Starting as I plan to go on, and Half Circle Christmas Tree Napkins

 Merry Christmas and a Happiest New Year! Ah and doesn't it feel like a breath of fresh air after what a year 2023 was?

I'm still honing down my plan and project list for the new year, but for now I shall get started in the manner I mean to go on. By finishing a project to completion and getting at least one to do, done!

These are a full set (18 in total!) of half circle, sometimes called Christmas Tree napkins. They are terrible simple to make, two half circles of fabric, sewing right sides together, turned, pressed and topstitched.

You can find tutorials all over the internet, like this one on YouTube from Shabby Fabrics 

I had never seen napkins like these before, and the project certainly wasn't on my radar until I cam across this bag at a local thrift store.

I don't know if its clear in the photo but the bag was labeled "Christmas Napkin - Pattern and Cut Outs" and it was priced at only $1.50. I mean how could I not! even If I used the fabric for something else.

Inside were 18 each, precut red and poinsettia fabric half circles, a fabric template and an extra half yard or so of red fabric. I brought it home and promptly sewed one up as a test, and tossed the bag onto my to do pile and that was that.

How very typical of me!

 So January 1st, I figured I still had red thread on my sewing machine, may as well get this project wrapped up. I paired and pressed each set.

Stitched them all together with about a half inch seam (they weren't cut the most exactly so I figured a margin for error was best). 

I turned and pressed again and topstitched and folded and pressed again.

More ironing in the first two days of the year than  I would normally get to in a month. But a quick cardboard folding template really sped things up (highly recommend!).

I folded half green side out, and yeah I can totally see why they are called Christmas Tree Napkins.

And half red side out, turned like a cone they provide a cozy home for cutlery at your place setting.

And I packed the whole lot of them into a bin for next Christmas! 

Ah well, what else is January for if not for finishing Christmas projects you had planned to get done before Christmas. Anyways we didn't host this year, but next year should be a full house, and we'll put these napkins to good use!

After a wash and another pressing of course.

Hopefully your holidays were lovely, and fulfilling. I'll see you here again tomorrow with a belated Christmas knitting project! 

English Paper Piecing, or where my knitting mojo has gone

 I'm not going to lie to you my fibre friends, I've fallen down a new crafty rabbit hole, and believe it or not, there's no yarn there.

You see once upon a time I started watching historical sewers on YouTube.

So naturally, I believed I would do it too.

So naturally, I starting acquiring fabrics and using my sewing machine more.

So naturally, I started a new Instagram account just for needle and thread type endeavours.

So naturally, I found the quilters.

So naturally, I found Tula Pink.

So now all I want to do with my every waking moment is glue little bits of fabric to little bits of card stock, and then whip stitch them all together into something wonderful.

Like this cushion made with 2 inch hexies all fussy cut and stitched together, and quilted and bound and gifted to a knitter friend.

Or this quilt top in progress (actually, I've attached the boarders, I just need to get into the headspace to feel confident enough to free motion quilt it myself), featuring EPP blocks alternating with panels.

Or these blocks, actually my first English Paper Piecing Endeavours, learned from a Craftsy Class.

Or this pile of Tula Pink fabrics ready to become stars in a Tula Nova Quilt.

Or these fabric scraps and hexies as part of a Scraps Quilting challenge hosted by Quilter on Fire.

So you know, all that, and half a dozen more.

It would seem that in forcing myself to knit monogamously this year, I have stumbled into the Cast-On-Itis version of quilting.

Still working on my Stepaside Sweater tho, nearly done the hem, then just collar and cuffs!

(here she is a few weeks back).