Handcrafted Christmas Presents

I didn't make that many Christmas presents this year. Here are pictures of some of the things I did make for either personal gifts or for my business, Bogate Designs.

First of all, I had to make Marlene a stocking as they don't hang stockings in Germany. (they put out their shoes on St. Nicholas Day). I hope that she will take this home with her and start a new tradition with her family

I felted red wool fabric for the stocking in the washing machine. It is then embellished with wool felt appliques, gold rick rack, sequins, beads and jingle bells (Marlene loves her jingle bells). I embroidered her name on my machine. I was really happy with how this turned out, but of course, it wasn't until late on Dec. 24th that it was done.



In early December, I bought a book called It's A Wrap: Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, and Bowls. These bowls are based on that book. Basically, you wrap strips of fabric around clothesline and then sew the covered clothesline together. You can adjust the shape of the item by the angle you hold it when you sew. I made several before the holidays. They're fun to make, but my arm and wrist definitely hurt after wrapping the clothesline for awhile. I think I would develop some kind of repetitive motion syndrome if I did it for too long.

I made these red and white ones based on the shape of a planter. They looked great with a pointsetta in them -very festive.






Since I really don't market my children's clothing business very well, it is a blessing that so many of my sales are from repeat customers. A number of people called me after not seeing me at a specific holiday craft fair and bought things directly. (I love the sales without the corresponding booth fee). These two fleece tops were made for a set of twins. It is the third year in a row that they have gotten Bogate Designs' tops for Christmas from their aunt Patty in Vermont. This heathered green fleece is reversible so we alternated the main pullover color so that the boys wouldn't be too matchy-matchy. I don't know if it shows up in the pictures, but I also did some handstitching on the truck to define the wheels better. These tops are a first with these applique designs. I like them, but I might try doing reverse applique on the truck's wheels and windows next time - I want really round hubs.