I MEANT TO DO THAT

In a previous post I mentioned that my friend Kathy, in San Diego, CA, sent me bundles of wool blanket pieces. At first I was perplexed because the wool is so thick, unlike what we normally buy for our craft projects. But after playing around with it I have really come to enjoy how nicely it handles and holds the stitches, etc. The crow on the basket was the first thing I tried. After I added the holly, it had to sit a while and ferment.

As that was stewing on the back burner of my brain, I decided that I could actually put things IN the basket! So I thought about gingerbread men. I didn't have quite the right color, so I asked my friend Joan if she had any gingerbread wool. "Oh I know I do", says Joan. So off I go to Joan's house while she digs through her wool stash. Joan pulls out TWO YARDS of the perfect camel colored wool that she bought to make a skirt. She never made the skirt, so she felted the wool and it was all to my good fortune! The gingerbread are about three inches high, so you can see there are many more gingerbread men we can make. I can see them dancing around penny rugs, etc. Don't I have the coolest friends? Well, this little crow is flying off to California for Christmas, and the gingerbread men are running as fast as they can to Joan's house! I know that Joan is not so sure about the little satin skirt at the bottom of the project, but she will come to love it, as I have. When I first showed the blanket project with the satin binding still on it, I was half way joking about leaving it on. So many of you liked it, and I have to say that I have come to like it a lot also. Sometimes things are so hokey that you have to love them. Remember shabby before it became chic?

I might also add that this type of project is so relaxing because it doesn't need to be perfect! In fact, you want it to look homespun and primitive. That means adding knots where they don't normally go and making imperfect stitches on purpose. I could get really good at this striving for imperfection thing!

So sorry Kim, Darlene and Angie, these already have a home. LOL!