It’s the time of year that we need last minute gifts for a holiday party hostess gift, or an unexpected relative arrives, or you forgot “Aunt Mary” in the nursing home needs something personal that she can enjoy. Whatever the person or occasion, here are some ideas to get you started.
Towels are always a good choice. They are something people will use and not put in a closet! Kitchen towels can hold embroidery designs or applique’ designs. Add a nice border to finish them off and make them look like they came from a high end kitchen boutique’. I like using the flat kitchen towels and putting a matching border on the bottom. You can also trim the bottom with rick rack or ribbon. Remember if you are decorating a terry towel to add a clear wash away topper so your stitches don’t disappear into the terry nap.
Free Standing Lace items are great to put in a Christmas card to mail to friends who are far from you. It can be a lace bookmark (yes some people still read a physical book like me) or a Christmas ornament that can be used on their tree every year.
Cloth napkins with a lace corner or a pretty embroidery design or 
monogram is always a nice gift. You can generally find quality napkins on sale at places like Tuesday Morning, then add your design or monogram to have a gift that is inexpensive but nice.
You can make a table runner and add embroidery. Need it fast? Buy a ready made runner and/or place mats and add a pretty embroidery design, monogram or applique’.
T-shirts and Sweat shirts are great to add embroidery designs to.
Bathroom towels are always a nice gift. Whether they be a set of finger tip towels for a guest bath or a complete set of towels for a master bath. You can monogram them, add a pretty embroidery design, or make them look really fancy with an embossed design. I’ve added a wonderful tutorial video from EmbLibrary.com that shows the proper way to do an embossed plush towel.
Let your imagination be your guide. A gift you made yourself is always 
something special and hopefully, appreciated so much more than something you just went out and bought. Here are some other ideas; small zippered bags for someone to put their treasures in, larger gear type bags with lots of pockets to put travel accessories in, or anything embroidered with a person’s name on it. These are just a sample of what you can do to make someone happy
I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday. Here’s to an exciting new year in 2020!
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Until next time; happy sewing!
Molly
Sewing Scoupe 