Sock Earrings and other Giftings

My hand-knit sock earrings

We like most of our giftings to be handmade. Most of my friends have my sock earrings. I've posted about them before. I started knitting these years ago and every year pull out the pattern, needles and yarns and make more. I am now deplete of my stock and need to make more. Monte just gave my last ones to friends of his. Needles? They are like toothpicks, probably actually thinner! I guess I should offer to make these for anyone wanting to buy some.

Varieties I've tried knitting over the years - sticking moreso with those on the right.

Handwoven dishtowels and Handknit dishcloth.

One of my weaving looms is set up with the same colorings in this picture for dishtowels that match the dishcloths I knit (how-to here). The weave structure is set up for the very absorbant towel on the right. I'll often give a set along with my homemade soap.

This year I've made so much Healthy Cold Cereal via Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, I'm making up a bunch to jar up with pretty cloth tops and include the recipe.

Monte's made the Grandkids homemade blocks, varying the sizes, including some tree branch pieces. These sets are quite expensive if you were to buy them. They are asking for more, and have specified the sizes they want more of. Our kids often built structures to the ceiling over and over and the grandkids are carrying on the tradition. I've added wooden train tracks and trains to my Grandmother "wood" toy bin. I like building upon quality sets, including Lego, rather than a wide variety of toys. Now that there's girls, I'll be adding some wood furniture and people and animals to this bin. Can't wait to make "handmades" with them too!

Handwoven hot pads

My kids always wove my potholders, but now I have to make my own. They have always been my favorite, preferring their size. Dawson wove so many once that he stitched together for a rug.

Every Fall I used to take the kids to a large craft store and look around for ideas they could work on for giftings. I used to read aloud to them a lot and I always liked them to be busy handcrafting or drawing. I even let them carve in the house!

One of my journals with a felted decor

We also made handmade books for giftings. I'll still occasionally do that for journaling. I used to have the kids tell me their dreams  and write them out myself when they were little. Eventually they wrote their own stories and we'd make books. I used to make my brother and sister handmade books all the time when they were little. Illustrating them too. The Grandparents still have the books they gave them.

Knitted toy for the Grandkids

I like knitting them hats and toys. I have a monkey pattern, boy and girl, along with clothes that I periodically keep adding to. Both the older grandboys have a monkey with pajamas and robe. I need to now make girl monkeys (next year) and more clothes.

Hand-dyed hat, socks, and t-shirt for kids

Men's dyed T-sh

I'm also very set up to dye stuff easily. When my kids were born I often dyed second-hand clothes in darker, brighter colors - all pastel back then, which I hated. Whenever I'm tired of something I'll redye it - like one of my bathrobes has been dyed three times. I'm always now dyeing T-shirts with matching bamboo socks for everyone. One Christmas everyone got dyed canvas aprons. Now my kids have taken off with a technique I taught them - painting or spraying over a stencil dark T-shirts with bleach (outside of coarse - and wash right away so doesn't eat the fiber). In fact, Dawson gets cheap shirts and bleaches a design and a resale shop buys them or gives him store credit. I order my dyes and dyeables from Dharma Trading Company. They have GREAT tutorials and lots of gifting ideas!

My boys with their wives showing us their bleach-dyed t-shirts

Best of all . . . A lot of these doings, meaning "think handmade" is caught moreso than taught! Dawson and Splarah kinda copied (I'll post another post with the picture of mine - it's probably back in the Dec Archives) my 'bean-bag" creche - wanting to make one for her Mom. I LOVE it!!!!!!

Nativity Scene made by my Dawson and Splarah for her mom

My next post will have some felt stuff.


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