A Quick Mug Rug

Another sewing swap went out the door this past weekend.  The swap was for a 'Mug Rug' which is a little spot to put down your coffee or tea with a wee bit of extra room for something else.  Don't worry, I'm not going to try and eat that egg.....it is well past what I would call fresh....it's strictly decorative.  

It was a busy weekend around here, but I did manage to get this swap out just in the nick of time.  Lots going on and lots coming up too.  We are planning a little extended long weekend visit to the Prairies to visit with friends and family while Ike is on his spring break.  That way, Ike will not miss any school, and I can get back a few days of worked overtime.  

Anyway, this little swap was quite a cute one.....and it gave me a chance to try free motion quilting which is something I have been putting off.....dreading actually.  As with many dreaded experiences, its bark was much worse than its bite.  It was....in fact.....quite fun!  So.....I am looking forward to trying it again.....soon!  Certainly, my first try at it was not without mistakes.....but it was no where near as difficult as I had imagined it would be.  The pattern and tutorial are right here....and just in time for a quick Easter gift too!  Seriously....it will be done in an hour.  I will try it again with a thicker batting, I think, and maybe with some binding.  I always think things look better with a binding don't you??

A Little Stitching

We are back.....just in case you noticed....we were gone!  We had a 2 week road trip down to and around Vancouver Island.......and we just pulled the camper van back into the driveway last night.  We saw and did many things and had a great time (aside from my cold....but I'm such a trooper....I forged onward regardless)....but a post on all of that is yet to come as we encountered a slight issue with photos requiring a bit of salvaging as many were inadvertently deleted.....oops.  (I wasn't by me, this time.....thank goodness)  But more on that later. 

One of the things I noticed about Vancouver Island is the alarming number of thrift shops and also antique shops if you are feeling a little more spendy.  I did manage to make one purchase in the thrift shops, and one in an antique store as well.  Being limited on space in the camper van....I limited myself to fewer purchases than I might have otherwise made.  The towel pictured above was a great thrift store find I made locally some time ago and found the perfect use for in an embroidered tea towel swap before leaving on my trip.  In retrospect, I might have chosen a brighter pink for the pink flowers........oh well too late now...........and the lady who received it is more than capable for fixing that if it is bothersome.   Now, I have three more of these towels in the cupboard waiting for a bit of embellishment.........I wonder what I should try next? 

Starbucks Felt Coffee Cozy

Here we go with another felt coffee cozy. This time, for another swap-bot coffee cozy swap. The swap provided a pattern to help us out if we didn't have a plan. I just used a cardboard coffee sleeve from Starbucks as a template........and it looks like that's just what this person whos pattern was referenced did too....so if you don't have a cardboard sleeve to trace......go here and use this printable one...it's pretty much exactly the same as the Starbucks sleeve in size and shape and the instructions are there to make one of all fabric prints rather than using felt as I have.
I used some blue felted Melton cloth for the outside cut out exactly the size of the template, (it requires no seam allowance as its cut edges will not unravel) and lined the inside with a cotton print fabric which I cut 1/4 inch larger than the cardboard (or printed) template.
I placed the template down on the wrong side of the cotton fabric and turned the 1/4 inch seam allowance over the template and steamed it in place, making it the exact shape as the template....clipping curves.
Then I removed the template and placed the two fabrics wrong sides together and top stitched them together near the outside edge. (They should be exactly the same size now) At this point I added on some rick rack....because I like rick rack:).
To join the two short ends together, I just overlapped and top stitched in place. I have in the past joined the two ends using buttons and button holes like with this cozy.....but this one I just sewed together. Before assembling, I used some fabric applique and embroidery to decorate the front.
Can't get enough of those little birds.....I know I should really come up with something new! Another quick and easy project and a good little gift for teacher or friend:)

More of those little Felt Birdies....

It's that time of year again already. Time to step it up and finish up projects for Christmas. I think it's nice for kids to have their own ornaments that have meaning to them. Ike already has a little collection of ornaments that he has made over the years in school and at home and every year when we put up the tree he loves to take them out, retell how and when they were made, or who gave them to him and to find just the right spot for them on the tree. This year I think I'll make an ornament just for him, and these felt ornaments are quick, easy and cute to whip up. They also make for worry free shipping if you are making it for a friend far away. The one pictured here arrived last week at it's new home in Minnesota. It is similar to one I made here, and hopefully it is the second of several that I'll make this year. The first one is pictured here. If you need a quick little something to give in the holiday season these are certainly quick, easy, and cute. Stay tuned for more gift giving quick crafts as my count down to the hectic holiday continues..........

Halloween.....BOO!

Halloween is sneaking up on me again......Just like it does every year. Today I simply must finish sewing my son's top and bottom for his Halloween costume in order to not get too stressed out over the whole thing. He has instructions to give me hell if it's not done when he comes home from school.....which is appropriate since he will be a little devil this year:)
Yesterday, I finished up the Baker's Challenge just in the nick of time so at least that is out of the way. Now, two more quick swaps to get in the mail and I'm done for a bit. Anyway, here is a photo of the Annie doll......well part of her anyway. She has now arrived to my partner in Brasil just in time for Halloween! She is dressed up for Halloween this year as a black cat. She has a warm fleece black top and bottom with tail attached....because Halloween is a bit chilly here. Hmmm she may be a bit over dressed for Halloween in Brasil.
The Halloween apron swap arrived back in Ontario for my partner as well....now if I can only figure out how to turn the photo right side up........I'll have to come back and fix this.....but you get the picture!

Fall Sewing Projects

These are two of the crafting projects that left house this week. Being out of commission for a week sort of created a bit of a panic as many project deadlines were coming up......but I managed to get them out in the mail....just on time....I think. Above is a felt ornament for an outdoor themed swap, and below is a peak at a Halloween Apron swap that should now be at it's new home.

The Halloween apron swap turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated as we have no more major fabric store in town. In the end I had to go with Halloween colours and a little applique to convey the Halloween theme. I also got to use my A is for Apron pattern book one more time. So now I've tried two aprons from the book. I really liked this particular pattern and really liked it in these Halloween colours......so much so that I may make just one more:) There is also a Halloween themed Raggedy Ann doll on it's way to Brasil now which was more fun than I'd thought it would be......it's been pretty busy here....that's for sure!

A Vintagey Yellowphant

Finally, I've made something from one of those vintage patterns I cannot seem to stop collecting. I was not able to make up my mind on what sort of stuffy I should make for a swap I signed up for. It is a swap to take part in a Toy Society toy drop which I had heard of, but never taken part in before. For more information on the Toy Society or to join.....click here. It's kind of a PIF where you make a toy, and leave it in a public place for someone to find and claim.

Well after much thought and indecision.....I decided (and not a moment too soon) that I should make a pattern from this vintage set. I decided that I liked the elephant the best.....and good thing too.....as it was the only pattern inside the envelope. That's the risk you take when you buy a pattern from a thrift store I guess:( Fortunately for me the elephant pattern pieces and instructions were all there. And I decided to use up some fleece scraps from making Ike's Halloween costume last year so it would be soft. Just as I was about to sew up the final seam in his back........my son informed me that I had forgotten something. Two eyes....two ears.... one tail......"What did I forget Ike?" "You forgot to put in a heart" he tells me. So, Ike cut out a nice little pink felt heart for me and stuffed it inside before I stitched him up.

Well......my little Yellowphant is all done now and just needs to be dropped off...... somewhere???? Now I can obsess about the best place to drop it off....which may be a bit of a challenge as we are headed out for another week away.

I'm thinking now that it might look cute in some vintage fabric......hmm I do have some laying around that just might be groovy enough:) Maybe we'll try just one more elephant:)

Update: Were are back from out little vacation week and here are the photos from the toy drop.

I made up some little tags and an introduction letter from the files provided by the toy society to include with the toy, and left the toy in one of the children's play areas as Fairmont Hotsprings just in time for the swap deadline. While I didn't see who picked up the toy, I do know it was picked up within a few hours. Hopefully it has found a good home......I'll be watching the Toy Society drop #640 site to see if anyone reports on picking it up.

It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

It has been extremely busy here of late. But the one thing I cannot complain about is the weather. It has been a consistent week of perfectly gorgeous weather. This is not the norm here so I'll take it when I can get it.....it may not....and probably will not last!

The school year is winding down now and the last few PAC events will soon be over. Soon the scurrying will be done and we will be on our way to Yellow Stone for a little camping adventure. After that, Ike and I will head back east to visit Grama and Grampa for a few weeks...then on to a few days in Toronto. It will be a nice chance to see some nifty things that Ike has never seen. Hopefully he will enjoy it.

I've been rushing to complete my obligations with PAC, swaps, Cooking Challenges and preparing for interviews so as not to get too terribly behind in all of the chaos. Yesterday I finished up on the current Daring Cooks Challenge (to be posted June 14th) which I almost backed out of.....but am really glad I didn't! Although time consuming (it took me 3 hours), I will definitely be making that one again. (Alison....you will like this one for sure) ......And.....I kept on plugging along to finish up a swap that comes due this weekend. It's for a very cute little sewing project called a Kidlet, which is a small hanging storage tote. You can go to the tutorial for making one yourself right here. It is cute as a button and I would like to make some more for sure. Next time I might like to make it a bit larger........In the interest of feeling more organized.....I can see having quite a few of these around the house.

Knitting with my Peeps and Cocoa

It's been quickly cleaning up around here with regards to the snow. Some days have been bright and warm and others have been deceptively bright and not so warm. Still cool enough to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa with some left over Easter peeps. The weather has been luring me outside with grand visions of all the landscaping I could do this year since I'm off work..........This weekend I cleaned up the very back corner of my yard in anticipation of planting all sorts of perennials back there. I have very limited garden space as it is, and it's even more frustrating that the people before us put the garden in just about the poorest spot on the property. One of these years we may address this issue. As with every job we ponder.....we over think it and plan it until it becomes a job of such immense scale and expense that it becomes intimidating. What more would you expect from two engineers.....I suppose:(
On the chilly days, I've been working on a few swaps. This one was for crocheted or knitted cleaning products. I found this free pattern and thought it was just adorable. Oddly enough.....I do not use knit dish cloths and the like. They always seem so soggy and dirty to me. However, they are a nice super quick make, they are mindlessly easy, and although I have little use for them....I know my MIL likes them......SO......those that I will receive from this swap will be making their way to a good home. I could not resist these puffs as they are so darned cute. I've got about 5 out of each ball of Bernat Handicrafter (100%) cotton 42.5g worsted weight. There is also a pattern for the plain dishcloth to go with it as a set if you like. Have a look and give it a try right here from knitability. There is also a really nice crocheted version here if you'd rather crochet.

Be warned....these little guys are addictive. Don't they just look like little peppermint candies in this colour? Already, I'm wondering what to do with the 5 sitting in my project bag?? Anyone want one?...or two?

Pretty Teacup Pin Cushions:)

Another swap completed! This time it was a pin cushion swap, and I had been interested to try a new pattern, and also to make another cup and saucer pincushion. About six years ago I made 3 cup and saucer pin cushions and gave them all away. As a result, I had no picture to post......that is until now! Since that time I have kept damaged cup and saucer sets rather than throwing them away just so that some day I would make some more cup and saucer pin cushions. Looks like today is the day! It is best to have a cup with a pattern on the outside of the cup as any pattern inside the cup will not be visible after assembly. The other pattern I wanted to try is cut and waiting for assembly....pictures to come soon...hopefully! When You least expect it, you might just find a cup and saucer set perfect for this project.....like this one....Don't you think it would make a gorgeous pincushion???

Tea Cup Pin Cushion

Tea Cup and Saucer
Coordinating fabric piece about 5" X 5" or about 13cm X 13 cm
Styrofoam ball about 3" or 8cm in diameter (should be a bit larger in diameter than your cup)
Ribbon, Gimp, buttons or charms to embellish the top
Super Fine Steel Wool
Hot glue gun with glue sticks
Glue suitable for gluing porcelain

Select a suitable cup and saucer and glue any repairs necessary so that the cup and saucer are sturdy. Choose a coordinating fabric that will compliment your cup and saucer. I like the way velvet looks for this purpose so that's what I use. (If you do not want to use a Styrofoam center you can stuff a circle of fabric lined with steel wool and fill it with poly batting, stitching it closed at the bottom) Cut your Styrofoam ball in half with an Exacto knife and trim the edges to fit into your cup. (You will only need one half of the Styrofoam ball for each pin Cushion...so keep the other half for another project) This time, the cup I chose to use had fairly straight sides so I needed to trim in some on the outside of the ball to make the Styrofoam fit nicely into the cup. My top ended up looking like a cone shape with a rounded or domed top and the point cut off at the bottom, or I suppose....like a cupcake! (Hopefully that helps to visualize it) To help with the shaping, I placed the cup upside down onto of the domed side of the Styrofoam ball and traced around the edge of the cup onto the ball. Keep in mind that once covered in fabric it will stand an eighth of an inch or so higher in the cup....trim more if necessary. Once the ball half fits nicely into your cup, cut a layer of steel wool large enough to cover the domed top. ( They say that the steel wool will help to sharpen your pins as you insert them) Lay your fabric down, centered over the steel wool covered dome. Wrap the edges around to meet at the bottom. Clip away any excess fabric. Stitch all four corners together nice and snug at the bottom. No one will ever see this part so don't worry about neatness. Then, pull snug and secure the fabric at the four spots midway between each of the corners.
Your pin cushion top is now ready to be decorated. Your embellishments may be glued in place or stitched depending on what they are. I prefer to stitch them in place if at all possible. You can use silk flowers and leaves, buttons, charms, lace, sequins, whatever works for you! The first embellishment to apply, is gimp, ribbon, rickrack, or a strand of beads. In this project I have used gimp which I positioned while holding the pin cushion top in the cup, and tacking the gimp trim in place with pins. I positioned only an inch or two at a time then tacked it in place with small stitches until I had made it all the way around. I could have also used fabric glue. I have used ribbon to make leaves and flowers for this project. I followed these directions from the book The Artful Ribbon making the standard posy, the ruffled posy, the five petal flower, and the boat leaf.
Once the embellishments are stitched in place, or glued as the case may be, you are ready to insert the cushion top into the cup. Decide which way you want the top to be positioned in the cup. Apply a bead of hot glue gun glue around the edge of the cushion top or inside the cup 1/4 inch down from the top edge, and plunk in your top. Usually less messy to apply the glue to the inside edge of the cup. Firmly press it down for a few seconds until the glue sets up. Now, all that is left to do is to glue the cup into the saucer. Since I have reservations about the goodness of hot glue to hold the cup and saucer together, I have used a silicone glue.

If I had found my two component epoxy kit, that would have been my preference. You may further embellish the cup handle or glue embellishments into the saucer to make it your own unique creation. This is an inexpensive, quick and easy project for a nice handmade gift to gift to someone who likes to sew.

Valentine Apron Swap...Vintage Style

I have now taken part in two crafting swaps organized by Aunt Pitty Pat over here. This was for a Valentine Themed apron swap. Since my apron...(I'm hoping has arrived at it's destination by now) I can post a picture of the one I made. I used the pattern from the book A is for Apron of this vintage style "Lorelei" apron. I have always been intrigued by vintage apron patterns, and there are quite a few vintage knock offs in this book....so as I was buying groceries one day......the book just leaped into my cart.....and I didn't kick it out. I have found the lack of proper patterns in the book to be quite frustrating to say the least. It is not an easy task to enlarge a standard book page by 400%, and at least with this pattern there were no alternate suggestions to otherwise size alter the apron. I was so looking forward to this swap because I like apron making....but never imagined it would be difficult to find seasonal prints. Now why this should have come a shock to me is surprising really since our only fabric (chain) store closed in January due to leasing issues. I would have also thought that Walmart....which usually has a pretty good selection of cottons would have brought in some valentine prints....no such luck. As a last resort I tried the mildly over priced quilting shop in town to find out that they had only one Valentine print in.....and I didn't care for it at all:( So I was forced to go with Valentine colours alone. I ended up with a very cute rosebud print and a coordinating pink fabric.....but finding suitable binding and rick rack also proved to be somewhat of a problem. I ended up with some that worked out OK and ahead I went. Only to experience a jam in the sewing machine the likes of which I have not encountered in quite a long time...thank goodness! I ALMOST thought I had to buy a new machine. It took about an hour of frustration to be able to figure out the problem I had changed the needle after the jam and put in the wrong kind of needle!!! I changed the needle again and all was right:) ..............and I got it done and in the mail just in the nick of time. On the positive side of things.....I have enough left over fabric to make the apron again using the fabrics in the opposite positions....so it will be pretty darned pink.....and maybe that's OK too??? It might be perfect to match these little cuties.

More Amigurumi Cuteness....I think:)

BTW today is the last day to enter the giveaway I'm running and about a thousand more at Bloggy Giveaways. Click HERE to go to the giveaway page.

These little guys are well on their way to their new homes...one to Spain.....and the others to the US. In all cases...pretty sure they are off to see better weather than me;( These three are for replacements for the few people who received nothing from their partners in the Mushroom Stuffie swap I ran at Swap-Bot at the end of last year. I actually purchased a pattern to make these but could not get it to work out at all for me......I ended up with a bottom that was too wide for it's top, and a top that was ridiculously tall. After 3 attempts with the pattern...I gave up with no idea why my attempts looked nothing at all like the picture on the pattern.....which sadly was ridiculously adorable. One of these days, when I know more I'll go back to the proper pattern and give it a go again and see if I can figure out where I went wrong. But for now...... I came up with my own pattern.....and here it is. At the end of each round I finished off with a slip stitch into the first stitch of that row and did one single chain before starting into the next. I don't crochet so this was a bit of an epiphany for me as previously I had been crocheting in the spiral....not in the round...if you know what I mean. I was a little perturbed to notice that this 'finishing the round' seems to be implied but not stated in patterns. But as I say....I really don't crochet, so I'm finding these things out as I go. It makes sense that you's need to......but I'm still having a bit of trouble seeing the spot to finish into especially at times when I lose count on a row.

I will apologise in advance if my notation is not as it should be.........and it quite likely is improperly written since I don't really crochet:(..............so here goes nothing. I used worsted weight wool yarn and a 4mm hook.

Cute Little Mushroom Guys

Top

R1 ch2, 6sc in first chain
R2 *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next * rpt (9)
R3 & R4 sc in each st
R5 2 sc in first st, 1sc in next 2 sc* rpt (12)
R6 sc in each st
R7 *2sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 3 sc* rpt (15)
R8 & R9 sc in each st
R10 *2sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 4 sc* rpt (18)
R11 & R12 sc in each st
R13 *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 5 sc* rpt (21)
R14 *2sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 6 sc* rpt (24)
R15 *2sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 7 sc* rpt (27)
R16 *2sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 8 sc* rpt (30)
R17 *2sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 4 sc* rpt (36)
R18 -R21 sc in each st (36)
R22 * sc2tog, 1sc in next 4 sc* rpt (30)
R23 *sc2tog, 1 sc in next 3 sc* rpt (24)
R24 *sc2tog, 1sc in next 6 sc* rpt (21)
Finish Off

Bottom

R1 ch2, 6sc in first chain
R2 2 sc in each sc (12)
R3 *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next * rpt (18)
R4 *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 2 sc* rpt (24)
R5 *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 3 sc* rpt (30)
R6-R 13 sc in each st
R 14 * sc2tog, 1 sc in next 3 st* rpt (24)
R15 &R16 sc in each st 24
finish off

little decorative dots are made of R1 alone from bottom instructions and larger ones are made of R1 and R2 of the bottom instructions....You get the picture>

Stuff top and bottom pieces with polyester stuffing or wool batting. Stitch top and bottom together with tails from yarn ends. Stitch on embellishments.

Star Felt Ornament

Another felt ornament swap is in the mail. This one for a star shaped ornament is now on it's way to it's new home in the US. I wanted a rounded tip star shape and found a pattern for one here at Allsorts. I copied the image into Corel Draw and sized the image to the dimensions I was interested in. The dark blue felt is wool Melton cloth while the accents are acrylic because that's all I had on hand. Accent shapes are stitched on with a blanket stitch in 3 strands of embroidery floss. I thought the little bird was cute, but it also could be embellished with embroidery flowers, or needle felted like the red heart shaped ornament of last months swap.

An Easy Scarf Pattern

Another Swap-bot project out of the way! This one was a scarf for winter. I changed my mind a few times before starting due to nervousness over how my intended project would turn out, and if it was going to turn into the project from hell. In the end I scrapped my initial idea (which I will share with you if I get around to making it some day) and also my second idea (which was to make a sewn chenille scarf, like the one below), and went with a knitted pattern from here called the Meandering Rib Scarf instead. You need to sign in with Lion Brand to view and print the pattern, but it is free.

Over all, I liked the pattern but found it to be a little narrow for my liking. It was around 5 inches wide, and over 6 feet long which used about 1 1/2 balls. When I do it again, I would add 12 stitches to the cast on to make it a little wider. My partner had stated a preference for red non acrylic yarn, and I had a nice stash of red wool set aside to compete the project. On my search for the yarn I happened upon some other yarn I had set aside for a felting project, and it is the one I ended up using. It was a Patton's Classic Wool in a variegated cherry red/pink/brown/orange colourway. I think, that over all it still looks red??? I was very torn on whether to go with my plain red or this variegated yarn, and in the end I thought that the blended colours might add something extra to the scarf. In retrospect, I think maybe a red tweed or heather yarn might be nice to try for comparison as the variegated yarn competes with the wavy pattern of the rib by adding a perpendicular element. Although it appears to be more so in the photo.......when you see it in person, the wavy patten of the rib is very apparent.

The pattern turned out to be easy and straight forward to knit. Once however, I did zig where I should have zagged, and only discovered my error after knitting another 30 or so rows. There was a bit of panic for a while, while I decided whether to just continue on or rip out the last 30 rows and hope for the best picking up all the dropped stitches. In the end, I had to rip out the stitches.........and I'll say it was a good learning experience trying to figure out where in the 24 row repeat I was when I started to knit again. The pattern made a lot more sense after all that thought!

Anyway, it finally got finished (all 6+ feet of it) and mailed, and one of these days I'll make another. For now, I've got it in my head that I need to make another chenille scarf. I see I have enough fabric put aside to make four more, and I really need to start using up some of my crafting stash. But with Halloween costume work coming up, there is just never enough time:(

Red Felt Ornament

Here's another felt ornament made for a swap-bot swap. This one was for a heart ornament and it was a good excuse to use up some of the large red piece of wool cloth I had hot washed and felted. I tossed up ideas on how I should go about decorating it and settled on a little bit of needle felting. I had some scraps of left over ecru wool yarn from knitting up a Sophie bag like this black one and this white one, and I laid the yarn down and started to poke it it with the felting needle a few millimeters at a time. It is very simple as all you need to do is poke straight down through the felt over and over until the yarn because felted into the red background. You could easily write letters to personalize an ornament in the very same way. All you need is some felted wool fabric, some wool yarn scraps, a felting needle, and a piece of high density foam to put underneath your project. You could trace a pattern in chalk or fabric marker to outline your pattern first, but I chose to just do it freehand since my design was quite simple. You can work the design in with lots of poking with the felting needle which will flatten out the overlaid yarn, or you can poke it just enough to secure it, leaving the yarn raised above the felt fabric. I like to work the yarn in with the felting needle in enough so that traces of the yarn being felted starts to show through on the back of the fabric. After felting the front piece, I cut a second piece for the back, sandwiched a loop of ribbon into the top and blanket stitched all around to close and piece and to fasted the ribbon loop. I chose to use 3 stands of red embroidery floss to use for blanket stitching, but an ecru colour might also have be nice. This is another quicky project which took me less than a half hour to complete, and that included coming up with a design.

Candy Cane Ornament

I just got word this swap has arrived, so I can now post this picture. I had forgotten all about this one actually. I've signed up for the monthly felt ornament swap at swap-bot and this months theme was candy. Since it's a Christmas ornament, I thought a candy cane would be appropriate. This is yet another project made from the red wool felt fabric scrap I picked up from the thrift store some time ago. I cut out two candy cane shapes in red, and top-stitched the white stripes onto one of them and then blanket stitched the two red canes together with a small piece of red ribbon sewed into the top. If you enlarge the picture I think you can see exactly what I did. Since I don't yet have any white wool felt, it is accented with acrylic felt and some small pink beads. It is now enjoying the weather in Portugal......at least it won't melt!

Felting is so Popular Now

Another felt covered tape measure finished and on it's way to it's new home. This is my new favourite fabric craft (I think). It's fairly quick, darned cute and very functional....at least I think so. Felt work is quite popular now, or so it seems to me, and there are many cute projects ideas out there. It's an ideal fabric to hand sew with, since it will not fray. This also makes it suitable for seaming with blanket stitch. Felt is easily available in acrylic, wool and wool blends. The wool and wool blends are more difficult to find but much nicer to work with and will wear better over time; while the acrylics are super easy to find, inexpensive and available in a wide variety of colours. There is also the option for you hard core crafters to make your own wool felt from wool roving.

You can also make your own felt material by washing 100% wool knits or wovens in hot soapy water. Once it has been washed and 'shrunk' enough it will be a felt fabric. For example there are many projects made by recycling old wool sweaters into felt fabric and them cutting the felt to make new projects. There is a free pattern available online for the teacup version of the Betz White cupcake pincushion which is adorable, and if you can follow the pattern, it is easily translatable into the super cute cupcake pattern or you can purchase the book mentioned on the Betz White site. There are numerous uber cute project ideas if you are looking for felted sweater project ideas on the Betz White Blog, that are well worth your time to check out. I highly recommend it! The few things I have made out of red felt such as the little duck, little red monster, red felt brooch and the red felt pincushion have been made out of a felted red wool blanket. Because it originated as a woven item, the felt produced is stiffer than if it had been made from a knitted wool sweater.

Another felt crafting option is knitting items with wool yarn and then felting them in the wash until the felt fabric is formed and the item is the appropriate size. You must keep in mind that when something is knit and felted that the item will become quite a bit smaller and thicker as a result of the felting process. There are many good books with great patterns on this subject. And many free patterns available online as well. Also of course the same kind of results can be had with crocheting with wool as well.

Apron Angst :(

As is typical for me, I left my apron swap to the bitter end. Send date June 10th = Completion and Mailing date. I knew it would go down this way....... I'm just happy to have it out on time. Whenever I have a project, whether it be a craft of something for work, that I feel will be difficult, I put it off. And put it off.......And put it off. I have had a crazy busy past month, in my defense and had set aside time on the weekend to work on and hopefully complete the apron project for my Swapbot swap. I did accomplish what I needed to Sunday night and did manage to finish off the remaining bit the next night. Just making the mailing deadline on time...... Whew!

I tossed around apron patterns in my head for quite some time before settling on the pattern I eventually chose. I went with a McCalls Pattern 3979 for an "American Diner" style apron. My partner claims to like pink, vintage style apron, and is a size 14-16 in people sizes, not funky pattern sizes. The "American Diner" apron looked to be fairly one size fits allish in it's design so I figured it was a pretty safe bet as far as fit goes. The pattern is a vintage reproduction of an old McCalls pattern and I was fortunate enough to hit the $1.99 McCalls Pattern sale at the local Fabricland. Also lucky enough to find the fabric which I just LOVE both for its pattern and just the feel of it. It is 100% cotton, but must be a highly polished one as it is very smooth to the touch compared with most quilting cotton. Better yet, it just happened to be on for 75% off at the same sale. You know, or maybe you don't...... I LOVE a sale! I was so taken by the way the whole project went, I may just make another one. I sure hope my partner likes it, because I really do.

The thing I liked the most about the pattern was its use of 1/4 inch double fold binding. I have only used binding to finish the outside edge of an item. I was very intrigued at its use in this pattern. The seams in all cases were sewn wrong sides together, and then the binding was used to bind and disguise the cut edges. It was a very functional and decorative use of the binding and certainly has a very vintage look about it. It also has the additional fabulousness of leaving you with a finished back side since those seams were all sewn wrong sides together. I am contemplating making another apron from the same pattern which also uses copious amounts of this bias binding. Although before such an exercise, I will bring my machine in for a tune up as this project was bit of a head ache since my feed dogs are not running properly........ or so it seems. Could be that I just needed to change my needle. What would grama say?

More Felt Fun

I really do enjoy the quick nature of these little felted projects. They are very satisfying, and I managed to finish up working on this one during my weekend trip to Calgary. I have patterns from a Japanese crafting book to make these little covers for small round measuring tapes, but had seen some done on another Blog (Moonstitches) and liked that they were done in felt. No need for sewing, just a lot of blanket stitching. This little measuring tape is now making it's way down south for a birthday swap through swapbot. The measuring tape itself is just from the dollar store and is the kind that you squeeze in the centre to retract the tape. I've made only two of these so far, but have liked the way they turned out. The rest of the gift is pictured below. I hope she likes it:) If any one is interested, I can add the instructions for the tape measure covers . Just leave a comment if you are. It's a beautiful day in my neighbourhood today......I hope it's the same in yours!

This Little Piggie Went a Swapp'in

My second completed amigurumi. (Another free pattern from the Lion Brand Web Site.) I accidentally purchased a chunky yarn to make this pig when the instructions called for worsted weight. Ooops! I think he's still kind of cute anyway. He is now on his way to my swap partner for Beginners Amigurumi. I have found this whole crocheting in the round thing quite easy, but certainly requiring attention. I don't know how my gramma could have talked to people while crocheting. When I'm doing it, the minute anyone says anything to me I have to rip back to the beginning of the round.......and I do that plenty enough on my own. I remember gramma always could tell which side was the right side on a doily, and if she noticed one upside down in your house, she would correct the situation right away. As I am crocheting in the round on these projects, I find myself working on the inside and I have a sneaking suspicion that my amigurumi to date have all been made inside out. Maybe one day someone will look at my Ami in horror and fill me in on my error. So far, they have been fun and quick to make. I have a little bird waiting for some eyes, and a beak in my living room. When he's ready to fly I'll post him too.