Dear Santa,

It’s been a busy year here at the Museum. You wouldn’t believe the number of meetings it takes to come up with excuses for not putting together any new exhibitions in months. That alone took up almost two thirds of our Executive Breakfast Treats budget! Then we had to drink all that beer to make that gown, and the extra time in rehab delayed our yearly Team Building Exercise retreat.

In the end, we had to opt for economy package and ended up tying cans of corn to our feet and walking across the snowy parking lot, cheering each other on as we took turns dodging cars from the contemporary art museum next door. They’re very angry people.

As a business owner yourself, you surely understand what it takes to keep your employees happy. You must toss those indentured elves a bone once in a while. Painting nipple rings and perfectly coiffed pubic hair onto Bratz dolls is grueling work, and you can’t expect them to find new and interesting ways to pimp out Elmo without a little light at the end of the tunnel, am I right? So I am hereby submitting my gift list for the staff of the MOKS.

I know it’s late, but you must have these gems tucked away somewhere in your workshop. Get on it, fat man. Do not make me call the child welfare department. Elves. Riiiiiight.

Ok, so I was thinking that there weren’t nearly enough opportunities to knock over salad on a daily basis, so how about one of these precarious salad towers. Could you make sure one of the legs is just a little shorter than the others? It’s for Gail and she’s really been chapping my hide with all her “equal pay” this and “OSHA regulations” that.

And toss this in, too. I’m feeling very passive aggressive today.

One of our new employees, Winnebago Lynne McCoy, is always going on about her kids and how they say the durndest thing and have all their various daddies’ eyes. Well, put up or shut up Winnie Lynne. Let’s see those precious demon seed you keep telling us about. Our insurance doesn’t cover the physical therapy you’ll require after lugging this thing around, but it has sound and everything! Just look at that protuberant microphone on top! The woman in the catalog sure looks like she’s having fun capturing her son’s humiliating defeat in the snowball fight of the century. Or is that a deadly avalanche? Either way, it’ll be fun to watch later.

For Belinda in Exhibits. Oh Belinda, your ironic love of 1980’s fashion will never stop pissing of your co-workers. No matter how hard you try to explain why it’s “funny”, you are only digging yourself deeper. You want to rip on the 50s, 60s and 70s with us? Fine! We’re totally on board. Some of that stuff is hysterical. What the hell were they thinking?! But the 80s? No. The wounds are too fresh. The memories are too clear. The legwarmers are still warm.

So Belinda, this is for you.

No Santa, not the outfits. These look like the kind of girls that terrorized me in Jr. High, so I’d like you to get them to come to the office to harass Belinda, to make her aware of her shortcomings in the bitchiest way possible. And I want them to say the word “like” constantly, I want every sentence to end as though it were a question, and I want them to speak in Valley Girl and not stop, not matter how much Belinda begs.

I believe this is their leader, “The Headband”. Find her and the others won’t be far, they move in a pack. Her real name is Melissa, but I think The Headband is much more intimidating. Belinda will, like, totally gag her with a spooooon?

Just bring Jane in Exhibits a big bottle of hooch. She works with Belinda all day and the one in the bottom drawer of her desk is just about empty.

I think Vito needs something as sexy as he is. These ought to do the trick.

I got a very specific and somewhat disturbing gift request from Ted in Acquisitions. But who am I to deny a man his interests? The man love Annie and he’s not afraid to shout it from the rooftops. Even if it means me having to bail him out of jail at three in the morning for disturbing the peace.

Yes. The wig, too.

And he picked out something for his assistant, Jim. They’ve been spending a lot more time together lately, so I think this is some kind of “inside joke” between them. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, he just gave me the catalog number. It looks to be a casting and molding kit. I’m not one for speculation, but I would say that these boys may be starting some kind of kinky side business. Looks like they’re not all that interested in the softer side of Sears.

Tammy in Accounting? Well, I’m not really sure what you get a girl like Tammy. Usually I just get her a big bottle of antibiotics and some hand wipes, but this year, let’s try something different. She like animals, and I bet she likes them even more when they’re stapled to a puffy down coat! So let’s go with this.

She spends a fair amount of time standing around on street corners in her off hours, so maybe some lovely boots that will keep her warm and fashionable at the same time. Hey, slutty Martians need love, too.

And let’s not forget Tammy in Reception. Tammy, oh Tammy. How many hours have you spent online searching for ways to retouch this year’s Christmas card photo of you and your cats having a tea party while you should have been typing up invoices? Well, it’s all over, because I’m taking your computer and replacing it with one of these relics. Do kids today even understand what “carriage return” means?

And do they understand that back in the day, it took SIX EASY STEPS to correct a mistake?

And that for some inexplicable reason, every single thing had to be labeled for the obtuse masses?

Probably not. But because Tammy works hard, I’d also like her to have the Barbie and Ken Sham Marriage Playset. It includes:

A very body conscious Ken who spends a lot of time at the gym on the west side of town.

And Barbie, a popular musician who plays torch songs in smokey bars full of handsome men who are screaming for her to do her Liza medley.

You get an official wedding photo for the press.

And a cold but very tastelfully designed home where you spend evenings tossing back brandy and wondering just where the hell it all went wrong.

And then Barbie beats the crap out of Ken at a ritzy restaurant, Ken sues, Barbie goes on a binge of pills and booze and spends 3 months in rehab for “exhaustion”, then gets here own reality show. It’s really fun!

And for everyone, new uniforms!!

And Santa, if you have room in your bag and if you value the lives of your merry reindeer team and don’t want me to give your address to Sarah Palin, who loves her some reindeer burgers, I will gladly accept anything from this page with girlsh glee. They’re all radios! All of ’em! The beer, the ketchup, the burger. Heck, even the radio-shaped one!!

But if I had to pick one, it would be the radio/toilet paper holder. It would be the answer to a number of problems in my daily life and to all of my prayers since I was but a small child who only wished she could rock out to her favorite tunes while wiping.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter. I look forward to working with you again.

Stitchy McYarnpants

Museum of Kitschy Stitches, Curator Happy Holidays!!

Tomorrow I’m off to hawk my wares sell my lovingly handmade goods at the Boston Bazaar Bizarre. If you’re attending, come by and say hi! I’m at a table in the back against a brick wall somewhere. I’m splitting a spot with Caro at Splityarn and look forward to a bustling day.

All left over merchandise will be going into my Etsy shop on Monday or Tuesday. I’m really happy about the new magnets, bags and pendants I’ve been making and I think you’ll like them, too. You can see a little sampling here.

But when I get back, we need to talk. Specifically, we need to talk about this:

Now look, a lot of things can be easily explained away by saying “That? Oh, that’s from England.” Spotted Dick? Normally I’d recommend some antibiotics, but it’s from England so it’s a tasty snack. Referring to an umbrella as a “bumbershoot”? Very cute, I’ll admit. Although I don’t think anyone else could get away with it. David Bowie singing about laughing gnomes. ~sigh~ Ok. Fine.

But I draw the line at a Terror Fish. That is it. You’ve simply gone too far this time.

England, you got some ‘splainin to do.

Oh, and Scotland? Don’t go thinking you’re off the hook, either.

I’ve been a whirling dervish of craftiness lately. It’s Bazaar Bizarre season once again and this year, I’m splitting a table with Miss Splityarn! I couldn’t be more delighted to be in such good company. She’s really going to class up my act, I think. Make me look good, y’know? Last year, my table was a little . . . over the top? I covered the table with a crazy piece of bright red “kittens knocking over Christmas ornaments” fabric, a bright blue metallic tree, and had all manner of random wares to sell. Keychains, baby dresses, photo albums. And probably a bunch of stuff I’ve totally forgotten about. (The keychains are staying.)

But this year, I’ve edited a lot out and am pretty happy with the results. I just love making things. I can’t help it. And I can’t stop. The last thing I labored lovingly over were these fabric-covered magnets. I’m still testing the hold of the adhesive magnet backings. They’re hanging on a magnetic board and once in a while I pull them on and off and slide them around to test the stickability. So far, so good!

These are my new favorites! The backings are clay poker chips from the 1940s or 50s (maybe earlier). They’re actually breakable if you drop them from high enough. Ask me how I know. And the images are from a bunch of insane romance comics from the 50s and 60s.

Yes. I cut them up. All of the magnets, buttons and keychains I make using vintage images actually use the vintage images. I try my best to use damaged books and magazines and trust me when I tell you that society is actually better off without these particular comic books. They make the Lifetime Channel look like The Ayn Rand/Gloria Steinem Memorial Theater Company. The men are strong and often heartless cads. The women go between gazing lovingly at them, weeping about them, and snarling at one another for stealing them away. Occasionally they smile at the thought of one of them before he did her wrong because she was being inattentive. Yeah. But darn if they don’t make amazing magnets!

And here is the packaging I came up with for this year. Last year, none of my products looked very cohesive or put together, but I think these really make it look like a “line” rather than a bunch of odds and ends. These are some of my favorites. The illustrated food is from an old cookbook and amazingly, the doll bits came from a variety of sources. The tweetheart bird fabric is from a vintage remnant.

I dug deep into my fabric stash and pulled out some of my favorite vintage pieces to make pouches and wristlets. As it turns out, I have a lot of prancing deer fabric. I only used two styles, so there will be more to come once the Bazaar is over. I’ll tell you about my new online shop further on down in this post.

This little project bag is also making me very happy. It’s made from an unfinished 1940s quilt top. I think that whoever started it would be happy to know it’s going to be used and loved by (hopefully) a number of people. All of them are a little different and they’re all lined with vintage fabric, as well.

And finally, something I’ve designed and redesigned countless times is finally ready for it’s closeup. I call them Wallflower Pendants. They’re made from vintage Bakelite poker chips and mid-century wallpaper samples. The bails and clasps are sterling silver. I looove the clasp, no pinchy thing, just an elegant, curvy hook.

I’ve been wearing mine a lot. Here’s what they look like on. Do you know how hard it is to look casual when taking a picture of yourself? But I eventually managed. Sort of. My head looks rather giant, eh?

So hopefully my paranoid fear that no one will buy a single thing will not come true. Someone is going to have to want those cupie doll pins, at least . . .

And finally, I have been slowly weaning myself off Etsy and started my own little shop on Big Cartel. I have a number of reasons for leaving Etsy and I’m excited to start anew. You can find it here, if you’d care to. I just added something extra special a few minutes ago, too. Ok, scratch that, I’m back at Etsy and dumped my Big Cartel shop. Heh. Bags made by my mom! Hers are the ones with her name, Stella, in the title. She’s my crafty inspiration, I spent my entire childhood watching her make all kinds of amazing things and at the moment, she and I are both on a big sewing kick. Here are a couple of my favorites. I think these would be great holiday gifts. How about something from my mom to yours?