfection is over-rated, right?!!!

I used an advent panel by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs, called Mistletoe Lane, and made various-sized pockets, some with gussets, and a few little 'sacks'... then hung the little tags from different-sized red buttons.  It turned out super-cute, although I would like to add some applique Christmas shapes to it before next December comes around.

I also made an advent for my son, but in a modern masculine style which he loved...

I decorated my bedroom for Christmas this year, which is a first for me.  With it being newly-decorated I couldn't resist any longer.  I purchased the most gorgeous shabby-chic cushions designed by my super-talented friend, Kerryanne, over at Shabby Art Boutique.  The colours couldn't be a more perfect fit!  The little tree belonged to my parents-in-law.  I'd never seen it before as they never decorated for Christmas - but my husband brought it in from the garage and has enjoyed giving it a new lease of life.

This blog post has no rhyme or reason, it's a complete brain-dump for which I am sorry!  I'm so late in telling you about my latest published design - a Christmas stitchery in the December issue of Homespun magazine.

The project is called 'Christmas shelf stitchery' and features a row of apothecary jars and a gumball machine containing various seasonal scenes.  I used some gorgeous metallic Aurifil thread which sews beautifully!  I'm not a big fan of metalics usually because they always seem to snag, but the Aurifil threads are a dream to work with.  If you live overseas and would like a copy of the magazine you can by a digital version online.  It's a really cute issue!  I'm currently working on another project for Homespun but it won't be printed until next September!

Christmas day was the hottest it's been in 17 years - a whopping 37 degrees and super-humid!  We don't have air-con or window-blinds in our kitchen, so cooking this roast was a labour of love indeed! What was it like in your part of the world?

Well, as this year draws to a close I'd like to wish you and your family the most happy and prosperous New Year, with good health and blessings in abundance!

See you in 2017 dear friends!

Much love, Vikki xoxo

Share