So, it just wouldn't be Christmas without making SOMETHING homemade, would it?  Here are two of the five scarves I dyed for presents; the other three are lavender, pink, and green, but by the time I thought about photographing them, the others were already wrapped up and hidden away (sort of, they're in with the four giant black garbage bags all wrapped up and hidden (?) in my sewing room, where nobody else goes on pain of stepping on pins, cutting themselves on rotary cutters, or getting bombarded with stuff sliding off the too-full shelves.)

I bought these white silk devore scarves, already hemmed and fringed, at Dharma Trading last year, for the outrageous price of $7.99 each.  I used my Jacquard silk dyes to dye them, and I think they turned out rather well, eh?

Speaking of Christmas, I spent all of yesterday (Friday the 20th) Christmas shopping.  All day.  Sheer torture for a Minnesotan because I HATE to spend money; fortunately, once I get the credit card out of my wallet, it's okay and I just keep it going until the credit card company wises up and cuts me off.  Luckily, I have more than one credit card.

THEN, I went home and wrapped it all up (having had the smarts to stop at the Dollar Store and get gift wrapping and tags and ribbons and stuff), so now it's DONE and nobody is talking me into going out into that madhouse again.  

By the way, I just posted a few Christmas poems I have written under the Essays tab, just for fun!

So, it's done; it's a wrap, and I only had to cut his head off once, instead of my usual 4 times or so.  It even looks like him!  The background is all printed, fussy cut fabric, so that was easy; John is painted and invisibly machine and hand appliqued.  The rocks are Puff Paint, heated up and painted.  The border is a batik, which shouldn't have gone with it, but somehow does.  

So, now that that's done, I have absolutely no excuse for not Christmas shopping, except for the rather lamentable fact that I have NO IDEA what I'm shopping for.  We (my DH and I) even went to the Mall today (and found parking, which was remarkable in and of itself), and only managed to spend the gift cards my husband had from his boss; by then, we were exhausted, went home, got a glass of wine and contemplated the lovely, 60 degree weather in California, while my relatives are slogging it out at minus 2 in Minnesota.  I think I'll go back and clean up the Studio, so if and when the spirit moves me, I'll be able to find my scissors again.  

So, I drew my brother, Johnny's, name for Christmas.  He sent me an e-mail last week, saying he wanted either a sweatshirt, some yellow golf balls, a long sleeved shirt, or a quilt of the picture at the left.  It's fairly lowering, his thinking that my quilts are only worth the same amount as a bunch of yellow golf balls, isn't it?  Think I should tell him I sell my commission quilts for $150/square foot, and that he OWES me, big-time????? Nah, he'd never believe it.

Anyway, having finished the jacket, I decided to give it a whirl; after all, if it doesn't work out, I can always buy some yellow golf balls.