Celebrate!
There's so much celebrating around here over Christmas and the New Year. This time coincides with our summer holidays, so there's lots of extra time for gathering with family and friends. Christmas Day this year is with my husband's side of the family (we alternate), and I'm working on somewhere between 16 to 20 people at our place for Christmas dinner (that's the evening meal).
That's a lot of cups and glasses to keep organised. So I'm currently busy stitching up wineglass coasters, and coffee cozies (to be used on water glasses). The pattern was included in the most recent issue of One Thimble (Issue 17)*, designed by One+Two. And the timing is perfect for end of year gifts and celebrations.
I made up my first batch for presents for our Family Christmas - my mum's extended family all gather together early in December at a park area that is kind-of central to everyone. It's a great chance to catch up with aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins, and I usually make a small present for each family. The wine glass coasters were a big hit, and helped everyone to remember whose glass was whose. These were really quick to make, as I found a batch of precut fabric circles in an inherited craft stash (perfect!)
My next batch was a set of six sewn up for my daughter's teacher. Miss 6 chose the fabrics, from my stash of Christmas fat quarters. They sewed up pretty quickly, and I was able to carry them around in my handbag to finish off that last bit of handstitching while waiting at the dentist, or at my lunch break.
The final round is for Christmas itself. In previous years there have been all sorts of schemes devised to limit the washing up of glasses during the day, as family members traipse in and out of my in-laws' house. This year, we're trying out the coffee cosies to keep those water glasses in order. The problem is, I suspect that even with my extensive collection of Christmas fat quarters, I will still not have 16-20 different fabrics. So I have started sewing names on the coasters and cosies using the fonts built into my sewing machine (nothing fancy, but legible).
- Make sure the proper stitches don't cross over the basting stitches (makes them a lot easier to remove).
- I reduced my basting stitch length to around 4.5mm to make it easier to go around the corner.
- Getting the right sized turning hole makes a big difference (too big and you get an obvious flat spot on your circle, too small and you're turning one out for up to half an hour).
- Turning tools - like tweezers, a blunt chopstick, hemostats etc - are your friend
- Batch sewing will save a heap of time - press a bunch, baste a bunch, sew a bunch
- I used grey thread when using fabrics with colour variations so I didn't need to change thread
This is a great pattern for helping people come together to celebrate, and as a gift to celebrate what others have done for you. Make sure you check out the other stops on the tour, and see how other sewing bloggers are celebrating the holidays.
December 1st Sewing By Ti (intro), Octaves of Color
Sunday December 3rd, Me Made
4th: Sew Sophie Lynn
5th: Hazelnut Handmade
6th: Tales from a Southern Mom
Monday December 11th, Tenille's Thread
12th: MNW Sews
13th: Mahlica Designs
14th: Very Blissful
15th: Stitched by Jennie
Monday December 18th, Kate Will Knit
19th: Sewing by Ti
20th: Vicky Myers Creations
21st: Margarita on the Ross
22nd: Auschick Sews
23rd: Shalini's Blog
Tuesday December 26th: Seams Sew Low
27th: EYMM
28th: Sew Like a Sloth
29th: Sewing By Ti
30th: Kathys Kwilts and More
31st: Embrace Everyday
* This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. The sewing opinions and overwhelming sense of a fast approaching deadline are all my own.
Great job with these! Such a cute way to make each person's glass unique -- and portable coaster at the same time!
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