For Christmas and Yule this year I decided that I would make some of the gifts I was going to give. I have a sewing machine that my bestie gave me 3 Yules ago and I haven't really used it except to make some repairs in garments. It was time to start the learning curve and actually sew something.
I am insane. That is true so I made Mojo a 5 ft stuffed Godzilla for Yule. From scratch. Meaning there wasn't a pattern and I made it up in my head as I went. Unfortunately, I didn't take enough pictures to give you a step by step process but I will post a picture of the Godzilla after he was cut out of a beautiful green brocade.
At this point Godzilla was upwards of 6 feet. I was afraid to sew him and also to stuff him. I had never made anything like this before so I wasn't sure how much stuffing it would take. It turns out that I under stuffed him just a little and his head flops. I will have Mojo bring him in for repairs soon.
Next, I thought it would be nice to make gifts for my coven-mates and their young daughter. Since I was still in the sewing mood, or perhaps, even more in the sewing mood...I sewed their gifts as well. I made them personalised poppets. I was going to make them out of a thick upholstery fabric that I have, which is nice, but got a better idea. It was in thinking about their daughter, who is six, that I thought the fabric should be soft. What if she wanted to actually touch or hold the poppet? It would have to be soft. I thought of using some old t-shirts that I had hanging about the house and that were ready to hit the thrift store but I changed my mind. Thinking of the Goddess and that she does not require aught of sacrifice I also remembered that sometimes giving a gift should hurt just a tiny bit. I had two Wigglian Way t-shirts in my dresser drawer. Not only are they made of the softest organic cotton, they each have the Wigglian logo on them. That means that between two t-shirts I would have a Goddess image for Linda and a God image for Chris. I cut the poppets out carefully trying to get as much as the image into the pattern. Then I sewed most of the doll up and stuffed it with proper stuffing and appropriate herbs for each person. I hand-stitched the poppets closed with tiny painstaking stitches. I say that now but I don't know if they are that tiny. Linda's has earrings made in Nepal out of peacock feathers. The women that make them are single mothers and this is their only income. I got them from a vendor that I actually care about. She is a Buddhist lady that will always have some gorgeous thing to say about one thing or another. She is the kind of woman that makes your heart soar. Linda and Chris' hand-fasting theme was peacock feathers and those vibrant colours on the feathers. So pretty.Peacock feathers remind of Linda every time I see them. Chris' poppet had a handmade broom/besom that I picked up at the "Broom Store" on Granville Island the same day that I got Mojo a full sized one for his birthday. It is to remind Chris that he is exceptionally good at what he does.
For their daughter I took a t-shirt that I love the pattern but hate the way it fits and made it into a "pony-tailed" poppet. The ponytails are made of "silly bandz" which I was pretty sure little girls are into right now. She can either leave the doll like that or use the bandz.
From left to right who the poppets belong to. Chris, Linda, their daughter.
Last but not least. One day my son Taylor's girlfriend Richelle called me to ask if I had a sewing machine. Coincidentally, it was as I was building Godzilla. I of course said that yes I did and what was she thinking of making? Richelle thought that it would be a great idea to make Taylor a pair of pyjama bottoms as he is always stealing hers to wear. Well, in our family we have a tradition that on Christmas Eve we open ONE present. It is always a pair of pyjamas. Go figure. I don't know how that happens. Since I hadn't purchased Philip's yet and Jason and Jake weren't exactly getting them that year I thought that I would make a pair of bottoms for Philip.
Jason and Jake actually got Oilers jerseys and boxers as a TOTAL surprise. I thought that they were going to have heart attacks to tell the truth.
One evening Richelle and I headed to the fabric store and bought a pattern to share, two types of fabric, elastic, basting, and two colours of German thread. She chose a Buzz Lightyear for Taylor and I chose a Zoo themed fabric for Philip. We are not a serious family really. The bottoms were actually quite easy to make although I didn't understand one of the directions and made it up on my own. Believe it or not, the elastic actually fits. I chose the Zoo theme because from the time when Philip was a little boy in Dublin, Ireland he thought that giraffes were called "joxers". I don't know why but that it the way it is. When we went to the Dublin Zoo last year the first animal we saw was a giraffe. That zoo holds a few poignant memories for me. Although the animals are behind glass it was the closest I've ever been to tigers and gorillas. I was one foot away from the tiger as she was sleeping right next the glass. The gorilla seemed so much like us that I found it painful to watch the great Silverback and his family in captivity. Dublin Zoo is amazing and they have so much room for the animals to move in but it's still a zoo.
In any case, I got so much joy out of making those pyjama bottoms that I'd like to make more. It was a joy to look at the pattern while I was sewing them.
I hope that my friends and family enjoyed all their gifts, handmade and purchased. This Christmas was the best ever!
