Merry Christmas if that is what you celebrate! When we cleared out my parents house some number of years ago, I found a portfolio with Christmas stationary, clippings from magazines and other graphic art, dated 1938. Here are some scans from the collection-
Have a wonderful day!
we got our first snow on Monday-
and it sifted down slowly for a few days and we have enough snow on the ground that Christmas will be white.
I’ve made the cookies- they were done earlier then usual because I had to send Christmas-in-a-box out to my son in Minnesota. See you on Skype tomorrow, Julian! My challenge to myself- make a homemade version on HobNobs. Yes, that was fun!
Last minute presents that I can post… because really, I am sure that the kitties do not read my blog.
And, uh-oh, Mango opened his present a little early!
This was my test catnip toy made from the Spponflower fabric I made last year.
Have a wonderful Merry Christmas everyone! I will have a few more handmade gifts to post after the grand opening.
This years presents from me were almost entirely handmade by me. I confess that I bought one present for someone, but I did buy it on Etsy.
I made 3 sets of napkins, 2 pairs of pot-holders, 8 cloth shopping bags, 3 flannel pillow cases.
Also, 3 hats from recycled sweaters.
Napkins in progress-
And dish towels. I had a project near-fail here… I mean it wasn’t a complete failure, but I was disappointed in the outcome. These are the towels in progress- the bleach pen doing it’s thing.
I got inspired to try a bleach pen project from this post on Angry Chicken. My first experience was not a complete success. I used a nice soft linen fabric that had dye flaws in it already. That cut down on the stress factor, but I have to admit I was nervous. The fabric reacted very quickly to the bleach- the color was all gone in about 15 minutes- very different from what Amy described. I need to note that I did a test on another piece of linen that did not react so quickly at all- much more like what was shown in the film clip. Anyway, I rinsed the dishtowels and napkins as I made them. When I was finished, I threw everything into the washing machine. They all came out with blue shadows where the fabric folded onto itself. Clearly the dye on this fabric was way too sensitive to the bleach. Oh well- they are usable. I just don’t like the blue with the green. I might try doing an over-dye experiment sometime, since I gave the napkins to Ben… so sort of to me!
Napkins-
Everyone else who gets presents will get cookies. I’ll be going down to Connecticut to do the cookie delivery on Tuesday. While I am there, I have plans to see this show about Mrs. Delany at the Yale Center for British Art.
I got sucked into the giant vortex that is Christmas. Now I’m back- phew! I can not wait to get back to work.
Let’s see… since I was here last, we had 2 snowstorms that left us with 17 inches of snow and made driving very exciting, just when I was finally getting around to doing some Christmas shopping. Luckily we live within walking distance of most of the important places- like the grocery store.
The house was full of people and activities. It was great having Eleanor and Julian home. Actually getting Eleanor home was a bit exciting since she arrived in one of those aforementioned snowstorms. Lots of activity centered in the kitchen. The dishwasher was getting a great workout.
The day before Christmas, we went for a family soak in a hot tub in Inman Square. I am hoping it will become a new family tradition. It was wonderful.
Christmas Day was pretty quiet- everyone relaxing.
Then, down to Connecticut for an insanely full day of family and friend visiting. Yesterday, (12/27), Eleanor and Julian left- we miss them already.
Here is one of my handmade presents- a lap blanket, approximately 4 ft x 4 ft. and made out of cashmere knit samples that I got from Jen, one of my Boston Handmade friends. It is now with Julian in Portland, OR.
here is a lighter photo so you can see the details better-
I have at least one more project to show, but it is not finished yet… that is what happens to the loved ones who are at home- their gifts trickle in.