Hello my Festive Friends

Hello, hello a lot has changed since I last wrote, it really has been an age since I've posted on my blog - I apologise. There are a few reasons for this, I had my daughter and being a new mum I didn't get any time to do anything other than feed my daughter or sleep. Until now because we are in a weird time of being locked down in our homes. I've been in lockdown since the middle of March and I've had a tiny bit of time on my hands. I've managed to finish a few craft projects that I've been meaning to finish for about 2 years. I always have lots of different projects going on at one time which I flit in and out of but I decided to use my time wisely in lockdown and finish off the projects.

I've finished my main project which was Phoebe's Advent Calendar. I designed it in the style of Fortnum and Mason at Christmas with its beautiful turquoise frontage and shop windows. I designed the Christmas window displays to show different scenes that show my own Christmas traditions or Christmassy scenes.

For my first window, I did a sleigh full of presents after finally managing to find gold thread in the Isle of Wight years ago (randomly as you do!) I liked to pick the present colours to stand out. I then used the gold thread to create a decorative pattern on the sleigh as well.
I thought it would be funny if a window display showed Santa getting stuck in the chimney and presents tumbling down. I left his legs free to wriggle about.
The fireplace scene was meant to be a little clue to let people know that we were having a baby as I had done 3 stockings but unfortunately my daughter arrived way before I managed to finish it.
The bigger door which is number 24 is a scene of Santa and his 9 reindeer (including Rudolf if you look really closely you can see his little red nose-they took ages) flying over the pretty coloured harbour houses in Weymouth and me below driving in my little turquoise car through the snow with our Christmas tree strapped to the top.
I designed the one of my hubby and I enjoying our Christmas dinner, I picked our outfits to represent us including the cracker crowns, there are sprouts, roast potatoes, carrots, turkey and a Christmas pudding with holly on it (I couldn't figure out how to make it look like it was on fire with brandy - I did try though!)
I wanted to show me "Driving Home" for Christmas collecting our Christmas tree on the top and snow falling as another festive scene, I loved my little car and one Christmas we did get our real tree in it (it was a Nissan Micra guys - that's impressive!)
Then the last scene was the Nativity, The Three Wise Men, I designed them to all have different head dresses on and dressed in different colours holding different objects to represent gold, frankincense and myrrh as well as the camel in the background they travelled on.
I then put trees with 'baubles and tinsel' above the windows and then in the rest of the windows I alternated each window with a wreath. These were all handsewn, each wreath and tree had tiny beads sewn on to represent baubles. It was painstakingly slow and it took a lot of evening to get it all sewn together. Below is the fabric I chose to make it look like the red brickwork of the build (it was the closest I could get.)

This has been a complete labour of love but I'm not sure I could do another one, any future child we may have will have to share this one. I can't do it again! I do like adding to the Christmas decorations though as they are on a much smaller scale so I can still make them.

I made it so it could be a treasure hunt Advent Calendar, where in each pocket there would be one of the advent decorations and then I would attach clues to where the present is hidden and each day a decoration would be added to the Christmas tree to represent my ever-evolving Christmas story, which has been quite a journey.

My next project is to finish my Christmas plates but I've run out of some of the colours I've been using. I think this will have to be another post as I have waffled on long enough. I am also making a Christmas table runner and hopefully some other projects which I will go into in more detail soon. I may also have an exciting project that might happen but again you will have to wait and see if that happens. I don't want to jinx that one.

Right for now my festive friend, I'm going to sign off and carry on, on my weaving.

Merry Christmas my little sprouts XX