Apparently, I only feel compelled to write in this blog when I have essays due, like, now, and a whole list of intimidating work to do before the end of the next week. In other words, at the most inappropriate times. Regardless, here I go.
My Christmas season saw some incredible crafty productivity. I hand-made nearly everyone’s gifts, and I was pretty pleased with how everything turned out. During the month, I churned out two knitted hats, half a knitted sock that got frogged, one cross-stitched shirt, a knitted (and lined!) purse, one pair of wristwarmers, one necklace, two earrings, and a bracelet. Whew. And really, the majority of these things were completed after my finals, from mid-December and on.
I think I managed to get photos of everything–though not the wristwarmers, unfortunately, but I’m sure I’ll make some more in the future, since they were such a quick, easy knit. Are they beautiful pictures, with meticulous lighting and crisp, interesting backdrops? Of course not. Some of them even are, dare I say it, dreaded webcam pics. Ay. Bear with me and pretend they’re pretty, okay?

A cabled purse for Friend K:

A Jayne hat for Friend Julie (appropriately modeled by Julie):

A Palindrome Hat for Friend Kimber (modeled by me, because I so wanted to keep this):

Jewelry for ol’ Mummsy, made with amethysts and hand-made glass beads:

(I was dying to keep these. Fortunately, I have enough of those carmel glass beads for me. Yay!)
A necklace for my sister (amethysts and hematite):

And a cross-stitched t-shirt for my sister as well (an up-close picture of it, with masking tape and chalk marks still on it because that’s just how I roll):

It says “Fuck the haters.” Unladylike, yes, confrontational, yes, but my angry teenage sister loved it (or at least pretended to). At the very least, it is a message that she certainly relates to. The idea came from the Sublime cross-stitch pattern that was hearts that spelled out “fuck,” which I extended and modified for my purposes.

Though I’m clearly belated and long overdue with this post, I still can’t help but feel proud of what I accomplished in such a short period of time. But this year, methinks I will start in the summertime to get these things done early. No, really. Stop laughing, that’s rude.