A wee wooden troll, brought home from Heidelberg in 1998.
A long-time holiday tradition in our family is staying up until the wee hours as we try to finishing making our various gifts. I can recall one Christmas Eve where my brother Woodcrafter was running the lathe in the basement until 2 or 3 a.m. while sister Artist was running one of the 3 house sewing machines till a similar time, and several others could be heard wrapping presents in bedrooms with closed doors.
This year, thanks to a full-time job (excellent and satisfying though it is) I am having to squeeze in my making time here and there. This weekend various jams were made. The week before I spent evenings watching college hockey and hand-quilting a [can't say what since Woodcrafter reads this blog!]. And this weekend I will be sewing like a maniac, baking, and making more jam.
But brother Architect is going to win this year's All Night All Day Award for sure as he continues to make The Grand Thing (set for a New Year's Eve reveal)! He sent a few more pics yesterday of a few more things for the larger Thing!
And some of the actual construction! (Though of course I can only show cropped versions as I am still sworn not to reveal the grandness that is in process.)
Although a architect by profession, my brother has said he'd really enjoy being a theater designer more. He is very, very good at what he does but misses, I suspect, the more playful aspects of creating. Which is why his work a few years back on the Madison Children's Museum was so satisfying.
(You can read more about his project at this earlier post.)
So the holidays are always a good time for playfulness. And the crunch of time, while a bit crazy- and sleepy-making, is the best time!
