Hello from Stitchybritt in Sydney

Hello crafty friends!  I'm Stitchybritt, and this is my second year of being involved in the CCC blog.  How awesome is it?  I love that I get to make contact with fellow Christmas lovers and creators.  My blog profile says "I'd rather make stuff than buy stuff" and it is absolutely true!

Me wearing my Martha Stewart-hack necktie.  Unfortunately there'll be none of them for Xmas gifts - it's too hot for woolens in Sydney right now!

 Now, I am yet to put together my to-make list, though I do have some ideas.  Would you believe that I have four birthdays to make for before Christmas is even here?  Nevertheless, I'll post my handmade birthday and Christmas gifts here, as it might help with ideas.

One thing it seems that everyone is struggling with this year is ideas for gifts for men!  They are tricky peeps to buy for, let alone make for.  So I did a bit of a search and came up with a few ideas that might help:

• A bike seat cover.  I found a good tutorial here.  If your man is a bike-rider, this could be a good option.
• A wallet.  I bet more than one of your fellas has one of those old, falling-apart wallets in their pockets.  Here's a neat tutorial for a stitched one.
• Boxer shorts are a great option for the man who has everything, or the fella you just don't know that well.
• Bags.  The easy thing here is to figure out what the man is into (photography?  gardening?  exercise?) and make a bag accordingly.

Summer lounging trousers that I made for my fella earlier this year.

I also find that it helps to theme your Christmas gifts.  I've done all sorts of themes - food, garden, scents, kitchen - and this year my theme is tins.  Some gifts will be things that already come in tins (I'm thinking nice teas and other treats) while other gifts will be op-shop (thrift shop) sourced tins that I fill with whatever I like.  I'm thinking hankerchiefs, face scrubbies, maybe even some of Tilly's famous bow-belts!

I'm loving reading all your ideas, keep them coming!

Stitchybritt xx