The winter holidays are nearly upon us.  At the library, we realize a lot of our patrons are trying to save a little cash this year.  And because we are tuned-in to those needs like aliens to the mothership, we’ve put together a lovely display of DIY Holiday titles for their crafting pleasure.  I had a hunch that this would be a popular display, but I wasn’t quite anticipating the crowd of young ladies and their mothers that formed a huddle around the felting, crocheting, knitting, quilting, beading, card-making, origami, leather-working, and basket-weaving books this afternoon, and then stayed planted there until the library finally locked its doors for the night.  Readers, they would have made more formidable opponents than the KU football team.

Here in our little home, we’ve also been trying to work in more thrifty DIY projects.  Going out on a limb last year, we typed into our Google browser: “what to give everyone for Christmas,” and the Internet gave us this brilliant gift: a pattern for Martha Stewart felted pigs. Amazing!!  And so we joined the throng at Hancock Fabrics on Black Friday, picking out our assortment of colorful patterned fleeces:  Hot-pink!  Giraffe-print!  Horse-heads!  Camo!  Plaid!  We had never sewed anything before in our lives.  But over the next four weeks, interspersed with term-papers and highway travel, we brought 16 little piggies into fruition.  We also drank a lot of wine and watched sooo many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  It was a perfect storm.

And they were pretty adorable!  You can see the entire photo gallery on Flickr, or you can just take my word for it.  We wrapped them up in pretty little boxes with one bar of Mo’s Bacon Chocolate each.  So save a little cash this year and get a little closer to the ones you love.  Make some felted pigs together.  Or stroll on over to your local public library and get inspired to create something else.  We already know what we’re going to be making…