Fresh Cut Christmas Trees

Needlework

Throughout December, Deloise provided Stacia and me with an Advent calendar full of many surprises. I was a few days in before I realized the end result would be a cross stitch project. I had something else on the go (12 Days of Christmas) so it was almost the new year before I got started.

The centre of the project went quite quickly but I struggled with both the top and bottom borders. It looks easy enough but ending and starting those brown lines in the right spot was a challenge.

Along the way, in our weekly chats, Deloise provided some very useful tips to go along with all the tools she sent.

At a later date, on one of our sewing days, Deloise is going to give us a tutorial on how to frame the piece.

Microwave Bowls

Quilting

I started these when I was doing my Christmas projects but ran out of 100% cotton. They were meant for us so I wasn’t in a big hurry to get them done. When I got at them again I decided to try a new finishing technique that I learned from someone in the Guild.

Rather than sew the bowls wrong sides together and turn them I added a binding. Once I had the binding stitched to the outside of the bowls and turned it to the inside I used stitch-in-the-ditch to attach the binding to the inside.

I’m not sure it was any faster to do it this way but I like the way they finished. I think having both the binding and the inside the same colour helped to hide the stitching.

I don’t know when I’ll next make a set of these but I’ll use this binding method again.

Paris Trout

Books

Author: Dexter, Pete

This book sat on the shelf on Texada for a long time. After reading a book that was really awful it was time to find something I might like better. The book cover reminded me of another book I loved – Bastard Out of Carolina – so I thought I’d give it a read.

Paris Trout is a mean shopkeeper who earns extra money on the side by lending to the Negro population in his small Southern town. A series of events, over the lending and purchase of a vehicle, leads to the murder of little Rosie Sayers, a 14-year old coloured girl. Through the book we learn of Rosie’s difficult past and the horrific man Paris Trout is.

I’m surprised our library doesn’t carry any of the author’s work, but I’d certainly read more if I came across them. This one will stay on my shelf.

Goodreads Rating: * * * * *