It's not the kind of hangover that we usually hear about, but equally painful. I suffered some temporary memory loss due to Christmas-induced-post-traumatic-stress-disorder, but it's all coming back to me now. As it turns out, I actually remembered to take a few pictures of things that I made, so I'll share those. And looking back, as stressful as our birthday-thanksgiving-birthday-christmas-travel-houseguest season was, we had the time of our lives and wouldn't change a thing about it. We love our families and miss each member every day.
This first picture is what I made for my sister-in-law this year. She has an 8-yr-old with a great imagination and is always sending us scans of drawings or notes he has written. Last March I made her this bag, where I appliqued his drawing onto a tote. I had so much fun with it that I decided to try another one. This time I used his handwriting. Last year he got a little carried away writing Christmas lists. He made a list of gifts he wanted from Santa for under the tree, one for stocking stuffers, and one for gifts he wanted from his parents. (To his credit, the 7-yr-old had chosen very modestly-priced gifts for the parent list.) Not having tired of the exercise, he went on to write wish lists for his cat and dog. This was just too good to pass up.
To make this mini-quilt, I printed out a page with his writing on it. Then I traced this onto the white fabric using a pencil. The drawings are mine, but they hopefully reflect the tone of the lists. After everything was penciled in, I clamped on an embroidery hoop and did everything in a free-form backstitch. To finish the quilt, I added batting and backing fabric, and quilted around the writing and pictures. I used by free-motion sewing machine foot, but you could easily hand quilt this if you have the time. After that, I trimmed the piece to about 8x10 inches. I sewed two small loops to the top of the back, so they could hang it if they want. The last step was to bind. And voila! I mini-quilt for a really sweet sister-in-law.
I love giving gifts like this. I have a fear of giving handmade sometimes, because I never want to pressure anyone into keeping or displaying something that isn't quite their taste. I feel a little more confident with something like this. Actually, it usually gets me so excited to give that I pop it into the post office before I even think to take a final picture! My sister-in-law loved it, but I feel compelled to offer this note about hand-made gifts: I make things for people because it gives me time to think about them and pray for them as I do. The joy for me is in the making and the giving. I will never come to your house looking for it, wondering if you really liked it or hated it. If you love it, I'm so pleased. But if it's not your taste, you are free from responsibility. The last thing I would want is for a handmade gift to cause guilt or discomfort. Give it away, keep it in a box, or display it in your home. But it's for you to decide. Merry Christmas!