Handmade Holiday Recap, Part 1

I’m sure you’re quite ready to be done with the recent holiday season and that every other blogger has long since posted the things they made for Giftmas 2011. Well sorry, I prefer not to post until the gifts have been received so there is no chance of spoilers. (Which is why this is part 1, as some gifts are late and the recipients are still waiting…oops.)

Do you remember the Handmade Pledge that was so popular about two years ago, maybe three? It was a pledge to only give and request handmade items, with a darling little blog badge favored by those who had made the pledge. I never signed up, never will. Not because I don’t give handmade gifts but because I always *want* craft supplies and books about crafting. I also try to give craft supplies to those on my gift list who appreciate them. Unfortunately, while I believe that is still supporting handmade it doesn’t fit the terms of the pledge and it does still mean money is going to large companies that manufacture their items en mass in foreign countries. (Like books, most of which are printed in China.) I did feel like I was a little bit left out because I didn’t get to wave a banner of indie, handmade pride like those who signed the pledge but since that fad fizzled out I guess they couldn’t really stick to those ideals either.

What I do support is giving handmade items as much as I possibly can, but only things I have made myself. Even if it is just a small fraction of the total package someone receives, it is still meaningful. So on that note, I’ll start showing you some of the things I made this year. Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph the things I made for my in-laws prior to leaving Australia. Today, therefore, is what I made for my mother to send to friends and family as part of the gifts she gave. (I don’t generally exchange gifts with the extended family so these were just little tokens, not intended to be stand-alone gifts.)

First, the cards:

I know they seem a little plain. It is just a Sizzix embossing folder of a Christmas tree (directly embossed on pre made card blanks). Inside is just a simple stamped greeting. My mother wanted neat and elegant so this was exactly as requested, she really liked them. Alas, even with such basic techniques as embossing and stamping, I still managed to mess up quite a few! I need to remember to never stamp when my blood sugar is low because I often get the shakes. Also I am quite a perfectionist so even if things were off by 2 mm I still counted them as imperfect. Two imperfections and they were out! What you see were the ones I deemed entirely unusable.  Still, a handful wrong and 25 good enough is not a bad average for someone very out of practice at card making, if I do say so myself. 🙂

Next, the potholders:

This is a little embarrassing because as most crafty folks know, kids often start making these around the age of 6. One of my cousins even asked why my mother had returned the potholders she had made her over 40 years ago. *rolls eyes* But again, this was my mom’s request and I made them even though I suspected people would not really appreciate them. These potholders hold up better than any other kind and you can’t buy them in stores, they’re only available handmade. She had originally envisaged sending everyone gifts of soup mix in a jar with potholders and spoons to go with them. She later decided against the jar mix part so the potholders I made for her wound up being rather out of context.

If you are familiar with potholders made of loops (the stretchy cotton loops are usually the leftovers from sock manufacturing), you may notice how very vivid these colors are. That’s because these are not the grab bags you can buy at craft stores but are made with Harrisville Designs’ Potholder Loops. In addition to their very saturated and modern colors these loops are guaranteed to fit the standard potholder looms. No more loops that break or simply don’t fit, no waste.

I came up with a system for making potholders where you only have to weave 1/2 of the weft loops rather than the way I learned where you have to weave all of the weft. I suspect there are more ways to improve since I’ve seen these for sale on Etsy for about $5 each and I can’t imagine anyone taking the 35-45 minutes I spend, plus expenses, and then selling them for only $5. Maybe they have found a way to make at least two an hour? Maybe they don’t have to stop and fast forward through commercials on the DVR? 🙂 At any rate, I’ve been thinking of doing a video or a photo tutorial showing my method to cut down on weaving. (It is not where you use a pencil to hold the warp in one position, but it gives the same results.) Would anyone be interested in seeing that? Don’t want to waste my time if weaving potholders with loops is too 20th century or only for under-10s. 😉

I don’t know how the cards were received but the potholders I think had dubious responses.  I suspect they thought it was too primitive an item, that only children made them and adults only own or use them to indulge the child makers. Heh. I’m not really close to the aunts and cousins my mom gave them to so I don’t feel like asking directly. In the future I think I shall only make potholders for people who appreciate them and/or serious cooks without any children in their lives to make them some. 😉

I’ll be back with parts 2 and 3 of my handmade holidays soon, including dyeing, machine embroidery, needle felting and loom knitting.