Christmas Chaos!

Hi all!

I'm Fiona and I have fairly recently started blogging over at Diary of a Chain Stitcher. I never got round to posting about my Christmas Crafting Plans (it's taking me a while to get into the swing of blogging all that regularly especially amongst all the Christmas chaos) but I have been determined to post about what I've been up to!

As I haven't long been crafting I knew attempting to hand make too many of my presents was just going to be pushing myself a little too far and would only result in a horribly stroppy me for the last few days before Christmas which no one would appreciate. So instead I've done a combination of handmade, produced with a lot of thought but not completely made by my hand and shop bought presents. As much as I'd like to give everyone handmade gifts I one don't have enough time and know that my handmade taste is not necessarily everyone's cup of tea.

My main made project was my Stepdad's iPad case (from this tutorial) with fun chemistry related lining! (He works in a lab) I love it because it looks very professional on the outside so he can take it to meetings but inside it's fun and colourful. I got the lining fabric from Spoonflower which I have only just discovered and highly recommend. There are hundreds of prints to choose from, and if you can't find what you want you can get your own design printed up.

I've also made my boyfriend some boxer shorts using a free pattern from BurdaStyle. They were really quick and fun to make so I think he'll be getting some more of those for his birthday! I don't have a picture unfortunately as I wrapped them as soon as I finished to avoid any accidental discoveries. The surprise is one of the best bits of a gift I think!

One of the gifts I'm most proud of is a cookbook I put together for my Mum and Nan filled with our favourite family recipes. It was a big and time consuming job but I really enjoyed it and it was very straightforward to do using the software on Blurb. They have lots of page templates to choose from which you just fill with the photographs and writing you want, press publish and they'll print up as many copies as you want, and speedily too.

I've made the majority of my Christmas Cards by cross stitching festive designs, which I also sell on Etsy. I can't stand how much printed mass produced cards cost in the shops and would much rather make my own which can be tailored to the recipient and the effort is always appreciated much more.

I've made a few Christmas decorations this year too including crackers, a table runner and these stockings:

Finally I've been doing A LOT of baking including some little Christmas boxes of shortbread for family friends who always send me a little something and who I never know what to give. A little discovery for everyone - shortbread holds up very well in the post! And this recipe for orange pastry is a winner!

Ooof writing this post has made me realise I'd actually done a lot more than I thought! Good luck with the last minute crafting everyone! Merry Christmas!

A Fishy Case... for a Fly Rod and Reel

Hello fellow crafters! It's Amy from Sew Well getting in some last minute crafting just in time for Christmas. Today I have a gift for my dad.

A few weeks ago when I was talking to my dad on the phone, he mentioned that he needed a fabric case for his fly rod and reel but that he didn't like the ones in the store. Since it seemed like the perfect Christmas gift, I offered to make it for him if he'd send me a diagram and measurements of what he wanted.The picture he sent me was of a 30" long set of pockets with a cover flap next to a 24" long pocket.

My dad's fly fishing rods break down into four pieces for easy storage. When he's ready to store his rod and reel, he'll place the end of the rod with the reel in the open 24" pocket and the other three pieces of the rod in the 30" pockets. He'll then cover the end of the three 30" pockets with the fabric flap and tie the straps located on the end of the cover around the whole thing to keep everything in place.

Because the rod pieces aren't all the same thickness, the pockets aren't all the same widths. The 24" pocket is 3" wide, the neighboring 30" pocket is 2" wide, and the final two 30" pockets are 1" wide each.

I added a bit of the nice waterproof, outdoor-quality fabric I had left over from the bag I made him to carry his boots and waders to the bottom. Hopefully it'll add a bit of heartiness to the bag. There's no seam at the bottom either. Instead the fabric is simply folded over, so the rods won't be able to work themselves out.I hope he likes it! If so, I'll be making three more so that each of his rods will have one.