Holiday Gift Making

The leaves have turned golden on the trees and the frosts are nearly here.  Is anyone else freaking out about the holidays yet?

I just started my holiday gift making.  Don't tell anyone, but this year they are all getting handmade towels!



That's the warp!  Next step, put it on the loom and start weaving.  I think it's going to take about 2 weeks, which should be enough time to get them in the post by mid-November.  


Working on this, I thought it would be fun to start a thread filled with photos of all our handmade holiday gifts.  

Don't know what to make?  we have a thread for that.

We also have a thread for wrapping your pressies.  

Oh man, this is definitely the time of year I get the present making urgency. I usually am knitting scarves and hats and oven mitts for people, but I don't know if I'll be making anything this year. With a one-year old and a four-year old, my hands are almost always busy! I'm also throwing a baby shower for my sister-in-law. So, I just finished knitting booties and mittens for her. And, I really need to get some mittens knitted for my daughter, too! I had delusions of being able to knit and felt some rainbow nesting bowls, but I'm pretty sure THAT won't be happening!

Maybe I'll make some cool pouches for my nieces and nephew. Those don't take too long and end up looking pretty cool. But when will I find the time?!

Hmm, you have to have someone to gift things too for this to be a cool thing.

Love your ideas for gifts R and Nicole.
We mail ours to Canada to the kids, grand kids and great grand kids, Wolf is in charge of this part of the year, we have flutes getting built and I've been told I need to make a fiddle and a mandolin before the end of November.
No photos yet but I'll try to get some put up here when I can.

Tonight I plan to start carving some spoons. I have some Doug Fir branches which are about 2" around. I have been drying them in my woodshed for several months. These will be my first carved spoons. So wish me luck!

Bryant RedHawk wrote:Hmm, you have to have someone to gift things too for this to be a cool thing.

Love your ideas for gifts R and Nicole.
We mail ours to Canada to the kids, grand kids and great grand kids, Wolf is in charge of this part of the year, we have flutes getting built and I've been told I need to make a fiddle and a mandolin before the end of November.
No photos yet but I'll try to get some put up here when I can.

I'd love to see the mandolin when you make it.  The art of the Luthier has always fascinated me!  

I'm a wood turner and these are a couple of the gifts I'm making for the holidays.   I'd like to turn some Christmas ornaments this year too.

Cheers, Scott

Wow, those are gorgeous!

The towels are coming along much faster than I expected.  I think I'll have time to make a second set before I have to ship everything out.  



It's based on a fibonacci number sequence and here's my test run to see if the pattern would work out okay.

Your towels are gorgeous! I'm inspired to follow through on my weaving lessons!

Some more towels - half way done my holiday weaving and it's already the second half of November.  I need to start earlier next year.







I've been thinking how much I enjoy making a large number of the same thing.  So I've been timing myself to see if I'm ready to sell yet.  Per two towels, I estimate about $30 worth of labour, but the material cost for organic cotton is far too high to make these for sale.  If I could find an affordable source of organic cotton, I think I would enjoy making towels for sale.  

absolutely beautiful R. Ranson!

It's been a number of years since I've done any production weaving and the cost of organic cotton and availability of organic hemp had a lot to do with my winding down from weaving all together, that along with aches and pains from treating my body like a machine for so many years.  

You have lucky folks on your gift list!

My dad is getting a leather belt I made. My sisters are getting spoons I’ve carved.

I just finished a couple of blankets for my Dad.  These are really lightweight, but the warmest blankets I've ever met.  It's like wearing a space blanket made from wool!





The really neat thing is that these are twice the width of my loom.  They are woven with a technique called 'double width' which is way cool!  Or, in this case, HOT!

R, those are GORGEOUS. I love the fibbinachi sequence pattern, and the color choices. Beautiful!

And, WOW, Scott, your woodwork is lovely!!!

Brad, I love your spoon! I've always wanted to carve my own spoon. Last Christmas I got the tools for it, but with two kids I haven't had the time to start carving. Hopefully next year!



I did end up making pouches for my nieces and nephew. Now I just need to take a picture of the pouches and get it posted here!

Got some pictures of the pouches! I made them each out of the kid's favorite colors. I asked my sister-in-law what they wanted, and she said nailpolish and jewelry. I got a big pack of water-soluble/peal-able nail-polish and split the colors between the girls, and got them jewelry that matched their interests (one likes ladybugs, so all her jewelry was ladybug themed, another likes horses, and the third likes emojis). My nephew is a teenager. We'll be putting either 25 $1 coins, or 25 $1 dollar bills in his pouch, LOL! I don't want to be the crazy aunt that gives weird homemade things, and I don't want to push my ethics on them, especially since they live in another state and so we don't get to see them much, so I try to mix homemade with cool things they'll like. Hopefully they'll like their presents! I know I had fun making them and picking out stuff to fill them with!

love the blankets r ranson ! actually all of it, keep up the good works.

i have made 4 gifts so far.

i made 2 brooches, one for my aunt and another for my grandmother, this was the first time i had ever made a brooch.
i think they came out pretty neat, i found some cute vintage cabochons to use as a centerpiece.

i also made one bracelet and a necklace, for my niece and another young member of my family.
maybe i will get inspired to photograph them and post them up.

leila hamaya wrote:
maybe i will get inspired to photograph them and post them up.

Please do post.  I love seeing everyone's creations.  

I just finished this one for my boss

here's the first brooches i made as gifts....

and also a bracelet for my niece...

This year everyone is going to be getting canned goods. To give, I've made applesauce, pears in syrup, grape jelly, cranberry jelly and at the moment I have orange marmalade on the stove. I've never made orange marmalade before, so I hope it turns out okay. The kitchen smells wonderful!

Just finished this knife. Made from rebar. I left the ribs on back (to show it is rebar). I also left the hammer marks to keep it rugged looking. Not a great knife due to the metal, but i like how it turned out.

I have a four year old son and a one year daughter. I also have old mardi gras beads from an old project. As I watched my little girl playing and wearing the beads, I though, "I wonder what's in these beads touching my little girl's skin and possibly going in her mouth?"

Not good things, according to the Smithsonian (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/toxic-truth-mardi-gras-beads-180962431/)

Smithsonian wrote: Independent research on beads collected from New Orleans parades has found toxic levels of lead, bromine, arsenic, phthalate plasticizers, halogens, cadmium, chromium, mercury and chlorine on and inside the beads. It’s estimated that up to 920,000 pounds of mixed chlorinated and brominated flame retardants were in the beads.

I decided to make a non-toxic, edible necklace. I found a neat company (https://usasiliconebeadsupply.com) that had a lot of different colored and shaped beads. I'll put in my cart some little "gold beads" to make a mardi gras like necklace, as well as shiny white ones that I'l alternate with heart-shaped beads in all the colors of the rainbow for a second necklace.



I also realized I could make a necklace for Christmas for my brother's two-year old daughter who loves blue. So, into my cart went lots of little blue beads and even some cute flower shaped beads.



Then I realized I could make a teething necklace for my brother's newborn. Since it's for a newborn and to be worn by my sister-in-law, I ordered a bunch of wooden beads in different sizes, some even crocheted over with blue cotton thread.



When all these beads arrive, I'll be trying out my nascent necklace making skills. I've never made a necklace other than elementary school crafts with pony beads, and it never occurred to me until now that I could make my own "teething necklaces" just the way I want them. I'm really excited!

I am amazed at the talent I see displayed on this page! I would love to be the recipient of any of these fine wares. Lucky folks.

My humble gift is almost ready to be delivered (tomorrow) to my in-laws at the retirement home. As I posted above, applesauce, sliced pears, grape jelly, cranberry jelly and orange marmalade. The marmalade recipe made exactly 6 half-pints, so I only had a taste when I scraped the pot and licked the spoon. Delicious! But, it looks thin in the jars (moves when you invert the jar). Oh well. Now, I'll make some buttermilk biscuits (mother-in-law's recipe) and it's ready.

Another knife, and the plow i made it from

I got the necklaces finished! The picture doesn't do them justice, but all the ones I took without flash came out blurry (taking pictures while holding a squirmy little one = blurry pictures). But, I figure a bad picture is better than no picture!

It's that time again, and I'm trying to figure out what to make this year for everyone!

I'm thinking of making my Mother-In-Law fairies of each of the grandkids, made to look like them but with wings and their favorite colors. That's 6 fairies to make! Can I do it?

She also asked for a felt elephant. I've made dragons and a horse and duck in the past, but an elephant? We'll see if I have time! Maybe that'll be her birthday present instead...



Now to figure out what to make everyone ELSE in the family!

This year my loom is annexed by linen towels.  I'm thinking I have enough to give each person one towel and some tea.

I'm also thinking that our plastic food wrap is nearly empty.  It was bought about 10 years ago and we stopped using that stuff in our house about the same time.  My friend who comes over for the occasional meal wraps up her leftovers in plastic wrap and I'm thinking once the plastic is gone, I don't have any plans to buy more.  Maybe I'll make her some waxed cloths for wrapping up leftovers.

One grandkid fairy almost done, 5 more to go!

This one is of my son. I let him pick all his colors, and he wanted fire wings. I tried something new for the head, as when I use a bead for the head, all the hair has to come out the top hole (since I refuse to use glue). This works fine for the girl fairies, but not so good for those with short hair. So, I needle felted a ball onto the wire and sewed hair onto it. I still have to style the shaggy mane a bit more....then of course,  my son DOES have a shaggy mane, so maybe it's okay, lol!

You folks are so talented. I'm just going with Christmas Seminole pumpkins this year:)

I agree with Mike.  I wish I were related to all of you!  ;)

I will be sharing some of my canned items and doing some shopping for items on wish lists.  I like to make personalized blankets for people too and I just started one for my sister-in-law but that will not be done in time for Christmas.  

I am not as handy as most on this list but I will keep working towards that.  It is fun to make things.  The whole time I make something for someone, good thoughts of that person and a wish for their enjoyment is present.  My gift exchange list has been whittled down over the years so that it is only a handful of people I "have" to give for and all are given with joy and that is a gift in and of itself.

Two fairies down, four to go!

I've got the fairy versions of both my son and daughter done. Now on to the nieces and nephews!

(I'm wondering if I should add some more yellow to my son's fairy's wings to make them brighter. What do you think?)

I love making gifts (partly because I;m cheap), but it's also just fun. I haven;t thought of anything yet, because I'm still in school-focus and after-college thoughts mode. I'll probably be doing Winter gift making the week right before Christmas. I think I may have gotten some complaint from one of my parents about me doing this, but the recipients (my siblings) have found the gifts cute. (At the moment, I'm making another beanie hat, possibly for myself, or I could give away as a gift, haven't decided yet- just something to keep my hands busy)

Nicole, I think it's perfect how it is.  :)

Here's my current state of the beanie hat I'm making. It's a nice light blue, which I think could be nice as a Winter gift. It's not yet done, but it's at a stopping point, because I ran out of the fluffy yarn I'm using and won't have more until I go home for Thanksgiving, where I have a big stash of yarn I got from a thrift store. The top of the hat is a crocheted peice, a combination of shells stitches, bobble stitches, and waves. The bottom portion is a bobble stitch done on Tunisian/Afghan crochet. i did this, because I want to give the hat structure and firmness on the sides, so that the hat doesn't lose its shape from stretching as much overtime.

Looks super warm and comfy, Dave!

fairy #3 is done! My niece has platinum blond curly hair and likes pink and ladybugs, so I made a pink ladybug fairy to represent her!

These are some older things I have made, and I'm going to just gift these to people, because I make more things than I can use for just myself. And giving these away will just give me an excuse to be able to  make more projects. That's kind of the thing with crafting; I just like doing it. It's that I need all of the stuff I make; it's just that I enjoy the art and act of creation. It's fun to make beautiful things, and also, knitting and crocheting is mostly just oh so relaxing to do.

The first three pictures are of my most recent projects. The first one is my current project. The second and third pictures are ones I knitted with the last of the yarn I had in my room at college, while I was waiting to get back home, where I knew I had some fluffy yarn that I could use to extend my crocheted beanie hat out a little farther so that it actually covers my head. The rest of these peices, I'm not sure when I finished them, but it's been long enough that I think I can just give them to people as Winter presents.

Dave, I love knit wash cloths! Once, I even wrote an Ode to a Scrubbie about the kitchen scrubbies my Grandma used to make.

I finally got the fairy grandkids all made!

Yellow hearts=my daughter
Fire=my son
Pink & white ladybug fairy=youngest niece
Purple=second -youngest niece (she like purple and cheetah print, but I totally failed at cheetah print!)
Blue=Oldest niece (likes blue and crafts)
Black=Nephew



As a "last-minute" gift, I made my nieces and nephew some little dragons, each in their favorite color



Here they all are together. There are so many!!!



Now to wrap them and mail them and hope they make it in time!

So, I'd needle-felted a cat for my youngest niece for her birthday, and then her older sister wanted one, too. *Insert frantic needle-felting here.* Just finished her cat...and now my daughter wants one, too :o!

OMG! Nicole, it's life size?!?!? WOW!!! Seriously impressed, here! I love - but am only mediocre at - felting & fulling (which is a little easier, in some ways). I'd be hard pressed to think of a craft I haven't tinkered around with, but there is something particularly satisfying, to me, in felt work. I learned how, while assisting a fiber artist teach my oldest daughter's fifth grade class how to make felted mini tapestries. (Today is her 31st birthday,  if that tells you how long ago it was, lol). I was so enamored of the process, that the artist gave me a bag of her scraps.

With life being life, I'm still packing some of it around with me, but I've shared what I've learned with my dil, who also loves it. Last year, I found some wool yarn, and we loom knitted, then fulled a couple projects. Mine was a (ugly as sin) muff, with interior pockets for my phone, lip balm and id/ credit cards. She made a purse, with hers. When we move into our new homestead, and get settled in, we plan on having a few fiber critters, so we can do the whole process. Maybe someday, we will be able to do more intricate felting, too - though I doubt I'll ever even come close to your work!

Your family are so very blessed, to have such a gifted aunt/mama!!!