crafty gifts

More things for under the tree. Today's are for Ellie.

I've been on a roll with felt this year. She's getting a colored pencil roll with a matching set for her American Girl dolls. When she's a little older and takes better care of her things, I'll make her a quilted holder like one of these. In the meantime, this went together super fast and it's pink - one of her favorite colors.

The tiny pencils are from the dollar section at Joann's a year or two ago. There were 18 in the set, but a roll that large wouldn't work in a miniature size.

She was also mesmerized by the cross stitch apron that I worked on this season. This will be wrapped up as a kit. The transfer is from an Aunt Martha's pattern set. I picked a thicker perle cotton out of the stash because it'll stand out more on the fabric and hopefully, cover the printed lines better if they don't wash out well. The design was ironed onto a pale pink quilting cotton that'll be sewn into a pillowcase when she's finished stitching.

The beauty of her getting older? I can give her a present that she makes herself rather than killing myself to make it before the holiday.

I'm saving that sort of insanity for the quilt Glenn is getting. Started sewing on Sunday. Tonight I'm hand sewing the final step in binding it. I never learn. At least I'm not sewing the binding on Christmas Eve like I was doing two years ago.

halloween tote

Gearing up for Halloween.

Yes, I need a tote specifically for the month of October. The pattern is Haunted Handbags by Artful Offerings.

I changed a few things from the original pattern. They call for black felt as the lining, but I wanted to use some of the fun Halloween fabric I have stashed. That completely changed how I put the bag together. I changed the pockets a bit too. And while it's not shown in the picture below, I tried my hand at finishing the seams ala Vera Bradley. Because all of her bags are of quilted fabric, the inside seams are finished with bias binding. I did the same and it worked very well. One of these tools came in very handy.

The "31" charm (it's hung on the button by ribbon) was done using my machine's needle punch attachment to applique the wool pieces together with felting. The ovals were put together with a machine blanket stitch. I need to use that stitch more often. It's very easy to make the stitch larger and looks great on applique.

I'll have to plan my entire wardrobe for the month around this bag.

jie jie and mei mei mao

(big sister and little sister kitties)

More goodness from my Wee Wonderful patterns.

These girls were made the summer before Trixie came home as a way to help ease Ellie into the idea of having a little sister. Her cat obsession was in full swing at the time, so this pattern was perfect. I used the full size pattern for the older sister and reduced the pattern to 80%(I think) to make the little sister.

The bodies are black twill with felt details. Their dresses are fabric I cut from an old Laura Ashley dress. (Parts of that dress made an appearance in Alaina's quilt too.) The felt shoes, as they appear in the picture, are removable, but after picking them up off of the floor and finding them stuffed under various pieces of furniture for the hundredth time, I sewed them on permanently. Buttons are from my stash. All the details were sewn on with a blanket stitch.

She liked them.

Whether they eased the blow of a younger sister's arrival, that's still to be determined.

baa

This little one was from a free pattern over at turkey feathers. She was a vacation project two summers ago in South Carolina. Hoping to get stuff done before our trip to China, I stitched a lot of handwork projects then. Once Trixie came home, there'd be precious little time for all this hand sewing - at least for a bit.

The flowers are some vintage goodies I found thrifting.

The fabric is 100% wool felt that I washed and dried before cutting the pattern out. It shrinks up considerably, but also gives it a thick, nubby texture. The details are all done with embroidery floss.

I cropped out the size marker, but she's about the height of a soup can.

slowly

That's excatly how I feel I'm getting things done around here.

I had high hopes for the weekend. Then Trixie climbed out of her crib, so that had to come down and we began the big girl bed transition, which has been going remarkable well. Unfortunately, she's no longer contained during the time I like to sew and post.

More snow (a lot more snow) arrived - along with some very cold weather which turned the basement where I sew into a freezer even when I ran the space heater. And in all honesty, the pile of unfinished repairs and projects down there was not a welcoming sight anyway.

Just in case that wasn't enough to keep me from getting much done, I tripped over a laundry basket on Monday. My right wrist caught all of my weight. Not broken and much, much better today. Not so good for sewing this past week though. (Note to self - need to make more rice pillows in smaller sizes to keep in the freezer for the next time I make a boneheaded move like that.)

So I present you with a project I completed in December. He (or she?) is all hand sewn- most of which was done backstage while Glenn was in Bah Humbug! The pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls. I was hoping if I put him out there, he'd inspire spring to hurry up.

posie dress

Since I posted Trixie's dress yesterday I thought I'd include this one today. A tiny bit of that fabric was used here as well. (The fact that I now have a use for a one inch square piece of fabric means I'm not even throwing out the tiniest scraps. This is not good.) I worked on this about a month ago, but had to wait for it to get to its new home lest I spoil a surprise.

The pattern is by Posie and can be found in the book, Softies.

I didn't measure it before sending it off and I'm too lazy to go get the book and measure the pattern, but I think this is about 6 inches tall. I can officially call this a "use what I have" project since everything came out of the stash, including the wire for the hanger. My favorite bit has to be the vintage millinery flower on the collar.

gifts for Ellie

This is the year Ellie decided that dolls might be as nice as stuffed animals. She asked Basia for an American Girl doll that looked like her this Christmas and that's exactly what she got. Around the same time she came home with a copy of The Princess and the Pea from the school library. The version below came out about a year ago and I've been dying to get it for her. Tree Fall makes some lovely sets to go with the story, but I needed mattresses that fit her doll bed and a dress to fit her new doll. Twelve "feather beds" are a good way to use up some fabric you've had forever. The dress also falls under the "use what you have" category(I chose green because the princess in the story has a pea green dress). I wish it's small size related to a short amount of time to make it. It took as long to make as a full-sized one. The pea is of felted wool and has a little organdy bag to hold it. (Any bets on how long it will take for the pea to get lost?)

A new set of winter stitchettes showed up to join their friends. I'm not sure which one I like best - the ice skater (who has teeny marshmallows in her cocoa) or the little shopper (her bag is a bit hidden). These were sewn near the beginning of the year, back when I was still trying to keep myself from being overwhelmed this Christmas. A plan like that only works if you stick to it. Oh well.

And finally, why I was still sewing at noon on Christmas Eve-Ellie's lap quilt. The fabric was bought this summer with only a vague idea of how this would come together. I knew it would be simple in design because it was the fabric I was in love with and I didn't want to distract from it. The top only has 13 pieces in it with the sizes being determined by the yardage I had. The rick rack was in my stash and added some much needed color to the top. My favorite print is the multicolored backing. All prints, but the black with white polka dots(which reminded me of old-fashioned composition books), are from the Dick and Jane collection. I channel quilted the center on the diagonal, the black inner border has been quilted in the ditch and the side borders are channel quilted. The storyboard corners have been stipple quilted around the center design.

The perfect lap quilt for a little girl who's learning to read.

woolen goodies

A few more items from my Christmas year round challenge. I'd like to say these were inspired by Turkey Feathers, but they're actually a pretty close replica to a set she made. I fell in love with hers and couldn't think of a way to make them any nicer than she had, so... (The pattern is a free one from Little Birds Handmade.)

The materials were things I had on hand - vintage lace, buttons, and fabric for the tree bottoms from my Grandma Bev's stash. The evergreen design I drew freehand. The wool felt was washed and dried before being sewn to give it a more mottled look.

The plan had been to make a set of these for the girls' room in cheerier fabric. I'll be adding that to a list of things to do in 2008 because it isnt' happening between now and Tuesday.

I also started to cut into the pile of wool sweaters that I thrifted ages ago. It's about time - sweaters take up an ENORMOUS amount of space. They went straight from the thrift shop into the washer and dryer on hot. Pretty cool how they come out so thick and felted. The mittens below are the sleeves of one of them. They make a cute decoration, but I need some serious work on my pattern drafting for these if I intend to make a pair that can actually be worn by someone other than lobsterboy. There's no room for the palm of the hand before you hit the wrist portion.

Christmas needs to get here now. I have very little to post before I start ruining surprises and put gifts up.

elf shoes

At the risk of annoying many people, I'm going to start posting the Christmas projects I worked on earlier in the year. Hey, if the stuff is out in stores and I can listen to carols on the radio, this stuff is safe fodder for the blog.

The idea was this - every year I get stressed trying to make all the stuff I want to give as gifts and to decorate the house with. You know, so many projects, so little time. I figured if I issued a challenge to myself to get one Christmas thing done each month in 2007, I'd have lots of extra stuff to use and give away come December.

You'll all be happy to know that my "Christmas project a month" challenge lasted only until April. I've no idea what exactly caused me to lose my focus. Oh wait, I think that's when I bought the Prairie Children and their Quilts book. Hmmm, I haven't looked at that since I finished Alaina's quilt. That's when I started more needlepoint and projects for the shop. I'm seeing a pattern emerge here...

These little guys are from a free pattern I found at Allsorts. Made of washed and dried wool felt and embroidery floss. The bell charms are out of my stash. They measure about 2 1/2 inches from heel to toe. I'd love to enlarge the pattern and see if they'd make good slippers for the girls.