Holiday Traditions By Peggy Bendel Some sewing notables set an ambitious agenda, while others pursue more modest goals. But all agree: Sewing makes the holidays more personal and meaningful.

Shirley Adams Shirley Adams, The Sewing Connection, customarily sews a luxurious garment as a Christmas present for her adult daughter. Her 1998 gift, a black leather motorcycle jacket bedecked with sparkling crystal zippers, is featured in the companion book for Shirley's television show, series No. 17. However, the gold lace dress Shirley created for her daughter several seasons ago has become a special memory. "The 'only' Christmas present she wanted that year was a copy of a $2,000 Calvin Klein dress, featured in the series No.6 companion book," says Shirley. "I usually figure I can cut one zero from the price when I duplicate a designer outfit. It cost me $200 to sew, so that formula held up. She wore the dress to her husband's company party, where the boss' wife recognized the dress--she had seen it at Neiman Marcus--and teased my daughter that the company must be paying her husband 'too much' if she could afford that dress." Shirley believes this anecdote proves an important point. "As I tell my viewers" she says, " when you sew, you can have anything you want and on your own terms, regardless of budget. Aren't we all glad we sew!"

Sue Hausmann Sue Hausmann, Husqvarna Viking Consumer Motivation and Education Vice-President, sews a patchwork Christmas tree skirt as special present for every newlywed couple in the family. She considers this achievement small compared to her past holiday sewing marathons. "For years, my tradition was to sew not only every single gift, but also matching Christmas outfits for my entire family," she says. "One season, I sewed red velvet vests with green holly bow ties for my husband and sons, a red velvet jumper for myself and a red velvet dress for our month-old daughter (I used a doll dress pattern). I was driven. When I realized I was sewing on Christmas Eve while the family was enjoying good times without me, I eased up." Based on this experience, Sue offers the following advice: "I'd like to give everyone who sews permission to enjoy the holidays with their loved ones," she says. "If you need to, wrap up the fabric and pattern with an IOU to accomplish the actual sewing later."

Clotilde Clotilde, the inveterate world traveler, collects the work of sewing artisans from foreign lands and brings the bounty back to the office to adorn her sewing notions company Christmas tree. "I look for unusual, handmade ornaments when I travel," she says. "There are the finger puppets purchased from a charming 10-year-old boy in Peru, some interesting embroidered stars from Rudbeckistan, and countless other small treasures from countries all over the world."

Nancy Zieman Nancy Zieman, Nancy's Notions, enjoys sewing many Christmas gifts. "In addition to the individual gifts, I sew for special friends. In the fall I pick a theme and start planning to mass-produce a single item for my nieces and nephews. This year, I'm making photo albums personalized with their picture transferred onto fabric," she says. Nancy also uses her sewing skills to enhance family get-togethers. "I always make it a point to sew holiday linens for our dining table at home--tablecloth, runner and napkins," she says.

Gail Brown Gail Brown, co-author with Nancy Zieman of "Quick Gifts and Décor," uses her sample projects as a handy holiday resource. "If a friend or relative admires an item from one of my books or television appearances, I pull it from my presentation and surprise them with it," she says. Like many creative people, she frequently finds herself long on ideas, but short on time. "The holidays should be lighthearted, not burdened with guilt about unfinished gifts or decorating," she advises. "If my gift-making and decorating intentions fail to materialize, which they often do, I try to wrap creatively using wonderful fabrics and ribbons. I also resort to the ultimate in hurried decorating--draping yards and yards of fabric under the Christmas tree, over tables and around the staircase railing."

Joyce Drexler Joyce Drexler, Sulky of America, follows sewing-related traditions both professionally and privately. "As a company, we always send a sewing-related gift to our educators," she says. "One year it was a hand-painted wooden sewing lady holding spools of our threads. Last year we sent each educator an embroidered shirt. On the personal side, I make a quilt for a different member of our family every Christmas."

Gail Grigg Hazen Gale Grigg Hazen, The Sewing Place, loves Christmas so much it takes half of a two-car garage to store her massive hand-sewn ornaments collection. "At my retail store, I started a tradition in 1986," she says. "I host a Christmas party for my customers. If they bring canned food or other items to donate to charity, I find a gift to give them. My regular customers have started a tradition of their own...they bring me unusual ornaments for my 12' tree. The tree now represents more than a decade's worth of remembering one another." At home, Gale puts up a tree in every room of the house. The family room tree has a sewing theme, with spools, bobbins and buttons for ornaments. In addition, she gathers her friends on Dec. 1 every year to make an ornament. "Lately, we've been making angels," she says. "Last year, we each made a red satin angel--I called it 'not your everyday angel'."

Sandra Betzina Sandra Betzina, Power Sewing, truly enjoys sewing Christmas gifts. "Do you know what I like to make?" she asks. "Linen napkins. I look for interesting linen fabrics all year long, then sew a dozen napkins for my friends. Another gift I enjoy making is chiffon or cut velvet scarves. You see, you don't have to worry about fit with these." In addition to making fleece parkas for three teenage relatives and a leather or suede shirt for her husband every year, Sandra sets aside one special day in December to spend with her adult daughter. "She loves to wrap presents and I love to sew them. So for the past eight or 10 years, we've made a point of spending 12 to 14 hours straight, wrapping and sewing together," she says. "She also brings fabrics and patterns she'd rather have me sew for her than sew herself--like a velvet dress. I do love Christmas!"

Linda MacPhee Linda MacPhee, MacPhee Workshop, makes her mark on the season with several sewing-related traditions. "For the past 25 years I've sewn gifts for my husband and children every Christmas. In addition, in our extended family of aunts, uncles and so forth, we each draw a name; everybody wants me to draw their name because they know I'll make them a coat from one of our patterns," she says. "For many years now I've also created my own Christmas cards for a very limited mailing list. I use fabric and whatever technique I'm hot on at the moment, such as stencils, patchwork or fabric painting. Once I started sending handmade cards, I couldn't stop--store-bought cards just don't seem special enough."

Pati Palmer Pati Palmer, Palmer/Plestch, has a busy travel and teaching schedule that often turns the holiday season into a time crunch, leaving little time for sewing. "However, I do like to sew gifts whenever time permits," Pati says. Last year she made good use of a spare--and rare--few days right before Christmas. "I sewed eight Polarfleece™ bathrobes for our nieces and nephews, embroidered their names on the pockets, and found a Beanie Baby™ to put into each pocket," she says. "The robes were fun to make and looked so cute, I couldn't bring myself to wrap them. I just arranged each one on a hanger and placed them around the living room."

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