Crafts of Christmas Past

Christmas is a great time for crafters - a time to get out the ribbons and sparkles, sequins and stars. I love making decorations for the Christmas tree. They are small enough to make quickly and can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. This year I have added to my collection by making some couched wool stars. I've used up tiny scraps of wool on a base of felt. Thick and fluffy wools gave a lovely texture when they had been tamed, but  soft chenille and good old double knitting worked well too.  I used leftover threads for the couching, ranging from tapestry wool in the yellow star, to a mixture of metallic machine thread, embroidery floss and strong white cotton in the purple one. Once all the couching had been done, I cut out the star close to the stitching and oversewed the edges to a matching star shape. All the loose ends were trapped inside, and acted as a bit of padding. It was fun to play with the colours on these - the warm yellow star is my favourite.

Since they only appear once a year, Christmas ornaments tend to survive much longer than other homemade efforts. The little green patchwork tree below is about forty years old and was one of my very first patchwork makes, inspired by a picture in the Marks and Spencer Christmas Celebration book. A few years later, I'd moved onto hexagons and a more sophisticated effort with bead decorations.

The little angel originally had a satin dress, which frayed badly, and after a catastrophic fall from the Christmas tree a few years ago she was given a cosy new felt dress and new hair and halo, looking a lot happier for it. 

The angel and her trees.

Father Christmas pops up in various guises on the tree. Here, the sequined Santa was part of a huge kit of Christmas decorations that I sewed while living in America.  All the pieces were stamped onto sheets of felt and numbered, ready to cut out and sew. The sequins, beads and threads were all provided. There was a sheet of instructions with a perplexing array of symbols for what you should do where. The kit maker was Bucilla.

The middle Santa is made from Fimo modelling clay. I'm not sure why he's doing jumping jacks, possible an effort to slim down his perfectly circular belly. He's thin and flat and so rather delicate. I'm always glad to find he's survived another year when I unpack the box of decorations.

The last Santa is a finger puppet, which I used to produce in bulk for school Christmas fairs, which is why he is machine rather than hand sewn. Perhaps this one suffered the indignity of not being sold. He usually swings about on the lower branches of the tree with the bigger baubles. 

Father Christmas, of course, needs stockings to fill. The stripy stocking here was a very early effort, carefully hand sewn. I think the material came from a Laura Ashley patchwork pack, and it has a precious (though now rather grubby) velvet ribbon round the top. The tiny Santa inside is also made from Fimo. He is about three-quarters of an inch tall.

The green plush stocking was made when I acquired a sewing machine with embroidery stitches. It looks like I had fun trying them out, although nowadays I rarely use anything but straight and zigzag stitches. 

The end stockings are both made of felt, decorated with beads, stars and those lovely blue sequins, which it turns out weren't that useful for anything else. I love the curly toe shape of these, although Father Christmas must find it tricky squeezing the presents in. The longest of these stockings is about 4 inches. 

 Happy Christmas!

Christmas Scraps

Every project produces a pile of scraps, whether it's fabric snippings, lumps of wadding or half lengths of thread. Of course these all get saved, because they will certainly 'come in useful' for something else. My fabric scraps are kept together in a large basket, and one afternoon, on a whim, I sorted them all into separate colour bags. This means less scraps fly about when rummaging for a particular colour. However, it also means that any new scraps have to be sorted into their correct bag, and this doesn't always seem like an appealing job. Therefore a new basket has appeared, full of scraps waiting to be sorted. 

I've been using blue, green and white scraps to make small squares and rectangles, with the idea of eventually putting them together somehow to make something. I'm using my favourite technique of raw edge applique, sometimes sewn over the edges and sometimes secured with tiny stitches all over the fabric. I've done both on this star, using metallic thread which makes it sparkle in the light (but not on the photo, unfortuately.) The size is about 3 inches square. 

Much scrappier is this little cottage in the woods scene (a favourite subject!). The sky and background were taken straight from the scrap basket without any trimming, and the trees and house cut roughly into shape. This piece is about 2 inches by 3 inches. I like its haphazard look and loose threads.

At last, the long-suffering Bare Rabbit has a piece of clothing that seems to suit him. In addition to the sewing scraps, there have been knitting and crochet projects over the years, not to mention some impulse buys, and so I have a drawer full of half-finished balls of wool. In here I discovered a bag of very small scraps, which I've crocheted up into a thick lumpy jumper for him. He looks a lot more at home in this than in fancy bloomers or the dreaded spotted dungarees. The colour combination has turned out very well -I'd be happy to wear this jumper too. 

 I improvised the pattern for the jumper, but Bare Rabbit was made from the Luna Lapin pattern. The website is here - https://www.coolcrafting.co.uk/luna-lapin/

 

Gingerbread House

The last place to visit on the Fairy Tale Quilt is the Gingerbread House. I found the perfect  gingerbread coloured cotton for the walls, with a swirled chocolate roof. Some narrow rickrack turned into the icing, with sugary beads sewn on at the points. I thought the stripey bead looked like a mint, so that went on top. A large wooden bead made a chocolate button door handle, and I used tiny buttons in fudgy colours for the flowers and heart, all sewn on with the dreaded invisible thread. The candy canes gave me a bit of trouble. I tried to manufacture some free standing ones out of twisted thread coated with glue. They dried quite successfully, but attaching them was more of a problem. In the end I just embroidered them using a fly stitch, couched over with red thread.

The Gingerbread House features in the German tale of Hansel and Gretel, and far from being a cosy, welcoming place, it was meant to ensnare the children so the witch could fatten them up for eating, after their parents have abandoned them in the forest. I've added a trail of white beads on the quilt to show the trail of stones the children left to find their way home. 

Out of interest, I've looked in some of my fairy tale books to see how they described the Gingerbread Cottage. It seems the walls can be made of bread or buns as well as gingerbread, and the roof could be cake or marzipan. The windows are made of crystal sugar or barley sugar, and sometimes have nut-pastry frames, which sounds very tasty. You might also find brandy-snaps, raisins, lollipops and sweets to nibble on, and even candyfloss smoke coming out of the chimney. Who wouldn't want to go inside? Although it does seem a bit rude to march up to someone's house and start eating it, without asking first! 

Wikipedia mentions some interesting variations on the tale here, including a French version - La Cabane au Toit de Fromage, The Hut with the Roof of Cheese. I would find that house very tempting too.

When I've not been sewing this week, I've been relaxing with this jigsaw, which features a patchwork quilt designed by Kaffe Fassett. Quite a tricky one to do, in fact, involving peering at tiny pieces of the patterns and trying to match them up. Over the years I have found the work of Kaffe Fassett a huge inspiration, and own several of his books.

 The first one was Glorious Needlepoint, back in the eighties, and I still remember it being a revelation that you could put many shades of the same colour into a piece and get a beautiful result. I also have his Glorious Knitting book, much thumbed, and I made a pile of shawls on circular needles in wild colours following his patterns. The only adult jumper I've ever managed to knit was a blue and green sawtooth creation from this book. Sadly, it wasn't made to last, and I don't seem to have a photo of it in all its lumpy glory. 

This quilt was finished in 2008, and is my favourite of all the ones I've made. It was based on a design from Kaffe's Passionate Patchwork book, and is hand pieced and hand quilted. I can remember sitting on the carpet to quilt it, with one of our pet gerbils perched on my knee.

On a much simpler scale, here's a wonky little pencil pot, made from random stitching over scraps of toning fabric. Unlike the quilts, there was no planning in this at all. At first it was a bit of scrap to try something out on, then the stitching became denser and I liked the look and the feel of it, so I just carried on. By the time it was full, I like it too much to abandon it, so I sewed it onto a thick backing fabric and attached the bottom to a circular base. Little pots are always handy - I'll probably keep some playing cards in this one. I've included it here because it uses the same inspiration - lots of shades of the same colour, blended together. 

Kaffe Fassett's website is here

 

Castles

 

This week I have been adding the finishing touches to some of the grander residences on the Fairy Tale Quilt. The castle in the very centre is composed of glowing tawny fabrics, with some deep blue starry stuff to add a touch of magic. It has good strong doors with hooks and eyes for hinges and knockers, and the design of the fabric give the impression of many windows. Perhaps someone is looking out, waiting for the arrival of Cinderella for the Prince's Grand Ball.

At the top of the quilt, we find the Sultan's Palace, bedecked with jewels. It may be that the genie has just conjured it up, as a grand home for Aladdin. However,  I have just started reading a  translation of the Arabian Nights , so I am hoping to discover a host of strange and wonderful characters who could be lurking in here. There will certainly be enough subject matter for a whole new quilt. Hmm...

A bit less grand is the castle of Sleeping Beauty. The briars are beginning to creep up the walls, but they have a long way to go to cover the castle. Inside, the king, queen, princess and everybody else are all snoring away gently. I knew that wicked witch was up to something!

When it comes to designing buildings, this book has been a great inspiration over the years. It has photographs of every type of building you could want, from tiny cottages to towering cathedrals, ghostly ruins to grand country homes, and a smattering of bridges, churches, lakes and rose gardens. It's especially good for when I want to do some drawing - the wonky angles of the old buildings are very forgiving if you can't draw a straight line!

Dare you enter?

Last week we visited Grandma's comfy cottage with her washing on the line. But Grandma's neighbour

is a lot less welcoming. Here the Wicked Witch lives, in a cobwebby house with strange symbols on the door. Incy Wincy Spider has taken up residence on the roof, at least till the rain washes him down. The witch is out and about, wearing a enchanting gold swirled dress and casting spells with her magic wand. She's certainly up to no good.

Every Wicked Witch should have a black cat. This one has sneaked out of the house and popped next door to Grandma's cottage, where Little Red Riding Hood has foolishly left the basket outside. The cat doesn't look like he fancies the fruit cake, but there may be a jug of cream at the bottom of the basket. I'm sure Grandma is good-hearted enough to let him have a saucer full.

Someone else with a large appetite is Tiny Dragon, who lives in this cave. He has been catching fish in the river and had a bit of a feast. The little bat in the cave seems a bit worried that he might be next on the menu. Unfortunately, Tiny Dragon is not very houseproud; he has left his fishbones all over the floor, and his treasure is spilling out of the cave. 

Finally, we have the intrepid Mouse of Hickory Dickory Dock, perhaps out searching for cheese. He's on his way up the clock, but if we notice the time, he'll soon be on his way back down when the clock strikes one. Hopefully he won't run into the Witch's cat. 

There were lots of tiny bits to sew on this week, and I've spent a lot of time trying to get the invisible thread through the tiny hole of the beading needle, and, even worse, trying to undo the invisible knots. A little bit of witch's magic might have made it easier!

 

Grandma's Washing Line

If Cinderella is looking out of her pumpkin-carriage window, she will have a great view of Grandma's enormous lacy bloomers on the washing line. These are surely large enough for the Big Bad Wolf to squeeze into, should he come calling, but Grandma must have very skinny legs, judging by her spotted socks. She is clearly a keen needlewoman and her cheerful patchwork quilt is out on the line too. 

At last, the frog has a crown. I had initially thought of this as a frog prince, but a better story is included  in 'The Starlight Princess' book mentioned last week. Here the frog is actually a clever princess with magical powers. In her frog shape, she marries the youngest of three princes and manages to outwit the lazy wives of the elder brothers. In this version of the story, she turns back into a princess and the pair dance away into the night, who knows where? A great ending for a story!

Like all fairy tales, there are many version of this, some of them not nearly so happy. There's some information about the story here .

Meanwhile, at the doorway to the Sultan's palace, someone has been rubbing the magic lamp. The genie is very flashy with his magic, bursting out in a flurry of stars. He's ready to grant the three wishes, but he's got a knowing smile on his face. What could possibly go wrong?

 

Horses and Carriages

One of the most fun parts of making the Fairy Tale Quilt has been adding all the tiny details, with whatever comes to hand. This week, the two lumpy horses on the quilt, with physiques that  look like they could barely stand up, let alone pull a carriage, have finally acquired manes, legs and tails, while their carriages have got some wheels, to make the job of hauling around princesses a bit easier. 

Cinderella has a roomy pumpkin to travel to the ball in, with little net curtains at the window and sturdy wooden buttons for wheels, which hopefully won't joggle her around too much. 

Cinderella's pumpkin carriage trundles off to the ball

Meanwhile, the princess from Puss in Boots is taking a ride in this fancy carriage, pulled along by a rare leopard patterned horse with a steely glint in its eye. I had fun decorating the carriage with ribbons and sequins, and glossy buttons for the wheels. The Ugly Duckling, looking rather cute, is splashing about in his pond as she goes by.

The royal carriage, about to be waylaid by Puss in Boots.

Like everyone else, princesses get hungry, so I've added a handy baker's shop for them to call in at. There are five currant buns in the window, round and fat with sugar on top, made from tiny chunky buttons with a white bead sewn through the holes.

Hopefully no-one has noticed the Gingerbread Man making his escape down to the river. I wonder how far he will get. 

Off goes the Gingerbread Man

There are some feisty princesses in this book, illustrated with beautiful embroideries by Belinda Downes. My favourite is the African princess whose husband hatches out of an egg. They live happily ever after, of course, but she keeps the pieces of eggshell, just in case he needs to go back from where he came. 

 

Little Trolls

Behind the recent parade of witches, ghosts and other beasties, the Fairy Tale Quilt has been progressing slowly in the background. It has its own share of monsters, though in my magical world, they are all quite amiable and unlikely to eat you, even if you do trip-trap over their bridges. The troll finally has his face back on, and sports a good head of woolly hair and plaited beard. It looks like he's doing a bit of a dance, maybe because the goats are all far away on the other side of the quilt. 

There's also a dragon on the quilt, looking a bit pensive. He's modelled after a favourite family toy, complete with pom-pom eye, although nowadays the real Tiny Dragon is looking a lot more raggedy than this. The brown shape at the bottom of the picture is his cave. Perhaps I will sew him a bit of gold and other treasures inside it, to please his dragonish tendencies. 

By the look of his stomach, Tiny Dragon has certainly just eaten something!

I enjoyed sewing the curly leaf stems onto the beanstalk, once I had finally decided which thread to use. It's a green perle thread, which matched the ric-rac stalk, and I have couched it on, rather than try to stitch with it. 

Trolls are common in Scandinavian folklore and there are some beautifully drawn ones in this 

a collection of magical tales illustrated by John Bauer, a Swedish artist. Like the one on the book's cover, these trolls dress themselves in furs and trinkets, and look out of the pictures with curious eyes.  

It doesn't hurt to have a small troll pottering about the house. This one was bought from a shop in Norway, picked out of a huge tub filled with his identical siblings. I wonder if he was pleased to be chosen? At any rate, he has made himself at home on my shelf, and is quite fun to draw, when I'm in the mood for a bit of sketching.

Tiny Troll and Happy Apple

Getting Ghostly

 

October is my favourite month of the year, and this week there has been some great autumn weather for walking: sometimes chill and crisp, sometimes mysterious and misty, sometimes a breezy swirl of leaves. I collected a handful of newly-fallen leaves from the old track where I walk most days, and used them to print on a piece of bright yellow cotton. A box of ancient fabric paints was unearthed, which were revived with a bit of water and vigorous stirring.  I used a sponge to dab around the leaves, with just enough on the veins to make a mark. The print has come out warm and energetic, and I was quite pleased with the result, despite the patchiness. I think I will add some stitching to it eventually. It will serve as a reminder of a favourite walk.

A lot of mess was made in the production of this humble sample.

As Hallowe'en approaches, I thought Lumpy Witch needed a pet, and decided on a frog to match her green skin. I have a lot of wool for needle-felting after an online purchase a few years ago, when I failed to look at the quantities. This little chap didn't make much of a dent in the stash - perhaps I should make a whole pond of them. He's about 5cm high, all wool except for his black bead eyes. He's sitting in a witch's cauldron, also wool, and not looking very happy about it, although he could just jump away!

Somehow, frogs seem much easier to make in 3D.

Finally, another train journey this week requires a bit of sewing. To complement the parade of witches, I've set up a troupe of ghosts to wander under a misty moon. At the moment, the fabric is lightly sewed on with tiny stitches, which I will continue adding to, until the piece has a nice texture. The ghostly material is a bit of offcut from a wedding dress, and the blues are remnants from my old, indescribable garment and a scrap of chiffon. I like the way the ghosts are just drifting along - there is something about things in line which immediately makes you wonder what the story is. 

On a ghost walk

There's an unusual ghost in this book by Berlie Doherty, illustrated by Jane Ray. Jinnie Ghost floats through children's bedrooms, bringing dreams, passing through, saying nothing - a ghost you could almost welcome into your home. Jane Ray is one of my favourite artists. Her book illustrations are always beautiful and evocative, and full of tiny details. They combine, in this book, with lovely poetic language. 

There's lots more of Jane Ray's art on her website, janeray.com

The beautiful art of Jane Ray

Lumpy Witch

 

After last week's parade of witches, I was in the mood for a bit more Hallowe'en sewing. It's a great time of the year to be creative - lovely colours, fantastic characters and endless rain, so there's no choice but to stay inside making things. 

I thought it would be fun to make a decorated witch's cloak, and decided I would kit Bare Rabbit out with the full ensemble. I swathed the poor thing in sombre material and stuck in the pins to style a long dress. Bare Rabbit stared back in disdain - there was no way this gentle creature could ever be witchified. Chastened, I returned him to his shelf, and pondered the problem. 

I would have to make a new witch. 

Lumpy Witch, smiling through adversity

Small and simple is best, so I used a 'cookie cutter' pattern, about 6 inches from head to toe. This is very easy to sew - just pin the paper on the two sides of fabric and sew round the outside. Then cut out the shape leaving a seam allowance and clipping the curves. 

Onward to the stuffing. The witch's arms and legs were a bit fiddly, and as she gradually filled up, I noticed how lumpy she was turning out, necessitating some firm pummelling. She also had a very thick neck, which was reined in with a tightly wound thread. This left her with some wrinkles, but she's a witch, after all. I wasn't entirely satisfied, but the felt obliged to give the poor lumpy body at least a chance. 

I sewed her a little bodice, and a patchwork skirt from bits in the tiny scrap bag, and edged them with wool.  Her hat was a triangle decorated with scattered cross stitch (foolishly, after it had been sewn into shape). She has the standard face of black bead eyes and a fly stitch mouth, with the last of my tiny green pompoms for a nose. Fluffy purple wool made her some suitably uncontrollable hair. 

The cloak

Finally the cloak, which had been the original point of this exercise. I used a rectangle of old, dark blue sheet, with swathes of fraying chiffon attached by scattered stitches in variegated threads. I lined and edge-stitched it, then added a running stitch in perle thread to make a tie. 

All in all, I was rather pleased with this character, who is probably stuck with the name 'Lumpy Witch', even though, like most of us, she looks a lot better with her clothes on. 

There's a great witch in Tom Gauld's children's book 'The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess'. She's kind and clever, and, like Lumpy Witch, green.  I'm a huge fan of Tom Gauld's cartoons, and this book is charming and whimsical, and has a heart-warming story (and it even mentions a magic pudding!). I especially love the pictures of the inventor's workshop and the witch's room, stuffed full of wonderful objects.

Here's the link to the book on Tom Gauld's website, which also includes downloadable colouring pages.  Who could resist?

Buttons, Beads and Bobbin

I have been on my travels this week, with a lovely few days on Deb's new boat, including a bit of foraging in the market, the antique hall and the art shop. I couldn't resist the glass beads - I was very pleased to find the round black ones, because they are perfect for eyes, which means I can get on with adding the faces to the Fairy Tale quilt. I also got a bag of small shell buttons, which have a lovely sheen. It's hard not to see faces in two-hole buttons, and because these are natural and imperfect, there are some interesting expressions among them.  Then we treated ourselves to some stones from the market. The black piece is apparently from Whitby, and contains a mass of tiny fossils. The other is, I think, striped calcite palm stone, and I bought it for its beautiful lines and colours. 

An artistic selection of my new purchases. Now I will have to sort them all back into their little bags.

To our great joy, there was a sale of DMC embroidery thread in the art shop, so we treated ourselves to four skeins each. I'm looking forward to using the new variegated thread - but I'm not sure on what! I also got a present from Deb, a vintage loom spool which will eventually be used to make a scroll. All the cotton has to be wound from it first.

Lovely colours, and a lot of cotton to use up

Travelling by train is a good time to get a bit of sewing done, if it isn't too crowded, but I've learnt from experience that some sorts of sewing work better than others. Joining inch-sized paper hexagons was too fiddly, and it's hard to evenly hand quilt when the train is jolting around. So for this journey I prepared a bit of easy stitching in honour of Hallowe'en. These ten little witches are marching along in their hats and cloaks, looking quite determined. They are about 4cm high, including their hats, and are cut from the bits in the tiny scrap bag. They are attached with minute seed stitches in a single strand of thread, and their hair and arms are six strands, couched on, although, in retrospect, I wished I'd used wool for their hair. The background is adorned with cross stitch, to give it a bit of texture. The advantage of seed stitching is that it doesn't really matter where the stitches go, and its nice to feel all the floppy bits of loose fabric merge into a single piece. 

Witches on the move - I wonder where they are going?

Finally, I thought I would show some of the books in my collection that have given me inspiration over the years. This one is Fairy Tale Quilts and Embroidery by Gale Harker, first published in 1992. Inside, there's lots of advice on planning, sources, materials and techniques, and full colour pictures of some beautiful works by a range of artists. My favourite is the quilt shown on the front cover, especially as the princess is peeping out from her own patchwork quilt. The designer of this quilt clearly didn't have my problem with drawing frogs!

Big Bloomers

Bare Rabbit has some bloomers! 

I was nearly defeated by the first leg of pintucks, which took a long session of folding, pinning, undoing, re-pinning and several cups of tea. The wobbly result is evident! However, after a good night's sleep, the second leg seemed much easier, and I flew through sewing on the gathered trim and up the seams. 

However, it quickly became obvious that the bloomers were going to be huge on Bare Rabbit's skinny legs, not at all how they looked in the book. I debated taking in the side seams for a better fit, but decided not to bother. For one thing, the whole bloomers thing seems a bit below Bare Rabbit's quiet dignity, and the exercise was to improve my sewing skills, which I certainly have done.

I'm not sure why some of the clothes seem to have come out too big. At any rate, I feel I've learned enough for now from this book, and I'm going to have a look for another machine project, because I have enjoyed the process very much. 

The Fairy Tale Quilt is progressing too. All the main pieces are attached, and it's time to add a bit of personality. I'm using tiny beads for eyes, noses and hooves, and had to hunt through the drawer of 'things used once a decade' to find the beading needles. There were two left in a pack of four  (I wonder where the other two are lurking) and both were bent, but, luckily, skinny enough for the tiniest, fiddliest beads. 

Faces can be a bit unpredictable. The slightest crooked stitch or misplaced bead can cause these lovable characters to turn into brooding evil masterminds. Puss in Boots, however, looks like a kindly soul; a bit ironic, because he was a cunning trickster in the story.

Puss in Questionable Boots

Meanwhile, Daddy Bear has the glazed look of a father who was dragged out of bed too early on a Sunday morning and forced to go for a walk before he's even had his porridge. (You can see it cooling in the cottage window.) He too has a pleasant smile, though. A little fly stitch works wonders for the mood.

A hungry bear and his bowl of porridge.

Interestingly, the story of the three bears is included in my German book of Fairy Tales, but in this version, the rotten thief is not a golden haired girl, but a little old lady who utters bad words when things are not to her liking. I much prefer this version, although there is the worrying possibility that she is arrested and thrown into an asylum at the end. Hopefully, I have misunderstood the German.

Finally, here are a couple of Billy Goats Gruff, with their trip-trapping legs flying, although they are nowhere near the bridge. You can imagine those little beaded hooves would make enough noise to try the patience of any troll. I have a soft spot for trolls, and don't like to think of them being bad tempered. Perhaps he'd just had a hard day. 

Clueless-looking goats. They should muffle their hooves.

 

Tatty Tales

 

This week, I finished the tiny book of fairy tale pictures, and gave it a suitable name - Tatty Tales.  The cover is made from brushed cotton sheeting with a starry pattern. This is left over scrap from a quilt backing and is a lovely soft grey. The book measures about 7 x 7 cm, and about 1.5 cm thick, with four double pages inside. The lettering is cut from scraps of an indescribable old garment, in strips of about 2mm, and sewed round the edges, fraying furiously as I made my way round. 

My favourite of the pages is Frau Holle. I came across this story in a German book of fairy tales, which I've been reading to practice very rusty German. The advantage of reading fairy tales in another language is that you mostly know the stories, and therefore can take a decent stab at any new vocabulary. However, I had not come across Frau Holle before. 

In the story, she is visited in turn by both a hard-working and a lazy girl. She lets them stay with her, if they do her housework, and, in particular, shake her featherbed so heartily that the feathers fly, for this will make it snow in the world below. In the way of fairy tales, the hard-working girl gets rewarded with gold and the lazy one gets punished with a bucket of pitch. You can't just sit around in a fairy tale!

My picture shows the first girl hard at work shaking out snowflakes. It looks like she's been at it some time, because she's standing in a deep snowdrift. Also, the stars are out, so it must be night - surely  Frau Holle is waiting to go to bed. Perhaps the hard workers aren't always a blessing either.

The Frau Holle picture makes the centre spread in the book.

This week, I also made the rabbit's shirt. I used a bit of an old duvet cover, which had worn thin and had a subtle stripe. The sewing was very fiddly, especially round the sleeves and collar, and I was a bit carefree with the hemming, which means the bottom fronts don't quite match up. Still, I count this another success - it's not perfect, but my skills and knowledge are slowly improving. My next challenge will be some knickerbockers -the poor thing has sat around with a bare bottom for long enough. 

Bare Rabbit now has a range of clothes, none of which match!