Tuesday, June 20, 2017

"This year, I'm finally going to be realistic." Christmas in June! 2017 edition...


*unladylike snort*

I write one of these posts every year. If you select the "Christmas in July" tag that is at the bottom of this post, you'll see what I mean. ;-) Granted, I know it isn't July yet, but late June still counts for these purposes. This is what happens, every single year, without fail:

The weather gets warmer. Our non-centrally air conditioned house gets uncomfortably hot during the day. The evenings, especially when I cook, get hot and sweaty. I get irritable about being hot and sweaty. The kids fight more because they're hot and sweaty. And I inevitably take a long look at my yarn stash and realize that Christmas Fever has hit, and that I need to make a list of gifts I'd like to make for the holidays. Oh, and that I need to procure yet MORE yarn in order to make this happen.

What can I say? I'm weird.

There's something about this point in early summer that inspires my creative spirit in this way. It doesn't help that Knit Picks always has a summer yarn sale, either.

So I make a list. If you looked back through some of those posts I mentioned at the outset, you'd know that I tend to go overboard when I make aforementioned list. I mean...things can really get out of hand.

I know what you're thinking. "Tiffany. You're talking about your CHRISTMAS CRAFTING LIST, of gifts you'd like to make your friends and family to celebrate the birth of Our Savior. These are things that you will KNIT and CROCHET. Don't really old ladies crochet? You know, those toilet bowl cozies and granny square afghans that were all the rage in 1972? If they can do this, surely, this whole process can't be very stressful." That's what you would THINK. But the problem is that I get a tad...over ambitious. I make a list. A reasonable list. OK, a *slightly* more than reasonable list. Then I add to it. And add to it. And tweak it. Before you know it, I have hats and mittens out the wazoo, and I'm in tears on December 22nd, trying to turn the heel of a sock, knitting resentment into every single stitch. Resentment that I haven't worked on anything without feeling pressured (or for myself) since May, and that all of the joy and fun has been positively SUCKED out of the experience of crafting for me. And it's totally my own fault, but there you have it.

So, for what it's worth, here is the 2017 list. I like to hold myself accountable by checking back on the list in the fall so see how much I've gotten done. 😇

Shawl for my friend Irena - She requested this as a gift idea well over a year ago (oopsies!) and it's just gotten neglected on the list. It WILL be done for Christmas 2017. I've even started it *halo* and here is how much I have done:

soooooo, YEAH. Just a wee bit more work to do on this one.


Hat and mittens for Anne - She has outgrown her old ones and asked if I would make her a new set. How can I turn that down? I'm thinking an owl hat, and coordinating striped mittens in a soft merino wool.

Mittens, and new kitchen cloths and towels for my Mother-in-law. - She faithfully uses these items that I have made her before, and her current ones are getting worn out. She's very knit worthy, and so I press on with the kitchen cotton and yet more mittens.

The infamous Mike sweater that has been crossed off on Christmas lists for YEARS AND YEARS - So yeah, I should finally make this for him. ;-) He does have a cardigan I made him, but this is a cabled pullover that would be a real heirloom piece. It may take 2 years to make, so I'm promising nothing. :0

And that's it. Henry got Christmas socks last year, and I didn't make anything for Anne last year, so they're swapping turns. I also want to make some new accessories and a sweater for myself this year (more to come during Tea Time on all of that) so I want to save room. Thing is, if someone asks me to make something for them, I always do it. So you've been warned. If you ask me to make anything for you, you will have to live with the panicky knitting posts come October. :0

Do you plan a Christmas crafting list in the summer, or am I the only strange one? Bueller?

4 comments:

  1. I too think of all those things I want to make before Christmas - really CLEVER gifts I could start that people would love. I have super ideas and then - somewhere along about Thanksgiving, I realize that the gifts should have been started sooner. And oh yes, there is vivid recall of the Christmas Eve that I sat up until the wee hours trying to finish printing Family Tree books for all the nieces and nephews. Right now I can't even THINK Christmas because I'm still on birthday gifts. My friend, Sherry's quilt - she gave me a box of her great-grandmother's hand-pieced quilt blocks and I thought I'd make a lap quilt for her birthday - in January. True - it's all done but taking out stitches that caused the back to pucker and doing the binding . . . but still . . . January? And my New Zealand friend is still waiting for her cross stitched tote for her May 3rd birthday. Plus the other CCS pieces I haven't begun for July birthdays and I am NOT a fast sewer. One good thing - just found a pillow that I made for a friend of her two children's baby handprints years ago. Got to everything but the stuffing and her kids are - BLUSHING IN SHAME - grown and have kids of their own. But this year - I WILL stuff that pillow and send it for her birthday only a few days late. Step by step . . . or stitch by stitch.

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    1. Donna,

      I cannot even TELL you how much this comment made me smile. :0 :0 :0 :0 I'm so glad that I am not alone in this! And so yes, the months overdo thing? Sometimes I have things YEARS after the person requested it. *cringing face* I actually started my mil's mittens last night, I felt so proud! *halo*

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  2. I've been thinking about Christmas gifts but don't have a solid plan yet. There is a scarf for my sister-in-law that I started a few years ago that should really be finished. A couple of my cousins have sort of requested Hufflepuff scarves and another cousin has been asking for a hat for years. I was looking at hat patterns earlier but haven't decided on one yet. I'd also like to finish a family history project I started a couple of years ago with the idea that I'd make extra copies as gifts.

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    1. Hi Melanie! These sound like doable goals. ;-) Hufflepuff scarf?! Do you know how to do Tunisian Crochet? I made a Gryffindor scarf for Henry using that technique, and it turned out thick, warm and gorgeous. I want to steal it! Of course, you can make these house scarves using any technique and they all turn out great, but I really enjoyed learning that new-to-me technique and the resulting fabric. It's in my Ravelry project gallery!

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