It’s that time of the year. Yes, zipping around from store to store, doing last-minute errands, getting gifts shipped out and trying to keep warm at the same time. It’s been surprisingly cold here, I had to break out the hats and jackets. Brrrr. I’ve also been very busy at the shop. Lots of new custom orders have come in, been made and already shipped out in time for holiday gifts (for someone else or themselves). I love this part! Getting to make something special for someone, just for them, makes me feel connected to my art. I am composing a piece, requested with specific designs, and adding in my own artistic skill. One particular piece I just finished was a beautiful floral crochet hat. My customer first purchased a pair of floral fingerless gloves that I had available and was hoping I could also make her a matching hat. My first thought was, do I have the same yarn? Because I make a variety of items, this is not always a certain thing so I 
do have to check. Luckily, I did have all of it. Fabulous. Then we had a little discussion about the design, sizing and off I went. I spent a good amount of time thinking about how I wanted the hat to look. The gloves had an intricate design and surface embroidery. So I opted for making a Tunisian simple stitch in the round as the base for the hat using the same colour yarn for both the forward and reverse stitches. I also added a decorative edging with some scalloping. I then let my imagination go as I stitched the floral pattern, thinking of cherry blossoms and spring, warmth and gentle colours while I embroidered. The result, I believe, was very nice. My customer loved it and together the set was perfect! I was so pleased she was happy with the final piece. These moments truly are the best in a fiber artist’s day when making something special for someone means making them fabulously happy. Happily this hasn’t been the only custom order in the last few weeks, there have been several dog scarves (some very shiny holiday ones, some with pom-poms, some with hot pink flowers!), a pom-pom dog hat for a rather large pup (I hope she sends a pic with it on the doggie), and I’m in the process of making a sweater as well as a special designed netted Swarovski bracelet. Like I said, it’s busy, but I love it! You know you found the perfect profession when you have too much fun doing your job. With that, from all of us at LPB, we want to wish everyone a Happy Yule, a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanza. Truly this year, it is a Happy Holiday season!
Holiday Craziness
