Last week , just before dinner time, I heard a knock on the door that I wasn’t expecting. It was a box of copies of Living Crafts Winter 09–with my name on the cover!

Now, I’ve had my work in many magazines but I don’t believe I’ve ever had my name on the cover– and this gave me quite a thrill. The editor of Living Crafts asked me to contribute a project a few months ago and I am so glad I made the time to squeeze it in, the entire process was so enjoyable–every magazine does things a little differently, but this was a true collaboration of ideas, which was fun. I designed another set of crocheted earrings (2 pair), and I have to admit that these are my favorites. I used Habu Textiles Stainless Steel yarn for these, which was awesome because it not only comes in lovely jeweled colors, but it has stainless steel mixed into the blend, which helps these earrings to keep their shape on their own. It’s also great because the yarn is teeeeeeny tiny! but if your hook happens to slip out as you are working, it holds the shape so you don’t lose your stitches as easily. (I’m knitting something with the leftover amounts, and it’s helpful for that, too!)

I also added some crystals to one of the pairs for extra sparkle and weight. I’m thrilled with how they came out and was actually pretty sad to send them away. I’m used to not keeping my projects, but I might make these again. They’re easy in terms of pattern, but they do require a bit of focus because, did I mention that the yarn is teeny tiny? Once you get the hang of them, though, you could easily make a dozen pairs to hand out as gifts.

The rest of the issue is packed with great projects for the holiday season, especially if you have young children in your family. There’s a great feature on ornament exchanges with several ornaments to make and give, and I love the sentiment behind the story–which shares the tradition of giving a set of ornaments to a new couple or baby. There are gorgeous holiday crowns, an extra special needle-felted advent calendar, a knitted child’s sweater and more.  What I love about this magazine is they don’t dumb it down– each craft is given space to breathe and they allow plenty of room  to explain each step. And– all kinds of fiber crafts are included- knitting, crochet, felting, sewing, embroidery and more.  I just get a warm feeling looking through the pages, the projects are truly heartfelt.

I’m giving away TWO copies of the mag to a couple of lucky blog readers. Leave me a comment with a few sentences about your favorite holiday traditions by Thursday, November 27th, 2009,  and I’ll draw names . If I don’t blog again before then, I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!