Thinking Fall...and Purses!

Wow. Can it be? Almost six weeks since I posted? Clearly I need to get a better routine going. I've made all kinds of stuff, but haven't had the foresight to take pictures, let alone post about them. I made a gorgeous Amy Butler halter top for myself, that's been worn and washed already. I'll definately post about that later.

Most of my very favorite projects are usually things that I sort of dream up, and wing as I go along. I find that with a pattern, I have this preconceived notion about what stuff will look like, and if it doesn't, I'm never quite as happy with it as I want to be. This project was one of those organic ones...it started with some great lucite handles I bought at Mood in January. They were really reasonable and I have another pair of light grey ones. Since this bag came out so well, I'm sure I'll be making another with those shortly!

The result was this...


I've seen these types of purses a lot of places, and wanted to make one with a simple shape, but as interesting a pattern as I could find. Something I might be able to use a lot. So, of course, it's black and white. It's made from an upcycled, felted Fair Isle cardigan, and some awesome Michael Miller Disco Dot for the lining.




It's not very big, only about 7" square, with about a 1 3/4" width. I've seen people with these really overstuffed, and the sweater just stretches out and the handles stress...so I thought if I made it small, it would be harder to overfill.





The handles are sewn on with the cuff edge of the sweater, so the color matches perfectly. I was so thrilled that it fit through the opening on the lucite handles, it seemed perfect. I did stitch the sides closed again, I wanted them to be as strong as possible.



I LOVE it...but I am promptly putting it in my Etsy shop. My first sale really got me motivated. It's already time to start thinking about the holidays and gifts...where does the time go???

Pillow pair

This is a pair of pillows that I made from ALL recycled (upcycled, found, etc). fabrics. I was laying in bed one night, thinking of the fabric, and I decided it would look great with one bold flower from the pattern for the front of the pillow. The best part is, I had ALL of the materials, I just had to dig them out and sew!


The fabric on the back was purchased at a Salvation Army store. There was a bunch of uncut fabric, that must have come from an elderly person because there was a TON of stretch 70's polyester. Not that I have anything against 70's prints...but none of it was for me...too much lilac and olive green (ewwww). But this is a sort of nice burlap/woven feel to it, so it sewed up really nicely with the felted wool sweater I used for the front.



The small one is for my daughter to use in the car. She's always saying she needs a pillow to "rest her head". Those were the days...

I will definately be doing more of this, found fabric back, felted sweater front. I'll likely put zippers in from now on though, because pillows at our house tend to get spilled on.

Rrrrrribbit!

Well it's finally finished!  This is what I've been working on for the last 2 weeks.  It's a baby blanket for a co-worker (and neighbor!) who is having her second baby very soon!  She had mentioned to me that she and her husband bought a frog stuffed animal for the baby, and I remembered this great flannel that I had for the back...

 

I'm actually at the point where I've made enough blankets that I'm ready to move on to something new!  I've got some ideas all ready and the fabric all purchased.  Now all I need is for my new Pfaff to get here!

Sid Vicious or Sid-Licious? UPDATED

Now THIS I am really excited about.   I was at Joann Fabrics yesterday, decompressing from a week spent sick myself, and home with flu-laden Ben.  I was flipping through the pattern books, and came across this.  It's by Simplicity, and it's from their "Go Green" line.  It's specifically designed to use an "upcycled" material.  They suggest using sweats or even a...sweater!  

So my mind flashed to a great argyle sweater I had just recently felted.  PERFECT.  Then I had to think of a doggie I knew, small enough to need a sweater, but big enough to show off this fab pattern.  Who do I know?  Who do I know?  Ah-HA! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have ....ready....nine dogs.  They are wonderful dog-rescuers and have the most adorable pug named Sid.  PERFECT.

The result of my brainstorm is this:

So, now the fun starts. Here are some pictures of Sid taken at Christmastime:


Of all of the nine dogs that Dave and Lisa have, my kids LOVE Sid the best. We're home this week for February vacation, so we're hoping to give him his new sweater this week. As soon as we do I'll be sure to add it, so you can see Sid as his alter-ego Sid-licious.

So we have an update.  We went to see Sid and his family yesterday to deliver the sweater.  He loved it!  But we have some alterations to do.  As you can see from the photo, his sleeves are too long, and the back needs to b shortened, too.  Unfortunately, his weight and his length don't fit the pattern perfectly, but that's what's so great about making things.  You can FIX it!

Once the alterations are done, we'll take a few more pics. But overall, I'm THRILLED with the result.

 

It's Out of This World!

I found this wonderful flannel fabric a few weeks ago and have been working on this since then.  It has aliens and space ships, and really great colors.  Including orange, which is my absolute favorite.  (Side note, what does it say about me that orange is my favorite color?)

The blanket itself is actually pretty basic.  Felted sweaters, cut into squares or rectangles, with little patches on top in random places, and my friendly alien in the upper left corner.  Much to my dismay, neither of my usually camera-hoggish kids would pose with the blanket, so I was left with Stella (the doll) as my model.

My wonderful, patient photographer-husband let me try all different things to get the pictures how I wanted them...The last two pictures are ones that I took, just so you can see the whole thing and the great fabric on the back.

Cupcakes from Betz White's "Warm Fuzzies"

The book that started me off and running on this whole craze of cutting up felted sweaters to craft with came from purchasing a book called "Warm Fuzzies" by Betz White.  Her signature item is a cupcake pincushion, and I made one for myself and one for a friend.

They were really actually not that difficult to make. One of the reason I love Betz' book so much is that there are great, step-by-step picture instructions.  You can see how she puts things together, in addition to reading about it.

Her website is www.betzwhite.com.  She's got an amazing blog, too.

Harder than it looks!

Because I got so many positive comments on the owl, I decided to try another one.  This time I made a cat, also for another baby turning one.  So I stuck with the cashmere, and no buttons, only embroidery for the decorations.  What I came up with is this kitty.  She's made of mostly grey cashmere, with a few pieces of white and black.  

There's also a felted heart on her back.

 I had really wanted her to come out more round, than oval, but this making your own patterns thing is tough. 

Oh, the beauty of a Monday off...

So back again, to this idea of people having babies all over the place where I work.  I was talking with someone last Friday and realized there are at least three people I know who are expecting.  I joke  all the time that there is no way I will EVER drink the water at work...my kids are getting a bit bigger and I'm thrilled about it!

However, what it does is give me lots of folks to think up super baby gifts for.  I've recently found some fantastic, bright wool sweaters that I was dying to find a use for.  The colors all look so great together and would be ideal solid colors for baby things...

Today's "day off" result was a stuffed cube.  It came out much more stiff than Square Meal.  I put some light fusible web inside before stuffing it.  I only had two thicknesses at home, so I tried both.  The super sturdy was too much...this worked well, but I think I'm going to get some medium stiffness stuff for the next one.  

It's super simple, just six 5" x 5" squares sewn together and stuffed.  The hardest part was trying to figure out how to get the last seam shut without it looking totally different than the other seams.  So I just went around the top and bottom again.  If anyone out there knows a trick for that last seam issue, I'd love to hear about it.

I had also thought about putting letters on each face, or numbers....something for more contrast.  My only concern is that for little babies, it would have to be on super tight.  All that chewing and drooling...wouldn't want anything to come off and get swallowed up.

I'm already thinking of what to try next.  I'm working on a pattern for a reusable lunch bag...back to the vintage raincoats.  I got one of the great ones with whales on it right before Christmas.  It might even make me want to bring my lunch into work!   And I'd be sure to bring my own drink.  None of that baby-water for me!

A friendly owl

Whew...it seems that the holidays got the best of me.  I made all kinds of things, some at the very last minute, and didn't have the time or foresight to post any of them!  But now that it's January, and things are starting to settle down, I'm back to moving just a little more slowly.  

For some reason I have been thinking about owls a lot lately...seeing them in advertisements, on TV, and most importantly at a birthday party my daughter went to at the kids Science museum.   I love how slowly they move and how majestic they look.  Their eyes are very telling though, almost like they know something you don't.

With that in mind, and our neighbor Anna's first birthday in mind, I made this for her.  It's made of two formerly cashmere sweaters, a pink one and a cream one.  The eyes are sewn on circles with smaller felted circles in the center and some yarn stitches (meant to look like eyelashes, but didn't really come out that way.  Same for the beak, some felted wool, a piece of yarn around the outside and a tiny piece of maroon wool in the center.  There are diamonds of the maroon wool on the ears, too.  I was trying to get that great feathery-owl-ear look...

My favorite part though are the wings.  They are pieces of the cream cashmere blanket stitched to the sides.   The result was a great contrast of color, but still soft looking.  I had initially wanted buttons for eyes, but was afraid they might get eaten off..

The whole thing took around 2 1/2 hours to make...I'm sure once I had a design I knew better and had made a few times I could cut that significantly.  

Maybe next time I'll try a blue and green?  Or should I go for a straight up owl browns?  I'd love ideas or comments on what colors would look the best.

Plushie love

A little background...I work in a big office. The group I work is made up primarily of professionals who are in their 30's and early 40's. As a result, it seems, there is ALWAYS someone who is expecting a baby. I keep telling them all, keep it to yourself! I've had plenty thank you! If someone hands me water from the machine in our kitchen I'm NOT going to drink it.

So...I had seen these great kids blocks in a store, and I went home to try to make some. I felted a fluffy white sweater, thinking it would be really soft and great tactile fun for an infant. I cut six pieces, the same size, and made a cube with them. Then stuffed like crazy. Of course, my first attempt wasn't nearly what I was expecting. But when I showed my son Ben what I had come up with he thought it would make a great "plushie". So we found some felt to make eyes and mouth with.

The result was "Square Meal". Ben comes up with these great names. Of course, the square part was easy...but he must have heard someone talking about getting a "square meal" on tv. He's really into word plays and humor in language these days...