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12 THE RURAL VOICE
THAT HOMEMADE
CHRISTMAS FEELING
Gisele Ireland is from Bruce County.
Her most recent book, Brace Yourself,
is available for $7 from Bumps Books,
Teeswater, Ontario, NOG 2S0.
Did you ever notice that the
people you care about most are the
most difficult ones to choose
Christmas gifts for?
Magazines this time of the year
count on that difficulty and are filled
with wonderful things you can make
with your own liule hands. They look
so right and so easy. And we are led
to believe that the recipient of these
handmade gifts will go into throes of
ecstasy when unwrapping the treasure.
There's likely a lot of truth in that,
providing the right person tackles the
project. But these articles should also
carry a line of warning: DO NOT
ATTEMPT UNLESS YOU ARE
ORGANIZED AND HAVE SOME
TALENT.
Some people are smart enough to
recognize their own limitations. I'm
not. When I see something that looks
easy to make and is appropriate for a
loved one, bells should go off in my
head.
In fact, a whole belfry should
begin to chime, warning me to lay off.
I am not organized, nor am I talented
with my fingers. I forge ahead
anyway.
Super Wrench was the recipient
of a sweater made by my own little
fingers. Since I didn't want him to
know about it, the bundle of wool was
hidden and hauled out more times than
you'd change a newborn's diapers.
It showed when he wore it. One
sleeve was longer than the other, and
one side of the sweater pulled in a
westerly direction when actually put
on a body. Obviously somewhere
along the line a gross miscount of
stitches had taken place.
The tuque to go with it didn't do
much for it either. It was made in
vertical stripes of odd bits of wool
with a huge yellow pom-pom on top.
Super Wrench retired the tuque after
his first trip to town. It was a pure act
of love even to wear it. Someone had
apparently asked him which kid's hat
he'd snitched.
Sheer fascination always grips me
when I see how wonderful those pine -
cone wreaths look. All you need is
what Mother Nature provides and a
glue gun. But not once in the instruc-
tions do they mention how to unglue
the bits of cone from the kitchen table,
the cupboards, or the chair in the liv-
ing room. The wreath looked skimpy
when I was done, and I ended up
gluing an awesome number of bows
on it to cover the gaps.
And those wonderfully attractive
straw hats look so easy. So does
going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
The lace that goes on around the brim
should be stitched on straight. My
sewing machine insisted on grabbing
the lace in the throat plate and chew-
ing it up. The bow was hugely awk-
ward and the whole thing looked like
it had been caught in a hurricane.
The worst of it all is the time
factor. No matter how I plan it, there
are always those last-minute rushes.
Everyone else is listening to 'Twas the
Night Before Christmas without me.
I'm re-enacting a new version in the
sewing room, 'Twas the Panic Before
Christmas.
How could anyone forget to put
sleeves in a blouse? For me it's easy.
Precious time is spent trying to hunt
for six buttons I know I bought a few
weeks ago when I should be hand -
hemming the full circular skirt which
seems to have enough fabric in it to
hold a three -ringed circus.
In those final few minutes when
all is quiet and everything's wrapped,
you begin to feel a glow of satisfac-
tion. It may not be great, but it's as
good as I'm going to get it. I can just
picture the expressions when every-
thing is unwrapped.
Whatever you give or receive this
special season, may it truly fulfil all
your expectations. Merry Christmas!O