Christmas is Coming

 I was well aware that the holidays were upon us. 

As always, once the Thanksgiving dishes had been washed and put away, thoughts of festive decorating, gift giving, and cookie baking began to dance in my head.

 

 It was not until I revisited the pages of A Gift From The Lonely Doll this morning, however, that I became truly aware of how very soon Christmas will arrive this year.

 

 In the book Little Bear and Edith (the lonely doll) have only three weeks and four days to make their preparations. Most years when I reread the book I pity them for how can anyone orchestrate a Christmas celebration in that amount of time? I'm not quite sure, but with Thanksgiving running so late this year that is exactly the same amount of time we have to work with.

Three weeks and four days.

 

 While I'll admit to toying with the idea of heading out directly to the mall in a mad dash to get started, by the time I'd turned a few more pages Edith had set me right by reminding me that "a present you make is nicer than just a bought present." Now that is something I know to be quite true having been on both the giving and receiving end of just such a token. Case in point being this treasured blossom fairy made and gifted to me one year by my wee dear daughter way back when she was not near so much of a teenager as she is now.

 

Edith decides to put her knitting abilities to use and create a cozy muffler for Mr. Bear. Now considering I too have some knitting abilities like Edith I thought perhaps I could
follow her lead.

 

 But, considering I am still working on the very same scarf I started some 4 or more years ago, I am in very little danger of following in Edith's footsteps and making it too long. Just making it long enough to wrap around my neck it would be a miracle! With that in mind it was apparent a host of knitted gifts is out of the question.
 

Lucky for me I have a much better track record wielding needles of the sewing variety than I do with those of the knitting. And luckier even still, I found oodles of inspiration for such handcrafted gifts in the pages of other books...

 

...and magazines as well!

 



And "sew it seams,"

ready or not,

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!



Patchwork Plans

 Up in the sewing nook earlier this week a very scary realization came upon me...

it's beginning to look

like the holidays

will be here

SOON!!!

 

 I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year and goodness knows there are a lot of rough patches all throughout the house that need to be put into an order of one sort or another.

 

 Now by no means do I expect complete perfection.

Realistically, if I can stitch up the rough edges I do believe I'll have a solid enough surface

upon which to stage not only that feast of thanks....

 

 ...but oodles of Christmas festivities as well!!!

 

 If someone had asked me last summer what I expected to be blogging about during the holidays I'd have optimistically said "Christmas in a Summer Cottage." Now such a thought has me laughing all the way to Savers every week as I continue dashing around in my declutter and donate phase. I've actually accepted the fact that the underling aesthetic of the house will be lacking when it comes time to deck the halls and trim the tree.

It won't be the end of the world.

 

 I'll simply bind things up as best as I can...

 

and make the best I can out of a very

Patchwork Christmas!