If Sew:

luggage tags

A little luggage tag made as a gift for a friend's birthday. Sewing with clear vinyl is fun. One trick I learned to keep the vinyl from getting stuck in the sewing machine is to keep a piece of tissue on the vinyl and sew right through it. The tissue can be torn off after. I am already thinking of a lot more fun ideas to do with clear vinyl.

gathering inspiration

My sewing machine is in the shop, something went wrong after the oven mitt fiasco. It is fixed now and I will pick it up tomorrow.

In the meantime I happened upon Sue Spargo's folk art quilt designs. I love her patterns and these small gift kits. She has some beautiful wool and cotton fabrics too.

I am also thinking it would be really fun to make these fabric baskets.

the trouble with oven mitts

 
 

 

I had some trouble with the oven mitts I've been working on. After breaking a needle on my sewing machine, unsewing many stitches and then finally finishing only unable to comfortably put my hand in to a too skinny oven mitt I have decided to start over. I won't post a photo of the unsightly mitt here but instead show you a beautiful photo that my husband took this morning in our backyard. We are having some unusually cold weather here in Northern California and so frosty camelias in the morning (actually the first bloom of the season) is big news.

little bunny foo foo

I just finished this little felt bunny tonight. I saw something similar in the book Last-Minute Fabric Gifts when I was in the bookstore the other day. I didn't want to buy the book just yet so I studied it for a while and then ran home and made some sketches. My first two attempts were pretty bad and in doing so I ran out of the nice white wool felt I had. But I found this piece of pink felt and it all came together.

I know it's only January but I've had my mind on spring lately. I like how this turned out and I think I might make a few more and maybe some other little goodies to display for Easter.

Johnnie insisted that this bunny needed a hat but I talked him in to a tail instead which I had forgot to put on and added it last. Now back to those unfinished oven mitts!

so much to make

I love this table runner that I saw in the Garnet Hill catalog. It looks like it would be pretty easy to make, I just have to find the right fabric. So, this is next on my list along with a whole bunch of other projects. I'm already looking forward to Easter and thinking about making some bunnies or chicks. I am probably the only one left who has not made Hillary's Wee Bunny pattern and I am planning to get to that before Easter.

Bay Beez

Johnnie and I enrolled in a class at the local Waldorf School last fall. It's a parent participation class called Roots and Shoots and we meet one morning a week. The parents sit at a table and make crafts and discuss parenting topics while the children play. Make crafts while my son plays with other kids and a Waldorf teacher!? What could be better? When I first saw the wonderful waldorf style dolls in the classroom I knew I had to make one. I ordered the kit for this doll from Joy's Waldorf Dolls. This was the first doll I made and though it said it was for beginners I found it pretty challenging. When ordering the kit you can choose, skin, hair, eye and clothing colors.

This other little doll we made in the class. It was really easy and the body was made from an old wool sweater remnant. I put the hair on before realizing that the face should be sewn on first and then decided to just leave it faceless. "Grama Mary" is the teacher who does the crafts with us and she cuts out the little body freehand, they all turn out different sizes and shapes and each is so cute. It's very similar to the ones shown in the Martha Stewart Handmade Holiday Gifts magazine (I loved that issue).

I gave Johnnie both of these dolls for Christmas. They are not as popular as his "choo choos" but he does love his "bay beez".

Fun With Felt

I recently rediscovered the joy of crafting with felt. I was inspired by all of beautiful pincushions made by Cassi over at Bella Dia and decided to try a few of my own for holiday gifts.  I had all of this wool felt left over from an unfinished penny rug project and I love that I finally put it to good use.