and thoughts of the number of gifts I want to make for the winter holiday season. I say holiday season because I give gifts for Channukah, Christmas, Divali, and, in my family of origin, New Year’s Day. So, please don’t bash me for my terminology. I’m pretty much ‘equal opportunity’ when it comes to this topic. Enjoy them ALL is my thinking!
Anyway, I have gone through a bunch of ideas. I have a couple of ‘problems’ with my gift giving.
1. I hate going to the post office, so I want to make something I can just pop into an envelope for delivery to Chicago and Jupiter (Florida);
2. Except that I have to mail things to India and Australia – and this year to Germany also – so I want to keep the weight of each package down.
3. I tend to want to make the same thing for all these recipients (all women) and they live in vastly different climates and circumstances.
So, I’ve done the doily thing. I’ve made snowflakes (kind of a hoot in sultry South India). I’ve made sachets. I’ve made bookmarks. I’ve even made shrugs and lapghans. One wise person even suggested I make an ongoing series of snowflakes. Like I even remember what pattern I used last time I made them!! With my luck, I’d send the same darn thing again. I did that two years with cute little fabric gift bags I made. One friend politely thanked me for adding to the collection I had sent her the previous year. Yikes!
So, this year, I was running out of ideas. I posted my dilemma on CrochetPartners and asked for suggestions. Several people suggested totes. BINGO!
I have made some out of my own head in years past. Made them with rug yarn which I can no longer stand to touch – and have donated that stuff to a local weaver who wants those old colors from 1970’s. So, I went searching online for some ideas for totes. There are lots of choices of free patterns. Totes do seem to be universally appealing.
I have come up with two designs that I especially like:
Reduction Tote Bag
and Hilary Detmers’ Sunflower Tote that she designed and offered as a CAL.
What I really like about these two totes is that they both fold up to a much more compact size and are quite decorative. They are small enough to be carried in another tote. How clever is that??
So, I’m going to go through my large stash of thread and pull out my thread hooks and get started. Another plus is that I don’t mind working with thread in this hot weather. The house is comfy until you put an afghan on your lap to crochet!! Unless you want to see my spontaneously combust! Of course, I’m sure there are some who wouldn’t mind that scenario. I just hope they’re not the same folks I’m crocheting for………
Looking for more Christmas themed Crochet Patterns? Check out these books
Christmas Crochet Pattern Books
And these Christmas patterns on Etsy
Looking for bingo crochet pattern