Thinking About Christmas!

I don’t know about you, but i like to plan ahead. Especially when it comes to Christmas presents! Mostly because i am so naturally disorganised that if i don’t start thinking about it months in advance i am left panicking at the last minute and so end up getting boring/generic gifts for people (not to mention spending loads more money and starting the new year poor – no fun!)

Plus, i love giving gifts and planning what i’m getting people for Christmas is fun :) So i like to write a list at the end of summer of everyone i want to give gifts to, and scribble down any ideas that i have for each person. If i have no idea what to get for someone i can keep my eyes and ears open over the next couple of months and try to find out if there’s anything they want/need. Starting early gives me plenty of time to make gifts if possible, or shop around to find the best version of something if it’s something i need to buy. I also keep my list in mind so that when i come across cool stuff in the shops and think ‘oooh, so and so would like this’, i know i can get it and pop it in the Christmas box!

The box is already accumulating a few bits and pieces – some books and a DVD, some pretty crocheted vines with multicoloured flowers, a couple of pairs of (handmade) gloves, and at least one crocheted scarf. There are more scarves currently underway and a couple of blankets in the offing – big projects that make me very glad i’m starting this early!

Here are some pictures of where i’ve got to so far…

looong green gloves

pretty turquoise ribbony gloves

Apologies for the awful blurry pictures, turns out it’s quite hard to take a photo with one hand while trying to get half your other arm in the shot!

Autumnal colours scarf

The blankets i’m thinking of so far are a granny squares blanket in rich reds, burnt oranges, tan/earth shades and dark brown; this one (or certainly something very similar – i’m not sure if i like the joining of the squares in the pattern and i might give them a thicker cream border which would also make the blanket bigger… decisions decisions!) and probably one of these in matching colours for the same people; and finally one like this which i like very much :)

I also followed a wonderfully simple tutorial (here) to make some pretty little Christmas decorations out of felt. These will probably be little extras to decorate the gift-wrapping for gifts like homemade cake or sweeties.

Some of the wrapping bits i’ve done already are wine bottle gift bags, made from patchworked scraps, old napkins and the remnants of a pashmina from another project…

…and some decorated paper (made from envelopes or shop paper bags decorated with paper scraps) and fabric (again from scraps) gift bags

These weren’t all made in the last few days – some were done just after last Christmas while i was in the holiday mood!

I’ve also been making some pieces to add to my Etsy shop, again thinking along the lines of cute Christmas presents –

These beautifully coloured bags were made from a half-finished knitted jumper i inherited from a friend. I didn’t have enough yarn or knitting expertise to finish the jumper, but desperately wanted to do something with the beautiful fabric she had created. I used the large back piece to make these two bags, and made the straps from the remnants of the jumper yarn braided with some in similar colours from my stash, stitched onto some trim i found in a charity shop. Possibly my favourite thing about these bags is the fastenings! one has a simple loop-and button fastening with a giant heart button, and the other is a dtrawstring fastening with chunky plastic beads including a red star one on each end. Extra cuteness :)

Another bag, this one upcycled from a gorgeous soft but quite thick pashmina and keeping the tassles at the end as part of the bag.

And finally, a long scarf in a fluffy teal yarn with flecks of copper in it which i absolutely LOVE. I made the scarf to test a pattern (made up from pictures of similar scarves – the original idea is definitely not mine though the pattern is)  for making a scarf in similar yarn for a friend’s birthday. It worked really well and i really enjoyed working with the yarn – i used a larger needle than recommended to give it a looser weave, making it more flexible and a bit more lacy. The yarn for my friend’s scarf is a bit finer so it looks even lacier and quite delicate. I hope she likes it! This one will be available shortly on my Etsy shop.

Another super long post! sorry! I’m sure i will be batting on about Christmas rather a lot over the next couple of months so i will leave it there for now, thanks for listening! xx