Napkin Challenge, Fair and Stash use reports for November

Some time ago I took the challenge from Mrs. Moen to create something inspired by a napkin, and the deadline was Dcember 1st. I chose these two paper napkins I had at home.

And this is what I ended up with:

It is a little table runner made from materials I had in stash, like a red plaid shirt from a charity shop, and the golden yellow binding of the fabric I used for the Mystery Quilt a few weeks ago. I used my gingerbread cutters to draw the gingerbread appliquéd on the top, and some white rick-rack for icing. The light is bad at this time of the year so I have no better pictures. I have machine quilted the runner in a grid along some of the lines in the plaid. Mrs. Moen's blog has a list of links to all blogs who joined this challenge, and the list may be growing in the next few days.

I used only fabrics from my stash to make this table topper, about 40 cm in all. I counted my secret projects and a curtain and the little things for the Christmas shop and ended up with the huge 9.25 m of fabrics used in November. I also have bought some, like two baby prints on sale, and two fat quarters I bought at the Elma fair last weekend, and a baby flannel (I'm planning to make a baby quilt for the shop now that someone finally bought the red and white polka dot quilt I made last summer). That all adds up to 3.7 m of bought fabrics. I still used 5.55 m more than I bought!

The fair was as nice as every year. The countryside part of the fair had a lama show.

We skipped the Forest part this year, and the DIY part as Mr. Kotkarankki was busy with meetings all day, and the Pet part just because we don't have pets, but we spent quite a lot of time at the Arts and Crafts part.

The granny square blanket is hanging sideways, but you get the idea. Here is all I bought at the fair:

A wonderful book about Cloth Dolls by Jan Horrox (thank you for telling about this, Heather), a pair of scissors to make round corners (not as good as I thought), some postcards, a little basket and the dotty fat quarters. Plus a box of chocolate kisses.

It's cold out there:

Today on my way to the train I saw this halo on both sides of the sun:

It looks like a section of a rainbow. I think there are ice crystals in the air and they make the halo visible.

By the way this is as high as the sun gets at this time of the year, the pictures were taken at 12:30 today!

Christmas Mystery, part 1, and Napkin Challenge

Today I'm showing you yesterday's part of the Christmas Mystery quilt designed by Merete from Norway. I kept the golden orange fabric but changed the grey background to coffee brown and the pale pink to a red dotty fabric.

Today's instructions are already up here, and in the afternoon I'm going to find time to finish the next blocks.

My other challenge is also linked to Norway. Mrs Moen has challenged us to make a project inspired by a napkin (click the button in my right sidebar), and here are my napkins:

The one in the background is almost 31 years old, and I have cherished it for sentimental reasons. It was part of the engagement gift from my sisters and brothers in December 1979, with matching plain plates and tea mugs with tiny white flowers. The plates are still being used, but one mug is badly chipped so the other one is resting too. The gingerbread napkin is from last Christmas and it has a very Scandinavian style, I think.  I have picked some fabrics for this project already, but still need to think how to make it.

This is all for today, I'm busy with all the sewing!

New Raggedy & Friends block, knitting and a new challenge

Today the sun was shining so I could make a decent picture of the fourth block of my Raggedy & Friends quilt. If you want to make this quilt too, all instructions are still available at Kaaren's blog The Painted Quilt. Just click here or the button in my right sidebar.

Ann didn't feel like posing for this one, and as I didn't have hearts and stars available for her, I agreed. Maybe next month's block is easier for both of us.

I have also been knitting in front of the fire and the TV, and made myself a little shawl to keep my shoulders warm. I have had this fringy yarn for ages, and bought two other yarns to knit with it, also already some years ago, but only now I bought a pair of no. 10 knitting needles and finally started this. I knitted 30 stitches until I ran out of the fringy yarn, one row with each yarn.

I'm wearing it right now, it reaches comfortably from one elbow to the other behind my neck, very light and warm.

I still have two balls of the fringy yarn left and I think I'll make another scarf using it alone. Knitting with the giant needles is superfast and easy.

The days are short and dark at this time of the year. I took this picture some days ago just before 10 in the morning. The sun had risen around 8, but it keeps so low all day that cloudy days are pretty gloomy. This morning's sunshine was soon covered by clouds, and it started to snow a little.

I have taken a new challenge, like there was too much time on my hands at the moment. Dolores told me about the Napkin Challenge of Mrs Moen, and I couldn't resist! I'm going to make a very small project inspired by a napkin of my choice, and it needs to be finished by December 1st. I'll have a look at the napkins I have at home, and then I can have a good excuse to look for new ones tomorrow in town.