This year's Christmas gifts

I can now also share the gifts I beaded for Christmas this year.

For Mum I made the Wildflower box from Julia Pretl but used my own colours for it.

I made it right after I'd made the one for me in this post

For Lucy I made Happy Jack also from Julia Pretl

Unfortunately I had a little hiccup with the box for Mel and it wasn't finished in time for Christmas :(  and still isn't but Mel knows all about it

She did however get her annual bookmark

You may or may not know that Mel is a Detachment Commander with the Army Cadets so anything to connected to poppies and remembrance holds a very special place in her heart so as soon as I saw this one I knew I had to make it for her.

Lucy's one this year is skulls, after making her a Doctor Who one the last couple of years I wanted a change

And lastly a couple of little stars that went to two stitching friends that I spent Boxing day with this year

This year's family ornament

This year I made star's for my family using a pattern adapted from anabel

I gave Teejay the boxes with them in and he handed them out

Lucy had the red one

Mel got the green one

and my Parents got the lilac one

Christmas bracelet

Almost everything that I've stitched or beaded lately I can't show yet but this one I can :)

For a while now I've wanted to make myself a bracelet to wear over the festive season and I finally got round to doing just that a couple of weeks ago.

The pattern is called Christmas trees on Red and it's from Threadabead.

I started it at beading group and finished it there as well, the clasp was added the following day and I've worn it ever since.

Ornament exchange

Last Friday was opening day for the Needlecraft Heaven ornament exchange.

As usual I sent out a beaded ornament, this time I went with a star.

I've used this pattern before and it is one of my favourite ones to do but as you can see I went with Christmas colours.

I sent it off the Christine in plenty of time (for once!  I often end up as tail end Charlie) and by pure chance Christine also sent to me

And this is the beauty she sent me

From reading Christine's post it's Carol Manning's design from this year JCS ornament issue with a few changes and finished with vintage lace.

He is perfect for me and I love him

Snowman Parade completed

I tried again today to get pics of the completed ornament and although they didn't turn out fuzzy it is a bit dark :(

But here it is and I have to say it was great fun to make and at some point I'll make it again for me

The complete train

As promised pics of the completed train

it's about 10 inches in length

there may well be more carriages next year, people have been asking (inc me) 

The goods for the goods carriage

First I made the Candy cane (thread heaven lid for scale)

then I made the present (well guessed Jo)

and lastly I made the lollipop

here they are in the goods carriage

What I forgot to do was take a pic of the entire train but I will

The goods carriage is finished

I did the last few rows of the outside body 

then finished off the insert

Joined the 2 pieces together and added the wheels

Now I'm working on the goods to go in it 

Small beading finish

A couple of weeks or so ago a fellow member of the Facebook beading group asked for test beaders to try out a few designs she had done.

I was one I'd the ones lucky enough to get one to test and here he is 

Christmas ornament

I'm going away on a stitching week at the end of the month and will be offering a beading day while I'm there so I thought I'd better make a sample :)

This was designed by a beading friend and she sold the pattern in aid of out local hospice.

She very kindly gave me permission to teach it 

Carriage finish

I did finish the body of the carriage on Sunday morning

Monday morning I did the bottom piece and attached and then did the wheels 

The other side 

and the door into the carriage (it's the same on the other end)

And the completed train so far

Beading finish

Started a few weeks ago and put aside while I completed another box for the bead group challenge.

Finished it on Sunday morning before heading out to spend the day with Mel.

Beading weekend day 2

First thing this morning I got a pic of the goodies bag contents, the key ring is actually quite large and heavy 

A closer look at the key ring

And the back is just as pretty

Now to beading :)

By lunchtime I'd finished the head and made a scarf 

And by the end of the class I had a finished bear

Apologies for some the pics being the wrong way round I'm having to write this post on my phone and have no clue how to change things. I really wish blogger had an ipad app!

Box finish

This month on the facebook beading group it's all about peyote and there are different levels so that everyone can take part.

I've done 2 of them one intermediate (that I've just realised I've not a got a pic of!!) and the advanced one.

This is the Wildflowers box by Julia Pretl who very kindly donated the pattern to the members for the month.

I picked my own colours from stash for it and was either very brave or very stupid because the darker purple is a satin finish bead and they are fragile and break very easily.   I turned out to be very lucky with it and only broke a few of them, none of them on the bit I expected them to break on tho!

I enjoyed every bit of this one and I'm really, really happy with the way it turned out

Carriage finished

Here it is in all it's glory

And with the engine

The only thing I've added this time is some bells in the cubes

2 finishes

The next part of the train was due out on Friday but not until mid morning so I wanted something quick to do while I waited.

So I did a pen cover, the pattern is part of this month challenge in the facebook and fitted the bill perfectly.  It's done in tubular peyote so I don't have a flat one to show you, you'll have to make do with 2 halves and just in case it reads I love to bead

Friday afternoon I finished Damask Square as well.

August Gifted Gorgeousness

Just scrapping in this month for GG !

First is TW Intermediate Whitework ornament that featured as a PHD in last months post, it's a freebie and so it's a gift

And the reason I left it till the last minute to post this month is this.

The Bee hive box from Spellbound, the kit was a gift a few months ago 

I have a train engine :)

I was right it was finished well before the last update post went live :)

Roll on Sept 1st when the next part is released 

I made a few minor changes to bead colours but otherwise it's all the called for colours

Lucy's birthday present

Waaay back in March when I posted my TUSAL pic I said that I'd added lots of black from a project I couldn't share until the end of August well this is said project :)

As soon as I saw this in the October 2016 issue of the Beadworkers Guild Journal I knew I had to make it for Lucy.

The boo panel was an extra downloadable one from the members area of their website.

For some reason the only way I could put them together was in this order otherwise the pattern across the top of the panels wouldn't work :(

And here it is all assembled.

I had the perfect colour of bauble for it in my bauble stash (see Lucy there's a reason I'm a bauble hoarder :p )

It took a few months and several visits to bead shops/ fairs to get the right orange's for the dangles.

It seems that orange isn't a popular colour in beads but I'm really happy with the end result and Lucy loves it