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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?

Today's blog starts with a big sigh of relief. The stitching on the rose is done, and I am very happy with the way that it turned out. And actually, I am very glad to say that it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would (I also learned that even though handstitching can be time consuming, that it is really easy to learn, requires very few tools, can be taken anywhere, and it makes a really big impact).

But then, today's blog takes another turn. I finished the stitching, and I even sewed the square up into a throw pillow just as I had planned. The problem is that I am just not sure that the pillow shows off the beautiful rose to its best advantage. I think that there is just too much plain white around the rose. What do you think?

I can't decide at this point where to go next. I really do think that there must be a re-think involved. Maybe this rose wasn't meant to be a pillow case at all. Maybe it was, but it just needs some more quilting or maybe it needs to be framed in a colour border....

I don' t know.

At this point, I think that I just need to take a little break from the project and, as my mother would say, "come back at it with fresh eyes". And, since it is Friday, I can't think of a better time to take a break than a weekend.

But...

If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!

And...

In case you didn't catch our Facebook Status this morning, I am starting to countdown to Christmas next week. Because Daylilies is all about being creative, I want to offer a new Christmas gift idea every day from now until Christmas - It is my hope that you will be encouraged to try and give home-made this year. There is nothing better than giving from your heart and hands. I hope that I will share some ideas to encourage and inspire you.

Until then, have a great weekend, and if you have any ideas for my rose, I can't wait to hear them!