I am doing very well with my 12 days of Christmas project. I figured it out, i am covering 21 people, so that comes to 252 small gifts! I am sticking to the same stuff for the kids - a pencil case, pencils/pen, a snowflake ornament, stickers, a flashlight, a tote bag, finger puppets, etc. For the adults i decided to do it a little differently. Three people are already complete (except i'm going to give candy one day and i'll wait until Oct/Nov to buy it).
Most of the tote bags i purchased inexpensively from eBay or other sources. I'm making a few. I still have 5 to make (my July project). My August project is finger puppets, and i have started, but it is going to be a project! I'm mostly doing animals - dogs, cats, birds, etc. I made an alpaca yesterday.
However, i already have almost all of September complete. October is just to buy some inexpensive stickers for the different ones. November is to make a necklace for the girls or a paracord bracelet for the boys. December is candy (for every one but the baby who will be 14 months old then). I'm anxious to have this all done and finished. So i'm working at this faster than the one-gift-a-month. My goal is to have it complete by Thanksgiving. Then i won't have to worry about much at all for Christmas (a couple of folks for whom we are not doing 12 days things). I also need to write up a small history of Christmas to send, so they will know the tradition behind this decision. And, need i say? i don't anticipate doing this again! But i'm having fun and i have decided that i probably want to have most of my Christmas gifts done in the summer in future years.
Here are the finger puppets i've finished so far. I think they're cute.
I also have decided i'd like to learn to tat. I have to admit that i don't see tatting nearly as useful or versatile as either knit or crochet (and i prefer to knit), but it has its own charm. Mostly it is used for lace. I have a tee shirt that i don't care for the way the collar is attached. I thought i could remove it and replace it with a small triangle of tatted lace. I can't say why i want to do this, except that i do!
So i purchased a tatting shuttle, extra bobbins, and tatting thread from eBay. They arrived and i've been playing with it and breaking thread. Tatting thread is quite fine. I am going to need to move to a coarser crochet thread to learn, i think. The whole point is to create knots on the "shuttle thread" that will slide. Somehow i'm creating knots that just knot, and then break when i try to slide them.
Okay, i've managed to make "a ring" now. I think i know the basic tatting knots. But i haven't been able to figure out how to go to the next one, attached. When i've tried before to go to the next ring, i can't get the shuttle hand to slide. I have found someone in Costa Mesa (where we stay in OC each week) who is giving beginning classes at Piecemakers (a quilting and craft shop) on weekends, but of course, i'm not there then. I left a message at her blog asking if she does private teaching.
I'm rather proud of my picots, by the way. They are the little loops and the instructions state that it can take some practice to get them a consistent size.
464
Most of the tote bags i purchased inexpensively from eBay or other sources. I'm making a few. I still have 5 to make (my July project). My August project is finger puppets, and i have started, but it is going to be a project! I'm mostly doing animals - dogs, cats, birds, etc. I made an alpaca yesterday.
However, i already have almost all of September complete. October is just to buy some inexpensive stickers for the different ones. November is to make a necklace for the girls or a paracord bracelet for the boys. December is candy (for every one but the baby who will be 14 months old then). I'm anxious to have this all done and finished. So i'm working at this faster than the one-gift-a-month. My goal is to have it complete by Thanksgiving. Then i won't have to worry about much at all for Christmas (a couple of folks for whom we are not doing 12 days things). I also need to write up a small history of Christmas to send, so they will know the tradition behind this decision. And, need i say? i don't anticipate doing this again! But i'm having fun and i have decided that i probably want to have most of my Christmas gifts done in the summer in future years.
Here are the finger puppets i've finished so far. I think they're cute.
I also have decided i'd like to learn to tat. I have to admit that i don't see tatting nearly as useful or versatile as either knit or crochet (and i prefer to knit), but it has its own charm. Mostly it is used for lace. I have a tee shirt that i don't care for the way the collar is attached. I thought i could remove it and replace it with a small triangle of tatted lace. I can't say why i want to do this, except that i do!
So i purchased a tatting shuttle, extra bobbins, and tatting thread from eBay. They arrived and i've been playing with it and breaking thread. Tatting thread is quite fine. I am going to need to move to a coarser crochet thread to learn, i think. The whole point is to create knots on the "shuttle thread" that will slide. Somehow i'm creating knots that just knot, and then break when i try to slide them.
Okay, i've managed to make "a ring" now. I think i know the basic tatting knots. But i haven't been able to figure out how to go to the next one, attached. When i've tried before to go to the next ring, i can't get the shuttle hand to slide. I have found someone in Costa Mesa (where we stay in OC each week) who is giving beginning classes at Piecemakers (a quilting and craft shop) on weekends, but of course, i'm not there then. I left a message at her blog asking if she does private teaching.
I'm rather proud of my picots, by the way. They are the little loops and the instructions state that it can take some practice to get them a consistent size.
464
4 comments:
I'm not much into sewing crafts but I just had to say that those finger puppets are great. I'm sure some kid is going to love them. But......no squirrel puppet?
Well, i have sixty (6-0) of them to make! I've just gotten started. :)
Thank you. I'll have to print out some good squirrel pics to use. Most of the kids put "dog" as their favorite animal.
Wow Kathy, you 've been so busy with your skilled fingers and creativity. You are going to make a lot of kids so happy. This is wonderful.
Also wan t to see see some new photos of Duane and you.
I am excited to visit my sister Sonia this weekend
They are soo cool, you are a very talented lady.
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