Friends!! I have missed you so very much! It feels like it has been forever since we've chatted, but I am excited to say that my radio silence is coming to an end. This past weekend, we celebrated Christmas with the Grand family and I am finally able to show you the gifts I made!
For Mama Grand, a poinsettia brooch using the tutorial from Lil Fish Studios. It's seriously adorable, and I used some metallic thread and a button from my stash for the decoration.
For my four nieces, I broke out the American Girl patterns in my stash and went to town with some scrap fleece...
Oh yes, those are totally Pittsburgh Steelers robes.
For my niece, S, whose Mom also went to BGSU and who was wearing a BGSU sweatshirt the last time I saw her, I made her AG a hoodie out of an old homecoming t-shirt for her upcoming birthday. I decided to make a blue skirt out of scrap fabric to complete the ensemble.
I might be making more of these out of old t-shirts very soon because this turned out so well. I was a complete skeptic, but it's sporty and fabulous all at the same time.
I especially love that the front and back designs of my tee fit on the hoodie perfectly. I already have other t-shirts in mind for the other nieces' birthdays.
To pair with their robes (or hoodie as college students do), each of the nieces also got a pajama set. I used some strawberry flannel from the stash, as well as some plaid flannel scraps that had been passed onto me from Mama Grand.
S gets the blue plaid since she isn't a huge fan of pink, but the other nieces will love the sparkles, berries, and color (respectively). I used buttons from the stash, but did not make buttonholes as the directions suggested. Instead, I used up some snaps from the stash to make these a little bit easier for the little fingers.
Epic plaid matching on a very tiny scale.
For my sister, Kitty, I knit her a Marian cowl using Malabrigo Rasta. It's a lovely teal color that she wears often, so I'm excited for her to open it when she gets to the Grand house for Christmas.
And finally, Mama Grand's major gift, the gift that kept me from you for so long...
Confession: I did not put together this quilt top. My Grandmother on Mama Grand's side had put the majority of it together and didn't finish it before moving into the nursing home. I finished the top with 10 hexagons and gained a whole new appreciation for quilters in the process! I also had to do quite a few repairs after washing the quilt top on the delicate cycle. Wowee - I don't know how old this fabric is, but it might be best to avoid the washer in the future.
My awesome friend, Juliet, was my mentor during all of this. She gave me tutorials and tips, scanned pages from books, and I truly could not have done this without her. She advised me to tie the quilt with embroidery thread since that was easiest, and also advised me to get a snuggly back since that is what Mama Grand would be sitting against. I chose a lovely green flannel and tied with yellow embroidery thread since Mama Grand loves yellow. I have to give MAJOR CREDIT to Rob, who sat on the floor with me for hours while I tied the quilt together. We put on My Big Fat Greek Wedding and got to work. He was a major help on these throws and I could not have finished these without his assistance.
I bound the edges with strips of an old bed sheet from the scrap bag, and I really love how the greens look together and paired with the colors of the hexagons. So much color makes me happy :)
Thankfully, Mama Grand loved it, too...
Dad loved his throw as well. There may have been a little bit of emotion all around when I found out that the yellow hankie in the middle was my Grandma Grand's favorite. The throw prompted some great moments of story telling and sharing, and I was so glad that I finally committed to making this idea concrete.
Of course, there were a few non handmade gifts...
like a too small Steelers wrestling mask...
... a gorgeous bowl and a Steelers poncho. We had bought these things while on the cruise this summer and I was so excited to finally pass them to my parents!
We capped off the gift giving weekend with White Christmas and snuggling, as is appropriate when you have a queen sized quilt with flannel backing :)
Thank you again to the lovely Juliet for being a HUGE help to me the last few weeks, also to Rob for helping to bring these projects to completion, and thank you to all of you for your patience and understanding while I quietly worked on all of these gifts. More to come very soon!
Friends, tell me what you've been doing! I am working on catching up to my Reader, and I am eager to see what you are doing for the holidays :)
Sending you all my hugs,
Meg