During a recent trip to JoAnn's I got a pang of guilt about not really decorating for the holidays. I mean our house isn't bare during various festivities, but I certainly don't decorate to the extent that I could - especially with wide-eyed, wonder-filled kids on my heels.
I usually look at all the stuff they wedge in the front of the store about 6 weeks before every holiday - and offer for 70% off - and think to myself a couple of things. First, some of it is just too plain ugly or cheap-looking to bring home. Second, I realize that if I gave just a bit of effort I could likely make many similar things at home. Or third, if I did purchase x, y or z, I am certain that my kids would destroy it; appropriately seeing the commercialism of it all and treating the purchases like toys instead of future family heirlooms.
So I pass it all by and another holiday comes and goes and I still really don't have anything to decorate the house with. I haven't gotten to a point where I can purchase things from art fairs - although that is a hope for the future. And while I pick up things here and there from thrift stores, I haven't had much luck in making my finds match - or coordinate - with the feel and look of our home.
I did get on top of the game with Halloween this year. It was easy since the kids were so into it. We did some special themed napkins, lots of pumpkin crafts and made our costumes. Christmas is likewise pretty well covered - a huge tree in the living room really goes a long way!
But Thanksgiving has me stumped. I've been up in the sewing room playing with burlap, ribbon, fall-colored fabrics...all in hopes of making at least a table runner for the dinner celebration. But I haven't gotten there yet.
And, instead of making progress on anything related to the holiday that's coming up, I was side-tracked by ravelry and a vision of a cute garland of sweaters. [At least its a perfect winter decoration, right?]
My hope is to hang this garland on our front door - in lieu of a brightly painted snowman proclaiming "Merry Christmas!" - for the winter holidays. Each sweater is knit up from left over sock yarn (also used for this project), and I hung each one by a piece of gray yarn attached to a toothpick that is nestled inside the sweater. The pattern is a generous freebie you can find here. I love that they are real raglan sleeve sweaters! It was really the cable sweater the pulled me in, but I never got around to knitting one because I was into using up more of my variegated yarns.
Maybe the solution to my dilemma, errr...assuaging my guilt, is pacing myself - napkins one year, a table runner the next, a home decoration the next and so on. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so bad about not having the perfect mantle display, or table setting?
