Those of you who have been around a while will know that I don't usually like starting to think about Christmas so early.  Somehow, though, it seems different this year.  We want to make Christmas really special, after the awful year we've had, even if it's not our usual Christmas.  And that takes advance planning.  (My daughter started to plan some sort of trail, so that we could all meet up outside, but the latest restrictions have scuppered that one.  Let's hope things have improved a bit by December.)

To that end, our Fabric Fun Craft Club sessions in October and November are dedicated to making an heirloom Advent calendar which can be brought out year after year.  There's still just time to sign up if you're interested.  Go to last week's blog post to see the details and sign up.

You can learn how to make bunting in the blog post Christmas Bunting.  There are also links to a number of other festive things to make.

If you'd rather make gifts for your family and friends, there are 8 ideas on the blog post 8 Christmas Gifts to Make.

One of these is to design your own tea towel.  If the idea appeals, but you don't know where to start, you could sign up to our 5 day design challenge.   This gives you an email a day for 5 days, leading you through the design process, with your own tea towel design at the end.

There are literally hundreds of ideas for large and small projects on Pinterest.  I have gathered some of them together in my Pinterest boards Christmas, Crafty Sewing Ideas, Quilts and boards like DIY Soft Toys for more specific ideas.  Or just head over to my Pinterest account and check out all the boards!

Look out for our Christmas cushion design competition next week!

What projects do you have in mind?