Well, I Swan.... Christmas is Coming!

Somehow we've arrived in December already! Doesn't time just seem to fly by? Going along with the previous stitch-and-stuff post, I thought I'd show you this Christmas Swan I just finished. It's another pre-printed panel that simply requires sewing on the lines and filling with fiber-fill. But this one is practically vintage. I found it on the freebies table at quilt guild and scooped it up. Decades ago I made one of these for a friend's Christmas gift. All the while I was making it, I was thinking, "they are going to think this is a weird gift" and I lacked confidence about presenting it to them. I mean really, who gives a stuffed swan for Christmas? Turns out, the funny thing was, they had seen an expensive white swan displayed among Christmas greens in a gift shop and really wished they could afford it. But alas, they could not. So they were quite thrilled when my white swan showed up in time for Christmas! It just proves again, that hand-made gifts are often exactly the right ones. Anyway, when I saw this swan, it took me back to that Christmas story, so I was happy to have a chance to make a white swan of my own to remind me.

"Well, I Swan" popped into my head the minute I saw the panel, so I had to look up the origin of the expression. Have you heard it before? Turns out it is Old English and used as an alternate way of saying "I swear" or "I declare." More recently, it's become an expression of surprise, used particularly in the South. That's how I use it. At any rate, I was delighted to find this treasure among the cast offs! Now I must get more Christmas projects underway.