Receiving Handmade Gifts

Last week I talked about how I love to give handmade gifts to people. But you know what? I also love receiving handmade gifts! I feel that if someone has taken the time to make me something, then they really care about me. I cherish that feeling and the gift.

I think the handmade gifts that I treasure the most are from my parents. My mom loves to quilt and has made me quite a few quilts over the years. They're better than anything I could buy in a store. And yes mom, I even loved the baby quilt that you made for me years ago – despite the fact that I didn't even have a boyfriend at the time! Hmm, no pressure there, really. :-)

Quite a few years ago, my dad started into woodworking. At first, he made his own picture frames – to showcase photos he had taken – and then he slowly started making furniture. The first piece he ever made for me was a bookshelf that I took with me to university. Since then, he has made me a coffee table, wood bowls and wood vases. I love showing them off to friends when they come to visit and everyone agrees that my dad should have done this for a living!

What are some of your favourite handmade gifts that you have received and why?

Making Gifts For Others

One of the things that I love about crafting is making gifts for other people. I love seeing their reaction. It's easy to buy something, but it takes a bit of effort to make something for someone.

I think the reaction I love the most is seeing the delight in their eyes when I give something that has been customized just for them.

For example, when my friend Vicki got married, she had a harpist play during the ceremony. She loved the music and given her musical background, this was very important to her. So, I designed a cross stitch wedding announcement that featured a harp. She loved it, especially the harp! Plus, the fact that she was so appreciative of it made my day!

I have cross stitched a lot of gifts over the years, including wedding announcements for friends and pictures for my mom. Not only do I love seeing their reaction, but I also love when I see my handiwork displayed in their house. I love it when I go to a friend's house and noticed that they have hung the wedding announcement I cross stitched for them up on the wall.

I especially love it when they show my cross stitching to others. My dad never really understood the whole cross stitch thing, until I had one framed for my mom and she hung it up. Now, whenever they have guests over, my dad proudly shows off my cross stitching! It's such a great feeling!

What things have you made for others and what was their reaction?

Knitting Is The New Yoga

A recent article in the Daily Express talks about how one company in the UK has organized a new initiative – knitting at lunch time – to help reduce stress.

The article reports "Health officials have concluded that knitting is an ideal way to combat work stress. Under a new initiative, workers at NHS Highland have been bonding over balls of wool at lunch, instead of grabbing a rushed sandwich at their desk. Organiser Fiona Clarke, health promotion specialist at NHS Highland, described knitting as "the new yoga". She said: "Every knitter knows it is good for you because it really calms you down and de-stresses.""

Many people these days feel that taking a break is a waste of time. Perhaps they feel that there is so much work to do, that it just won't get done if they stop for even 1/2 hour. However, working without breaks can leave people feeling tired and prone to making mistakes.

Personally, I have come to realize over the years that I need breaks. Not only do I feel refreshed, but I feel more focused and I'm able to concentrate on the task at hand. So, instead of breaks delaying me, they actually help me to be more productive.

Sometimes my breaks mean working on some repetitive tasks that don't require much thinking (it feels really good to cross them off my to do list), but other times it means going for a walk, knitting or chatting with a friend for a little bit. I used to feel guilty about this, but now I realize that I'm a much better person and more productive because I take breaks.

What do you like to do on your break time?

A Brief History of Crazy Quilts

Crazy quilts are quilts that have random patches or scraps of fabric sewn together. Usually, there is no set pattern or colour scheme when creating a crazy quilt. Each piece of fabric has a unique shape and is added to the quilt one piece at a time by hand. Fancy embroidery stitches and embellishments are common on crazy quilts but the amount of detail added to each quilt can vary enormously.

Crazy quilts have been popular since the Victorian age, especially in North America where settlers had limited resources. They didn't always have new material to make blankets, so they pieced together scraps of fabric and the pieces of old clothing left over after the worn out parts were cut away. It didn't matter what type of fabric it was or its size, all fabric was precious and useful.

Then, in the 1880's, the popularity of crazy quilting exploded due to an art exhibit from Japan in 1876, at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Patterns and embroidery on the quilts became much more elaborate and often had an Oriental theme or featured Japanese motifs, such as fans. However, the emphasis of crazy quilts was still on the embroidery stitches holding the fabric scraps together, along with the embellishments added to the patches.

By 1920, their popularity had faded and crazy quilts had taken on a simpler look. By this time, women began to think more about practicality than fashion or art when making their quilts. Crazy quilts had finally returned to their original purpose as a way to use up fabric scraps and old clothing.

To learn How to Make A Crazy Quilt, please visit my website, Beautiful Creations, where you will find step-by-step instructions and a full list of all the supplies you will need.

Creating A Cross Stitch Art Gallery

I have two walls in my house that are perfect for hanging up my cross stitch projects. They're perfect because they follow the staircase leading from the main floor to my second floor (so lots of wall space) and there are no windows (meaning no pesky direct sunlight to ruin the colours on the cross stitched pieces). So, I have purposely left those walls blank, just waiting for me to finish framing my cross stitch projects and hang them up.


Well, last week I finished framing two cross stitch projects. I put each one in a shadow box and hung them in a straight line. The cross stitch pieces look amazing in their frames and best of all, it looks like I have my very own art gallery in my house! I've decided that when I finish my current cross stitch project, I'll also frame it in a shadow box and hang it up on the other side. Then I'll really feel like I'm in an art gallery when I walk up the stairs.

In the past, I've used traditional picture frames for my cross stitch projects. But I always found that they were a bit of a pain. The frame never quite had enough room, especially if I had the cross stitching on a mounting board. But the shadow boxes had lots of room! Plus, the frame doesn't need to be fancy to have your work really stand out. With nothing else to distract people, the cross stitching is now the focus – just as it should be!

Please visit my website, Beautiful Creations, for more ideas on Framing Cross Stitch – where I show you ideas such as shadow boxes, hoops, pillows and much more!

Book Review of "Knits Three Ways"

Today's blog is a book review of "Knits Three Ways" by Melissa Matthay. This book takes 12 different patterns and does 3 variations for each pattern, to give you a total of 36 new and exciting designs. I love the fact that it shows you how a pattern can be modified to give a totally different look to the finished item, just by changing the yarn, the type of stitches used and/or the length of the item.

The book starts off with a note from the author, explaining how she came up with the idea for the book and what you will find in it. The next six pages are dedicated to teaching you how to design your own sweaters. If nothing else, it will give you the confidence to modify patterns so that you will end up with the sweater of your dreams.

The rest of the book contains twelve patterns, with three variations on each pattern. Even then, for each variation, the author explains how you can take elements from the other variations. For example, if you liked the neckline from one variation and the sleeves from the other variation, she’ll explain how to combine those elements into the pattern you're looking at.

Myself, I will be trying out the v-neck cardigan, using the "Tracy" variation. I almost passed this pattern over, until I realized that it was the yarn I didn't like. The pattern is what I have been searching for – a simple cardigan. Now I have the confidence to change the yarn type and go for it!

Visit Beautiful Creations for more knitting and crochet books with exciting and bold patterns. Happy knitting!

Having Fun in a Power Outage

Last night we had the worst thunderstorm in years. I was sitting on my porch and watched as this dark cloud quickly moved my way. As soon as the dark cloud reached my house, it went from sprinkling rain to gusting winds and heavy rains in less than a minute. The resulting lightning storm was amazing to watch, with new lightning strikes almost every minute. Along with the wind, rain and lightning, the power went out.

The storm produced such strong winds that they knocked down several hydro poles on a nearby street, plunging several blocks into darkness. Of course, not knowing the cause of the power outage, my neighbours and I prepared to wait it out. My neighbours invited my husband and I to come over for a visit. So, we sat in the living room with only candles on the table and shelves to light the room. We talked for a bit, laughed and had a good visit.

The highlight of the evening however, was our neighbour's five year old daughter entertaining us with her dance routine. Her mom shone a flashlight on her, as if it was the spotlight on a stage and introduced her to the "crowd". I provided the music and we all watched her dance. At the end of every dance routine, we all clapped and shouted "Bravo"!

It was a fun evening and all because of a thunderstorm. I'm just hoping that the next time we get together, it's not because of a power outage!