Christmas Fun and Inspiration

Yesterday I had the girlies over for a craft day. Jen1 and Poppy were guided through making Drop Zone bags - the pattern we had seen on our road trip last summer. They arrived with their basic piece quilted and spent the next 6 hours finishing the project.

Jennifer is very methodical. We were impressed with the foam mat her machine is on. It really dampens the sound of the sewing machine.

Poppy worked diligently to complete her project.

Marilyn and Jeanette brought stitching. There was lots of conversation - plans for future projects. Ooh-ing, and ahh-ing over various items. Sharing lots of information on our phones.

After Barb arrived we took a bit of a break and exchanged our mostly 'consumable' Christmas gifts. Most of us have concluded that we already own everything so consumables (gift cards, edible items, etc.) are a good alternative to most 'stuff'.

My students posed proudly with their finished Drop Zone bags. One of the goals of 'Geri's Academy of Sewing' is that my students feel successful.

Jennifer mentioned she really liked the Dumpling Dish project she completed several years ago. It was an accompanying pattern to Sally Thompson's 'Bionic Gear Bag'. Thankfully, I had saved the pattern so had a look at it today and decided to make one this afternoon to remind myself of the process as the last time I made one was 2018.

I enlarged the original template to 140% on my printer. I took special care to fussy cut my fabric. Her instructions are unnecessarily verbose and I had whittled the 46 pages down to 2. I still needed to refer to the original instructions for some of the photos, though. 

I used the same William Morris fabric I used for my Drop Zone bag that I made on Saturday. It's called a Dumpling Dish because it looks like a dumpling...

and opens to a shape like a dish - a bowl, actually.

In order for it to open to a round shape, the zipper has to extend beyond the edge. I covered the end with a little piece of folded fabric and stitched it in place on the exterior.

This came out to a decent size. I use another one to hold my little sewing clips. Not sure what I'll put in this one.

So Geri's Academy of Sewing might have a session on this sometime over the holidays.

Having everyone here is so much fun. We all enjoy each others' company so much - particularly the sharing of creative ideas. 

After they headed for home I started tidying up a bit when I realized my Tuesday night group was having a get together at another Jennifer's home with take-out Chinese food. I beetled over there in time to enjoy a delicious plate of food. Again, there was lots of pleasant conversation and a good time was had by all. 

Man, was I pooped when I got home. I had worked hard last week getting everything ready for the craft day - treats, 'baking', tidying, making the house presentable, making and addressing cards, composing my Christmas newsletter, etc. etc. 

This morning was Monday morning stitching at MaryK's. Barb picked me up for the drive to Orono. We had a very nice time - lots of crafty chit chat,  exchanging of cards, and picking out many stitches done in error. 

MaryK's home was so festively decorated for the holidays. Everything was so cute! One of her Christmas trees had all ornaments she had cross-stitched over the last 4 decades. The tree by her front door had long-time family ornaments. Then there were the shelves in the living room with her Santa collection. Lots of decorations in her office and kitchen. Tasteful Rae Dunn crockery and décor items. And all so beautifully displayed. We were all so impressed. It really made for a Christmassy vibe. So fun!

Tomorrow I can sleep in. I have nothing planned for the day other than picking up some more red wine to make another batch of glögg and some more bread. I have SO MUCH FOOD in the house that I want to eat before I resume the meal kits from Chefs Plate. A recent purchase is the gizmo that sucks the air out of food grade vacuum bags. It arrived on the weekend and I can already see how useful it will be for saving my leftovers or portions of items I can't consume in one sitting. 

I am so fortunate to have found these groups of like-minded people who enjoy getting together and being creative. We all seem to derive a lot of enjoyment from these pursuits.