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!

Gifts received

I have got to get a better camera - it's a shame to post such inadequate photos of these wonderful handmade gifts from my talented Mom. At the top is a gorgeous gray wool wrap, with a mother-of-pearl ring and one of my great-grandmother's tiny bone crochet hooks for the fastener. So beautiful - what a perfect gift. She also made this little pouch that is lined with a delicate patterned silk fabric; it was tied to the outside of the gift box, and held a pretty soap and a set of tiny antique ivory book covers, which I think I will bind together with some nice paper and silk thread to wear as a pendant. Mom is a great inspiration - she also knitted pretty short-sleeved cardigans for my sisters & sister-in-law, and sewed adorable corduroy jumpers for four of my nieces.

Merry Christmas!

Before we drive off to visit the family, I thought I'd post these last-minute pocket notebooks I made on Tuesday for brothers & brothers-in-law. I wanted to give something thrifty (for me) but useful for the recipients. For sisters & sisters-in-law, I'm giving some pretty scarves I did *not* make, but bought months ago for an amazingly good price. In the past, we siblings & our spouses did a name-drawing & gift exchange; this year we decided to ditch that system and any gift-giving rules and just allow everyone to give what/if their budgets permit, no pressure. Since we only made this decision in the weeks after Thanksgiving, I didn't have much time to incorporate 6 more gifts into my schedule; next year I'll be able to plan ahead better.

Anyway...travel safely, and have a wonderful holiday!

Two more - and just one left to go!

I pulled together two last-minute baby gifts this weekend, which leaves just one more gift to finish. I'd been saving an accidentally felted cashmere sweater for a special project, and decided that a new baby's first Christmas is the perfect occasion. So I looked at some bear patterns and then just kind of winged it; it didn't take long to sew it by hand and I'm really happy with how he turned out - he is so soft! I also made this bunch of colored knitted balls for the same baby. They are so fast to make; I only wish I'd had the foresight to put a jingle bell or rattle in the center of each one...next time, I guess!

Treats

These are the gifts I'll be giving to coworkers. I packed them in boxes from a Martha Stewart kit I got on sale. The small upright boxes contain popcorn with caramel, butterscotch, & chocolate drizzled on it. In the square & rectangle boxes are: pecan tassies, brownies, more popcorn, wheat crackers, and molasses almonds, all of which I made in a frenzy one night earlier this week. Making cookie boxes is one of my favorite holiday traditions - I really hope these go over well!