paper dolls and ham and knitting for felt

and wrapping presents and crocheting beaded strawberries and encircling glass cabs

and all manner of other odds and ends of things

such are the days between Christmas and New Year's as I'm wrapping up old projects and beginning others

Before long I'll be deeply into the tax season (BLEAH!), but for a week or so I'm just "foolin' 'round" with all kinds of things

At the family Christmas gathering we're having tomorrow at my mother's we'll be having Country Ham. For those of you that have no clue about country ham, let me tell you it has been ever present on our minds for the last 24 hours and we have another 24 hours to go to complete the process. Yesterday morning I scrubbed it with a stiff brush and put it to soak. Later today we will begin the boiling (it takes 25 minutes of simmering per pound, and this one weighs 17.9 pounds --- that's nigh unto 8 hours by my calculations, so we'll be enjoying the scent for a while here today!)

During the day yesterday I started knitting up some wool into a piece to be felted for a camera case I'm making for my daughter. This was the only present this year that was presented as an IOU because I needed to have the camera's measurements before I could make it and I just didn't feel right about saying to her "measure your camera so I can make you a case for Christmas" (she already knew what 2 presents under the tree for her were, and I figured that was enough already!). Anyway, I'm just about finished with the knitting deal, so I'm hoping today to felt it and get on with the next step.

Finished the paperdolls for my mom. They came out really well. This morning I printed them out, having spent some time in PrintShop creating backgrounds and arranging the costumes artfully on the pages. I printed the "cover" with the dolls and their names on cardstock then the pages on high quality white paper. Today I will put them all together in a book and stitch the spine so it looks like the real thing. I sure hope she likes them.

All of the other presents for tomorrow are all wrapped, waiting for me to drag out the curly ribbon (better for items that are going to be put into a box to be transported) and finish them all up.

I don't do much crocheting any more as after a very brief time my hand goes numb, but I did have a go at making a little bead crochet strawberry yesterday. Actually I made 2 -- on the first one I followed the instructions I had found in a magazine article, and I wasn't all that thrilled with it.

So, I decided to have a go at making it up as I went along and I was much more pleased with the second one. These are to be used as an accessory with a new bear I'm working on.

Finished encircling a glass cab and started on the right angle weave strip that will become the "chain" for this. Actualling got 6 inches of that done, so its moving right along.

So today I'll be doing a bit of this and a bit of that.