An out of season birthday gift. . .

Way back when, when I saw these Pocket Creature Handwarmers in Knitty, I thought they might be fun to make for my sister, Linda. Linda does not like to be cold -- and is always looking for ways to stay truly warm during the winter. So, I don't have Linda's name for Christmas (that's how we do things in our family), so the idea is set aside for -- her birthday. Which is in April. Which is when hand-warmers become pretty much unnecessary in this part of the world. Still, when I finally remembered what my idea for Linda's birthday was, I made these:


According to the pattern, their names are Mimi and Eddie. Inside them are little bags of rice and lavender:


I was proud of myself for thinking of the health food store for the lavender -- I wonder where else one might buy some lavender?

I was a little nervous about this gift -- besides being out-of-season, they were really designed for kids. And are a tad dorky, though in the nicest possible way. So to hedge my bets, I included some fancy lavender hand cream as well.