Sweet 2016, Part 10: Gingerbread House or Plum Pudding

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and this month, it's time to decide between two quintessential Christmas favorites - a gingerbread house or a plum pudding. You can only make one for the wall hanging and I'm curious to know which will be more popular? For me, it's gingerbread houses all the way - Christmas simply isn't complete without at least one adorning the table. Although now my children are all grown up, the houses have become much more sophisticated affairs than in years past. But fun? There's always room for an extra helping of that! And this month, I've loved deciding my house fabric and embellishments.

I've opted for an iced pink house - because I have some pink fabric I just knew would fit the bill. My DD once made a pink gingerbread house and it was gorgeous, perfectly iced in a crisp pale pink. Of course classic cinnamon and chocolate houses look wonderful too, so whether you want to opt for a snowed down house with lots of white beads and ribbons, or stick with classic warm hues, your house awaits you!

To complete some candy for my house, I made swirly lollies from stripe fabric and trapunto yarn. here's how I made it:

Here's the stripe fabric. This is a fat quarter. The bottom length of this triangle is 16.5 inches and I've done this so that I can cut 3 x strips, 1 inch wide, on the bias.

 Then I folded each one lengthwise and stitched down the side

 The I pulled the fabric through to the right side. I used a rouleau loop for this, which is a sewing tool. You could also use a very long needle.

 Then, once my bias strip was turned out the right way, I threaded a length of trapunto yarn through the middle, using a bodkin to help me do so. Again, you could also use a long needle.

Once 'stuffed' with the yarn (and you could also use a thick knitting yarn if you don't have trapunto), I then turned the striped tube of fabric into a swirl, creating a lolly pop. As below.

Just 2  more blocks to go!

'Sweet 2016' is my current Mystery Applique BOM

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And don't forget to join my Sweet 2016 BOM Group over on Facebook too!

Understanding the pattern release schedule: anyone can join Sweet 2016 at any time and when they do, they will receive a new block each month from that point onward. The day they receive each new block will depend on the date they signed up and made their first payment. Everyone who starts Sweet 2016, starts at the beginning, Part 1. Specific blocks cannot be purchased out of turn. 

Whenever you choose to start this BOM, be sure to keep us updated on your progress by sharing your work over in our Sweet 2016 BOM Facebook Group, see you there!