a year in review: 2018

It is time to bid farewell to 2018 and review this year favorite posts.
It was all about little cute sewing projects, the best kind!

1-tea cosy, 2-strawberry pouch, 3- scissors case, 4- jewelry bag, 5- book of colors.
This year we had one big addition: a new puppy, so we are back to be a 2 dog family, perfect for us!

Besides the arrival of Bosco, the big highlight of the year was meeting my niece and going to my sister's wedding, quite a trip.

with Miss C.
It was a slow year for this little blog,  nevertheless I hope 2019 is full of more sewing goodness.
See you next year!

Atelier buche de Noel

Over the weekend, a few of my girlfriends came over for a special event: atelier buche de Noel!

chocolate version 

chestnut version
Because we were 4 and my oven is normal size, we made half size one, still enough for a regular family.
There were a lot of silliness and good times, and they turned out really good:

with nice spirals.
I blogged about the recipe in 2013, and it is still the same that I make every year. But after watching the great English baking show, I roll my the cake just after baking it to cool it down, there is way less cracking that way!
I also made the buche de Noel with chestnuts:

We are now all ready to celebrate Christmas. I want to wish you and your family  a Merry Christmas!

a new fun mug rug: ugly sweater!

I could not help it, 

I made more mug rugs....

This time they are ugly sweater mug rugs!

cute, right?

The pattern is from Kidgiddy

it is paper pieced, which I am a big fan.

I do not even mind the mess on the floor from ripping the paper,

actually I do not mind the floor in general....

It comes in 2 sizes, I made the smaller one,

and in this case I added a side panel as I like my mug rug rectangle,

for the cookie of course!

I could not stop at just one so I made three,

if I have more time, I think I will make a few more,

maybe for a pillow cover....

you can see some great blocks on Instagram #uglysweaterblock.

Happy sewing!

a set of house ornament

This year I revisited a classic:

the little house ornaments

(I originally made some in 2011!)

so cute: some Provence fabric, a little lace, a kitty and a little hand embroidery.

As previously I followed this tutorial from Retro mama.

I used linen for the house foundation, and little pieces of many prints for the roof, door, window and chimney, adding sometimes little details like buttons, embroidery, trying to taylor it to the final recipient.

They are the perfect gifts to exchange with girlfriends, and they can customize for non Christmas friends, like with this one:

it is very springy!

And until you are ready to give them away,

they look so cute all together on the coffee table:

Once again, I should make some for myself!

Happy sewing!

the 2018 Dandelions

It is no surprise that I made 2 dandelions for this Christmas:

I have been making them for the past few years, they are some of my favorites gifts to make. Here are most of them:

Dandelion 1 and 2, Dandelion 3, Dandelion 4, Dandelion 5, Dandelion 6 and 7. 
I always try to vary some details, and use different Liberty of London to make their dresses and ears.
The pattern is from Posie, it is mostly hand sewn, except for the dress. There is also a knitted little shawl, but I do not knit well, so I usually skip that part!

Because I was a little rush for time,

I also skipped the embroidery on the boot,

it is a super cute details but a little too time consuming right now!

They still are lovely and a fun gift to make:

Happy sewing!

Our 2018 Christmas Home

Our house is finally ready for Christmas:

with a tree simply trimmed in silver, white and red.

(still using my champagne tree skirt!)

Miss C declared what we needed to bring back red,

and she was right, it is so much better!

The tree is the slimmest we ever had and I really like the look.

I purchased some new lights: individual candles from Balsam,

they are expensive but so pretty!

My sister added to my Danish collection from Georg Jensen

with a new tree topper and a few ornaments.

I also used my little mushrooms from Belgium.

The coffee stable tray received some attention

with a few fake presents neatly wrapped

and a smart teddy bear.

Because of Bosco, we have to keep everything simple.

and covered, like the couch!

(Lou was not in the mood for pictures!)

Luckily I made a Christmas quilt a few years ago:

And it goes perfectly with all the Christmas pillows made over the years:

 Pillow 1, Pillow 2, Pillow 3.

 In the dining room area

(which was remade during my last ROC)

I also kept the decor simple:

with a Merry and Bright from my German glass glitter
workshop with Miss Mustard Seed from 3 years ago,
a new acorn garland
and our upcoming collection of Christmas cards.

I set up the table with a sparkly tablecloth

(pretty but impossible to iron because the metallic threads!)

The center piece is made of various garlands,

festive and easy to move around when we are serving the meal!

And for extra safety, all of our candles are battery operated....

All four plates are different, because we are all different!

I have the deer, Miss C. the horse (obviously), Brick Master the fox,

and Mon Cheri the woods.

The setting is simple with an everyday white plate,

and regular silverware.

 All together it makes a very relaxing and cozy family room:

Merry Christmas!