Monday, January 5, 2009

Monday Morning Quarterback: Gift Reveal and Give-Away

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!

One of the great mysteries of all times will be resolved before your very eyes!

What Christmas gift did I make for my friends, using the fabrics and ribbons that they selected and only my bare hands and cunning wit?

Oh, okay, maybe there was a sewing machine involved too... ;) Party poopers! In any event, I give you: pencil rolls!



Now, before you look askance at your computer screen and think "What kind of a dumb gift is that?", let me fill you in on the back story...

Every day at lunch, we work cryptic crossword puzzles together. Those puzzles are difficult and we definitely use pencils, not pens. We've been doing this for a couple of years, and over time we have gotten to be quite the connoisseurs of pencils. Whenever one of us goes on a trip, she always brings back souvenir pencils for everyone. So, lame as it may sound, pencils are kind of a big deal for us.

In addition to making the pencil rolls, I also ordered pencils for each person, inscribed with their names and in a color to match the roll. Here are the individual rolls.

Susan:



Allison:




Natalie:



Christine:




Wendi:






And one for me:




And now for the give-away. Under the circumstances, what better gift than a pencil roll pattern? I purchased this from Pink Chalk Studios, but ended up working out my own pattern version before this one arrived in the mail. Hence, it has never been used (not that it matters with this pattern).
Leave me a comment telling me who you'd make a pencil roll for, and I'll randomly select one person and get this right in the mail. Good luck!

16 comments:

Becky said...

Oh, those are fun! I especially like your multicolored one. And I like how you tied your friends' tradition so nicely into your gifts for them.

Hmm... I don't know who I'd make a pencil roll for. I can think of a couple reasons I'd need one, but that's a bit selfish, isn't it?

Summerset said...

Cool! Aw, you bring back good memories for me of my last job. One (or two depending on the puzzle!) of my coworkers used to work the USA Today Crossword puzzle and all the other puzzles that are printed with it together everyday at lunch. He'd start and get as far as he could, and then would hand it to me, and I'd fill in what I could and we'd pass it back and forth until it was done. If we couldn't get something we'd hand it off to another coworker, who sometimes would help. My coworker would always use a pen, and after having to fix mistakes, I'd always say, "You need to do these in pencil!". Sometimes I'd use a different color pen just to be annoying or fill in the empty boxes with messages in pencil for fun or annoyance.

Anyway, I'd make one for each of my children - they always seem to be stealing *my* pencils and pens!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful gift! It's not only something they will use, but something very meaningful. I know your friends must have truly appreciated these!

Christine said...

I LOVE the pencil roll! It's such a great gift, Gwen! They're sooo beautiful!

I'll disqualify myself for the drawing though, since *I* already have a pencil roll. :D

Anonymous said...

The pencil rolls are awesome! Thanks Gwen!

I will also disqualify myself because I do not sew :) I am sure someone will really enjoy the pattern.

-Natalie

Manecoarse said...

What great gifts. They are adorable too!

Flora said...

Those are so cool! And how thoughtful I'd make one for my 20 yo son and my youngest sister - both writers. Then I'd make one for myself and youngest son who'd want one because he saw the others.

gwensews said...

Those are great gifts. Your friends must have been delighted! I like the fabric yours is made of particularly. I made something on the same order--a crayon tote--for my grandson.

By the way, my name is Gwen also-actually Gwendolyn.

Anonymous said...

LOVE the pencil rolls. The fabric combinations are awesome! I'd make one for my oldest sister Judy as she does crosswords all the time. She also travels a lot and this would help keep her organized.

Vicki said...

How great are those! Very neat. I bet they were very happy with those. Don't put me in the draw, as I don't need to make a roll - but thanks anyway :)

Dawn said...

Those are great!! I'd totally make those for my kids for their colored pencils. In fact, this might be a birthday present.

SunnyQ said...

I LOVE my roll Gwen, THANK YOU!!! The others are beautiful too - I really enjoyed seeing the different fabrics everyone, and you!, picked! :) (and I also disqualify myself from the pattern contest) :)HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

Anonymous said...

You did an awesome job on these gifts! Really sweet and thoughtful! I'd make a colored pencils roll for my sweet cousin!

JB said...

What a neat gift. Those are the coolest things. The fabrics are so pretty. I know your coworkers will treasure your handmade gift. I would definitely make one of those for my 10 yr old niece. She collects pencils.

Hilary Gray said...

Wow. those are too cool. I would never have thought about a pencil roll. They would come in handy for different purposes. I'm thinking they would be great for all the pencil lip liners or the embroidery pencil coverups. You did a fabulous job on the project and I really like the pencils w/their name on them. That was a great idea and I'm sure they love them
hilary

Martha said...

For me, of course! But instead of pencils, I'll use it for knitting needles. Thanks!