rostitchery

putting my blog where my mouth is

so much for posting every day in september.  LOL

october has been full—and of course, it is two days before halloween and i’m semi-frantically trying to finish ella’s costume.  i’ll post about it when the rush is over.

i’m about to make a partial about face on my stance against holiday crafting.  or rather, i’m about to make that about face on behalf of local and regional crafters and i hope you’ll join me.

the difference it makes when you place your cash into the same hands as the ones that made the thing you’re buying is profound, especially if it is someone from your own town, your own neighborhood, maybe a friend you know in real life.  you establish a relationship of trust, of mutual benefit and support,  which imbues the transaction with meaning well beyond the simple acquisition of goods or services.

my family has experienced this over and over—by purchasing our beef from a farmer we know, whose family has been in our home and with whom we have a relationship.  we have visited the farm where our CSA vegetables were grown, have had our vegetables placed in a box for us by the farmer himself, have carried the box of fresh peppers and eggplants back to our car past the rows and rows of fresh peppers and eggplants still growing on his land.  we have, of course, made many, many gifts, and have delighted in the hours of contemplation on the person we love so much that we are willing to invest hours of work to make something just for them.

so what i’m proposing is that we all stop, as much as possible, offering our hard-earned cash to big-box retailers, stop giving away our precious financial resources for cheap trinkets, and take it all back home, by either creating our own gifts and providing our own events and services or, perhaps better yet, by putting our gift and service dreams in the hands of people who can make them come to life.  i’m proposing that we buy local or regional, or if you must go afield, to consider places like etsy, where crafters and artisans make their goods available to the whole world.

so--for the month of november i’ll be featuring nashville/middle TN crafters and artists, as well as online makers for those outside middle tennessee.  i believe you’ll find someone, or several someones, who can provide the type of handmade craftsmanship that is worthy of your cash and of the recipients of your thoughtfulness.

if you want to be featured in this series, send me a detailed email at rowena@rostitchery.com, with information about your product, service, event, etc.  i want to include as many people as possible, so don’t wait--the first week of listings is already full!

 

*please feel free to share your own stories about buying locally, as well as links to artists and craftsmen in your area.  i promise, word gets around, and there is power in numbers.  :)

if not for the last minute: keep the kids occupied edition

last week ella and i went to a gingerbread decorating party with some friends.  her little house was beautiful.

we put it on the dining room table for her daddy to admire.  and then the next day while we were out, the dogs admired it a little too closely.  :(

she was devastated.  and of course, i was devastated for her.

this craft partly made up for it. 

i cut a house shape out of brown felt and she decorated it over and over with pieces of scrap felt cut into different shapes.  i let her have some rick-rack too, which doesn’t stick well to felt but it stayed in place enough to make her happy. 

 

when she got tired of the house, i cut out a gingerbread boy.

 

if you don’t happen to have felt, you could cut brown paper bags or construction paper and let the kids decorate with crayons, stickers, etc. 

i can always tell how hard she is working and how engaged she is in any activity by the expressiveness of her piggies. 

if not for the last minute: party clothes edition

origami skirt, for when you only have one yard of fabric and 15 minutes to sew

 

instant heirloom dress, for when you only have hand-me-downs that need handing down

 

math dress, for when something inappropriate needs to become appropriate

 

t-shirt dresses, for when you have enough time to make a skirt but not a bodice

 

and of course, the fabulous convertible dress, for when you need to look a minimum of five different kinds of STUNNING in a single evening.

if not for the last minute: wearables for others edition

yes, you can make things to wear at the last minute.  

magistrate dress, great for that last-minute nativity play costume.

 

pillowcase dress, great for that last-minute little girl party dress. (ella is STILL wearing this very dress, by the way.  now it is a cute summer top).

 

apron cheat #1, great for that last-minute hostess gift.

 

 

apron cheat #2, great for that other last-minute hostess gift.

if not for the last minute: friends and family edition

this post caused me to realize that i have posted very few projects that would be right for the men in my/your lives.  part of the reason i've posted so little in that category is that SOMEONE, and i'm not naming names here, reads my blog and thus SOMEONE would be impossible to surprise if i just posted things i have in mind for SOMEONE. 

back to the list.

stationary holder keepers 

 

pleated purse

 

pictures for daddy that would also be great for grandparents

 

*what do you suggest for last-minute guy gifts?

if not for the last minute: knifty knitter edition

now is not the time to pull out the needles.  this is the next-to-the-next-to last minute.  if yarn is going to be your medium of choice, then you need to whip out the looms.

shawl you can make in an hour

 

cabled hat you can make in an afternoon 

 

pet sweater you can make in an evening 

 

ear flap hat you can finish just in time for wrapping 

 

*confession:  i’m knitting something on needles too.  and it MIGHT get finished in time.  what about you?

if not for the last minute: holiday decorating edition

admit it:  you still have decorating to do. 

sure, you probably have your tree up—and you probably have some pretty candles scattered tastefully around your home.  you might even have a fantastic light display on your house.

but you know there is always a corner that could use a little christmas cheer.  and your christmas table might have a little room left on it for some sparkle.

these projects will go a long way toward filling up those empty nooks and crannies, and they also make sweet hostess gifts too.

 

rudolf's felt christmas trees

 

quickest wreath ever

 

pipe cleaner christmas trees 

 

button wreath ornaments 

 

beginners tree skirt 

 

*what do you make to give your home that extra touch of christmas?

if not for the last minute: kids edition

in spite of what i've said all these years about last-minute christmas crafting, i know some of you are doing it anyway.  i know this because i am too.  :)

so let's pool resources, shall we?  each day this week i'll post a few links to some projects that you CAN do at the last minute, or at least at the 11th hour. please feel free to post a comment with a link to any project you'd like to share as well!

together, we can get each other to the finish line without too much damage to our mental health.

first up:  gifts for kids!  

baby cradle and knot doll 

 

tiddlywinks 

 

max and ruby dolls, or any other character your child loves

 

shower caps for girly girls  

 

 

*what are you making for the kids in your life?

i love being santa

for several years now my “playgroup” of mama friends has had a secret santa swap.  it is so much fun that usually sometime before halloween, someone asks when we’re going to get the ball rolling again.  and every year, the mamas come up with some truly stunning gifts to give each other.

our rules are simple:  the gift must be handmade, and you can’t spend more than $20.00.  “handmade” is interpreted loosely—some mamas purchase items handmade by others, or they make things like cakes or candy, or they burn a CD, etc.  we don’t reveal what we got until all the presents have been delivered—that way you can’t use the process of elimination to guess who your own secret santa is.

we each spend a lot of time trying to find out information about our recipients without them knowing.  coming up with conversation starters on our private bulletin board without letting on why we’re asking is part of the game.  many of us like to drop our gifts on the front porch and wait for the recipient to find it—it makes the fun last even longer!

this year i used only things i had or could find to make the gifts for my recipient.  so the only thing i “spent” on my package was my time, but i am pleased with everything i made and i believe my recipient was too.

the main present was a pair of slippers like the ones ella and i have.  to make them a little more special i added some embroidery (this was the project i wanted to needle felt).  i also added some puff paint on the soles, in the shapes of the designs i embroidered, to make them non-slip.

 

i also made a wreath for her, using honeysuckle vines from our back fence, a cinnamon angel ornament that ella made, and a big red bow i saved from a package last christmas.  (hint:  get the ingredients for the ornaments at the dollar-tree-i-love-that-place.  for $2.00 you can make enough ornaments for the whole neighborhood).

 

i made an ornament out of some red tulle, some metallic confetti, and a little free-motion embroidery.

 

i gave her a jar of basil jelly that i had specifically canned in the pretty jar and set aside just for this swap.

 

and for her little boy, i made a little coin jar and gave him a roll of pennies.

 

the children of this group also do a secret santa swap, and as soon as i get word that ella’s recipient has opened her gift, i’ll post (that child’s sister has not yet received her package so the mom is waiting until they can both open—otherwise, you know, it could get a little dicey).

oh, lest i forget:  the SRC!  for the slippers i’ll take the same number of points i took for my own, 350, because although the embroidery was sub-optimum, the slippers are still very cute.  for the wreath, i’ll take 100 points for coming up with the idea of harvesting that stuff in the first place, but i’m giving those points to ella because of the cinnamon ornament.  the tulle ornament i started it over 8 years ago, and it was special to me, made at a special time.  so i’m taking 1000 points for it.

i’m a little proud to say that canning supplies and canned goods do amount to a stash here, but i’m always glad to share them so i forfeit any points on those.

so that makes it 1350 points, i’ve over the top and now i no longer have to feel guilty about remaining stash this year!  woohoo! 

 

*ella and i like doing these secret “drop-and-run” presents so much that we are thinking of jingling our neighbors.  although now that i’ve actually said it, it sounds a little kinky, especially doing it with a seven-year-old.  we might need to come up with an alternate name for it.  suggestions?

christmas crafting update

my christmas crafting has been somewhat derailed.

the sushi scarf is on hold because i lost one of these:

 

and i’m waiting for the next coupon from one of the local craft stores so i can replace it with is one of these:

 

 

then my hallowig got put on hold because although i did have the right size of these:

i did not have the correct size of these:

which is a complete mystery to me considering in the past i’ve made at least three hallowigs already.  so, another wait for another coupon.

 

 

i have also lost this, and have given up on finding or replacing it:

 

instead i just used this because i had it in my stash—so to all my gift recipients, best of luck to you.  LOL

at least i get some SRC points:  1 point for the tiny amount of floss i used, plus 75 points for actually doing the embroidery, but –70 points for how it turned out.

 

*how’s it going with your christmas or other holiday crafting?

it's beginning to look a little like christmas

there is a lot of crafting going on around here these days.  mostly because as much as i want to honor my true, authentic commitment to the christmas craft revolt, this year i really need to honor my true, authentic commitment to my family budget, and my true, authentic commitment to my kick out the clutter project.

so i’m making some presents, but i’m doing it now, so that we can still enjoy a little fun during december.

and in honor of my kick out the clutter project i am declaring a new stash reduction contest, 2010 christmas edition.  there's nothing like a little competition to get me up motivated.  i’m aiming for 1000 points by the first week of december.  definitely not over-ambitious. 

so i’m making another sushi scarf (5 yarns that have been in stash for 2 years—i’ll take 10 points):

 

and another hallowig (1 ball of yarn that has been in stash for 1 year—but on a pattern that is far above my level of competency—give me 50 points please):

 

i’ve already made several more loom-knit market bags (1 HUGE skein of yarn that i’ve had for at least 3 years—let’s make it an even 20 points):

 

and two more pairs of loom-knit mittens (four balls of yarn that i’ve had in stash for 1 year, but i had to buy another ball of yarn because i ran short, but i had already knit the cuffs last winter, and i finished the second pair on a day when it was almost 80 degrees, so let’s just say 12 points):

 

and i’m thinking i might even make just a few more dishcloths, to tide me over during the busy holiday season (ok, i have to come clean:  i bought another ball of yarn.  so 1 point, right?):

 

 

for a grand total of 93 points.  so far, so good.

i am also working on some double-secret, extra-pinky-swear, no-can-tell-you projects for a secret santa swap.  the only thing i can say right now is this:  the reveal date for the swap is saturday, 4 december.