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Craftiness

2008 Christmas Craftiness.

Ahh, finally I can post about what on earth was keeping me busy in December.  Note to self: do it all in November next year.

The handmade goodies.  So far so good, they are all being enjoyed.  Only two foibles to speak of, one being that the pj’s for the kids were way too long (fine for the kids close to me so I can hem them up, not so fine for those out West, but they are wearing them anyway) and the other being that my Mom and I both thought one of my nephews had a green jacket, so I made a green hat and his jacket is blue!   Not sure how we both thought that, but the green hat looks good on him (still don’t have a photo to share) so he will keep it.

 

To start with, I decided to do up family PJ’s.  Pink Camo flannel for the girls and Grey Camo flannel for the boys.  I found a pattern that did the whole family, however, in hindsight, I should have measured the kids against J.  I was trying to hide it from him as I did a set for us as well.  Which we all wore on Christmas Eve together.   With the pants I also did a Team T-shirt (which I didn’t show) that has ‘Team XXX”.  XXX being the last name of the family.   I did up some iron on transfers and bought a whack of t-shirts at Wally World.

For the adults, I included my Desk Calendars, I had some trouble getting the guys calendars cut properly, so my Brother-in-Law out West got the square version.   I also attempted my first soap, which turned out neat but I know what I would do differently next time.  So my Sister’s all got a bar of soap in their gift boxes as well.

As well as the Pj’s my nieces and nephews each got a small (read $5) toy and a handmade hat.

Each hat patter was picked with the niece or nephew in mind.  And I chose each colour depending on their snowsuits.  My baby nephew got the cute navy and green one, with three little pompons at the top.  My littlest niece got the pink and white paper bag style.  Which when I put it on Apple’s head I almost kept it for her.  I can do one for he myself now if I want though.  The orange one is for my older nephew, it is the same style as the one I did for some cousins and J.  J insisted that they have the same one.   And last of all (from this batch) is the cherry hat.  This is for my eldest niece and I just thought that the dangling cherries is something that she would like.  That and the fact that her coat is red.

I forgot to take photos of the last two hats I made and have yet to get one of my nephew’s hat (the green one that should have been blue).  But here is a photo of my shy little niece wearing her hat.  She loved it and wouldn’t take it off all Christmas day.  She really hates it when I try to take pictures of her so I have to work at it.  I only have a couple of her face and it usually takes me all day to get to that point.  Funny because all the rest of them love it when I take their pictures.  Hers was a white with flecks of raspberry to match her raspberry coat.

Now what to do for next year?!

5 comments
Categories: Catching up, Christmas, Craftiness

Slipcovers and Trees

 Let’s start off with the slipcover.  I love doing slipcovers, don’t get me wrong, but…and yes, there is a but…  I also hate them.

I love them because they turn previously loved but no longer in fashion chairs and couches into newer in-style, chic items.  Slipcovers refresh and renew and overall are an easy way for a makeover.

I hate them because there is always one spot that frustrates me.  Not one slipcover has gone perfect from beginning to end.  I make the pattern, I cut the fabric.  Everything goes well until, I hit that one spot.   For this slipcover it was the back of the seat.  I played and played with different patterns, but I decided to go with the one piece for two reasons.  First because I could have made it out of two or three pieces and ended up with the same puffiness and two I had to remind myself that it was a slipcover and not a recover.  I often forget that I am slipcovering and not recovering.  My Mother’s voice in my head rings every time.  You see my Mom gets me to do slipcovers, but truly she would like to get her couches recovered. And these are two different things.  Slipcovering means you can take it on and off easily and recovering means it’s permanent.

So here you see the before (minus the seat cushion that I had already put into the cover) and the after.  Please ignore the mess that is my sewing area.  After Christmas I will need a serious month to put this room back in order, but for now the time I spend reorganizing this room is better spent on the work getting done.

My girlfriend and I had been working on getting these chairs done for quite a while, so I am thankful that they are delivered in time for the holidays and it is one more thing checked off my todo list.  I hear she is liking them, for which, I am very thankful.

Now onto the Tree!

It was a stellar year for tree trimming this year.  Everyone helped, everyone except for Hubby.  But he gets an exemption because he took photos for us.  Even the teenager put down the Rubic’s cube for fifteen minutes and put up a few decorations.   It was fast and furious, but enjoyed by all, Apple included.

J was my biggest helper.  He was going strong until he saw his brother not helping much, that was when the cube went down and he joined in.  J had a plan and quite frankly his plan worked quite well, the Tree is gorgeous.

Little Miss Apple, the busiest little body I have ever known, was right in there helping me with the lights.  J only started helping last year, so it was pretty cute to see her dive right in to help.

 Here we all are getting all the decorations out.  We even got a smile or two out of A!

And the finished product.  The Tree on the right, along with J playing with the ornaments.  And the dining room on the right, almost ready for some holiday dinners.

    

I have been dropping by sites all day to see how you all have been decorating, and I think it is so wonderful to see how we all put things together for the holidays.  The most important part of course is that we remember the ‘Reason for the Season’ and that we all enjoy time together getting ready for the holidays.

Happy Tree Trimming everyone.

4 comments
Categories: Christmas, Craftiness

As the leaves turn…

…Christmas is just around the corner.

Christmas?  What am I thinking, talking about Christmas, Fall just started.  Exactly.  Tomorrow is the first of October which only leaves two months to plan and execute operation Home Made Christmas – Second Edition.

As I sit night after night knitting pumpkin hats (if I had known they would be this popular I would have started knitting them last November) I am getting that, “Oh my Goodness, what am I going to do for Christmas this year?” panic attacks.  I have a short list to work from, but want to remain original.  At this point in time my Sister and her family are not flying in from Regina.  Anything can change, but I have to think easy to pack up and send out.

I am welcome to any ideas or suggestions, even if it is just something you personally would like, I might just be inspired to create it for Christmas.

My short list so far is:

  1. Family Board Game
  2. Family Happy Pants (lounge pants, flannels, we call them Happy Pants)
  3. Bath Soaps, Salts, Lotions
  4. Handmade Note Paper.
  5. Knit Hats
  6. Christmas CD, Family Favorites.
  7. Family Photo Albums (with photos I took of the family!!  I did do this a couple of years ago, but it might be time to put another album or two together.)

So, there you have it, the short list.  I am sure I have more on the list in my head, but I can’t seem to pull it out right now.  All year long I have been printing off suggestions from websites and what not, so I still have to go through these and see which ones are feasible.

Anybody else out there willing to take on the Handmade Christmas this year?  I say bring it on.

7 comments
Categories: Christmas, Craftiness, Holidays