It's a little late to still be talking about christmas...

but, I did manage to finish the quilt for my oldest. I did stitch in the ditch quilting style for the whole thing so they squares puff up a bit, which is nice. He likes it, too, though only as much as he likes all of his blanket (he sleeps under seriously 8 blankets at night).
Funny how, the extra effort and love of handmaking is sometimes lost on the recipient, which is perfectly ok and to be expected. One can't reasonably expect that a 2 year old with jump with joy because mama made something. I do like that he frequently asks me "did you make this mama" of anything he owns--including his industrial strength, kid style cd player. He has great ideas about my capabilities. The other night as I was placing every single blanket over him he did say, "don't forget my star blanket" before I had a chance to get the quilt over him, which is nice...to know it has a special name.

The lost post

I posted this already and then it was gone. First it posted with a random date and then when I changed the post date it disappeared. This is actually the second time this has happened and both around tote bag posts. Do I talk about them too much? Is it that bad? Well, here it is again (I hope). (And yes, for those asking 'you can have one'...I think it's time to get thinking about a barter!)

This was another bag made for my sister for Christmas. From the pattern I'm obsessed with, it's a simple tote with just a bit of a gentle slope that makes it more all-purpose than a boxy grocery tote. The fabric is from Ikea, surprisingly.

the farmer's market bags

Ok, time for some of the top secret holiday gifts to see the light of day. My sister is almost always my favorite person to make gifts for. She is a great giver of handmade gifts as well and so I know that she will enjoy (and maybe even cherish) the 'character' in many of the handmade things I make for her. This year I aimed for making things as sustainable as possible. So, using the top of a yard sale cotton shower curtain and the stamps I had carved myself, I made these farmer's market bags.
They came out a little wonky because I used the grommets on the shower curtain as the loops for ribbon handles.

I should confess to really digging these bags myself, I might have to find another yard sale shower curtain so I can be styling at the farmer's market, too.

Reflections

We were selfish this year, we did not get in a plane, we did not even get in the car, we hunkered down at home just the four of us. The husband and I pulled together a menu for all five days we had together and on tuesday I left work early to hit the fancy grocery store sans kids. Then the rest of the week we cooked, sang songs, colored, danced around and thoroughly enjoyed eachother's company like never before. We indulged in homemade samosas and curries galore (my British/Irish husband is a master of Indian food), smoothies, muffins and pancakes, fish with mushroom sauce, tomato soup, good bread, quiche and every bit was even better as a leftover. Every time we came into the house from outside it smelled of something new and wonderful. For sweets, there were an unreasonable number of cookies delivered by neighbors (thank you!) and even some baked ourselves and of course, loads of chocolate. On Christmas Eve, I didn't get out of my pajamas until 3pm. And, even then it was really just because I felt as if I should.

We drank wine, mulled wine, irish cream, elderflower water (excellent!), and hot chocolate. It will be unbearable to go to work tomorrow. I could do this everyday. During our Christmas day meal we lit a special candle and discussed the things we love...our family members (my son is always quick to remind me that our cat is in the family), our neighbors, our grandparents, our friend. My husband and I had watery eyes as our oldest went on and on about his love of family and friends. Sometimes a 2.5 year old can put it best. "I love YOU, and PAPA, and JUDEBUG (our pet name for our youngest), and NUSHI (our name for the pet). And I love you so, so, so, so much and I love you in my heart and my heart is in my hand. It moved."
The gifts piled high under our little tree. Grandparents don't seem able to hold back, even when you beg them. But our two little guys, at 2.5 years and 8 months, just didn't care. I opened most of the gifts myself because there was little to no interest. It was truly about being together and spending such a saturated time doing nothing that we got into a rhythm that was all our own. I will never forget it. I hope I never forget it, when they are older and don't want to read books and be held all day long. When we are managing complicated family situations and get distracted and can't dance to the rhythm that we found. I want to hold onto this Christmas as the one where the best gift everybody got was lots and lots of TIME together. Holidays like this weave their way into the familiar fabric of the family story...one that is just beginning for us.
Special thanks to my real and virtual friends for reminders throughout December of how and WHY to slow down and take it in. Hope there were loads of gorgeous holiday moments among you all! By the way, discovered a great new trick. Those silicone mats that are supposedly for baking on...I hate the way things cook on them but they are great for cutting cookies! Makes it much easier to pull the cookie out after cutting it.

trimmings

it is so close, I can taste it. there is something about holiday time that has become really different now that I am a parent. I'm so much more excited and am enjoying the build-up immensely. I'm eager to light the christmas tree each day and read Christmas books. I love seeing our oldest get excited and, at the same time, he isn't aware enough to be fixated on the gifts portion of things. He's really wrapped up in the wonder of it all. It's a great place to be. Helps me to enjoy it in the same way.
Was able to make a few gift bags this year for some gifts and also made stamped tags, using my scraps basket. Made a half dozen or so gifts just a bit more personal (and reusable).
Wishing everyone the best in the next few days!

I kind of skipped the cookie part...

our local crew's annual cookie exchange party was this last weekend. we hosted and thoroughly enjoyed our spacious kitchen, though nearly everything loses its spacious feel when kids are running amok. well, i'm embarassed to admit it but I just couldn't muster much enthusiasm for the baking part of it so I half-heartedly pulled off a family toffee bar recipe the morning of. I just couldn't wait to give the kids their gifts (after the moms got their aprons). Each little munchkin got a chalkmat, made from the TaaDaa studios kit, and an accompanying bag from my pattern.

The result? It was one of those moments that crafters live for. Everybody LOVED the chalkmats and the bags were immediately put to use in shifting toys from one room to another. I even got a spontaneous "Thank you Callum's Mommy" following by a very strong leg-hug. You know the type.
We've since toted our bag and mat with us to church...a nice quiet activity.

holiday apronistas

Made these aprons a while back in an enthusiastic apron fit. But had to wait what felt like forever to give them to their new owners. Thanks goodness the cookie exhange party finally arrived or I would have burst with anticipation. Went 100 percent retro kitch on these with monaluna and alexander henry fabric. Enjoy them ladies!

Hung With Care

Nothing like a bit of hand sewing to get the holiday spirit buzzing. Have to admit to loving the build-up to Christmas, though I am way behind on handmade gifts this year and am going to have to steal some time in the coming weeks to get it all done. Despite all that, I sat down to make the baby's stocking during a bit of *still* time. Just plain old felt for these.
You Tube, and the baby monitor were my only companions. And, I discovered this--Odetta on The Johnny Cash Show. No idea how I got this far without knowing about Odetta but I'm an instant fan.

How 'bout that new banner? I will have to go into more detail about the font later...it's big!

Quilt Top

Sewing and sewing away on the oldest's quilt for Christmas. It's simple, just lots and lots of squares. There is something I like about the itty bitty squares, each one a little snippet of a bigger picture. I think it bends the imagination a bit. Hope to finish this (and a million more sewing projects) in the next few weeks. Yikes! It sure sneaks up fast.

Whoosh...a few gifts in the bag.

It is always easiest to get gifts done for my preschooler, he's at this beautiful imaginative stage. These are two capes for my growing superhero, who is definitely able to save my day. Particularly after a long day at work (ah, back to those again!) when he is dying to show me his new dance and sing a new song. It's impossible not to smile and melt into the silliness of his world.

I got the pattern instructions from Alicia Paulson's Stitched in Time. The fun thing is, it's easy to make two capes into four by making them reversible.


This robot is made of interfacing-backed t-shirt stitched and cut into a little robot man. We are kind of into robots these days and I'll admit I'm pretty happy to see our interests broadening from trucks.

Messenger Birds

This little birdie is my latest obsession. It's made from a pdf tutorial on Spool Sewing blog.
It's small enough that I was able to pull it off using fabric scraps and as soon as I made it I knew what I was going to use it for...a gift tag. In addition to making reusable gift bags, inspired by At The End of This Row, I decided to make little birds for my holiday gift tags. I haven't decided yet whether to use ink stamping to write the recipients name or a fabric marker, which would obviously be alot quicker. I might even leave them blank. Also, I'm so taken with these little birds that I'm cooking up a holiday banner that uses them as well.

This is the reusable gift bag that this birdie will fly away with. Hmm...I wonder what's in there?

Better Late Than Never

This is a gift idea that I actually made for Christmas last year, as in 2007. I thought others might enjoy the concept. It's my own adaptation of an AARP book that I thought was a good idea but kind of cheesy in its execution. The basic idea is a book that gets filled in by grandparents, parents, great grandparents, etc. that offer a way to catalouge their stories and memories. That is, each person gets their own book. I started by creating a word document with questions in different areas: "Tell me about..YOU" with questions about what things were like for them; their games, songs, fashions, etc.; "Tell me about...my Parent/Grandparent, etc." depending on the recipient; "Tell me about...ME" with questions about finding out impending birth and first sighting, etc.; "Tell me about..MY HERITAGE" with a family tree to be filled in and questions about ancestors and family traditions including a page for a family recipe; "Tell me about...YOUR VALUES" that included questions about the things they think are important, things to always remember, etc.; and Tell me...in the FUTURE with a pocket to leave a letter to be read in the future and blank pages at the end for photographs. (I also included photo corners to make it easy to put in photos.) I had the word document printed (on thick card stock) and bound at a local copy shop, which means I have a template to share if anyone is interested.

Each book has to be tweaked a little bit so that the questions are appropriate but so far we have had both of the books returned from Cal's great-grandparents with wonderful results. Filled in family trees, funny jokes, photos of great-great-grandparents and a whole lot of memories. Not everything gets answered but enough to make them really special. I'm late in sharing this for the most recent holiday but thought it might be nice to pass it on anyway. Of course, it can't hold the entirety of one's heritage or story but it provides something.

I fell hard for bags this year...

This was another bag made for my sister for Christmas. From the pattern I'm obsessed with, it's a simple tote with just a bit of a gentle slope that makes it more all-purpose than a boxy grocery tote. The fabric is from Ikea, surprisingly.

edited to add: I accidentally posted this to an old date, so if it looks familiar that is why. he. he.

Holiday Look Back

The handmade holidays rocked the house this year, at least for me. It really is more enjoyable to give a gift that you put time into rather than money. My sister, however, seriously takes the cake. She not only made me amazing bath salts and a stencilled maternity top but also pulled off making her own perfume with spices including cardomom. It's incredible...I wasn't even aware that one could homemake that! On top of that she gave beer she had brewed herself...not to me, of course. But, really does it get more hardcore than that!?

One thing I didn't share before the holidays was a gift for my sister that I didn't want her to know about. It is actually an idea that I stole from her (she is pretty good at this stuff, no?). I pulled together my favorite recipes, typed them up and printed them on nice paper that I put into a small-sized three ring binder. I covered the binder with a fabric cover and used iron-on letter for the text. I actually intended the title to be sweet, like "oh, little nibbles that constitute love bites" but realized too late it sounds more like death metal music. Thankfully, she forgives my shortcomings. I ended up stealing this idea from her because the cookbook she gave me (which is called 'oven light'...so clever) is actually on my list of things I would grab if the house were on fire. That is how great it is. I use it more than most of the cookbooks I have.

the farmers market bags

Ok, time for some of the top secret holiday gifts to see the light of day. My sister is almost always my favorite person to make gifts for. She is a great giver of handmade gifts as well and so I know that she will enjoy (and maybe even cherish) the 'character' in many of the handmade things I make for her. This year I aimed for making things as sustainable as possible. So, using the top of a yard sale cotton shower curtain and the stamps I had carved myself, I made these farmer's market bags.
They came out a little wonky because I used the grommets on the shower curtain as the loops for ribbon handles.

I should confess to really digging these bags myself, I might have to find another yard sale shower curtain so I can be styling at the farmer's market, too.

The Mark of a Handmade Holiday

Well, the machine is packed up, fabric scraps are tipping over the edge of the garbage can and these empty spools of thread littered the crafting table. It's official, the handmade holiday season has ended. Now, time to sit back with a hot drink and enjoy the holiday season. Happy hoidays all!

Lovin' the boy gifts.

I had so much fun making these gifts for my son. The book took a lifetime; picking the pictures, transferring to fabric, different background fabric on each picture, and lastly embellishments. It turned out really fun, though. And, the best part is that I gave him a sneak peak and he enjoyed listing off everyone's name, which was the whole point.

Of course, he will forget he's ever seen it when it's revealed on Christmas morning. Overall, the book is pretty sloppy and was a test for the old machine but I kind of love its haphazard design and mismatched pages, it suits the chaos of our family life I think.

The magnets, well. These were a necessary follow-up to these magnets I had made earlier. Not only were they a huge hit originally but I had missed the essential tractor and garbage truck...had to redeem myself. Also, my personal favorite: I transferred a shot of a mobile hot dog stand into a magnet (2nd one down). Willie's Hot Dogs...cannot resist it! Makes me laugh.

The best part of all of this, though, is that it so pointless! I mean at this stage, I could wrap some of his current toys and take them out of circulation for a few weeks and they would seem like the most super fun this he had every seen! So, the whole time I putz away at these individualized creations I have to laugh at myself.

Gift baking

Granola tastes better when it looks so cute.

I finally got around to packaging the food gifts for my dad before I ship them off next week! I grabbed some containers to make it kind of a double gift. Wahoo, here come the holidays!

For Me? Or You?

These pictures are of my entire gift to my mother's mother, my maternal grandma. She has had alot of change in her life since last Christmas and alot of it has been difficult. She has, however, had a chance to come out of her shell a bit and show off more of her adventurous and funny side.
I thought about this alot while making her lap quilt and tote. I picked out bright, flowering colors and retro designs because I knew she would enjoy the throw-back. I realized that this is what makes handmade holidays so wonderful. I get to spend hours thinking about her rhubarb jam and her jokes about big-breasted women and gossip about neighbors. I thought about how she always had Twizzlers stocked in her pantry that she would sneak to the grandkids when we visit. I thought about her applesauce and how I got the recipe once and it was equal parts apples to sugar so I decided not to make it and just eat hers and not think about it. I thought about her life and what she gave her kids and what she held back from them. I got this chance to spend time implanting in my mind a cohesive picture of her and it made me realize how much I care about her and how amazing she is. Handmade is what gave me this gift, after all these years of buying her cute sweaters and utilitarian kitchen stuffs at the mall. And, I really can't decide what is a better gift, what I'm giving her or what I got.

Might be that I'm the one with the best gift. (Especially since I'm only half-happy with how the quilt turned out, but that is kind of beside the point.)

This little artsy clutch I am happy with and I'm filling it with etsy goodies that I hope will make her smile as much as I am, thinking about my lovely grandmother. Am I lost in a sea of pregnancy hormones? Is anyone else having this kind of handmade holiday gush-of-love feeling?

Breakfast is covered...forever

Finally, a handmade man gift!! I decided to make my dad's gift a kind of book-readers companion type thing. It was sparked by a suggestion by Beth. Along with the Sherlock Holmes collection he wanted I'm adding a custom made mug with a photo of his grandson on it (similar to this), some biscotti (yet to be made), fair trade coffee, and my sister's granola. The granola was completed this afternoon and is officially my new breakfast till the end of time. It's sooo good and better yet, simple. My sister is a vegan who loves food and she has perfected the craft of cooking/baking. It's very impressive. I knew her granola was good but I had forgotten HOW good until making it today.

I've already divided the full batch into a section to stay with us and the remainder for my dad. I think this is the handmade world equivalent of holiday shopping where you come home with more that remains unwrapped than ever gets wrapped. If you are interested in this recipe, let me know and I will check with my sister. It's a little bit of a secret recipe but I can try.