I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season, whichever holiday you celebrate.
This year I determined that I would make as many gifts as I could instead of buying them. So for the last month or more I’ve been sequestered in my sewing room after getting home from work as much as possible. Trust me, that didn’t hurt my feelings at all.
Here’s what I gave to my kids.
For my daughter-in-law, I sewed a large tote for helping her organize her sewing. I picked one of my favorite fabrics from my stash and found a bunch of other fabrics to coordinate with it. I wanted it bright and cheerful, and I think I succeeded. In fact, I think it kind of overwhelmed her. Oh well. She may not have totally loved the fabric, but she loved the tote and all the accompanying pieces. I included five vinyl pouches with fabric tops and zippers for holding all the little sewing things like ribbons, zippers and thread. Here’s the pattern I used. She also got a sewing machine mat with pockets to help her keep her tools nearby as she sews. Here’s the pattern. And finally, a thread catcher and a chicken pincushion filled with ground walnut shells.
I had such fun making it! The pattern for the tote and for the thread catcher are mine. It’s on my list to put the patterns online, but not today.
For another daughter-in-law, I made a long table runner. I wrote about it in my last post, along with a quilt I made for my brother and his family.
For my step-daughter, I made a yoga bag. And I forgot to photograph it. Argh!!!! It was quilted using a deep red print on the outside with a happy black-and-white print on the inside. It zipped along the side and had two pockets on the outside. I also included a little zippered pouch.
My daughter got two gifts, one of which Bruce worked on with me. And I didn’t photograph it. (I should be grounded.) We made her a little cabinet for hanging her earrings in. We started with a shallow shadow box that had a door on it that latched. We bought some 1/2-inch square dowels and cut them to make a little frame inside the shadow box. We also bought a piece of plastic canvas for her to hang the earrings on. We painted the plastic canvas and the dowels an antique bronze color. Then we took out the background of the shadow box, mounted the plastic canvas between the frame and the dowels, and finally placed a black panel behind it all. There is about 1/2-inch of space for the back of her earrings to hang. So she can hang this on her wall instead of fishing through her jewelry boxes for her earrings, and because it has a door on it, her cat can’t get to it.
I also made a little ditty bag for her car. She studied music in college, so I pulled out all my music fabrics and picked a few. For some reason, I always seem to have a little failure with each gift I give to her. On this one, I put the white music fabric upside-down. *sigh* Here’s the pattern I used for this bag.
For my friends and family, I made our traditional homemade turtle candies. These are made with the best chocolate I can find, fresh pecans, and homemade caramel made with real butter. The caramel is the best part of these candies, and makes them really delicious. mmm!
For the annual Christmas gift exchange with my crafting friends, I made this quick little table runner. I found some charm squares that I liked, sewed them in rows and trimmed them so that I got the right shape. Then I added the strips around the outside and quilted it. At our exchange, we play a game where someone can “steal” a gift that has already been opened, and mine was “stolen” that day. That was fun.
And last but not least, I made “office chair” quilts for my boys. My oldest son is going back to college, and doing it online, so he spends a lot of time at his computer. My youngest son works from home, so he also spends a lot of time at his computer. And apparently, they both get pretty cold. So what happens when you tell a quilter you’re cold? You get a quilt!
I wanted to make them so they fit comfortably in the chair with them, and since my youngest says his legs get cold, I decided to make them so they wrapped around the legs. They were really pleased with them, and I hope they work out well. I really had fun with the flag motif on the one. I need to do some quilts for Quilts of Valor.
Whew! That was a lot of sewing and crafting, all in the last month, give or take a week. Now I’m feeling a little lost, same as I always do after finishing a big project (or series of projects). That won’t last for long, though. Bruce wants an office chair quilt and I have that tatted doily to hunt down and finish.
PS, I just remembered something else I made this season. For my twin grandsons’ birthday, I made them “Angry Birds” towels. Here’s the pattern. And I forgot to photograph those, too.
