I know a lot of us are looking for inexpensive, but meaningful gifts to give for the upcoming holidays, so I thought I'd share a recent project...a gift of service for my father-in-law.
My father-in-law is always hard to think of gifts for, so we usually end up giving Hubby's parents something for both of them that is really more for his mom.
But not this year!
My father-in-law is into Scouting. REALLY into Scouting. He also really likes scout patches...and my mother-in-law (who is AMAZING and far better seamstress and homemaker than I am) hates sewing scout patches. I've volunteered to sew patches for him because I figure it's one thing I can do for them after all the things they've done for us. I've sewed patches on his shirts while we were visiting, and I brought this project home. I've been putting it off a bit...as in he gave me these patches close to a year ago...because I've wanted to get them perfect...and I was a bit intimidated. But I pulled them out the other day. It took a few hours of careful sewing, but here's his new neckerchief.
This is as much a gift for my mother-in-law as it is for my father-in-law because it saved her from sewing them.
Anyway...this was a totally free gift...and I know it will be totally loved and appreciated more than anything I could think of to buy.
(As a side note though...if you're looking for a great gift for an outdoor lover...you might want to check out these dutch oven carriers my mom made. My father-in-law just might be finding one of those under his tree too.)
You might not have someone in your life who wants patches sewn on a neckerchief...but there might be something else.
One year my mom had a favorite cookbook in the cupboard that was falling apart. I went and bought a small binder, took the cookbook completely apart, hold punched it, and put it in the binder. It probably took me less than half an hour, and only cost a couple dollars for the binder...and she loved it.
What about you? Any free or nearly free gifts you're planning on for Christmas this year?
I'm linking to:
Now you've got me thinking (as we have a VERY small budget this year).....what a great idea. And you're right - I bet you're mother in law was thrilled too :)
ReplyDeleteI STILL love that cookbook. Think of you every time I use it, which is often.
ReplyDeleteMy personal preference for sewing scout patches (girl or boy) is to use a wide zigzag stitch. I match the upper thread color to the outer stitching of the patch, but I don't worry about the bobbin. That way, when I'm sewing on a bunch of them, I can go from patch to patch and just change the top thread. The zig zag stitch blends in nicely with the outer stitching on the patches.
But I'll bet that, being the amazing and careful seamstress that you are, that you're using invisible thread...
I love the way the patches make "100." Were they a special set designed for that?
My father-in-law is really hard to get gifts for as well, but he has boxes and boxes of pictures which I've been working on scanning on to a thumb drive and then I'll put some of the better ones in an album. Time consuming but inexpensive.
ReplyDeleteBoth our dads are hard to shop for, too! But the thoughtful gifts never fail to make them cry :)
ReplyDelete