Gnome Brigade

Most quilters are a crafty bunch. They dabble in all sorts of fabrications. They quilt, sew, crochet, bake, knit (two needles confuse me), scrapbook, etc. We are always looking for something to make – not that any of us have a lack of projects already stacked up to finish at home. I am absolutely one of those quilters.

This Christmas, I decided to have a more handmade holiday to create gifts from the heart. That is one of the reasons my posts in December were sparse – I was busy creating! I will share those creations with you in the next few posts.

My first challenge was for the menfolk in the family. I wanted to do something fun, but quick as I was running out of time. That is when I found the perfect pin on Pintrist – thank you Kippi! The menfolk deserved their own gnomes. Of course, my sons arrived home from college before I could made them. So I decided to enlist them in the task. What is better than an evening of family crafting and ? Luckily, my boys inherited the crafting gene. We followed Kippi’s excellent instructions, while adding a few twists of our own. We filled socks with rice and pine needles (most will agree that pine smells better than socks – even new ones) and closed them with rubber bands and hot glue. The boys had fun figuring out how to stretch the socks to make 3 pounds of rice fit in them. Then, we glued on beards, noses, clothes to cover their bare backends, and hats to cover their noggins. My youngest son Ri quickly became the pompom expert. My oldest son Quin figured out how to curl the beards to make mustaches! Of course, the evening would not be complete without a photo of our accomplishments. So they boys arranged the gnomes on the counter and armed them with skewers for their photo op.

My dad with his gnome

I was a little worried that the recipients wouldn’t appreciate them as much as we did. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded. My dad couldn’t stop laughing. My nephew took his to work for caroling. My husband received his with a pack of Houblon Chouffe to drink. Smiles abounded.

The memories of the time we spend together are the best gift we give each other during the holidays. I am so glad I was able to share these with my family.

Happy Quilting (and crafting)

Laureen