Every year I promise myself that I will be ready early for Christmas this year. And every year I leave it to the last minute. Always one or two gifts to get on Christmas Eve. And this year will be no different!
But what if it is a stitcher you are getting the gifts for? Well here are my 5 suggestions for the last minute gift…
1.
Last time I went to my sit and sew evening up at Mrs Martin’s, I bought myself the gift of a sweet set of embroidery scissors and tape measure. Whilst I kept this for myself, this darling little set would make a great Kris Kringle gift.
2. Speaking of Kris Kringle gifts. There is a lady in my Guidance group, who if I was to get her for a Kris Kringle, I would always choose a selection of DMC Perle Cottons. I also like the variegated Perle cottons, but I would want to be sure that I bought a significant quantity of each colour, as my friend does a lot of drawn and pulled threadwork.
3.
Last week, the fabulous 5 focused on freebie charts. If you chose the right one, you could easily get the stitching finished between now and Christmas day (unless you have parties to attend every night). I have been working on Merry Primitive Christmas, from The Primitive Hare. If you don’t have time to stitch, why not kit it up. You need a stitcher’s 1/8th, 3 colours of DMC floss, and I would also include a needle. You could also include a nice set of embroidery scissors. Many embroiderers can never have too many scissors! (Now where are all of mine?)
4. Why not a kit? Blackbird Designs have published some wonderful little pincushion kits. I like Bird in the Hand, because it uses only a small piece of linen and 2 skeins of the one colour of thread, so you can choose a thread that perfectly suits the recipient.
5. Finally, why not a subscription? Last year my DH was not too sure about what to get me. One of the magazines that I absolutely love is Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly. By buying me a 12 month subscription, he saved me a fortune. Other magazines that I have subscriptions for include Where Women Create and Artful Blogging, both by Stampington and Company. I would love to add to this list Belle Armoire and Altered Couture, both of which would make a very useful addition to my reference library for when I am preparing for my textiles classes.
For more ideas, pop on over to Annemiek’s blog…
