Quick and Easy Gifts

Nana Fun:  This is 9 yo Laurel’s note to Santa. With grandchildren, there is always something to smile about.  Like the fact that her house does have a fireplace and a chimney.  Was she messing with ol’ Santa?

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recipe designs from Embroidery Library, raspberries from Ace Points Raspberries, strawberries from Ace Points Strawberry Delight

Many of you know this blog was down for almost two weeks before Christmas.  Because of that, there is a backlog of sewing projects waiting to be shared.

With a long list of recipients and a month-long variety of unexpected demands on my time, it was apparent that the gifts must be quick and easy.  Nothing is faster than machine embroidery on a  ready made item so most of my gifts were of that kind.  Many were towels from All About Blanks.

gingerbread recipe design from Hatched in Africa’s Winter Recipes

Do you ever have something grab your interest so you want to find out all about it, locate all similar designs, find a good use for it?  That’s how I felt when I discovered recipe machine embroidery designs.  At Embroidery Library, I found these jam and jelly recipes–each one shown as well as one for grape jelly.   The first two gifts were sent off before I realized that I preferred a look with more color.  So an apple, strawberry or raspberry design was added to each of the next recipe towels.

Each towel was teamed with a jar of  jam or preserves that matched the recipe. There was a time when I would have made my own jams and preserves, but that day has passed.  So for more than 6 months, I have been on the look out for jelly jars that matched these recipes.   When Christmas came, I was ready.

TIP:  I do have a suggestion for anyone who stitches recipe towels.  The first two took far longer to pick out the tear away stabilizer behind all that text than it did to mark, hoop and embroider.  After that, I wisely hooped a heavy water soluble stabilizer, stitched the text of the recipe first and then floated a piece of tear away under the area where the fruit was stitched.  This was much more satisfactory.

from BunnyCup’s O Christmas Tree collection

Not all the towels were embroidered with recipes.  Other friends were given one of these Christmas towels.

Tree from Kreations by Kara’s  Fantasy Christmas Trees tand All is Calm from Amazing Designs Christmas IV set

A few months ago, Jane, one of my dear PlayGroup Mama friends, was finally blessed with her first grandchild, little Harry.  Every year she hosts our group Christmas dinner at her home so this towel was given as a hostess gift and in celebration of this long-awaited baby.

gingerbread design from Dakota Collectibles Christmas Applique’ collection

With Christmas sewing finished, I’m moving on to a first birthday dress for Vivian Rose.  What are you sewing?