Day 7 - Handmade Holiday Links

Today I just thought I would share a few interesting links

* Loads of Handmade Holiday ideas here at Plain and Joyful Living
* I know this isn't holiday related but I just love this idea a knitted wedding
* Magpie shares some great last minute knits
* A fun gift idea for the gardener in your life.
* A little inspiration for your sewing room

Be back tomorrow with another project, until then I'm off to brave the gusting wind to take the dogs for a walk and bring in firewood.

A Couple of Dishcloths - Day 6

This year we're not using any traditional gift tags, in place of paper we'll be using various handmade toppers two of them being these two dishcloths. A Luv Bug for my Mom in law and a Cheeky Monkey  for my sister.  Along with the bookmarks I already blogged about here I also still really want to make a bunch of these wishy washy fishy tawashi's.

Ughh it's hard to get a decent photo of a textured cloth isn't it?

Day 5 - Keeping it simple Christmas tree garland

This is the view I had from my kitchen window this morning so lovely and crisp feeling, than I thought if something as simple as snow can make a tree look so wonderful ...why every year do I spend so much money creating a "theme"?

 So keeping with the idea of keeping it simple I broke out my 4.5mm dpn's and set to work.

I cast on 4 stitches, started to work in I-cord and around 20 or so feet I realized this is going to take more time than I thought...I tried to talk N into it but he just wasn't buying my it's so relaxing speech (hmmm...) I guess I'll have to keep at it and in another 20 or 30 feet I should be done ...right?
 

The "almost 20' pile". Looking at this picture I think maybe I should wipe the toast crumbs off the table before knitting on it or at the very least before taking a picture.

Day 4 - Hand Sewn Ornaments

Just a quick post today to share a few of the felt ornaments I've been working on, I love to make these quick projects they involve such a small time commitment that once finished they always make me feel like I accomplished something!

Warmest weekend  wishes!

Handmade Gift with a Family Tie - Day 3

Following our rhythm N and I began our day together discussing our families before he left for work and I set about completing my daily tasks. Family is such an important aspect of our lives that for this reason I feel so strongly about this gift. As simple as it may be this all purpose salve has a history to it, N's Opa has always spent every moment of his life doing something to benefit his family, one of these pursuits happened to be Bee Keeping and until quite recently we have all enjoyed the lovely honey and beeswax which he harvested. Sadly he is no longer capable of such activities and we have all gently rationed out what is left of so may years of love. N and I happened to be in possession of one of the few liquid honey batches ( he usually preferred solid) that he ever made as well as a tiny amount of beeswax, this morning over our coffee we finally decided how best to share this gift with our families.

                           

Packaged along with small jars of honey I made a batch of all purpose salve simply by shaving the beeswax and adding the honey to an apricot oil over a double broiler until melted. This may seem basic and easy but I think it's rather fitting to make a gift that is meant to soothe and protect us when that's what he spent his days trying accomplish.

Day 2 - A little bit of knitting

So yes this post is about knitting but it's also a little bit about giving back to your community and sharing what you can. Even small things make a difference and this is one of my simple favourites all you need to do is knit squares! There's nothing easier than a 40 stitch square (4.5mm needles) right?

 I knit these out of 100% acrylic yarn for easy washing and care they're the perfect stash buster, I've already used up a couple of part skeins that were too small for other projects. I was originally just going to drop off the squares at the Huntsville (Ontario) Hospital where volunteers sew them together into blankets to take to the Chrysalis Women's Shelter, however I have so much stash yarn that I'm trying to work these up quickly so I can donate fully completed blankets instead. I'm really hoping I've got enough yarn and time to get at least two finished. If anyone is looking for an easy way to clear up some yarn mounds ;) .....just knit squares and make a difference!

 Of course that's not all I'm knitting I still have some Holiday gifts left on the needles like the Old Shale Blanket which is planned for some good friends who are expecting their first baby! I love how easy this is to work up, the pattern repeats are easily memorized and I can still cart it around with me in the car to work on because of it's tiny recipient's size.

 I'll have more projects to share in the coming days but for now of course I'm off to knit!

Handmade Holidays - Day 1

This year N. (Hubby) and I are making a fully committed attempt at creating a simple and joyful handmade holiday season. Throughout December each day I will post one or more of our ideas and projects in the hopes to eliminate some of the stress that seems to come during the season. Each year I always try to go bigger and better than the last...and the end result is always disappointment, stress and fights! Last year was the first year we decided to cut back and slow down and we had a much nicer holiday and really enjoyed each other and so this year we're going even further.

A simple holiday to us means no new ornaments except for the single yearly ornament we pick to commemorate a special memory from the past year, a major cutback in budget, a lower carbon footprint, less waste e.g. reusable wrapping and no paper gift tags (I'll share my ideas for that later).  And especially using what we already have I have so many stashed craft supplies and yarn that there is no reason why I need to buy more.

So that's our plan use less, buy less, slow down a lot, enjoy the season more, simplify and above all else appreciate the blessings of our home and families.

In preparation of this year's change I began very early to plan our budget, gifting and donation lists and decorating ideas. Which brings me to one part of our handmade gifts. This summer I made in addition to my regular batch of strawberry jam an extra batch to be stored and used as gifts for the holiday season.

These little jars will be topped with scraps of Christmas fabric and tied with ribbon as part of family gifts and unexpected guests and hostess gifts. And because I spent the preparation time in the summer, in less than an hour these will be fully ready to be gifted!  And really who doesn't love homemade jam?


Wishing you all a simple Holiday season!