cloud nine

Between all of the craziness and hustle of the holidays, there is a very special someone firmly planted in the center of it all. On December 28th, my littlest little turned 9!

Here's my guy in his sweet-silly glory posing with the pom-pom yoda his big brother made him for Christmas. (aww!) I gave him the R2D2 hat for his birthday and he hasn't taken it off since! It is perfect for his personality.

This little penguin stuffie was his gift to his big brother. He hand made it with very little assistance from me. When I asked if he'd like to sew part of it on my machine, I was told that he preferred not to use any machinery for this gift and that "stitching is a wonderful art". That's my boy! :) *gush* I have to say, these two handmade gifts between brothers have to be the absolute best gifts this Christmas.

The newly 9 year old insisted on a Harry Potter party to celebrate his day and we happily obliged. He planned the whole thing: Broom decorating followed by broom racing in the park. A potions class complete with special labels on interesting jars full of elixirs (gatorade) and test tubes filled with "powers" (pop-rocks). Each child brought home their own mason jar full of their custom concoction.

After a pizza lunch and a Harry Potter sock puppet show (performed by big brother from behind the couch) we served Golden Snitch cupcakes (with Butter Leaf cookies for wings!) My guy was in heaven and said it was his best birthday ever. For the win!

Tonight we say farewell to 2010! Thank you for helping to make my 2010 a fun and memorable year. I appreciate your visits and cherish your comments. Here's to a healthy and happy 2011 for us all!

Happy New Year!

Sweet Shoppe Ornament Set

I'm excited to announce one of my newest designs from my Make New or Make Do™ sewing pattern line: The Sweet Shoppe Ornament Set. Each pattern comes with complete instructions to make 3 different sweet treats that can be made from repurposed felted wool sweaters, craft felt, or a combination of both.

The Cupcake Ornament is a familiar favorite with bead "sprinkles" and a jingle bell cherry on top!

I love the new double-dip Ice Cream Cone Ornament with a rickrack trimmed waffle cone.

And last but not least, The Lollipop Ornament with pink felt swirls and a tiny jingle bell center. How delicious would these three be on an all white tree?

The Sweet Shoppe Ornament Pattern was just one of three new designs that I previewed this past fall at Quilt Market. It's been quite an undertaking getting them designed, prototyped, written, edited, photographed, proofed and now finally printed! This week they will be shipping out to distributors and retailers around the country. The electronic PDF version of the Sweet Shoppe Ornament pattern is available now in my etsy shop for those of you that just can't wait.

If you need some last minute tree trimmings (or are planning ahead for next year!) I hope you'll give these a go!

Hip Huggie Tutorial

Last week I was sitting at my computer freezing my butt off when inspiration hit: I need a Snuggie for my hips!

And that lead to my *invention* of the Hip Huggie™! Bun Warmer, Heinie Heater, Hip Cozy...whatever you call it, it works like a charm. This is a fast and easy way to repurpose an old sweater and stay warm this winter. I designed it to be worn over jeans, low-rise or otherwise, plus I added a kangaroo pocket in the front for easy hand warming!

What follows is my quick and dirty tutorial documented with sub-par photography, thanks to the chilly, gloomy day that it was.

Materials:
1 felted wool sweater*, preferably a Men's large pullover
1/2 - 3/4" waistband elastic
Thread

Tools:
Fabric shears
Straight pins
Bodkin or large safety pin
Sewing Machine
Fabric Shears

* for How to Felt a Sweater, visit one of my very first blog posts from 2006!

1) Cut the sleeves off of your felted wool sweater and put them aside. Next cut open the shoulder seams and turn the sweater body inside-out. Try on the sweater body by stepping into it and holding it so that the bottom ribbing is placed where you would the "hem" of your huggie to be. Mark the top of the sweater body at your waistline with a pin. Step out of the sweater and lay it flat on your work surface. Cut off the excess sweater about 1" above your waistline pin. (Save the top scraps for the pocket!)

2) After you've trimmed off the top portion, try on the sweater body again, this time pinning the excess at what are now the side seams. Be sure it's still inside-out. The width of this sweater was good for me around the lower part but I needed to bring it in a bit at the waist. Pin, take it off and then sew along the lines that you pinned (shown above in pink). Trim away the excess with fabric shears leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.

3) Still inside-out, fold down 1" for the waistband casing and pin. Topstitch around the casing, 1/4" from the edge, leaving 2" unstitched. Put one end of the waistband elastic onto a bodkin or large safety pin and thread it into the unstitched opening and around the casing. Try the sweater on again and pin the ends of elastic together at a comfortable length. Remove the sweater and trim the excess elastic off and sew the ends together. Close the opening of the casing by continuing the row of topstitching.



4) Now for the kangaroo pocket! Pull out those extra scraps from the top of the sweater. (If you don't have big enough scraps, you can use the sleeves.) Shown above are two options. 1: the back of the sweater neckline that can be cut into a trapezoid shape (see photo below), or 2: The front neckline of the sweater. Mine had a V-neck with ribbing. Perfect for pockets trimmed with rib! I simply cut straight up the center and then sewed the arm hole openings (A and B) together.

Top: Trapezoid shaped pocket made from back sweater yoke (or a sleeve). Bottom: Sewn pocket made from V-neck yoke.

5) Almost done! Place your pocket piece on the center front of the hip huggie (right side out!) and pin. You can try it on one more time to be sure you like the placement. There's no need to turn under the edges, the felted wool will not fray. Top stitch around the pocket, 1/8"across the bottom, top and side edges up to the openings.

Is it flattering? No. Is it bulky? Yes, but it is warm. Butt is very warm. :)

Hope you have fun with this!

Holiday Hints: Ornaments

With just two weeks until Christmas (eep!) I thought it was time to share a few ornament ideas. I love handmade ornaments and they double so easily as a thoughtful gift topper on your holiday wrapping.

Drum roll please....the Gingerbread Ornament Set is finally available as a PDF pattern in my etsy shop! These little cuties are part of my Make New or Make Do™ sewing pattern line. This pattern includes directions to make a dapper Gingerbread Boy and his friendly dog Gingersnap, plus a wee Gingerbread House with charming little details. Suh-weet!

Last's year's tutorial for my Felt Ogee Ornament was such a hit I wanted to bring it back. Simply made from one square of felt and a few strategic cuts...beautiful! I've experimented with a few new ideas based on this and I hope to be able to share them soon. We'll see...

I did manage to pull this tutorial together for you last month, the Itty Bitty Ice Cream Ornament. I imagine one of these would make a sweet necklace strung onto a long ribbon.

And while you're crafting with felt balls, why not make a Peas on Earth Ornament as well? We made these in my Felt Ornament workshop at the Creative Connection this past September. Several people wanted to stitch a little face on the peas since they almost look like little swaddled babies. :)

And finally for today, check out Warm Fuzzies for 3 more ornament ideas: the little bird, the oak leaves and the pear.

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out Holiday Hints 2009: Bags!

monkey boy

What is it with boys and monkeys?

As of today, my first son is 11 years old. I know I'm not alone in thinking that this *time thing* we got goin' on here moves way too fast. So far though, this boy, is not moving too fast for his age, nor his mom.

His height reaches past the bottom of my chin, but inside he is still a little boy. Not too old to ask for a Sock Monkey for his birthday (although I do believe there was a request for an iPhone on his Christmas List...hmmm).

Silly and sweet, strong and independent, a good student, a caring friend and an awesome big brother. All in all, a great kid who seems to know who he is and is true to himself. How he's figured that out already is beyond me, but I couldn't be prouder of him.

Happy Birthday, C! (seems like just yesterday you were a little butterball!)

Holiday Hints: Comfort & Joy

Today's Holiday Hints for Handmade Gifts are all about comfort! Oh joy!

First up, the popular Take-it-Easy Lounge Pants from Sewing Green, shown here made out of my favorite vintage sheet. These would be extra snug-a-licious made in flannel, don't you think?

A great companion gift to the Lounge Pants would be the Recycled Sweater Slippers (pg 48, Sewing Green) made from a felted wool sweater. These are sized big-kid through adult and could be made for almost everyone in the family.


And here's one more cozy add on...the Heat Therapy Pillow! It's filled with buckwheat seeds and can be heated in the microwave to ease tense shoulders and take away a chill. (pg 66, Sewing Green)

To complete your gift of comfort, why not wrap the set in a matching bag using my free Shoe Bag Tutorial? Originally meant for keeping your shoes organized for travel, the shoe bag is an easy drawstring bag that would be a pretty and reusable way to wrap your gifts.

Check out more ideas from last year: Holiday Hints 2009: Hats!

Shop Update: Cup O' Joe Kits

I just wanted to let you know that I have a few Cup O' Joe Kits now listed in my shop!

Make your own freshly brewed Cup O' Joe Pincushion (as seen on the MARTHA STEWART SHOW!). I've done all of the gathering and felting of materials for you. Just read the instructions and put it together. Each listing shows a swatch (see above, right) of the felted wool sweater pieces included in the kit plus felted i-cord trim, pins, etc, all packaged up in it's own little coffee bag.

Easy-peasy and super cute. What more could you ask for? :)