Three Blind Mice

My daughter loves cats.  She has three of them: Jack, Ginger and Bentley.  Naturally, I can't leave them out at Christmastime.  Even the little furry friends love to get presents, too!

I made the kitties some little mice to play with that have their favorite ingredient in them- catnip!  The mice are made from some old felted sweaters (I have a quite a large stash).  I sewed the little mice bodies and then added some yarn for their tails, eyes, whiskers and little pink ears to make them look like real mice!  By mistake I sewed the brown mouse sweater inside out; that's why it looks sort of funny. I don't think the cats will mind. It adds to the whimsy look of the little mouse.

I think they came out really cute.  And did the kitties like them?  They loved them! 

Mens' Bags - Not a Purse!

Each year I try to think of something to give to my boys something for Christmas that is handmade.  This year  I came up with the idea to make them camping bags. They like to go hiking and camping and they can put their toiletries in them. I even filled them with items that they will need!

The two bags coordinate- I just love the plaid fabric.  I thought it was so masculine looking!

I made one bag with the tan color as the trim and one with the blue.  I like how they both came out.

I sewed a little gusset in the bottom so that all of their toiletry items would fit.  When they opened up their gifts, my daughter pointed out that they were getting a "purse" to carry their items in.  It's not a purse, it's a Mens' Bag!

Make one of these for the special men in your life!  Click here to order the pattern from my Etsy shop!

Gingerbreads

I made these gingerbread potholders for my friend, Christy who decorates with gingerbread items during the Christmas season.  I added some embroidery on the face, arms and legs.

You can see the detail a little better in this photo.  I found a spatula and a stirring spoon with little gingerbreads on them to give to her with this gift.  I forgot to take a photo, but they looked so cute together!

What is your favorite Christmas icon that you like to decorate with? 

The Blue & White Quilt

I spent most of the week before Christmas finishing up the Christmas gifts for my family!  OK, I admit- I tend to wait until the last minute to get anything done.  You can see the stockings hung by the fireplace in the background while I was working on my projects at the dining room table!

I made my this queen sized blue and white quilt for my son and his new wife.  And yes, I did shove that whole quilt under my sewing machine to machine quilt it!

I used white squares for the center of the blocks and then added assorted blues for the sashing strips.  When it was done, I noticed that the sashing formed what looks like a nine-patch square on the corners of the white blocks.  I like how that adds interest to the quilt.

I also added a row of blue squares along the side where the quilt will hang over the edge of the bed.  I thought that it needed a little something.

Here is what it looks like when I (finally) finished it!  I started this quilt in July while I was on my vacation and was hoping to get it finished in September for their wedding.  Why is that they always take so much longer than you think?  I'm just so glad that it's done! 

Pink Cheetah Runner

I made this runner for my daughter for Christmas.  It fits perfectly on her dresser.  (It's sort of like a table runner, only for the dresser.  You know that I love to make runners!)  This one took me a long time to make.  I think we measured her dresser to be 72" long!

She loves hot pink and all sorts of animal prints, especially cheetah prints.  She just adores it!

What do you think of the pink mixed with the animal prints?  What color would you put with the animal prints?

Quilted Tree Ornament Giveaway!

Announcing... my first pattern!

I have been working on making this little quilted tree ornament for about a week!  I didn't just copy a pattern from someone else, I designed it myself!  (Pat on the back here.)

I have made a TON of these little trees for gifts and I'm going to have my first GIVEAWAY on my blog!  If you leave me a comment on this post, I will randomly draw names and send you one of these little ornaments!  The drawing will be held on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013 at 12:00pm.  Hurry and leave your comment to win one of them! The drawing is now over.  Debb R, you are the winner!

I had so much fun designing and making this ornament. I love sewing a variety of fabric strips together to make things out of.  If you would like to learn how to sew this, check out my pattern for sale in my new Etsy store.  Follow the link here.

Don't forget to leave me a comment!  You could win one of these quilted tree ornaments!  What new things are you making this year for your tree?

Felt Mitten Ornaments

I just finished making these little felt mitten ornaments!  This was a kit that I picked up last year at one of the local quilt shops.  I haven't really used a lot of felt before, but working with these felt ornaments has opened up all new doors for me! 

Now I want to get more felt and make some ornaments of my own.  I didn't design these, but it sure got my craft juices flowing!  I am ready to start making up some of my own felt patterns!

What new craft has inspired you this year?

Quilted Snowman

Last year around the holidays I purchased the pattern to make this quilted snowman wall hanging.  And this is one for the record book- I actually finished it before Christmas THIS year!  Ha ha!  Sometimes it takes me a long time to get around to making and finishing up my projects!

The snowman is made from charm squares, 5" squares.  Most of them are cut in half, thus all of the rectagnles.  I got this bundle of fabrics from ebay last year as a gift to myself.  I just love how it came out!

I found some cute black buttons and a carrot-shaped button at Joann's to decorate his face.  I added some yo-yo's on his belly and placed the scarf on after I was finished.  You can't tell from the photo, but the scarf is 3-D. 

This snowman is hanging on the wall ready to greet all of my family and friends who come over for the holidays!  What special handmade item do you have hanging up in your home for the holidays?

Gifts for the Sewists

 

The past few weeks I've been as busy as an elf working on Christmas gifts!  Pictured here are some gifts that I have made for the women who come over to my house to learn to sew.  I had a lot of fun making them and love watching the ladies choose a Christmas gift from the "gift basket!"

These were my favorite ones to make- a little quilted pincushion!  Easy and fun to make, they will make a great addition to anyone's sewing basket.  One of the fabrics is from Stampin' Up's Sew Suite collections of fabrics.  Can you guess which one?  Note the cute little stamping tag, too!

I only made 6 of these little pincushions, but let me tell you, they are addicting!  I could have made a TON more! They use just scraps of fabric and showcase those pretty buttons that you have laying around in your sewing drawer!

 Next up I made fabric needle cases.  They have 2 pockets on the inside for assorted sewing and machine needle packages and a felt insert to hold the spare needles.  What an easy way to keep track of the needles.  (I use mine all the time!)

Here is a photo of what the front of the cases look like.  I held them together using a hair tie in the seam to wrap around a button closure on the front!  These are all made with Stampin Up fabrics!

A lot of the time the ladies who come over to sew need some sort of a book to write down the measurements and instructions (and homework!) for their projects.  I had some small composition books in my craft closet and took them out to make sewing notebooks!  I found some cute papers, added some cut outs and sewing sayings.  Then I sprayed the books with Krylon sealant and added the ribbons.  What a great rainy day project!

Mostly I don't like to make any projects exactly the same.  Here are some variations on the notebooks.  Although you can't see it from the photos, I decorated the backs of the books, too.

I put the books into clear envelopes so that they don't spilled on or get damp.  The envelopes also protect the books from getting dirty.  They display so nicely in the envelopes.

Which book do you like the best?  I think that I will keep the orange one on the top row for jotting down my crafty notes!