So Rita, over at Cemetarian, has THREE of this pattern to give away:
And I don't blame her, if I had this in my house I'd give it away, too. So, speaking of things you give away at holiday time, if you actually WANT one of these patterns, leave a comment about the best/worst/funniest/most inappropriate holiday present you've ever received. I'll choose three comments on Boxing Day (or soon thereafter) and forward the winners' details to Rita.
One Christmas where my mom gave me the three nicest things out of the Tweeds catalog (remember that?) and I wore each piece (two blouses and a skirt, I think) all to shreds. As for bad Christmas presents … looking at this pattern, even the most head-scratchingly bad presents I ever got pale in comparison.
So, c'mon, spill! Tell us about the ex-boyfriend who gave you a pack of gum (with one stick missing, on December 26th) or the best friend who knew that all you really wanted was two hours to go to a movie … and who got you the ticket and showed up to babysit. You will brighten the holidays of all who read the comments, and possibly get a copy of this pattern … to inflict on someone else, NEXT Christmas.
A Dress A Day 
Dag, am I the first commenter? I came because it said, “Pants.” What’s a “cemetarian?” I know, I know . . . look it up myself. Well, Happy Holidays!
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Hi, Erin,This pattern is pretty good if you ask me. However, I have been the recipient of a bathmat for Christmas. Not only was it a bathmat; it was USED.
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Confession time…I actually HAD that pattern. I don’t want another one.
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Ok, I do not want the pattern, one would have to be a very particular kind of person to pull off…skants(?), and I am not that person.However, I must tell a story about one of the worst presents I have ever gotten. One year, my mother (bless her heart) gave me, what can only be described as a grandmother’s necklace. It had big wood beads and figures which were supposed represent your grandchildren. Since I was about 25 at the time, I guess they were supposed to represent my siblings (with whom I had tenuous relationships at best). She was *crushed* at my lack of excitement.
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I’d actually use a pattern like that! The pants look comfy. :-)One year for Christmas, I received a mound of plastic poo in a box from my brother. True Story! I don’t know what happened to the box – I think my mother tossed it out when I wasn’t looking.
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One year, my boyfriend (of 4 years) gave me a long, white granny nightgown and some white cotton panties from Victoria’s Secret. I didn’t even know Victoria’s Secret MADE granny nightgowns and cotton panties. Needless to say, I got the hint, and he got the boot! 😉
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I got a VCR. At age 15 while living at home where there was only one TV. However, the family VCR had conveniently broken just before. Nice, Dad.
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My great-aunt Katherine gave me three pairs of underpants.And I think those pants could actually be lovely made in a drapy fabric — sari rayon, maybe — with the corners rounded. And wrapped in the other direction, with the front of the pants on top rather than on the bottom. Possibly lined so that they were reversible. In fact I own the pattern and the sari fabric, and they’re sitting in my stash waiting for the right moment.You may all mock me now.
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BWAHAHAHAHA…………I’m a cemetarian……..and ya don’t have to look it up……..it means someone who takes care of the cemetery………LOLAs for the pattern……..I’ve sold these as quickly as I can get my hands on them……but …. somehow I ended up with 3 at the same time and thought i would spread the joy………I actually LOVE this pattern………used it when it was NEW……..LOL and they are comfy and so simple.My worst Christmas present was………..my first husband………we married on Dec 18th and it was the stupidest thing I ever did……..Christmas or otherwise.
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I made a new friend one year when I was about 25. She gave me a fabulous carmel butterscotch cookie recipe, and ran off with my then-boyfriend. I still use the cookie recipe. Heh.-Shaun
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I actually love this! It’s soooo me. Truly. Deeply. I would make as many of these as I could in different colors and patterns. So the worst holiday gift I ever got? How about the year my boyfriend offered to buy me laser hair removal for my chin and upper lip hairs? Now, admittedly thoughtful in a wierd kind of way. I actually took him up on it a year later. But honestly, is that the least romantic holiday gift ever? Of course it is. It’s downright horrifying. Right next to the toaster, the Pantene shampoo and conditioner he gave me last night for Hannukka. Let’s see… need I go on?
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One year my youngest brother (who is irresponsible at best, and thoughtless at worst) completely forgot to buy ANY presents. So he stopped at a truck stop on the drive to my parents’ house. We all got tacky truck-stop t-shirts, except for my dad, who got a license plate cover. It was totally like that episode of Friends, but REAL and horrifying.
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Oh, and I don’t want the pattern. I’m 5’1″ and my legs are about 25 inches long, so I can only imagine what I’d look like in those pants.
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I bet those would make some GREAT sleep pants, though… or something to humiliate my stepdaughter with. HA!!!Worst gift ever… ex husband… I was 17 (we weren’t married yet) and he bought me this bluish grey sweater with a white yoke knitted in and 4″ long fringe in a western pattern all around the front and back… the white yoke had navy diamonds knitted in it… he was so sure I’d LOVE it… I purposefully snagged it and ruined it, so I only had to wear it once… UGH!! The ugliest sweater I have EVER seen…
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Well, I actually WANTED the pattern (sorry, Erin!). However, there doesn’t seem to be any listing for it, so someone else(s) have swooped them up. So there are at least four of us.Anonymous, well, I must be a little slow, because aside from figuring that HE DIDN’T WANT TO SEE ANYTHING, I don’t know what possible hint that could be. And that’s what he would have gotten, too.My WORST Christmas – and it was the ENTIRE CHRISTMAS – was when I was late adolescent. I had an all-electric Christmas. I hadn’t asked for much, and I didn’t get ONE THING I’d asked for. I did, however, get an electric blanket; some kind of toaster oven; and a couple of other electric things. None of which I had wanted or asked for, and I think I used the electric blanket TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER. I still don’t know what possesed my parents – did they have another daughter somewhere who got my gifts? Was it HER worst Christmas ever, too? For years I teared up in memory.However, my worst ADULT Christmas present? From my EX-husband. He’d gotten me a BEAUTIFUL pair of earrings for my birthday. He told me it was a toss-up between the earrings and a necklace. So we went to look at the necklace, and I said I’d love to have it for Christmas. He had no money on him, so … I put a down payment on it and the matching earrings; I really liked them. The next time we were in the store, I put more money down on it. And the next time, although I kind of gave him A Look.And Christmas Day, that’s what I got. The necklace and earrings that I PAID FOR. Nothing else. If I had to sum up my marriage in a nutshell, that story would do it.And yes, I paid for HIS presents, too.
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A rabbit fur coat, patchy colored and so 70’s styled. I donated that sucker as fast as I could. That was a gift from my DH, back in our younger dating days. Thankfully, his gift-giving is much better.
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LaBella………the patterns aren’t listed. They are FREE! Erin will pick 3 winners from this comment list so you are still in the running………just be patient…And EVERYONE………..Have a Joyous Holiday!Rita
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My husband’s grandma gave me a brown sweater every year I knew her, till she died. Sometimes short sleeve, some cotton, some acrylic, light brown, dark brown, you name it, but always a sweater and always brown. She must’ve though I looked good in brown.But I never ever wore brown.
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I try to forget my worst presents, but for years I said the best present a boyfriend ever gave me was my cordless drill. I have used that sucker so much, and while it was in no way romantic, it was very thoughtful, as he knew I would use it tremendously. However, I think it has been surpassed. Last year my current squeeze bought me a carport. Ok, it was for my December birthday, not for christmas, but since we just got about 3 feet of snow in less than a week, I am loving it!…and I already have the pattern too. They are great made of nice lightweight fabric, over a swimsuit at the lake!
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These pants have the same problem as the “walkaway dress” — you have to hold them closed when you walk in the slightest breeze. They may work if you are REALLY skinny and don’t mind exposing your legs above the panty line. Which does not describe me.
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I bought pants like that at a yard sale at a hair salon. I made a kimono-sleeved top out of the fabric, an awesome navy, red and teal print. Sorry that’s not about Christmas at all……
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Ooo, I think my mother has this pattern–actually, it’s the same sort of pattern, but maybe not this EXACT one. Imagine, more than one pattern company had this design!Erin, do you really want it? I can scrounge the Mom house over Christmas and see what she’s got.CarolExtreme Cards and Papercraftinghttp://extremecards.blogspot.com
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Okay, I actually LOVE that pattern. If I don’t win, I am going to search to buy them.I have been fortunate, the worst gift was more of an ignorant gift. My husband bought me this beautiful purple suit set — 3 sizes too big. He said that they didn’t have my size, but I could bring it back when they get more in and exchange it. He didn’t understand that women’s clothing stores don’t work like that. They don’t keep re-stocking the same suits. I will be dating myself, but the store was Jackson Byrons.
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Worst = Fruitcake. Everyone KNOWs I can’t stand fruitcake, yet my neighbor would always give me one and my mom INSISTED that I be polite about it and thank her (rather than tell her I didn’t want it). Bleah.-andie
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Worst = Fruitcake. Everyone KNOWs I can’t stand fruitcake, yet my neighbor would always give me one and my mom INSISTED that I be polite about it and thank her (rather than tell her I didn’t want it). Bleah.-andie
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My dad is the king of the totally odd, inappropriate gift. The year I was 10, I got a huge makeup kit–and me, a professed tomboy who hated pink and dolls and dresses with a passion (I have since learned to love dresses, of course, but am at best ambivalent about pink and dolls.)And for Christmas when I was 14, he got me a doll house. Seriously. And two years ago, he got me a tin of mixed nuts. Oh, well, at least I get good stories out of his gifts!
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The best present I ever got was a dress form from my mil. I have trouble sizing at times and it has helped me greatly in my sewing. Then the next year she got me a serger. Which was funny because that is what I got her!Have a wonderful holiday, Erin!
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Actually, Erin, it’s a skirt, an unusually bifurcated skirt. You can’t see that? ;)The biggest problem with wearing it is the same problem you get with all palazzo pant styles – they puddle on the floor of the public restroom… Blech!But I do think I wore one of these back when I was 1/3rd my current age…Elaine
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Whoops. Forgot the gift story….The best ones were the years I got the electric saw and the drill (the Craftsman models I requested, too!); the worst were the creepy nighties and the sit-around-never-to-be-used glassware and dishes that were nothing close to my taste…To tell you the truth, I’d have preferred a gift certificate to the local indie fabric shop…
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For those who don’t sew:http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1430922-AA.shtml
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LMAO I would use it too and I want it!My worst Christmas was the time my entire family forgot about me. And I am not talking just the “oh you said you weren’t coming” and didn’t have anything but the “oh crap I forgot to get anything for Elaina” and I was cooking dinner. (To be fair, this has really been my Christmas since I was 18).The most inappropriate present I won’t share for fear of offending other readers, but it was offensively bad and was such a Christmas stopper that none of us can believe it even today.Best one was a 2 years ago when my son saved up his school honor roll coupons and took us out for Pizza Hut on Christmas Eve so I would celebrate it (he was with his dad that year).
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Well, I can’t see myself wearing the skirt/pants, but I have a pretty bad gift story…A former boyfriend from many, many years ago (over 15 years ago when I was young and dumb)gave me two men’s henly t-shirts and a red lace teddy that he had from one of his previous girlfriends! After we broke up (in January), I returned the men’s shirts (thank goodness for Nordstrom’s return policy and at least they were good quality men’s henly t-shirts) and got myself a feminine white eyelet top. And I gave him back the red lace teddy.The best thing I got from the whole deal was a brunch casserole recipe from his sister-in-law that I use to this day. I will be making it for the brunch my hubby and I are hosting on Dec. 28th.In the end I think I came out ahead. Ann from Maryland
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I love those pants!My worst present was a Baby City voucher (a baby-gear shop, for you non-New-Zealand types). My youngest child was six-and-a-half at the time, and my desire for NO MORE children had been widely publicised at the time of his birth.
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I haven’t received very many really bad presents, but the best present I received was a Singer sewing machine. It was used, but it was still a huge step up from trying to sew for years on cheap, persnickety machines whose features were absent or non-working.I like those pants. I always look at some similar ones at a mall store here in Arkansas. However, I don’t always like the zany fabric patterns they use, and I haven’t been brave enough to buy them w/o trying them on.
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I have a pair of these pants! I found them at a thrift store about 9 years ago, and I was wearing them the night I met my husband. They are actually very comfortable and not as weird as they look here! 🙂
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I have to say that the weirdest gift I have ever received at Christmas was a plastic travel urinal, complete with female attachment. Not just one, but one for each family member! These came from an elderly friend. I was just speechless, really. they sat around and were eventually recycled. My sister in law got some too, and when I commented on it years later, she said they had come in handy during long car trips with her young sons.(That pattern is a complete waste of hard to find border print fabric.)Colleen
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Wrap pants are great! But only IF you choose the right fabric. They can become nice yoga, exercise or lounge pants. like the ones shown here:here or herebtw I’m not in any way affiliated with the above link, just googled it.When I was about 6, I thought it was a good idea, if I took the soaps, yes the soaps, do some sculpting on them (or so I thought) and wrap them in gift paper and put them under the christmas tree as a gift for my parents. oh, they must have laughed hard behind my back….
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I would love this pattern myself. I can see how it would be very useful. The worst present I ever got was a lime green sweater with small rainbow colored flip flops embroidered all over it. It was from my step grandmother and I think she thought I would like it because I surf.
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Oh my God. I have made that pattern. I have worn that pattern! Made up in, God help me, polyester double-knit. In, uh, purple. Oh, the seventies were terrible. TERRIBLE.
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My relatives always give really dumb presents. Last year my mom gave me a packet of paperclips. She still goes on about how fabulous and useful they are. They were just regular paperclips for goodness’ sake!This year, she says, she is giving them to all her friends, too.
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Last year, my husband gave me an 8×10 photo of our (male) dog wearing a dress. And a hat. And he thought I would love it. I’ve been slightly confused ever since.
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This Christmas, I was given an Aer Lingus airplane blanket, still sealed in its plastic bag. This was given without irony, joke or reference of any kind. It’s the thought that counts . . . right?
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Has to be the black and orange plastic salad bowls some friends gave me in 1970 or so. There were some reed place mats with them that weren’t so bad and I did end up using for every day. But I’m telling you – those bowls were perfectly dreadful.
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Best: My Viking serger, courtesy of my husband last year– he really did surprise me! I can only thank the sweet saleslady for steering him to the exact model I would have chosen. Not too cheap and flimsy, and not too fancy and computerized. Perfect!!Worst: When I was twenty, I’d been dating this guy for two years, and was about to be transferred overseas. Because he said he loved me, I assumed we would be getting married, rather than breaking it off or trying to go long-distance indefinitely. So, when asked, “What do you want for Christmas?” I replied, “A ring!” and winked.Well, I got a ring. A cheapish sapphire from the mall. The kind of ring a boy buys for a high-school girlfriend. Not the kind of ring a man buys for the love of his life.It wasn’t a BAD gift, but I’ve never been so sorely disappointed about a Christmas gift in all my life. I thought he was the ONE. You couldn’t pay me to go back and be 20 again. LOL.
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As far as those pants go, I’m not even quite sure WHAT I’m looking at there… (Hey! And I had a VS white granny gown, too, about five years ago. I loved it– wore it to death!)
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I love those pants. They’d be great for the summertime just hanging out at my house on the deck with a tall glass of iced tea and the newest Nora Roberts book, but I digress.My sainted dear departed mom gave me the worst gift anyone could receive during my freshman year of college. I worked at McDonalds as a closer (as in close up the store, clean up a days worth of dirt, take out the trash, you get the idea). I lusted for an eight track tape player (yes I know. I’m old as dirt). So imagine my glee when I was handed this wonderfully rectangular big heavy box from my mom. I opened the box sure that my eight track tape player was inside. What did I find? A brick to make the box heavy and a Ronald McDonald doll. I kid you not.
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Well, just so you know that people actually bought these type patterns…. ahem, my mom made this the Christmas of 1973 for me, my aunt, my grandma, and one for herself! To be honest I was in High School… a junior, (guess that tells how “old” I am) and well… we didn’t have much $$$$ so, I was just thankful to have gotten anything… they didn’t take lots of fabric and since she worked full time it was a pattern that didn’t take much time to make. They were comfortable… and I wore them “at Home” only… more like lounge pants! Oh well… such is life!
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I don’t think I’ve ever received anything too terrible (either that or I’ve just repressed it…), but my mom gave an embarrassingly poor gift about a year ago as a birthday gift to my really awesome cousin, who is in her late twenties. She’s one of the few relatives my mom usually likes to buy things for because she’s so nice and fun.She works as a nurse, and since she didn’t have a permanent residence for a while, my mom picked out a lovely vinyl foldable flower vase. The thing practically screamed “I come from the Dollar Store! I’m CHEAP!” and the worst part was when my mom was explaining how great it would be since she didn’t have her own place and my cousin cuts in and says, “Um, I got an apartment a month ago.”I felt mortified and I didn’t even pick it out.
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the nicest present I ever got was the ironing board I just received. For my sewing!! and it has all the bells and whistles with chrome legs and iron rest.
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I’d give that pattern a try!There was one disappointing Christmas when I was a child… sixth grade I think. My aunt gave me a Teddy Ruxpin (?) that she picked up the year before in the after-Christmas sales. Eleven-year-olds are generally not into talking stuffed bears.That same year my dad gave me a remote-controlled monster truck and a HUGE skateboard. Our street had no sidewalks and we had a very steep driveway. I never learned to skateboard. And none of my girlfriends could believe that I received an RC truck instead of something entirely more appropriate – like clothes.Although, I wouldn’t want my dad to be buying clothes for me either…
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