Lollipop Advent Calendar This craft is of AVERAGE difficulty. It is for those with some experience in sewing. MATERIALS: 7/8" yd., 45"-wide green and white tiny-check gingham 1 1/2 yds. 36"-wide (or wider) bright green cotton-blend fabric scraps of green, orange, red and yellow print fabrics for bias binding and star two pieces polyester batting, one 26" x 36", the other 29" x 24" threads to match star and trees 24 red, green, orange and yellow lollipops scraps of worsted yarn to match lollipops straight pins DIRECTIONS: 1. Enlarge and cut out the patterns following these directions. 2. Fold the gingham in half and draw the tree shape on the back. Pin 2 layers of gingham, right sides together, with a small piece of batting under. Sew around the outline; cut out, clip and slit the top layer of gingham. 3. Turn through the hole made, so that the gingham is right side out with the batting in between. Press very lightly with a warm iron, if necessary. 4. Cut 2 pieces of bright green fabric to cover the larger piece of batting. Sandwich the batting between the fabric, right side out. 5. Pin the tree, slit-side down, to the sandwiched materials, going through all layers and allowing room for the star above. 6. Stuff and sew the star the same way as the tree; pin slightly over the tip of the tree. 7. Sew the tree and star onto the background, using appliqué stitches. Quilt around the tree and star, 1/4" from the edge, using straight stitches and green thread and going through all layers. Trim the edges of the background evenly. 8. Cut bias binding from the prints; sew the strips together to form a continuous piece of binding; pin to the edge of the quilt front, right sides together. Sew by machine; turn to the back; turn the edge under and sew down by hand. 9. Cut twenty-four 9" lengths of yarn to match the lollipops; affix to the tree by running yarn through all layers in a side-to-side single stitch and spacing the rows evenly in the following order: 1 piece; 4 pieces; 5 pieces; 6 pieces; 7 pieces; 1 piece. Tie in bows over the lollipop sticks. 10. Slip one lollipop out each day of December, until the last one is removed on Christmas Eve.