Blog / gift

I'm very lucky to have kind friends and family members who support my craft and commission me to make things for them and for gift giving. This month, I had the chance to work on two projects: a Kindle case for an aunt and a stuffed elephant for a college roommate's new niece.


I dragged my feet for quite a while on making the Kindle case (surely I'm not the only person who tends to put projects without a due date on the back burner!), but when I spotted Karen's iPad case, I was immediately inspired and motivated to whip up that case.


I pulled bright blue and green scraps from my stash, and pieced them at random until I had slabs large enough for the case's sides. I used batting scraps to add a bit of structure to the case, and quilted it with turquoise thread.


For the elephant, I returned to the pattern I used from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts to make Peanut, the Wee Elephant, last year.


Peanut gets easier to make each time I use the pattern, so luckily I was able to whip up this gray + pink + turquoise elephant in just a few hours.


The little tail is my favorite part! What are your go-to handmade projects for gift giving?

This past weekend, I orchestrated a surprise baby shower for my sister-in-law, who is expecting twin boys. Since she and my brother live in Japan, we decided to do the shower via Skype, so that family members could call in from around the country. I sent gifts ahead of time, including a few handmade ones.


Using Prudent Baby's top-knot hat tutorial, I made two little hats out of organic cotton...

While we were in Texas over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I finally had the chance to meet Luna, the almost-seven-month-old daughter of some dear friends (This is the quilt I made for her after she was born in February.). We obviously couldn't arrive for our visit empty-handed:

{A puzzle ball, made from the pattern found in Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, and the most adorable pair of mini, teal Converse All-Stars.}

On a personal note, I will be participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer's here in Durham this Saturday. This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart, and I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support my family and friends have already shown for my walking team. If you're at all interested in participating in a walk (they're being held all over the country), or donating to the cause, I hope you'll visit the Alzheimer's Association's web site. My personal team page can be found here.