Coming down the pipleline

Thankfully, some gifts are starting to materialize (no pun intended) at my house. I have been slow to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I don't know why. Perhaps it's the chaos of the house or just the chaos of life. Who knows. But now that some of the things on my to-do list are getting done, I'm feeling a little better. These little jobbies, for lack of a more accurate description are for several people on our list. I made my first one a week ago as a birthday present and promptly wrapped it and gave it away before remembering to photograph it. I hate when that happens. Anyhow, I had seen several ideas for pencil rolls and the likes out there and had planned on jiggering something of the like up for my nephew for Christmas. When I needed a birthday gift stat, I decided it would be a good time to find a tutorial and try it out. And with seven done now, I think I've found one that is working quite well for me. The tutorial can be found here, at One Red Robin.





I've got them all assembled, and am personalizing them on a "it's time to give this gift" basis. The one on top is for Rachel's 7th grade buddy, whom she will be exchanging gifts with tomorrow. Somehow, I managed to embroider her name in a color that blends perfectly into the fabric. Oops. But she's only in 7th grade, so perhaps her eye sight is much sharper than mine. On a side note, I was trying to read the ingredients in some soup at the grocery store the other day when I found myself holding the container out, away from my eyes. When did that happen?!? I'm blaming it on the store's lighting.




So, for the out of elementary school set I'm putting a journal and some fun pens and pencils in these. For the younger ones, I've put sketch books and colored pencils. I'm working on my last one now, for Sarah and instead of a ribbon to tie it shut, I'm using elastic and a button on the front. Hopefully these will be well received. They are really quite easy to make and I can get one done, start to finish in about an hour (when I don't do stupid things like completely forget how to use my sewing machine), so they are time friendly too.


I've made the girls Christmas skirts and embellished tops to match, but they haven't been worn yet. Rachel is wearing hers tomorrow for their Holiday Festival and Christmas party, so hopefully I'll get some good pictures of her in it. If I do, I'll share. Now back to the gift making.