My husband’s shirt is done and my uncle’s vest nearly. I am bribing myself to finish the shirt for my father’s Christmas present. It’s a short-sleeved Negroni, about as easy as a shirt can get, and I am following the instructions to the letter (to the best of my abilities, anyway… I suck at following instructions.) so I don’t have to expend mental energy thinking about other ways to do things. And I want SO BADLY to throw it all in the corner an make a Tiramisu.
Filed under Sewing
Today was one of those epic days. I was up at 5 AM to get Tyo off to a school ski trip, and really didn’t stop running until the kids got home from Hip Hop at 7:30. Then it was time to Make Presents For Teachers, since tomorrow is the kids’ last day of school pre-Xmas.
The best thing* about moving is that all the old ideas I’d used on previous teachers are new again—so it was the perfect opportunity to re-use the rice-bags-as-teacher-Christmas-presents. I love rice baggies. Throw it in the microwave for a minute, you’ve got a heat-pack. Keep one in the freezer for a cold pack. All the cozy of a hot water bottle without the mess. I’ve been told that using flax seeds is even better than rice as they don’t have that rice-smell, but on the other hand I don’t find the rice-smell unpleasant, flax might go rancid eventually, and, most importantly in this case, rice is something I generally have around the house. š
Syo and the Waif were my main assistants tonight. Of course, as soon as the two for my kids’ teachers were made, the Waif and her sister, Fyon, began clamouring for their own bags. Since we’ve all had colds recently (actually, the Waif has a very lively variety of pneumonia), how could I refuse?
And once I’d made baggies for my nieces, well, obviously I had to make baggies for MY kids, since all ours are in boxes somewhere. (I should probably point out that Syo sewed her own baggie as well as the one for her teacher, and she and the Waif did the majority of the rice-filling, so really I was not doing this on my lonesome.)
And then, just as I was finishing up Tyo’s bag, Stylish** returned from putting the Waif and Fyon to bed with their heated baggies, and asked if maybe, just maybe, very sweetly, I could make up two more for her girls to give to their teachers tomorrow as well.
It’s possible I may be a sucker (especially when it comes to my nieces). But two more baggies were made, for an evening total of eight… so I guess it only felt like billions. We did use up just about all the rice in the house. And Syo did a very lovely job of wrapping them up with cards and bits of lace.
Now if I can only get through the rest of my Christmas sewing…
*OK, possibly not THE best thing. But a very nice thing indeed.
**Sister-in-Law, mother to the Waif and Fyon
Filed under Sewing
Ghosts of Christmasses Past
Oi.
I haven’t, in the past, felt a huge urge to make stuff for Christmas presents. Time is one reason. The necessity of finding out the person’s measurements and even fitting is another. The furthest I’ve gone is an occasional card extravaganza. This year of all years is not the year to start.
Predictably, this is why the list of presents I’d like to make this year keeps getting longer and longer.
I’d like to finish Mr. Isis’s Frock Coat (no modeled shots required). This is the one I’m most likely to actually do, I think. Although it feels a bit cheesy because he knows about it—but I asked him and he seemed to think it’d be an awesome Christmas present. I have a shirt cut out for him I could finish up, too. (Begun and then abandoned in my snit-fit when he declared he’d rather go without than have to model something I made him for the blog. So the real Christmas present is me forgiving him for that…)
Tyo's Too-Tight Shirt
I’d like to make Tyo a version of this shirt that actually fits. This would require actually paying for a Lekala pattern, but y’know, considering all the mooching off their freebies I’ve done, I shouldn’t begrudge them a couple of bucks. Of course what Tyo really wants is a kimono-style housecoat, with lotus applique, like, STAT. (This pattern is in stash; my MIL made it for a Hallowe’en costume for Mr. Isis c. 197) And a chemistry set. Do they still sell chemistry sets? Do I really want my 11-year-old blowing up the kitchen? (Or covering it with green goo…)
My Dad is coming up for Christmas again this year (bonus of being the only child in the country), and while he is perpetually the single. hardest. person. to. buy. for. EVER, it occurred to me that he wears dress shirts all the time, and I could totally make him one of those.
And THEN my brain went crazy. You can’t just make your father a plain dress shirt. No. He’s an archaeologist. He totally needs a Spoonflower fabric shirt, with an arrowhead or pottery or rock painting print. AND THEN I realized I need to trawl through his old publications to find some illustrations he’s published that I could use as the basis for a design… and…
Yes, it’s already almost a week into December. Odds of getting all this pulled together are, like, nil. Although maybe instead of fully printed fabric I could do a stencil or something…
But seriously, it’s the first, only, ever good idea I’ve had for a Christmas present for my Dad in my life.
Of course, I’d still need to find out his measurements…
And Tyo wants to make rice bagsĀ (you pop them in the microwave for a few minutes and they work like a heat-pad)Ā for everyone (and the definition of “everyone” gets longer every time I talk to her), and something for her cousins (which I should probably do, too) and and
And and and
You may all now officially tell me I’m insane.
Filed under Sewing
Sewing is what I do when I'm cheating on all my other hobbies...
Tanit-Isis Sews 