Crackpot Quilters’ Blog

Diligent Crackpots may even be able to use the same gift bag twice for the same holiday.

Note the addition of a new gift tag.

Also, one branch of the Crackpots lays claim to the record for the longest running continuously regifted and recycled gift enclosure. The following is ca. 1978.

Green for the Holidays or Gift Bag Etiquette
By Not That Martha

We join together this year to give a Gift to Our Planet by limiting the waste surrounding our gifts to each other. Specifically, we consider the concept of re-gifting and the process of recycling.

Consequently, in order to prevent indescribable faux pas (somebody ask the French student if that’s plural—hard to remember from 40 years ago) during the holiday season, all giftees are asked to observe the following guidelines for Gift Bag Etiquette.

1.Gift Bags may be re-gifted.
a. Gift Bags may be re-gifted the same year they are originally gifted.
b. Gift Bags may be re-gifted to another giftee.
c. Gift Bags may be re-gifted to the original giftor.
d. Gift Bags may be re-gifted to a new giftee who is not present at the original gifting.
e. Inscribed gift tags should be removed from the Gift Bag before re-gifting.
f. Gift Bags may be embellished before re-gifting. Beads, buttons, baubles, ribbons, rickrack, gilding, glitter, and embroidery may be used as embellishments. Other items, as deemed artistically appropriate by the re-giftor may also be used as embellishments. Chocolate, though quite acceptable as a gift, should not be used as an embellishment unless it is well wrapped.
g. Gift Bags made of fabric should not be re-gifted through the refuse collection receptacle unless the gift is intended for the refuse collector or for a fregan or for an anthropology graduate student conducting garbology research.
h. If the Gift Bag is to be re-gifted to contain an edible gift, the edible gift should first be enclosed in a food grade wrap.

2.Gift Bags may be recycled.
a. Gift Bags made of paper may be recycled through municipal recycling services.
b. Gift Bags made of fabric may not be recycled through municipal recycling services.
c. Gift Bags made of paper may be recycled for art or craft projects. Those under the age of seven should use blunt tipped scissors if any cutting is involved in the recycling.
d. Gift Bags made of fabric may be recycled by re-sizing. Those over the age of seven may use Dangerous Equipment, such as sharp scissors, seam rippers, rotary cutters, pins, and sewing machines to re-size the Gift Bag.
e. Gift Bags made of fabric may be recycled into other fabric projects, including quilts, clothing, fabric jewelery, fabric sculptures, or whatever the artist can imagine. Again, the use of Dangerous Equipment is restricted to those over the age of seven.
f. Gift bags (paper or fabric) may be recycled into luggage for playing Airplane or Trip to China.
g. Gift Bags may be recycled into refuse containers for playing Garbage Man or into shopping bags for playing Grocery Store.
h. Gift Bags may be recycled into accessories for playing The Firefighters Come to School, although exactly what the function of the Gift Bags would be is not yet clear.
i. Gift Bags may be recycled to carry clothing from one place to another. However, caution should be used when transporting one’s (previously worn) delicates through any airport in a Gift Bag, due to Homeland Security issues.
j. Gift Bags may be recycled into planet-friendly lunch bags. However, it is not recommended that one use the same recycled gift bag for one’s lunch that one used for transporting one’s (previously worn) delicates.

I am! So it wasn’t the sewing machine…

It was the third prize–Free Limited Edition Scissors! Plus encouragement to come in and save up to $600 on a sewing machine, embroidery machine, or serger at our favorite locally owned fabric store.

I’m wondering if lightning struck more than once. Did any of the other wayward crackpots who dropped their names in the box at the after Thanksgiving sale win anything?

Yesterday was an “Eat Chocolate!” day. WooHoo!

So here is a photo of the Eat Chocolate page from my fabric journal.

It’s not finished yet, but you can tell a couple of things. First and most obvious, all the chocolate is dark chocolate, the most powerful kind. If you could see the detail, you would notice that each chocolate is decorated with embroidery that shows what the filling is. I’m sure you recognize the brown with pink dots ribbon. It was purchased when we were trying to keep someone away from the balloon fabric. The fabric journal has been in a box for a while, so it was fun to get it out look it out. Some day I’ll finish it.

Now in the interest of full disclosure: While I was checking out, my driver was eating Hershey’s kisses. I had a peppermint. What was I thinking! So we stopped down the road at Culver’s for a dairy based lunch. The Turtle Sundae was good for the winter, but nothing beats a real Tommy Turtle. And when my book group went out to dinner last night, I had Tiramisu. Not all that much chocolate, but filled with other valuable goodness. 🙂

Wednesday was the Fiber Arts Guild’s potluck and ornament exchange. It was great fun, with good food, good company, lovely art, and plenty of laughs.

Everyone brought a dish to share.

We were all interested in Jonetta’s Rice Porridge. In Norway it is traditionally served on Christmas Eve (or is it the day before Christmas Eve?) with butter, cinnamon and sugar, and dried meat. It was delicious. There was a certain amount of debate about Aron’s decorated cookies. Were they for decoration or for eating?

OK, we ate them. Yummy!

After dinner, we had show and tell. I didn’t get a picture of the most exciting news of the evening. Jennifer had her work featured in 500 Handmade Dolls from Lark Books. See http://www.jennifergoulddesigns.com/ for more of her work and information about the book.

Lynn brought mittens.

In 2006 there was a NATO Summit in Riga, Latvia. All of the delegates were given a pair of mittens knit in a traditional Latvian pattern. 4500 pairs of mittens were knit, and all of them were unique. See http://www.rigasummit.lv/en/id/cats/nid/698/ Lynn adapted a Latvian pattern for double knitting.

Jonetta brought hardanger. This is a traditional Norwegian craft.

Aron brought some of her felted dolls. Here is the Grinch, in case anyone needs a mood adjustment. Aron learned to make these felted creatures at a Fiber Arts meeting just over a year ago, and now she is selling them at a local shop.

Alison brought three dolls

and a wall hanging showing the same figures.

Bonnie brought a bunch of adorable crocheted finger puppets (sorry, no photo) and a woven ribbon pillow.

Some talent in this group, isn’t there?

After show and tell we had the ornament exchange.

This is the ornament I brought. A plain brown wrapper:

The inner gift bag:

The beaded ornament:

Coming later–a photo of the ornament I received.