Marg Low Designs

no hand sewing required

This tree is a favourite of mine. It features in the the book All Things Christmas.

It's nice to needle turn appliqué.

 

Perfect for felt appliqué on a set of pillows; they are addictive.

 

And here it is as tag using the raw edge appliqué technique.

Once I had the fabrics chosen it was so quick to do. I just started sewing and worked things out like, what to do about the edges and how to hang it as I went. On a whim the edges were trimmed with scalloped edged scissors and eyelets added. No hand sewing required!

If you'd like to make the tag, follow the instructions for the Birdie Tag (page 17) and the Oh Christmas Tree - Pillows diagram (page 6) as a guide.

 

The plan is to do a little more decorating this weekend. The longer I leave it the less time there is to enjoy it.

The bunting, Must be Christmas, will be one of the first things to go up.  The flags are stitched with a Christmas alphabet with crazy patchwork flags in between.

Now the fabrics used in the sample are long gone but I do have some lovely ones that can be substituted. You'll find a kit for the bunting here.

Please note, I cannot guarantee orders placed now will arrive before Christmas. It's safer to assume they won't to avoid disappointment.

 

counting down

There is no avoiding the fact, Christmas is a little over nine weeks away. That's nine Fridays, not including today. I've made a list of things I'd like to make for decorations and gifts. The aim is to make one per week and post about it. You'll remember I did this last year and I can happily say it worked a treat keeping me focussed and on track.

This is a nice way for me to revisit some of my patterns, seeing what they look like in new fabrics, trying different threads and trims. It's also an excuse to remake some of those things I always wanted to make more than one of but never had the time. 

The Felt Birdies from the book, All Things Christmas, is one I could keep making over and over again, just to see what it looks like in different coloured felts.

 

 

The thing I find inspiring about Christmas today is the break from traditional colours. This doesn't mean I still don't love the tradition of red and green, but there is something very exciting about decorating with your favourite colours.

Happiness is .....

Can you believe I almost forgot to make this week's decoration? My focus has been on next year's club - Happiness is..... I have to have three of the projects made before Quilt Market next week. One's done, the second almost and the third is still floating around in my head.

Last night I wasn't really up for any Christmas stitching but I'm determined not to fail. I picked something that didn't need too much thought and could be done in relative short time; the Tree Decoration from All Things Christmas.

It's a nice size to tie to presents and can be easily personalised.

 

 NEW Make Merry patterns

The two new Make Merry patterns, Home and Sleigh are now available from my online store.

The patterns are $6.00 each plus P&H.

Make Merry - Home

Make Merry - Sleigh

Kits will be available after Quilt Market, unless I find some spare time.

and the winners are......

Thank you to everyone who entered the draw for my new book All Things Christmas.

I love reading all your comments, it does make the long hours all worthwhile.

The three lucky winners are

Dianne commented 30 July

Karen Reid commented 31 July, and

fran commented 4 August

Please email me with your address and a signed copy will be posted ASAP.

 

All Things Christmas

For your chance to win a copy of my new book

All Things Christmas

simply post a comment by Monday 5th August.

I have three books to giveaway.

If you prefer, you can order a copy of the book here.

Please indicate if you would like your copy signed.

For this month only, there will be no postage charged on Australian orders

& postage on overseas orders will be discounted 50%.

Good luck with the draw!

Related articles

Christmas in July - one more sleep

christmas in july workshop

printed & ready for the show

Ok, I can take a deep breath now and relax. My new book was delivered this afternoon. To be honest I wasn't sure if it would be ready in time. I was reluctant to phone the printers for an update, and put off phoning until the suspense got the better of me. 

As the name suggests the book is all about Christmas. Lots of little projects that are just right to make for gifts.

Now all I have to do is remember to pack it in the car along with the samples before setting off early tomorrow morning for the trip to Melbourne.

If your coming to the Craft & Quilt Fair, make sure you drop by and have a look at the book and samples as well as Sarah's Sampler (1855) and other new things! 

You'll find Jan & I at Stand G29.

See you there!

 

Christmas in July at Avonleigh

The weekend came and went too quickly. A big thank you to Kay and Sharon of Avonleigh for organising such a great weekend. There was laughter, good conversation, yummy food and a great deal of creativity.

There was a variety of projects to choose from, Felt Birdies, Jolly Santa, Gift Cones, small Red & White quilt, a little tag embellished with a Theodora Cleave button and an ever so quick birdie gift tag. The start is always a bit hectic as two, three or four different projects have to be explained, but it doesn't take too long before everyone is working at their own pace. 

The most popular projects were the Felt Birdies. They look fantastic and I love them hanging beside Sue's applique border for Sarah's Sampler (1855). Lots of fun mixing and matching felt colours, combining wool and cotton threads and embellishing them with decorative stitches and trims.

 

The Santas were a favourite too. Well who doesn't like Santa?

 

Gabbi decided to make a cone and do it quickly, so with a couple of shortcuts, all perfectly acceptable and encouraged, it was made in under an hour. This inspired more cones.

 

Di's cone.

Beth's cone.

Di & Beth embellished theirs with felt and decorative stitches.

 

Miranda chose the small quilt, started Saturday, changed her mind in the middle of the night and put this together Sunday. Can't wait to see it finished. This has to be be my favourite colour combination.

Thank you to the girls for making the weekend so enjoyable and their desire to do it all again next year.

 

All Things Christmas

Two things happened today. I finalised the artwork for my new book  'All Things Christmas' and picked up Sarah's Sampler (1855) from the quilters. This is very exciting as it means both projects are close to being finished!