Friday, January 28, 2011

Sew Now What?


Are you sitting at your computer frantically clicking the 'refresh' button to see what pops up here next?  Well keep waiting!  Heh.  I'm working on a few things incorporating my perfect die cut shapes into a (hopefully) useful result.  I'm also hoping to get some drafts of patterns done to see if there's any potential in that or if I'm a doer and not a designer.  Oh and I have to get that darn Advent calendar done, only 337 days til Christmas!  (Oh and 322 til Advent calendar day!)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

How Excited Am I?


Here, I'll tell ya: very excited! Why? you may ask...because I got a
Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine for Christmas that's why! I did a lot of research for a way to cut perfect felt shapes and decided this baby was the way to do it. I have a Cricut Expression machine which I heart, but it's really only good for paper and like materials that resist the drag of the blade. Felt is too soft and would just bunch up. This week Michael's had die cut dies and accessories on sale for 40% off so I picked up two (the selection was lame!) and I got three more dies from eBay. Now I can cut perfect circles in six sizes, cut eight sizes and kinds of flowers and four sizes/shapes of leaves. Besides feeding my inner Perfection Monster, I'm hoping that this tool will be a time saver since hand sewing is inherently time consuming (again somewhat attributable to the aforementioned Monster). Stay tuned for some felt flower power!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Ghosts of Christmas Past


Christmas 2010 is officially in the history books, but I still have one more felt sharesy. I made 5 poinsettia hair clips and 4 poinsettia pins for a loverly felt fan friend. So simple but so much to sew! I used two basic 5-petal shapes layered and topped with 5 individual petals for the flower. I added a partial layer in green to the bottom for leaves and yellow glass beads for the center. Then I did a lot of sewing and ta da!








I have so much fun designing and creating stuff!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

New Year, New Beginnings


OK, famous last words? Well I shall try my best to get my sew on and blog like the wind this year. As a start, here are pictures of all the nifty Christmas gifts I made for my family - and most weren't even made from felt.


First up, a set a linen dish towels for my mother-in-law. I got pretty fabric tape from an Etsy seller in China.


I really liked making this baker's apron for my Dad. It came together well for my first try at such a thing. Modeled by it's new owner and famous maker of "Daddy's Bread".


Here we have the water-proof lunch sacks I made for my sister. I didn't really have a pattern but they seem like they'll work :-)


I also made my sister a snugglie fleece Red Sox blanket (despite living in a Yankee fan zone).


Next up is a felt pin cushion for my Dad's wife. It's filled with crushed walnut shells so it sits nicely and sharpens the needles poked into it. I made the pins with some Swarovski crystals.


After trying my hand at pillow cases for Conkerr Cancer, I've begun making them for gifts now. This one is a super soft Hello Kitty model for my niece. Hello Kitty fabric is really difficult to find so I imported it from the Etsy seller in China.


And my favorite of all (if I were to pick just one) is this groovy Hello Kitty headband also for my niece. I needle felted in the eyes and nose and the rest is wool blend felt and thread. The bead on the bow is a pretty Swarovski crystal.


I really had a great time creating all these things so I'm looking forward to a busy creative 2011! Happy New Year!