Some Free Stuff and Some Stuff on Sale…

I don’t know about you, but I still have plans to finish a heap of Christmas needlework projects! Heh heh. Well, there’s nothing wrong with planning, anyway! If you want to stitch up a few quick Christmas items, you might find the following resources useful…

First, there’s a sale at Colonial Patterns, where you can find a Holiday Assortment of Aunt Martha pattern transfers for 20% off. Read the Christmas Pattern Assortment list for the details of which packets are combined here. They range from Sunbonnet Christmas to Snowmen and Angels and Holly and Santa and all that Christmassy stuff.

Iron on transfer patterns can help you make quick gifts for Christmas. Just iron on your favorite motif onto a towel or an apron or something similar, choose your favorite line stitches from the Video Library here on Needle ‘n Thread (if you need a refresher), and stitch away!

I was thinking the assorted pack would also make a great little Christmas present for friends who stitch and who like these types of patterns, or for kids who are just getting into embroidery. I was thinking about adding something like this to the little basket I’m making up for my 7 year old niece…

If you’d rather create your own iron on transfer, Colonial Patterns also has their embroidery pattern transfer pad and pencils on sale this week for 10% off. I’ve never used these products, but if they work well, the concept is grand! Anyone else use them? I’d love the hear the results!

How about some embroidered greeting cards? You still have time to put together some simple cards, gift tags, and whatnot using your needle ‘n thread! Stitching Cards has a few freebies on their Prick & Stitch blog, if you’re looking for patterns.

For example, there’s this snowflake border – it’s a very simple little border, but it’s great, because you’d never quite believe how hard it is to evenly space those 6 arms of a little straight-stitch snowflake and get them to look really even. I’d probably pick a different color pattern than the one in the sample…. I think the pattern would look great stitched in white on blue, or in white on red.

You’ll also find a free pattern for this Christmas bauble, which would stitch up into a cute gift tag or card.

I’m still plugging away on the berry and greenery towel I showed you a week or so ago! And I’m working on Christmas cards… and I’m setting up five little towels I want to finish before Christmas, too. I’d like to do two monogram towels and three casual towels as gifts. Well. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with planning! I think the casual ones will probably come off ok, but the monograms are another story.

I’m also in the middle of preparing another larger project involving goldwork, and I’ll show you a little bit about that soon, I hope. I did manage to clean up my goldwork supplies, which was a big deal!

And somewhere in there, I think I have a tree to put up and stuff like that. Baking. Gingerbread houses with the kids. (Hmmmm….. Rather Scrooge-like, but I may scratch the gingerbread houses with the kids!)

A snow day would come in really handy in the next week and a half!

Hope you’re enjoying your holiday preparations as much as I am!