Over the summer in 2025, a friend of mine, Amie, suggested that we have a crafty Christmas gift exchange instead of worrying about buying gifts for folks. She still professes that she meant one gift, one person, like a Secret Santa deal, but the rest of us loved the idea and got to work.
So I got to weaving and sewing and crocheting. I started with the idea of making baskets using the pattern from Handwoven magazine Fall 2025. The basket weaving structure is Krokbragd, and required some learning and time. Overall, I made 4 of the baskets, one for myself, one for my sister, and two for Crafty Christmas. The basket warp is 8/4 cotton in black, and the weft is various colors of worsted wool yarn.
To go with the baskets, I decided to crochet some animals and sew some dopp kits to put in each basket. The animals were pretty straightforward but took time.
The dopp kits were pretty straightforward. I have a bunch of these I’ve made for myself over the years for various things. This one shown below is one I use for all of my sewing and knitting bits and bobs.
To make this even more special, I wove some twill fabric using the Baird tartan, the family tartan for one of the friends. I got the specs from the Scottish Register of Tartans. The fabric turned out great, but sewing the dopp kits was a challenge. I typically use a canvas for the kits, but the twill was sturdy, but not as firm. So I ended up breaking several sewing needles. I even broke a needle on my serger which almost ended the project, but I kept at it and managed to get two of them done in acceptable condition.
I was very happy with the gifts. I know it’s not a competition, but I was pretty sure I was going to win. :-)
But I was wrong. The gifts received included some homemade vanilla, homemade chocolate, a wonderful watercolor painting of a knitted teddy bear, and a handmade silver bracelet.
What fun! I have the best friends.
I wish I’d taken more pictures of the baskets before delivery, but I have the memories. I don’t know if we will do it again or not, or where folks will be by the end of this year since some of us have discussed moving, but we will see.