December 17

Despite my well-known-to-me (and recently mentioned) issues with time management for creative pursuits, I have nonetheless committed myself to several sewing and crafting projects this holiday season (and come to think of it, even a couple that involve power tools, though I have delegated parts of those to my dad). These projects are mostly in the form of handmade gifts for Christmas and for my kids’ upcoming birthday (yes, I expressed that correctly — plural, possessive “kids'” and singular “birthday”). We decided with Jason’s family to do handmade stocking stuffers, and truth be told, I wanted to suggest a wholly handmade Christmas, but I’m glad my sister-in-law talked me down from that particular ledge and suggested we start small. Wise woman. So stocking stuffers it is (and large parts of “regular” gifts too, as it turns out, but that was just because I got some wild hairs and/or bees in my bonnet).

I have been making lists for weeks — and lately I have been writing and rewriting even my list of lists: Christmas Gifts Left to Think Up, Christmas Gifts Left to Buy, Christmas Gifts Left to Make, Supplies to Buy to Make Christmas Gifts Left to Make. And so on. But today was a wonderful, wonderful day, one of the best in recent memory. My mom came down to watch the kids, which left me free to spend the morning-into-afternoon at my friend Kacy’s house at her beautiful, big dining room table with the beautiful winter light streaming in. There were sewing machines, there were lattes, there were ideas and plans, there was even a useful craft-swear word thought up when Kacy was actually saying the name of her dog over and over, but I thought she was saying something else. Most importantly, there were friends and camaraderie and even some productivity. I loved every single minute of it.

Although it took me fully two and a half hours longer than I estimated, I was able to extend my stay and actually complete all the projects that I had brought materials for. Wonderful. Plus! I knocked out twenty-one                        s (two sets), fourteen                        s (seven sets), six                        s (it would have been seven, but I ran out of            ), and one            –                        (that, by the way, was a project that was advertised to take only five minutes, and I’m pretty sure it took me only seven; I attribute this to the fact that I got the tutorial from a British blog — you know, European engineering and all). Plus, Joie, who came without projects of her own and with willing hands, painted two                       s for me (it would have been three, but I forgot my paint at home, and we couldn’t find any             for            ).

I carried all my projects home in a laundry basket. Now my car smells like            , a reminder of a day well spent.

DPP pics from past years: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013