BLAME MARTHA...

It was all very well going down the hand made route, visiting artists in their ateliers to buy Christmas presents; but when it came to actually making things and festive decorating chez Lola, I was unable to locate any cute Christmas tree light boutiques or young up and coming artisan purveyors of fleece, felt, pom poms and pipe cleaners. So Homebase and John Lewis it was. The HELL of pre-Christmas John Lewis where they don't have any white felt, their selection of rick rack is pitiful and Entree des Fournisseurs seems like a sweet and distant dream I once had and might as well be. And I'm blaming Martha for the John Lewis bit. Martha Stewart Holiday Handmade Gifts - AMAZING.

I never buy Martha Stewart Living, though I do like Martha's Blueprint magazine (not to be confused with long running U.K architecture mag Blueprint. Only Martha is so powerful (feared?) that she can get away with starting a magazine with the same name as another.)

ANYWAY this holiday handmade gift thingy basically shows you how to make all the Christmassy things you want to make but don't know how to, and some you didn't even know you wanted to make until you picked up the Holiday Gift doo dah. (Can I just ask any American readers what the deal is with saying "holiday" and "the holidays"? I quite like it actually, being agnostic, but is it absolutely not done to mention the C word (as in Christmas!) in the states now?)

ANYHOO there are so many gorgeous things to make: what do you think about the ankle strap felt baby booties? In an adult size of course - perfect for lounging! Oh, but they make it all look so beautiful. They could photograph a piece of tinsel draped over a plastic snowman and it would look simple, chic and timeless for goodness sake. How do they do it? I know my efforts will come out looking a bit wonky and grubby compared to the pristine, "I said do it four thousand more times until you get it perfect" projects shown in the magazine, but they do give good template. And for that I am thankful.

They even give you basic knitting and crochet tutorials which are perfect if, like me, your sweet Granny taught you to knit twenty years ago and your recent attempts have only led you to realise it's not quite like riding a bike; however you have no sweet Granny left to ask.

I have the best of intentions towards my crafty endeavours. I'm brimming with ideas but my fabric and trims still stay stuffed in the carrier bag so I can dream of how beautiful it will turn out a while longer. I just love it at the beginning of a project when my vision of what I'm going to make is unsullied by the reality of my slapdash corner cutting and short attention span.

But too many of my ideas have fallen by the wayside because I think they won't turn out absolutely perfect enough. I have never had a business card for this very reason. I have to remind myself of that old chestnut: If it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.