Xmas Secrets

My own little homemade gift giving cycle has been completed... so now I can reveal some of the secrets of the past few weeks.  I'm not all that great on little projects - so I don't instinctively lean towards choosing handmade gifts in the first place.  Some people are just special.

Firstly, the gift I made for the Kerikeri Guild Secret Santa gift exchange. Sneak peaked in an earlier episode... I can now reveal that is was a Stash Book. A What Book I hear you ask... yes a stash book. A fabric paged book which you can fuse or sew your fabric swatches to, to take shopping with you... small and squishy enough to squeeze into your handbag, with some handy paper notes to keep track of your requirements. No chance of buying the wrong fabric match now. The recipient was enthusiastic - although reading the instructions for use was required.

A few of the pages I fused little inspirational bits cut from the
fabric on the cover... all about sewing, and used pinking shears to
cut the pages so that they wouldn't fray too much.

I realise that I never took a photo of the entire cover... duh.  Basically just
a patchwork of fabrics... hand quilted to highlight and bound - like
a little placemat, and then folded with fabric pages sewn through the middle.

Next, a Card Holder.  A small wallet sort of thing that you fit your EFTPOS cards into, designed to hang from a string around your neck.  We all know people who wear their keys... phones... and yes, now cards around their necks.   We are not only the cashless society - but the handbagless society.  Well, some of us are (me, I'm firmly a handbag user - carry far too much stuff). 

Well, I tried to make it fit any outfit... and chose black...
but just couldn't help but add the zebra button.

An inside view... pink lining fabric with the black folded over from
the outside to create the card pockets

The instructions for this were from this handy wee book:

This book has got ideas for covers for things you didn't even
know needed covers...

The lucky recipient of my Card Holder gave me a covered notebook... a tutorial which seems to be doing the rounds (not that I'm complaining) and if you go to Ms Lottie's blog at the slightly mad quilt lady - you'll find a page with an excellent tutorial.  Inside my little book is the starting of a recipe collection for cleaning products and such.  My package also included a container of homemade wool wash - which I can now make myself when I run out... how handy!

While I don't stress myself out about making homemade gifts... it is nice to make/receive gifts that are individual and made with the recipient in mind...