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Okay, so I took a glance at the calendar and there are exactly 2 months less one day to Christmas. I know it is hard to believe – but it is time to start thinking Christmas. And I believe that giving handmade – from the heart and hands – is a really great way to celebrate with family and friends this year. Not only is making more practical in a tough economy, but handmade and homemade is a way to give a very personalized gift to each of your loved ones.

So – in order to (hopefully) inspire you, I am going to share a new idea for gifts every day until Dec. 25th. Some of these ideas will be quick and easy, and some will be more involved, but I hope that maybe, just maybe, you will give something a try.

To start off this epic (can we call it epic?) gift giving idea extravaganza (okay, so I don’t think that it can be called an extravaganza either, but what am I going to call it?), I want to revisit the Rose Throw Cushion from last week. As you may recall, it needed some changes before I was going to be happy with it, so I made a few changes, and I am over-the-moon pleased with it! (The before picture is on the left).

This, then, is my first Christmas gift idea of 2009: the Appliquéd Throw Cushion.

And, in case you were scared off by the whole inspirational journey of the rose, and are thinking that a throw cushion is a big commitment of time and energy, I beg you to reconsider. In fact, to prove that this isn't the case, I took 2 hours to turn some vintage patchwork quilt squares into 2 very lovely pillows.

I left the quilted squares just as they were, but added some hearts that I cut out of the trimmings from the square. These hearts were edged with a zig zag stitch, hand stitched in place, then a ribbon was added. The pillows are backed with white broadcloth to match the size of the quilt square. Beautiful. And not nearly as complicated as the rose pillow was.

I guess the real story is that if you like a lot of handwork and want to spend a lot of time on a pillow, it will look great. But, if you want to try something a little less involved, an easier pillow project will look great to. Have I convinced you to try it yet?