Posts Tagged ‘christmas garland’

This past weekend I got started on my Christmas Garland.

While I haven’t found holiday sequins, I already love making this project. It’s so fun to feel like I’m stitching in my grandmother’s footsteps.  After playing with lots of fonts in Illustrator, I opted for tracing my grandmother’s garland by hand rather than using a new font.  It is perfectly narrow and proportioned for the garland.

Since I love simplicity, I kind of like the very subtle look of the sequin I’ve got here.  I’m going to sew a few on with beads and see if I am happy with the result.

I will post a downloadable template for the garland as soon as I’m able to scan the letters and make them presentable.

I was able to get my pinking shears with a 40% off coupon from JoAnns bringing them to around $12.  They are Fiskars Pinking Shears and I am pleased at how well they cut- nice and sharp.

Already the shears are worth their weight in gold as I started another project this weekend with them….

I started making new Christmas stockings.  They are very similar to the garland as they are inspired by the 1950’s style of felt and sequins.

I love all the scope for the imagination with a project like this.  I have felt snowflakes still to cut out and I love the addition of sequins.   I’m still not sure about the pompoms…  I also know this project won’t be complete without some embroidery to make the face and buttons and even some additional snowflakes.

I’ve designed a gingerbread man and candy stocking and an angel with a candle (still in the rough stages of design.)

I ask myself… why didn’t I start these projects in July?  Someday when I’m wiser I will, but for now, better late than never.

Yesterday I picked up this wonderful Merry Christmas garland from my mom.  It looks like something that might have been just made yesterday….

But it wasn’t.  It was made in the early 1960’s by my grandmother and sister, my great aunt Lola, who made 10 or more of them for their sisters and sister-in-laws.

The lettering is stitched to a length of grosgrain ribbon.

The sequins are awesome.  Where in the world do you get reindeer, star and Christmas tree sequins I ask you?  I love the combination of colors and shapes.  On this garland, each sequin is sewn into place with a tiny glass bead.

Aunt Lola’s says that after sewing and sewing sequins they got T-I-R-E-D of sewing sequins…. so they started gluing them into place.  I guess that’s what happens when you have so many sisters.  Some of the sisters received glued garlands.

I just had to include this picture of my grandmother and her sisters.  Aren’t they lovely?  For years they all made handmade gifts for each other each Christmas.  My grandmother is right in the center and Aunt Lola is the 1st on the left. Aunt Lola was a real live Rosie the Riveter in California during WWII… so she could sew sequins and build a bomber plane cockpit.

I will be making my own garland this weekend… since this one is on loan from my Uncle Tyler.  Thanks Ty!  I’ll have it back to you safe and sound before you decorate for Christmas.

Now all I need to do is to find pinking shears.  They have been on my wish list forever!  I could love to buy scalloped shears… but I may have to settle for pinking since I have a bee in my bonnet to get this project done.