Every year I promise myself that I will prepare for Christmas early and not leave things until the week before. And every year that promise is broken. Its now two weeks until Christmas and the only thing I have managed to do is buy gifts for my kids. Thanks to online shopping, I made all my big purchases on Cyber Monday and all but one have already arrived. Some criticize online shopping, but for me, it reduces my stress load immensely. I have learned to order early enough to allow for shipping times which was a mistake I made the first time I did my Christmas shopping online. Needless to say, there were a lot of pictures in cards depicting the gift that was on the way that year. I now feel that I have mastered the online shopping experience and have come to rely on this convenience. Braving the crowded malls during the holidays has always been the worst “to do” thing on my list. Although I still need to clean, bake and decorate the house for Christmas, its a much more manageable task now that I don’t have to run around town looking for the perfect gifts.
My family gathers on Christmas Eve and each year we pick names of nieces and nephews for whom we purchase a gift. In addition to three others, I have also picked my niece Sarah. This is the Sarah that is now creating patterns for the studio. I decided to select one of her patterns and hook it for her room in her preferred colour palette. (Hopefully she wont read this before Christmas) The pattern is Imperial on the website which is a rug. I took a single motif of this pattern and drew it into an 18×30 mat which I will make into a cushion. It hooked up quickly even though I used strips cut into 5’s and 6’s. The photo shows the piece just before stuffing. It would also make a wonderful table mat.
Id like to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. The studio will be closed for the holidays from December 24th-January 2nd.