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December 24th, 2021
I really hope you are enjoying the holidays with your family, but in case you're doing some last minute sewing....here's a small thought.....
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house
My children were sleeping, and so was my spouse
The handmade stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
But I was not all snug in my bed
I had visions of just a few more sewn gifts in my head
A pouch for my neighbor, a cowl for my sister
A headband for my niece and a shirt for my mister
I sat in the dark stitching merrily along,
Sipping some cocoa and humming a Christmas song
When out of my machine arose such a clatter
I took my foot off the pedal to see what was the matter
The bobbin was wound with no threads astray
The needle was new, the tension okay
There was not a stray pin to be found
But still, the machine was making a sound!
“Oh dear,” I thought, as I searched desperately,
“I must find the problem to get these gifts under the tree!”
I searched and searched, finding nothing amiss
About to cry I heard a soft, “Tsk, tsk.”
And what to my wondering eyes did appear?
But Santa himself and on the lawn eight reindeer.
He had a knowing twinkle in his eye,
“There, there,” he said, “There’s no need to cry.”
“My dear,” he said, “Whatever is the matter?”
“Oh Santa,” I said, “I can’t find the source of this clatter!
The presents won’t be finished – you’re already here!
I really need to start sooner next year!”
And the wise old elf patted my arm
Saying, “There’s no need for alarm.
This would have happened no matter when you started
It’s a result of being very big hearted.
“The gifts of handmade are not just for December
You share your crafts all year, remember?
Your loved ones know they are loved a heap
Now please call it good enough and go to sleep.”
I nodded at Santa and the wisdom he said
Turned off the machine and headed to bed.
But when I awoke in the morning, what did I see?
All the unfinished gifts had appeared under the tree!
And in a box addressed to me,
Inside this note did I see
“My elves your projects completed
For they did not want you to feel defeated.
But I hope you recall and I hope you know
That all year every stitch that you sew
Clothes and comforts your family and friends
With the labor of love that it sends.
Sewing is not just for Christmas, as well you know
Sharing your talents is what makes love grow
So Merry Christmas to all, and a happy new year
Of sewing and crafting and spreading good cheer!
So the point is, even if the elves haven't finished everything you want for Christmas, revel in the fact that you have done a lot already this year; revel in the fact that you are learning more; revel in the fact that you are learning and striving to learn more; revel in the fact that you deserve a break, and now is that time to have a break. We all need to rest, and the deep, precious solace of winter is the perfect time to slow down, rest, take stock of what
all you have accomplished or want to accomplish and enjoy the peace that the season brings.
Courtesy of Melly Sews
So.......
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night - and go to bed and enjoy the sleep that winter brings!
For the Christmas season here are a few gifts to get you started for what's coming in the New Year. You can take a look at them, and use them like you want right now, but we will really build on these resources starting the first of the year. You can also wait till the first of the year, but they are a great way to start the New Year, AND they
are free right now. The first of the year, they won't be available for free anymore.
A Croquis
Sketching is wonderful and a really great way to start is with your own figure, but how do you trace your own figure? In a mirror? Well, no. You can make what the pros call a croquis (crow-key). This is an outline of your own figure that you can use to trace different looks and styles and ideas before you make them up. I love mind and it has saved me many, many fruitless hours with some pretty ideas I thought were pretty neat at the beginning. The more I
sketched them out they didn't work out so well. But this is exactly what the pros do and what they hope to discover in working through all their design issues.
A Scoop Book - Pages in Order Form and Booklet Form
I love scoop shopping. When every I'm in a big city, the first thing I do is hit the exclusive, high-end boutiques and department stores and take notes like crazy. For that, I developed a "scoop book". In this book are very lightly printed mannequins that you can use to sketch your ideas on. Often a simple squiggle or mark can recall the exact look or idea that you were excited about. The other page is about written ideas that will help you
recall the garment or the part of the outfit that you liked.
There are two forms of this. One is with the pages in order and the other is with the pages in "booklet" form. The booklet form needs to be printed in order and on both sides flipping on the short side of the page. If that seems too complicated, use the form with the pages in order. Either one with will for you!
Well-Edited Wardrobe Ebook and Workbook (Interactive, Print-out)
I know, I can hear it now......."NOOOOOO, not the dreaded make me clean out my closet workbook!!!!!!!" Yes, that's what this is, but it's really worth it, and from where we're going to start in January, this is not only a must but makes such a fabulous way to begin what we're going to do in January. The fun thing about getting this before January is that you have plenty of time to attack this.
The Workbook is a gem and there are two formats here. One is interactive so if you want to put this on your tablet, and work with it that way, you can fill in everything in the pdf interactive version. If you simply want to print out the workbook and fill out the pages, there is this form too. You choose which one is simplest. The E-book is an explanation of how great it is to have a well-edited closet. And there are other benefits that you can start with in
January!
On the Blog
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