Christmas Crafting

Our group has been busy crafting for Christmas ever since we had that craft day with a Christmas theme. Alison has been especially busy along with Roberta. They are neighbours and decided to have their own craft day and got quite a lot done. Alison made the stockings after her lesson from Izzy. She also made some  more Japanese folded bags which was originally taught by Helen. Caroline also gave her the pattern for the lovely knitted stockings for the tree. All of these are actually planned for someone.

As I said Roberta has also been busy. She managed quite a few of the stitched stockings too. I have to say I love the teddy bear fabric. She also managed to stitch some of the Japanese folded bags and knitted a stocking. She also knitted this lovely Santa Sack which will also go up on the tree.

Margaret has also been busy Christmas wise. She knitted a set of tree stockings and mitts and decorated them with little Christmas buttons. She got this idea and pattern from Caroline (we are a very sharing group). These are all going out to family members. She also knitted this snowman. I should have actually posted it last week but the photo didn't turn out. This tuneful snowman was given to me.

A few weeks ago we had a swap night. One of the items on the swap table was a book of patterns to knit dolls from Raggy Dolls. Anyone remember that cartoon? Dawn pointed it out and Margaret picked it up. It didn't take her long to knit Sad Sack for her youngest daughter who was a huge fan of the cartoon.

This doll is the perfect example of group work. Ally knitted the doll with a pattern from Caroline. Caroline stitched her up and gave it to Alison who commissioned them to make it. The yarn was picked out from odds and ends and go surprisingly well together.

Despite being busy myself I also had a knitting finish. I managed to knit these socks which are a gift to my sister.

Anthea decided to spend her time waiting on her daughter at dancing constructively. She managed to crochet the entire scarf in the 45mins she waited. As a result she has promised to teach on of the other mums who was waiting with her.

Isabel also had a finish. Isabel likes to try out new things and she decided to do some jewellery making. This lovely bracelet is her first attempt.

Last but not least Caroline has also been busy (when she isn't sewing up dolls). She was asked by her work to knit a cactus for an event they are planning. She found a pattern and finished knitting it fairly quickly. She has also been knitting phone socks for friends. The photo above is one she knitted for herself and was the pattern she used for her friends. Love the little flower decoration.

Girls have been busy!

Two of our youngest members have been busy the last few weeks. Miriam finished knitting a lovely yellow and white scarf. You can see her with it here and she gave it to Freya as a gift. She has also been learning to cross stitch and made this lovely card.

Freya has also been busy. She made these lovely animals using decoupage and kindly talked me through how she did it. Both girls are now working on some cross stitch.

Rhona has once again been working away. This time on some stitching. She made these lovely toy cats in a weekend.

Last week I again didn't make it along. Margaret though, finished these lovely cross stitch Christmas cards. She also finished knitting a snowman which she gave to me. I will have a photo of that for next time.

Finishes - Gartmore at Home - Christmas Craft Day

This is the last post featuring our Christmas craft day, I promise. This one is actually more about the finishes that were brought along. Magdalena finished her lovely scarf using the cancan yarn. Like everyone else who has used it she found she had plenty leftover to make another one.

Linda took the lesson we had on the last Gartmore at home and expanded on it. She made a larger version of the drawstring bag and then cross stitched on to the front of it. This is a gift for a friend who keeps her knitting in a carrier bag. Have to admit I am a little jealous.

Between joining in classes Magdalena spent the day sewing a zip onto this beautiful jumper. This is for her son Adam. She has another one in green for her youngest.

We also had a little visitor along. Aileen brought her little girl, Olivia, for a visit. She managed to sleep through all our chatting and laughter.

As you might be able to tell it was a good day and we will definitely be doing it again sometime after Christmas. As I mentioned earlier we have lots more photo's and you'll find them on our facebook page. Just type in Glasgow Fort StitchNBitch into the search.

Napkin Folding - Gartmore at Home - Christmas Craft Day

Last but not least of the classes on Saturday was the napkin folding. Alison has worked in hotels for years. When someone said they would like to learn how to fold napkins she kindly offered to teach everyone.

Just about everyone wanted to take part in this class. First off she taught everyone how to make the rabbit ears which then sit in a glass.

You can see Izzy here showing them off.

Next was the fan.

I am ashamed to say that I can't remember what this one is called but it looks quite pretty. Alison suggested sitting this napkin in a basket which you can then fill with goodies.

 Last but not least was the soltare. The can stand on their own like the fans. Unlike the fans though you can sit something in the centre. I think this one will be the favourite.

As you can see everyone seemed to enjoy the class. I think it's safe to saw we enjoyed the entire day. There were even a few people commenting that it was even better than the last one. So we will definitely be doing another Gartmore at home after Christmas.

This isn't the last Gartmore at Home post as there were some finished projects brought along for me to photograph. I'll post that soon. In the meantime I just want to thank the lovely ladies for the fantastic classes. Thank you Izzy, Elaine, Helen and Alison. Also, thank you to everyone who came along and a big thank you to the Glasgow Fort team who once again allowed us to use their space.

Christmas Cards - Gartmore at Home - Christmas Craft Day

Helen is famous in the group for her card making and scrap booking skills. When we talked about having a Christmas themed day she kindly offered to teach people how to make a simple Christmas card.

Helen even had these packs made up for everyone. They came with instructions as well as all the pieces they would need to make the card.

We used the table in the foyer of the management suite for this as it meant people could still decorate cakes and sew stockings if they wished to.

The class was done in sessions so that everyone could take part. As you can see everyone went home with a beautifully made card. Thank you Helen.

Again there are more photo's than this and they are all on our facebook page. I just have one more update from our craft fair to do and that one involves a napkin folding class from Alison.

Stockings - Gartmore at Home - Christmas Craft Day

Izzy kindly gave us another sewing lesson. This time she taught us to make little stockings that we can hang up at Christmas. Stephanie here is being taught how to add the fur to the top.

You can see Julie and Linda working away on the sewing machine.

Julie was the first to finish a stocking. Very cute and can hold Christmas goodies.

 Freya and Miriam also had a shot and made some stockings.

Some, like Margaret, made more than one after that first lesson.

Izzy even gave Linda a quick lesson on how to make a pencil case. Love the fabric. The sewing lessons are always a huge success. Thanks to Izzy's wonderful teaching no one goes away with out completing something.

Again these aren't all the photo's. There are more on our facebook page. Still have classes from Helen and Alison to go.