How is it mid-February already and I have yet to reveal this past Christmas Grammy Jammies? I find I move more slowly these days, and tasks seem to take longer to accomplish. But not to fear, I completed 8 jammies for my grandkids, and 8 tiny jammies for their cuddly friends on time!

The closure of all Joanne Fabrics stores last year created quite a hurdle for this annual project. No longer could I find fabric and notions (for the non-sewer, those are things like zippers, thread, elastic, buttons and scissors) here in Duluth. Not even in the Twin Cities! Online fabric was extremely expensive, and I was reluctant to purchase large quantities without feeling the quality of the fabric. And then a distant memory pushed its way to the front of my mind, and saved the day. When my kids were young I made many of their clothes, particularly the knits like sweatshirts and pants, t-shirts, shorts and of course pajamas. I sometimes shopped at a huge fabric outlet called SR Harris. It was a massive warehouse with bolts stacked to the ceiling, and only through experience would you know where to locate the kind of fabric you wanted. A quick google search proved it still existed!

A field trip to the Cities ensued, and confirmed that nothing had changed in the place. It was still the seemingly disorganized mess as before, requiring intensive searching and yanking out bolts to inspect the goods. Quality is never guaranteed, so the selection process required determination but was usually rewarded.

Fortunately on that trip the perfect fleece jumped out at me, and I was able to find a coordinating flannel for the older kids’ jammie pants. Soon I was on my way, cutting out the jammie pieces and preparing to sew.

Once I have my sewing machine and serger out, I become possessed. I spent the better part of nine straight days sewing, completing jammies one after another. Rich had to cede his spot on the couch to the growing number of “kids” inhabiting his domain.

Tradition holds that I give the kids their jammies at Thanksgiving, so that they can wear them in the lead up to Christmas and beyond. This year, we were spread out at 3 different locations, so I distributed the jammies ahead of time and we held a simultaneous opening on FaceTime. Mayhem broke out, hard to follow in triplicate, but all the thrill I needed to fill my heart. From age one to 15 they tore into the packages and quickly donned the goods.

Having taken a pause for that milestone, I started in on the Friend jammies. They flew together given their small size in contrast to the continually growing kid bodies.

Those found their way under three Christmas trees to be opened Christmas Day. The younger kids immediately went in search of their Friends to dress them, often removing last year’s jammies to be replaced by the newest. Somehow most escaped photos, but we caught Saige with her puppy.

This was the 16th straight year for my Grammy Jammies. It won’t be long before I start the process all over again!