A Year of Blogging

One year has elapsed since I started keeping track of my craft projects online. I have thoroughly enjoyed channeling the extra time that comes with children who sleep through the night and eat off their own plates into bright and shiny beads, colorful fabric and ridiculous numbers of zippers. And, since the local farmers' market gives me a place to distribute finished projects, I have avoided becoming what my sister in-law termed the fabric equivalent of "the cat lady".
So, 2009 was a fabulous year of crafting, and especially sewing. I can further report I am not up to my eyeballs in zippered pouches, having sold 550 items since the summer to the fine shoppers of Urbana, my friends and my family. What a kick!

Blue Earrings

I haven't played around with beads for quite some time, so the best way to rejoin the creative flow is to make something simple. I found these lovely hand-hammered silver earwires and headpins online and added three pleated beads to each one. Voila! Fast and cute, even my husband noticed they were new.

Twas The Night Before Christmas

Cross-stitched stockings hang by the chimney with care. I designed them a little wider than the typical stocking to hold just a few more treasures from Santa each year. Though they require wire at the top to stay straight, they get the job done. The countdown is finished and Christmas is here.

Origami Ornament

Even as a kid, I was intrigued by origami. This Christmas ornament is folded from a square of fabric instead of paper. A few tacks of thread hold the whole piece together and a bead gives more weight and dimension to the center.
I like the idea of origami with fabric, but it's not a durable addition to a sewing project. As a Christmas tree ornament, it can succeed in the middle ground between pretty and practical.

Dollie

Knitting is one craft I would love to master. I haven't yet put the time into improving enough to even finish a project independently. This doll for K occupied most of a fall to complete. I had hopes my little girl would coo over it on Christmas morning. She was just the right age to realize what it was and that it is a little girl kind of toy. It was the reaction I wanted. Though the doll is just another one of her stuffed animals today, it was still a successful Christmas project.

Gingerbread

What better eatable craft is there than decorating gingerbread? Loaded up with icing and nuggets of candy, there is no better dessert. I asked for a gingerbread cookie cake for my birthday last year. There is too much creative potential in decorating with bright candy to save the fun for only once a year.
This year each family member made a cottage from gingerbread. We reinforced the structures of our holiday village with hot glue, so the houses are just for looking. The accompanying cookies are certainly for eating.

Candy Cane Cup

For Halloween I made a couple of treat buckets for the collection of candy. A smaller version of the same stabilized fabric cup holds candy canes for Christmas. Something with glittery trim around the rim would also be festive.

Red Sweater

There is undeniable pressure to give the "perfect" Christmas gift. It must surprise and delight, but also exactly suit the recipient. I have attempted over the years to make a special gift. Something hand-made certainly can surprise. If it's reasonably well-done, it will also delight.
I labored for months over this red and white sweater for N. Wish as I might, I have never gained traction in the craft of knitting. I require a simple pattern and many trips to my mother's house so she can undo mistakes and pick up dropped stitches. Nevertheless, I have completed a few projects reserved especially for Christmas gifts.
As you can see, N was thrilled with his sweater.

Postcards

I find that the creative side of me if fueled by collections. Maybe the mental exercise of noting what is alike and what is unique about each object in a collection is the focus I need to choose a direction in a new project. I'm equally motivated to make something if the new item will add to the wealth of items I already have.
When first exploring Ebay, I began a collection of Christmas postcards. They're inexpensive; they mail and store easily; they're very graphic. Now, what can I make that owes its spark to these little lovelies?

Advent Village

A tiny gingerbread boy button stands at the doorway of house number 17 on our main family advent calendar. I labored over this wall hanging, following the pattern so closely the directions became dog-eared. I cut each roof and each house separately, striving to have the pattern on my scraps of fabric suggest shingles or siding. Miniature candy canes slide under the roof and inside each little home. My sewing machine stitches a snowflake pattern, so I added dozens of individual flakes on the background of my advent village. The year N was born, I added the gingerbread boy button to house number 17, his birthday. Happy birthday, N!

Holiday Cards

Holiday cards are arriving in the mail. It seems to me the style of the card sent is related to the attitude of the card sender. Some folks are stream-lined. Others are almost frilly. Many are literal; these last people you can spot because they base their Christmas greeting on a holiday photo of themselves. Most of the time I like to make my Christmas card. I throw in a photo of the kids, too. Though I will admit I bought my cards this year, I still share samples of my greetings from other years.

Advent Plans

Just because I have a half-finished advent calendar stored away in a box does not mean I can’t dream about the next advent calendar project. The bottle neck when designing an advent calendar is finding a way to make your own numbers. Silk screening might be the answer. I can paint numbers that flow around an off-center string-pieced Christmas tree. I’m thinking the tree would be pretty made from scraps of red that lean toward pink and splashes of white, while the background would be greens.