Giving up the goods, part two

I'm sharing more of the gifts we made because as always, my hope is to inspire others. I often never take pictures of the things I'm making and post them. It starts to feel like bragging or something closely akin. That's not how I am at all. I'm confident, but I try to be humble. I don't want to minimize myself or the things that I choose to do, but I don't want this space to be a braggart's book. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that hopefully my sharing is inspirational for you. Maybe I should just stop rambling, and show you the goods!

These are a new pattern I created for jumbo crayon rolls. They were fun, but I found that when they are actually rolled it is not as smooth as pencil rolls because of the crayons' chunky nature. Also, I think kids this young probably need an elastic rubber band closure, and not a tie. Still, they turned out remarkably cute and the hedgehog fabric is my new favorite.

A roll for my daughter which she bugged me endlessly about. She somehow felt neglected because her brother received one from me in August. It cracked me up because of course, I was only waiting for Christmas to arrive to give it to her. Silly girl.

Another new favorite for me, is this robot roll for a boy. I want to insert a quick "thank you" to all who purchased pencil rolls from me in the past few months. I had no idea how popular they would be and by Christmas I had made about forty. That's a lot of pencil rolls since August. Some day I will share the pattern I created, including a little tutorial.... you know, with all my free time.

One of the things that I enjoy is my children's excitement about creating gifts for others. The act of creating and giving is something that is very much a part of my family. My mom and dad have done it for years. They both have an incredible array of talents. Every Christmas to this adult day, my dad gives us each a bundle of hickory and often, black walnut chips. He carefully gathers the nuts every year, dries them, cracks them open, and then sits with a needle hour after hour picking out the nut meat. Isn't that just phenomenal? We call him a squirrel.

These are two pillows that my daughter drew, and then specified that I sew a certain way. She used Pentel fabric crayons, and her designs will not wash out. The Santa scene was for our family and the cardinal and nest was for her brother on his bed. He was thrilled to discover she'd made him a gift. I think he's old enough now to understand how special that is.

Finally, even though it was just a couple of days before Christmas I made a doll quilt for my niece. I just had to, really I did. I had made one for my daughter, and my niece is super special to me. So... I focused on that six year old girl's excitement and I got busy.


Design-wise, I wasn't that crazy about my the front of the quilt, but I love the back. The nifty thing is that no six year old will pause to care about color and value in a quilt top.



I was inspired by the size of the doll quilt. I think in the coming year, I will be creating more small, artistic wall hanging type pieces. I still get to draw with thread and play with fabric, but on a smaller scale. We'll see.

Anyhow, now I'm off to go enjoy an afternoon walk with my family. Presents for the holiday are done, and now it's time to ring in a new year. We are staying in tonight... we pretty much always do on New Year's Eve. It's board games and baked brie tonight... oh, and some red wine for mama, of course. Happy brand New Year to you, wherever you are. May it be filled with health, peace, joy, and creativity!