~a few thoughts on decorating for Christmas~

Happy Monday friends!!

oh was it rugged.....draggin' everyone

out of bed at 6 am.....after a week long

vacation & par-tay....;)

it's hard getting everyone out of their warm &

cozy beds.....and out the door into the

chilly, damp and foggy morning....

before

the sun is up....

but they're all up & gone....

it's just me & the pooch here at home....

{this isn't her...but looks just like her!

hmmm....maybe I'll try for a similar shot!}

did you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving??

we really did.....so much fun spending time

with my brother & his family

stayed up late every night....played games

and hung out....did not step foot into a store~

with the exception of buying this & that

for cooking.....

{absolutely insane game.....my kids could not

get enough of it! hence the staying up late each

night!!}

well the only bummer about being gone all

weekend was coming home

to all our neighbors having their

outdoor lights & decorations up.....

ruh-roh....the pressure builds.....

time to get started......yesterday....;)

isn't this the cutest little Christmas cone?

love it!

so easy to make & stuff with little goodies....

I know one element I'll be adding to my

Christmas decor......

and that is....sheepskin....

 around the house

and maybe under the tree?

I started noticing this last year but at

that time it was a little late to add it in ~

but not this year!

doesn't it look great under a cute tree?

I absolutely love how our nordic friends

decorate for the holidays.....

how they use sheepskin

&

 how they throw little baby trees into jars of water .....

hmmmm....where to find a little spruce I

can pull out by the roots????

Mr. T & T is out of town this week so

if stuff is gonna be hauled out of the attic

it's gotta be hauled out tonight.....

....cuz I need my stuff....

like my little sleds.....

I usually set them out on the front porch ~

but would love to use one inside....

anyone else do this?

am I like way slow on this?

do you all do this already?

love this little vignette on a coffee table too....

the mercury glass with the pinecones

is perfect together....

pinecones are so fun to decorate with....

it's so easy to change up things

by adding a few pinecones & greens...

pinecones, greens, a little lace & silver....

add in some ironstone....

love it.....

did you all get started on decorations

this weekend?

or ~gasp~ finish decorating?

{fyi...please don't tell me yes on that one.....

I need my sanity this week....hee hee.....}

oh the pressure we put on ourselves huh? ;)

Hope you are all happy & content

and

 feeling un-pressured

and un-hurried

and

can enjoy the beginning of this

Christmas season.....!

xoxo,

Shellagh

{all images can be found here}

~Happy Thanksgiving & a winner!~

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We are having a wonderful time

visiting family in the Seattle

area! 

Spending time with my "little"

brother.....so fun!

{he's got a death grip on my hand to stop the tickling :)....}

we'v'e been baking, laughing, cooking,

giggling, playing games, and

looking through very old pictures

of family....

 and *bonus*

he loves to cook!!

kinda nice break for me!

So the winner of the

2 stockings & a 20%

discount on stuff from

the Ticking and Toile Linen Shoppe

by random number generator.....

which selected #84

the lucky girl is............

Andrea (AndeM1) !!!!

I'm so excited ~ because Andrea was

one of my very first customers way back

when my store first opened!!

and the sweetie girl already ordered a stocking

for her close friend!  Now you get your

own 2 stockings for free,  Andrea! :)

Thanks so much everyone for following

my blog & supporting my store :)

I feel like I have a big group of friends

out there that I can pour my heart out to

anytime......I am grateful for you all &

for your friendships!

Hope you have a wonderful

Thanksgiving!!!!

xoxo,

Shellagh



~ruffle stocking tutorial~

Hello everyone!!

sheesh ~ we are having major rain and wind

today......lovely little storm to welcome in

the holidays....:}

lucky for me I don't have to go out in it too much...

I mean, certainly wouldn't want to head to the gym

or anything crazy like that......

and even though I have rain gear....I certainly won't be running outside in

this....I mean, if I did that, I might accidentally burn a few calories.....

so I'm excited to show you this tutorial on

making ruffled stockings....seems everyone

was pretty excited to give it a try ~ so

here we go!! 

If you need a stocking pattern you can find one

here

once you have your pattern cut out

you can cut out your stocking pieces

*you'll be cutting:

2 stocking pieces in white linen

2 lining pieces in white muslin

one piece of linen for the ruffle

one piece of linen for the hang tab

~side note: you'll need approx. 1/2 yard of each

fabric~

~*~

first, pin and then sew together

the muslin stocking pieces &

the linen stocking pieces.

but....leave a 3 inch opening in the muslin

piece~ about half way down between the top

of the stocking & the heal of the stocking.

now set those aside & let's work on the ruffle!

 

for this pattern, the stocking opening

is about 17 inches around (8.5 inches wide at the top)

so cut approximately one yard

of linen 3.5 inches wide

(for this ruffle as shown, I used about

2x the fabric for gathering)

first: hem the strip if you want a hem,

(just fold over 1/2 inch, iron & fold over 1/2 again and iron for a nice hem)

or

leave it and pull 4 or 5 "rows" of  threads

if you want the frayed ruffle

second: gather the fabric

here is a good video tutorial on gathering

if you would like to see a neat technique I use!

except I use quilting thread not dental floss :)

third:  fold the ruffle over (right sides together)

to form a loop ~ measure it to make sure you

have the right size to match the opening of

the stocking, for this pattern it will be approx. 8.5 inches across, for a total

of 17 inches around

 and leave yourself a 1/2 inch for

seam allowance.  Now sew the little seam to

form a loop.

next, you're going to pin the ruffle to the linen

stocking piece that has been sewn together and

is now right side out

pin the raw edges together, with the ruffle

also right side out

(I know it seams weird to do it that way, but trust me...hee hee ;} )

now go ahead a sew the ruffle on to the top, using

a 1/2 inch seam allowance, or so......making sure

you line up the seams of the ruffle piece & the stocking piece...

{just looks better that way}

next you need to make your little hanging tab....

just cut a piece of linen approx. 8x2 inches and

fold the edges over 1/2 inch (both long edges)

iron, then fold over again, so there's no raw edges...

then stitch down the side

you'll end up with a nice finished tab like this.....

now pin that piece onto the ruffle (raw edges together)

and make sure it's on the heal side of the stocking!!!

{not that I did that wrong once or twice....argh....Mr. T & T was like well,

it looks fine that way....ahahahahahah....I'm like, no honey, you can't hang

stockings like that....hee hee....what a cutie}

if I were you, I would quickly stitch that little

guy on, cuz that little tab is known to aggravate & terrorize

certain linen shoppe owners by slipping out while

stitching the whole piece together....ahem....

and one more thing.....make sure you line up the tab

with the ruffle seam & stocking seam....

ok next the fun & magical part....:)

tuck the whole linen piece into the muslin piece....

the linen piece will be right side out, tucked into

the muslin piece which is inside out

like sooooo..........

next you're going to pin all the raw edges together

and sew around the whole thing.....

now for the a.m.a.z.i.n.g. part.....

remember the little 3 inch section you remembered

to leave unstitched...

oh you forgot?

yup....so did I....only every single time though....

for you smarties out there who didn't forget,

good job!  for the rest of us....get out your seam ripper

and open up the muslin seam about 3 inches...hahahaha

now reach in there & start pulling the stocking out

through the opening...

keep pulling it through.....see how cool this is?

voila!!!!

a lined ruffle stocking!!

just like magic :)

you did it!!

now after you admire your amazing work ~ you

can pull out the lining and stitch down the little opening...

I just top stitch over it right along the edge....

there ya have it!

any questions??

send 'em over to me & I'll see if I know the answer :)

Remember there's still time to enter

the 2 stocking giveaway!!

click here to enter

the winner will be announced Thanksgiving morning....

Have a wonderful day or 2 of baking, and

enjoying time with family & friends!

xoxoxo,

Shellagh



~stocking giveaway!~

Happy Friday friends!!!

My favorite day of the week :)

well, my post yesterday got me in

the mood for creating....and

I decided to make up some stockings!

natural hopsack linen frayed ruffle stocking 

and I had sooooo much fun!!

it's so fun to create & see what you can come

up with!

and I've been really wanting to add some

to my Etsy shoppe but just haven't really

had the time up until now....

so now I have some! yay!!!

now I don't have to feel so LAME!!

yay!!!! hee hee hee :)

white linen ruffle stocking

I have so much fabric.....I mean ~

so much fabric

that it was just fun so pull stuff out

and see what I could do.....

 I made some in white, natural, and

flax linen, and distressed cotton with

graphics.....just played....

flax linen frayed ruffle stocking

some with ruffles, without, frayed edge, finished edge....

vintage look grainsack stocking

my sweet friend came over last

night & we just played around

with different graphics

vintage look grainsack stocking

so what do ya think??

this one below has a bigger ruffle...

of course everythings gotta have ruffles....;)

white linen ruffle stocking

next week I'll post the step by step tutorial

on making a ruffle stocking....

just in case you're interested in giving it

a whirl.....

I really have the best followers.....

you guys are so fabulous

~ your comments keep me going and

always put a smile on my face!!

so I'd love to giveaway.....

2 stockings of your choice!!

plus.....

a 20% discount on your

Ticking and Toile Linen Shoppe

purchase*

All ya gotta do is....

for each entry:

1) follow me......

2) like me on facebook

3) like my Etsy linen shoppe

4) post my giveaway on

your blog, facebook, pinterest,

or twitter....

5) tell me what new stocking you like best!!

Giveaway ends Nov. 23rd

Have a fabulous weekend!!

xoxo,

Shellagh

*now for the fine print.....20% discount applies

to everything but the Annabelle Dust Ruffle....

because there is just not that much margin in there!!!

~cold weather crafts~

Hello everyone!

How is blogland doing today?

it's Thursday, which means almost

Friday.....yay!!!

we have been a bit stormy & cold here

lately....

brrrrrr....

.....cold.....wet.....windy.....

which has got me thinking....

~cozy~

need warm blankets...

fireplace...

hot cocoa....

errr....dare I say need hibernation?

hee hee....if only.....right?!

if only kiddos didn't need driven around

and groceries didn't need to be bought

and people didn't need to go places....

I would hibernate....

I'm afraid....

but alas.....we can't do that sort of thing....

it wouldn't be socially acceptable...would it?

{uh, excuse me....I'll be back in April...well ok May when the sun

comes back....just carry on without me....I'll just be here in my

blanky with my book, next to my imaginary fireplace, drinking my

hot cocoa & watching a Jane Austen movie or 2 or 3 or 4 or ??}

no can do....

no such thing...

life carries on....wet rainy cold or not!!

so gotta make the best of it.....{I'm afraid

I'll be saying that a lot for the next 6 months!

ha ha ha :)}

so let's be like Martha & make some stuff!

that always makes the wintery cold

months go by faster.....

aren't these blanket stockings fun??

I've seen so many blanket & sweater stockings around...

got an old chenille blanket around that's

too tattered for using??

...perfect for a stocking....

these are just too cute....think of all those old

sweaters you've got that are too dated, too worn out,

too big, too small, etc...etc...

go grab ya one....and start cutting....

yes, and sewing will be required! :)

but shouldn't be too tough....

here's a great link for instructions and a free pattern!

our Christmas stockings are seriously in need

of upgrading....if I can convince my very

sentimental kiddos of it!

I'm definitely going to be making some new ones

here in the next little while....

I'd love to try felting wool & making some

out of that....

anyone else done that yet?

~*~

so what are you working on?

are you squeezing some "crafting"

in while "hibernating"

in your little nest?

in between all the running around &

crazy holiday preparations??

hope so!! :)

xoxo,

Shellagh

{images found here}

update!!

just found this darling stocking

craft made of fringed scarves.....

cute huh??

click here for tutorial :)