Rudolph Day - Crafts that Take a While

Look at that - I'm remembering to do a Christmas post! And I figured this one was appropriate, because if I ever want to do a Christmas craft, I need to start it early in the year. Waiting until "the Christmas season" just never works. For example, I painted one of the small Santas seen on the mantle above as part of a Super Saturday, but it took me at least another year to finish the other three.


The inspiration for this post came when I saw this picture as I was going through "Senior Send-off Video possibilities" for Steven.

Many, many years ago (even before Steven was born) we were invited to a wedding and decided that it would be nice to make a cross-stitch of the temple as the wedding gift. The "deadline" of the wedding was quickly approaching and I was frustrated that it wasn't finished and that I couldn't find the time to do so. One night after dinner I remember giving Wayne the option of working on the project or doing the dishes and bathing the boys so that I could work on it. I was totally surprised when he chose the cross-stitch! But he discovered that he really enjoyed it, and working together we were able to complete it in time for the wedding.

Once the temple was done, Wayne started working his way through a magazine that I had. We discovered that cross-stitch is the perfect hobby for Saturday afternoons spent watching college football on television. You can enjoy the game and feel productive too.

This particular magazine had more than just cross-stitch projects in it, and as of this month, Wayne has done every single one. (The last one was a poinsettia sweatshirt that complements the one Michelle is wearing above. The one I'm wearing he made a few years ago.) I think my favorite was "Festive Medley" - a series of miniature Christmas motifs turned into ornaments as one project and sewn onto a blanket as another.

Admittedly, this isn't something my husband goes around advertising, and I debated even mentioning it here. However, I love this part of his personality. He's great at starting and completing things - something I struggle with all the time - and I admire that about him. I can't look at one of these creations without appreciating order and method and patience and perseverence, and even thriftiness - all wonderful traits he possesses. In addition, with the initial experience, I learned a great lesson on the importance of asking for help and not struggling in silence, and that's something I don't ever want to forget.


Now, since I still have nine months before Christmas this year, maybe I'll even pull out some of the scraps I've saved from his projects and make some ornaments of my own!