Fa la la la la la la la la

That's obviously Deck the Halls! Once upon a time before patch-working I was crazily addicted to cross-stitch and embroidery. Yesterday I got the urge to cross-stich so I quickly drafted a plan for a basic garland and stitched it up in no time.

I used a gorgeous check from Loominous by Anna Maria Horner as the background and perle thread for the stitching. I have to admit I love the simple effect. Because I'm feeling rather generous I've put the chart on Payhip as a free download so anyone can have a go if they fancy it.

I'm currently stitching up an embroidered version using bullion knots and other bulky stitches to get a bit of texture. I'm also waiting on some ridiculously tiny embroidery hoops to arrive and I intend to fill them with mini embroideries to put on the Christmas tree so expect to see more free downloads in the near future.

 Catch you soon x

The Easy Peasy Mini Tote - Free pattern

When I released the Easy Peasy Christmas Sampler I mentioned that I was going to make a Santa sack from one of the blocks. Well, amazingly, I have actually finished it! It's approximately 10 1/2" x 13 1/2", so a decent size for little gifts and for little ones to fill with their favourite possessions when they want to tote them around. I have visions of dinosaurs and Lego being carried around in this one when Christmas is over.

This fantastic dotty print from Gardenvale by Jen Kingwell was the perfect snowy background for the nutcracker block. I wanted to make sure the bag was going to be up to the task of toting toys for a decent amount of time so lining was essential. I used another print from Gardenvale to pull everything together.

This mini tote took less than an hour to make so it's a perfect last minute make. As making this made me feel festive I thought it might be fun to share how I made it so you can make your own!
You can download the PDF pattern free here. I'd love to see you version if you make one so please feel free to email a picture to reene@nelliesniceties.com or use the hashtags #easypeasyminitote #nelliesniceties on social media. Catch you soon x

The Easy Peasy Christmas Sampler

Yvonne, Emily, Katie, Trash, Mandy, Tina, Paula, Mary, Sue, Virginia, Rosie and Maria did me proud.

Thanks to my trusty pattern testers I'm releasing the Easy Peasy Christmas Sampler pattern today!

Here's a badly lit photo of my finished quilt top. I used Kona solids and the stripy prints from Tula Pink's Elizabeth range for this cheerful kid friendly version.

I've designed this quilt to be a very quick project. There is no foundation piecing and all the blocks are designed to be chain pieced to speed things up when making multiple blocks. The Easy Peasy Sampler is made up of multiples of 5 simple blocks: Nutcracker, Candy Cane, Christmas Tree, Star and Stack of Presents. Here are Yvonne's cute print versions...

 

...and Trash's.

The 12 page PDF pattern is in pictorial format so there is very little written instruction, as such it is suitable for people with at least a basic knowledge of patchwork techniques. 

The pattern testers have all enjoyed the pictorial format and have found it very straight-forward to follow, I hope that you will agree. Here's an example of the page layout.

If you don't have time for a full quilt you can use any of the individual blocks as the starting point for smaller projects e.g Santa's sack, cushion cover, table runner. Simply refer to the individual block construction diagrams for cutting instructions and you're good to go. I'm going to turn this little chap into a Santa sack for Mackinlay.

 

 

The blocks are really simple and lend themselves to being blinged up if that is your thing. Yvonne went to town on this little nutcracker block.

 

 

To celebrate the release of this pattern we're offering it for sale at a 50% reduction until the end of November, so grab a bargain now! You can find it in our Etsy and Payhip stores.

 

We'd love to see any projects you make with the pattern so please do send us a picture or use the hashtag #easypeasychristmassampler on social media.

Catch you soon x

Help!

Hello all. Sorry for the blogging gap, again! I've been very busy recently and blogging fell off the to-do list to save my sanity. One of the things I've been busy doing is putting together a pattern for my Easy Peasy Christmas Sampler.

I have actually made the quilt top but haven't managed to get a decent picture of it yet because of the grey and gloomy light we've got at the moment. Hopefully I'll manage to get a decent shot soon!
I've finally finished drafting the pattern and now I'm after some help testing the pattern.

If you can commit to making one single block of your choice from the sampler by Sunday evening (15th November) then I'd love your help. In return for making the block you will receive the full PDF pattern for the sampler. All I'll need from you is a decent photo of your finished block that I can share when I release the pattern next week. The quickest blocks take less than an hour from cutting out to finish so I'm not asking for a great deal of your time. If you've got time to spare between now and Sunday I'd really love your help! Leave a message here with your contact email or email reene@nelliesniceties.com and I'll get back to you. Catch you soon x