Gifts for Little Girls

Girls outnumber the boys in my family - I have 2 nephews and 6 nieces! Three of those nieces have birthdays this weekend, and one niece-to-be is being celebrated in a baby shower tomorrow, so I have some girly gifts to show here. On the right is the baby's shower gift, a simple cotton-silk lace blankie (the Baby Chalice blanket on Ravelry). On the right are some plain cotton totes I got from my new favorite store Muji; I embroidered the birthday girls' names on them and filled them with some budget-friendly store-bought gifts (crayons, sticker books, etc.). A shortage of time and money prevented me from going all-handmade, which I feel rather guilty about, but reportedly the girls were happy with their bags, so I should be happy too.

It's been too long

Well, I have been absent for too long - I have a long list of excuses but no really good reasons, so I'll skip the lame justifications and just get right back into it. I completed the cotton throw blanket well after Christmas, but I'll count it as a holiday gift anyway. I'd have made it all one color if I'd planned ahead more, but I'm still happy with the result. The granny square blankie is my first charity craft of this year; it's for a program that assists young mothers in New York, and it's my contribution to the crafting group at my work. I made it using the odds & ends of yarn from the group's stash. I've done a few other small gifts recently which I forgot to photograph, but I'll be sure to remember next time because I have a brand new camera that I can't wait to try out. Now I just have to tighten up my gift crafting plans for the year and start making!

The last of 2008

The three bags above were a holiday gift that I forgot to photograph all together before sending them - but here they are now. And here also is the last holiday gift of 2008 - the in-laws' cotton blanket. I'm optimistic it will be finished by the end of the month; I have high hopes for completing a big chunk of it during the Golden Globes tonight!