More homemade Christmas...

Handknit socks for teen. There was an appreciaitve oh! when he put them on and then he wore them three days straight. His birthday is this month so I will make him another pair and maybe they won't be so ripe when they hit the laundry basket;)
I made this pencil case for the teen. He is an aspiring artist. His pencils were kept in a tin. I thought that if he had the case he could take them with his sketch book when he goes for wanders.
I made a couple of draft snakes for my aunt and my friend Louise. These were very fun to make. I used scraps of fabric I had in my stash.

This was the best handmade Christmas present. The wee one and I found this wooden truck at the GoodWill last spring. It was dirty, its bumper looked like a dog had chewed it and it was missing its back wheels. All summer and fall it sat on Hubby's work bench. Hubby wanted to fix it up for him but time and circumstance conspired to keep it gathering dust on the bench. Hubby has had 2 weeks off. His first weekend home he set to work planning how to revitalize this great truck. Hubby worked on the wheels and worried that wee one would care about the difference in wheels. I assured him that he will be so happy that his dad fixed the truck for him that he will not care about the particular wheels. Wee one was VERY happy.

Some of our handmade Christmas...

Hubby's Maltese Fisherman Hat

Teen's Watch Cap

Hubby got in on the action and made me a Boot Scraper! I am so please:)

Hubby also gave me this water color painting that our friend Lisa painted.

Yes there are still projects to finish. This is a blue felted vest for teen. Only half done. Below is Hubby's half done vest. Last year, I gave bags of yarn to I figure I am way ahead of the game. Although, I still have a whole vest left to make now...go figure!
There are still more handmade gifts to post.....

We had a lovely quiet day on Christmas day. How was your holiday?

I am enjoying...

I've been busy baking sweets and finishing holiday knitting. Today I spend some time with the sewing machine. Wish me luck!

In the meanwhile, I thought I would share some things I am enjoying.

This soup is delicious! I substituted buttercup squash for the pumpkin. I used this easy Garam Masala recipe.

I found this blog very interesting and this article in particular says it all for me.

I am working hard to make this as much of a handmade Christmas as possible. Here are some last minute quick gifts that we are making.

If you are a knitter and have some little kids on your list these hand puppets work up really quick. I can knit one in a couple of evenings. I made them in dish cloth cotton so that they are easy to clean.

Thumbless mittens are being whipped up fast and furiously at my house as well. All the kids in my family are under 5. Trying to get those little thumbs in a mitten thumb and hope that it stays there seems an exercise in futility. So I have been making mittens without thumbs in toddler/preschool sizes. I can make a mitten an evening. I hope to have my own pattern and pictures posted this weekend!

In our house we love to weave pot holders in our house. A few always find their way into Christmas gifts that the kids give. I think that this is a craft not restricted to children. I love to make them too and folks love their sturdy usefulness. You could whip up a whole bag of loops in an evening.

I plan on making a couple of these draft snakes today.

And lastly, I have made several pair of these slippers. They were very fun to make. I can crochet the squares for one slipper in an evening.

Just a reminder that Monday is the last day to mail packages and have them arrive on time.

Cheers!

Christmas 2009

WARNING!!!! The following post is NOT for family consumption. There are spoilers on this post.

So, I joined Crunchy Chicken's Buy Hand Christmas Challenge. I try to make most of my Christmas presents every year. I am not always successful AND I usually spend a good part of the month of December with cramped fingers and a stressed air about me.

This does not really connote a sense of giving to me.

A few years ago I read an editorial in Interweave Knits about why the editor tried to knit for Christmas. Her reasoning was that anyone could take their credit card for a walk through the mall, but to knit a gift takes a level of thoughtfulness that can not be bought. I know that when I am knitting something for someone I really care about; I am not just thinking about what color or texture of yarn would be the most satisfying to the recipient, but I am also thinking about that person while I am knitting it. I think about how warm they will be. Sometimes a strand of hair gets knitted into the fabric, sometimes my cat Lily weaves her own affection into the object. It is a sort of magic that occurs during the process.

So this year I began in February by joining a group on Ravelry ( if you are a knitter you should really check out this site, so many great FREE knitting patterns to be found). Each month there was a knitting assignment. One month was scarves, hats, pairs of something etc. Anyhow, when I started the Big Green Sweater,all that fell by the wayside but I did make a few things for the wee one. At the time, I had plotted out what I would make for those I want to give gifts too. I have most of the materials and I will not have to buy any more yarn for these projects.

Okay confessional, I have a yarn fetish. I have a substantial yarn stash. Some of it I found at the Goodwill, some a very good friend gave to me from his stash, and some I bought with the money I earned at the bookstore and from my sales of crafted items. But I confess, if today was TEOTWAWKI, I would be set for a LOONNNGG while. That being said, I am always able to make something, and I will not have to buy any yarn for gifts this year.

There are couple of quick knit patterns that I want to work on.

First are these Toasties. I've made a couple of pairs. They are really easy to whip up. I can make a pair in a couple of evenings.

I also want to make a few of these dishtowels. I will also make a dish cloths to go with them. If you want to learn to knit, I recommend starting with one of these projects. They are quick. They combine several elements of knitting without overwhelming the learner. You can find the needles and cotton for about 7.00 at some place like Joanne's or some place like that. Or a Local Yarn Shop can set you up with a finer grade of cotton and get you started on the project.

( FYI Wendy, Central Yarn in Portland carries the Sugar and Creme Cotton, they are really great and will get you started, oh and your girls will enjoy it too;)

I was going to make some handpuppets for the little kids in the family.

I hope to make a vest for the Teen and Hubby. These should take about a week each. No sleeves makes this a project that I know I can get done in time.

My nieces will be getting a new sweater each for Christmas.They are toddlers and this also should take just about a week to do.

I also would like to make my FIL a pair of wool socks. The other men folk in my home will get some wool socks. Teen needs a new hat. And hubby wants one of these hats. This hat looks a little tricky and may have to be presented as yarn in a bag that I promise to finish when life slows down after the holidays.

There are a few non-knitted items that I want to make too.

I plan to give some homemade herbal teas as gifts. A friend used to use little muslin bags for serving bulk tea. I have the needed material for making these bags. I will also include a jar of dried mint to go with the bag.

I want to find a recipe for finger paints for the wee one. I also want to make some lacing cards for him.

I will be sewing a wrap for colored pencils for the teen.

I will be putting together a small photo album of the kids for family members from over the last year.

Some folks will be receiving baked goods. I will be able to enlist the help of the menfolk in the house for this project. On the other hand, I may have to do this on my own. They eat more than they pack;)

Finally, I also resolve to not buy any wrapping paper. I found some Christmas tins at the Goodwill that I will use for some things. I also will sew up fabric bags from scraps of fabric I have at home.

okay... If you peeked you should know that I also LOVE handmade gifts as well...