Wednesday, December 9, 2009

BOOKMARKS


“Have yourself a merry little Christmas” goes the song. Sometimes it’s the little things that count most, the small, personal touches we put in or on the package that make a gift especially memorable. So if you are giving books this Christmas -- and you are giving a book or two, right? -- then why not a bookmark you’ve stitched yourself to make it special? And that way, in the weeks that follow Christmas, every time your special person opens the book, there is the bookmark to remind him or her of who gave it.

Above is pictured a very simple pattern I designed myself and taught at the last Bouchercon mystery convention. I have an explicable love of argyle, so the pattern is special to me. Don’t care for it? This time of year the needlework magazines are full of patterns and ideas for Christmas, and many of them translate easily to -- or are even designed for -- bookmarks. Little time? There are many, many alphabets out there, so stitching your or your recipient’s initials or first name up a bookmark is a fast and easy way to personalize it.

In case you do like it, I have asked my web mistress to put the argyle pattern onto my web site: Monica-Ferris.com.

Already there is a short story I wrote for an anthology that never came off. The story, which I have mentioned on Killer Hobbies before, is “It Slices, It Dices,” and is set at the Minnesota State Fair. Odd to think that that hot, summery event was so few weeks ago now we are well into the Christmas season. As I get older, the year gets shorter, and what once seemed an interminable wait between the last days of summer and the approach of Christmas now seems just about the time between one breath and the next.

We are up to our ears in snow this morning, which will make for an interesting drive to the pool for my water aerobics class. But I remind myself that this is Minnesota and such mornings are to be expected this time of year. Besides, it is very beautiful.

May your days be merry and bright . . .

2 comments:

Linda O. Johnston said...

What an utterly appropriate gift from a writer, Monica! I love it! Good luck in the snow. It's a chilly day in Southern California today... but nothing like the chill you're experiencing.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

It's just lovely, Monica. You make me want to find my needle and get stitching.