Crafting handmade gifts

I feel bad writing about Christmas but it’s my blog so I think I’m allowed. Christmas is fun, especially when you have two little children. They’ve been writing their Christmas lists for weeks which means we’ve all been thinking about it perhaps earlier than normal.

I love crafting handmade gifts. Every year I say it but I never start early enough but this year I am going to have. As my family read my blog I can’t say too much but I’ve planned a few super cute projects from some of my favourite craft books.

First of all I really want to finish off the Union flag quilt for Little Sis. I got it out the other day and was disappointed that I hadn’t done as much as I thought. So I’ve been been cutting hexagons in red, white and blue and trying to stitch a few hexagons every day.

I recently treated myself to a couple of craft books by Janet Clare – Home Quilt Home and Hearty Good Wishes – and I adore both of them. These are the first craft books where I could easily sit and make every single project. I grew up on an island, and spent 5 happy University years by the sea, which probably explains my fascination with the coast.

Home Quilt Home contains 15 quilt projects using freehand machine embroidery, hand stitchery and appliqué. The book also includes a collection of extra ideas to sew smaller projects including a keyring, decorated napkins and even a quilted felt brooch. The theme of the book is home and making quilts for your home to use so the patterns include town houses, country cottages, beach huts and windmills. I love it and the fact that the quilts are made with appliqué means I can make them without worrying about making quilt blocks or anything too complicated.

Hearty Good Wishes describes itself as a book of Coastal Quilts but it’s so much more, there are snippets of information about the sea and sailors mixed in with recipes and handmade projects.

Janet Clare designed a fabric line for Moda Fabrics which I would love to get my hands on. It includes whales, seagulls and ships and is definitely on my Christmas list. Are you thinking about Christmas or am I the only one?