A New Year.......

I've been in creative slump lately and I'm trying to drag myself out by doing something...anything...other than genealogy. 

This is as simple as it gets...scissors, needle, thread, beads, felt. 

An eyeglass case.  

I used a pattern I found here at Wee Folk Art. I changed the shape a bit by curving the straight corner as I thought it looked nicer. I've used this pattern before. The top one is polyester felt and the bottom wool felt. The new one is still a bit twisty and stiff but with use it will straighten out.

Take care and keep safe :)

I'm linking to:

Kathy's Quilts 

Creations by Nina Marie

 

 

Not A Pincushion.......

I was looking for some green felt and came across a UFO that I had forgotten about. It was a pattern given to me as a prize on an online doll club that sadly no longer exists.  I recall that the competition I entered was about fairy tales. I made this doll.

The Princess and the Pea.....

So naturally the prize was about a fairy tale....the Frog Prince. This is a design by Cynthia Treen.

I got this far with him then.....

After I started working on it again I remembered that I had issues making the eyeballs. Why I had started with them after making the arms...who knows. They were still a pain to make.

The whole frog is completely sewn by hand with itty bitty stitches. The toes and fingers....arrgghhh.....LOL

Anyway....he is finished and awaiting his Princess.

Take care and stay safe :)

The Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade........

I have never participated in this event before but when I saw it advertised on My Sister Made Me Do It..... I thought that looks like fun.

So, here are my pincushions. All made by me.

Number one is a classic pincushion shape. I used a cereal bowl to get a circle and then scalloped the edges. The fabric is a very old piece of velveteen in a grey with mauve tones depending on the light.  To create the felt flower decoration I used a free pattern called "Spring Violets"  designed by Heather Bailey at Hello My Name Is Heather.

Very simple. It doesn't take a lot of fabric so you can use up those small pieces that you keep just in case :) 

Number two is a fun pattern called "Kitty Kat Pincushion". It's a free downloadable pattern designed by Sue Daniel at Dollmaker's Journey.

The base is made from a small piece of Harris tweed that I won from Susan Elliott at Plays With Needles way back in 2013. It's a beautiful weave of purple and turquoise which are two of my favourite colours.  I finally decided to use it. Now I can see it everyday.

Number three is a really cute and fun pincushion that I found at Bugs and Fishes designed by Manuela of imanufatti. It's made from felt and is really too cute to stick pins in....LOL

My final offering is a pincushion that I made about 2010ish. Sorry no link as this is my own creation.  And...of course it's in a purple shade which is my fave. 

My granddaughter plays with it.....sans pins... as I have a couple of mini teddy bears that are the right scale.

Well that's all from me. Hope you enjoyed looking at my pincushions. 

To see more pincushions go visit the PPPP linky party at My Sister Made Me Do It......

Take care and keep safe:)

May The Force Be With You.......

I made a Millennium Falcon for my grandson using the free pattern from Wild Olive.

I didn't have the same shade of grey tan felt that was suggested and since Michael's was not open I had to use what I had. I took a look at some pics online of the MF and it's all shades as is my version so I think I'm okay :)

I actually have a lot of grey felt from my mouse making days but the pieces are scraps basically. I did manage to squeak out the shape short of 1/8 of an inch on the length which was so lucky.  Whew!!

Mollie at Wild Olive used Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy for the embroidery template. I have none so plan B.

I used a piece of printer paper and taped on some tissue paper. I pulled one edge of the tissue over the edge and taped it down as this is the leading edge. I didn't want to jam the printer.

 

Then I got an inspiration. I ironed a piece of tissue paper to some freezer paper. It worked too.

I started the embroidery from the center and worked out from there. I used 3 strands of embroidery floss but I would rather have used perle cotton but I had none in grey. Since added to my future to buy list.

Here is my pattern pinned to the felt shape. 

However when I went to put the pieces together I soon discovered that the felt I was using was a bit too soft. It's 100% wool felt. I think what would be best is the acrylic felt that you can buy for kids crafts. Much firmer and the edge will stay and not "fray" for want of a better description. I decided the best thing to do was line the felt using some cotton I had. I zig zagged the edge in grey thread. I rationalized that it looks like riveting...wink wink :)

I originally trimmed the fabric to a 1/4 seam allowance all around. Then I decided..... after my first attempt to sew the bits together...to trim off the fabric right to the edge of the felt. 

Done!!

I think my version looks a bit clunky compared to the one made by Mollie at Wild Olive because I used a blanket stitch instead of a whip stitch. I can guarantee it will not come apart when played with. It's one of those squishy type of things that's just made to be thrown around.

I glued on the gun turrets and the cockpit at first then decided to sew them on as well. The camera certainly shows up all it's faults...oh well.  I really enjoyed making it as it was something different.

Now I've been asked to make another Millennium Falcon and to make a TIE Fighter.....hmm.

Take care and keep safe :)

Sounding like a neverending thinghybob......

However I have yet another free pattern for you. I like to post about them on my blog so that they are parked some where so I can find them in the future.

This one is very cute for a Star Wars fan of any age I guess but really for the junior set.

It is from Wild Olive and is a felt Millenium Falcon. 

...................................................

As you know, we moved into a two bedroom apartment from a house in February. It's been interesting trying to fit in all our stuff.

I thought you might like to see my current sewing area.

I posted pics of my old sewing room a few years ago. I had a front bedroom with a door that I could shut and leave the mess behind. Now it's a bit different. I have to be very very neat :)


My new space is a corner in the main bedroom which is a very large room. It looks a bit iffy I know but I have all my stuff and the light comes in from a huge south facing window. This is wonderful as before my sewing room faced the north and the light at certain times of year wasn't that great.

It looks sorta tidy right? I have been very good about putting everything away in it's place.

I still have bins under the table that I'm slowly going through and seeing what I can make with the fabric. I have already donated quite a bit to a local charity. It really is amazing how much you hoard when you have a house. Some of the fabric belonged to my mum who passed away in 2003!!!!!!

Like do I really need all this stuff? Why am I keeping it? Just in case I guess....LOL

I must admit that culling is a very satisfying exercise. 

Take care and keep safe :)

Free Fun Felt Christmas Ornament Pattern Club........

Sassy Pack Rat aka Jennifer is having a free felt Christmas Ornament Club. If your interested you can sign up between November 1st and November 10th on her blog.....here.

Take care:)

Year In Review.....

I thought I'd review what I have made this year just for the heck of it. I never realized how much I had done.

Here in no particular chronological  order are my makes for 2012...I think I may have missed a few but whatever....I think I'm safe in saying I was productive.

Unfortunately there are a couple of largish UFO's :(

I'm joining up with The Needle and Thread Network today......I've been a bit lax in my participation recently but I intend to get with it this year.....take care:)


 

More Monthly Makes for November...

Since today is the last day in November I thought I'd squeak in a few more Monthly Makes. I made a couple more Christmas tree ornaments.

My version of a Blue Jay...

 and, a Chickadee...sorta...

After struggling to make patterns for the felt birds I've made so far, I then discovered Downeast Thunder Farms.

Ah well....I enjoyed the challenge but sometimes it's nice when someone does the work for you:)

I borrowed the idea for a Christmas Dove from Downeast Thunder Farm. I changed the pattern a bit by making the back wing a separate piece. Susan has a ton of bird patterns and all of them are so simple to make:)

Gingermelon Dolls has posted a free Santa pattern on her blog that is adorable....I'm definitely going to make some. 

Source

I have a few more felt decorations in the works which I will share next time.

Take care:)

WIP Wednesday.....

I decided to make some Christmas ornaments that are kid friendly. My granddaughter will be 2 1/2 years old this Christmas and is at that stage when she has to touch and look at everything. Last year all the Christmas trees in the family had bare branches at the bottom.......the decorations were placed up high and away from little hands.

the little imp:)

This year I'm putting decorations at the bottom that she can touch.

I found this really adorable decoration on Pinterest from a blog called....Flamingo Toes ....a mug of cocoa with two little marshmellows floating on top......you will find the pattern and the tutorial to make it at that site.

She's very interested in watching birds at a feeder she made at playschool so I thought an English Robin would be very cute too.....I love when I get cards from Britain with those cute robins on them.

I'm not much of an artist so I looked for a simple picture that I could use as a template and I found one at rspb.org.

I did learn a few lessons making this.......the tail was too skinny so I had to reenforce it with a tiny bit of armature wire.

I glued the wing on upside down but she won't know.....sshhh:)

 Then I made a little red winter coat .....

Of course I had to make some elf's shoes from a pattern designed by Jenny at Allsorts. This is an old pattern that I've made before but this time I printed them at a much smaller size......1/4 of the original pattern size.

I still have a ton of felt so I think it'll keep me busy for a wee while. I found a few more free felt ornament patterns on the internet and once I've made some I'll post some pictures.

I'm joining up today with The Needle & Thread Network..

Take care:)