More Volunteer Bears

Last two bears for the hospice. These ones gave me incentive to learn to use my Serger because the material is knit and therefore stretchy. I could have done it with a zigzag on my machine, but quicker and easier on the Serger. I have to say, that machine almost isn't worth the time and trouble it took to learn how to thread the silly thing. I can't just re-string one - I have to redo them all so they cross correctly. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I have it, but I still prefer my machine. I'll take all four bears to the Hospice on Monday.

Easy Skirt

 Since I finished the sewing part of my last two bears, I decided to make myself a skirt last night at my friend's house. I found a super easy pattern that just uses simple measurements to cut the fabric then just hem and elastic casing. I was surprised at how quickly it came together. Plus it's super comfy.

Volunteer Bears

This is my volunteer work. I make bears for grieving loved ones out of old clothing. They get button eyes and felt noses. It's always nice when the clothes already have buttons I can use, but sometimes I use my own. I have two more to do out of a different fabric. I'll post a picture when I'm done with them. It's a knit fabric so it's also going to be my first foray into using my Serger. I have a friend coming over to help get my started. I'm enjoying being able to use my crafts to help people. Plus I just plain love service.

Knit Tie

My husband likes weird ties. So when he saw a knit tie, he wanted one. So I started looking for a pattern and I found this one for my son. I found one for him too, but I'm still working on it (I'm lacking in material). I'll post it when I'm finally able to finish it. I had to extend this one, it proved a bit short when we tried to tie it.

Final Quiet Book Update!

  Finally finished the Quiet Books yesterday. Brandon put rivets in all the pages and I made the cover.

I used elastic to make loops to put the rings through, a strap on the spine for travel, and a button and elastic loop closure. The last step was using puff paint for the title and voila - two Quiet Books!

Dress Mod

 Simple modifications I made to one of my favorite dresses to make it a tad more modest. I did the ruffle first and then decided that a leftover bit would be adorable for the modesty triangle. It ties it all together wonderfully and now I love it even more!

Nightgown

So this is a nightgown I made myself. I used a pattern, although I had to modify it a bit. It was tight in the arms so I put panels in the sides. It was also a bit short so I added the ruffle on the bottom to extend it. I would have done it with the same material, but I simply didn't have enough left. Mostly because this isn't the only thing I used this material for. You may recognize it from the changing pad I made.

Two uses for crocheted carnation

Use #1: Choker Necklace - I found a pattern for a pretty choker and then found the pattern for the carnation and put the two together. 

Use #2: Cat Toy - I left the necklace sitting on the couch or something like that, and the cats decided it was a fun toy. So I made them one of their own (plus a braided string) out of a more sturdy material. They loved it.

Quiet Book Update #2

Thought I'd post the remaining finished pages. All that's left now is to have Brandon put rivets in the pages, and make covers for them which won't take long.

Figures got printed and glued to Popsicle sticks, velcro got secured. 

Puppets are in the ark now. Another page done.

Quiet Book Update

 Finished a few pages yesterday. I was surprised how easy they were to finish - it seems like it took longer the last time. I suppose I'm just getting better at it. All that's left now is to have rivets put in them. But I won't worry about that until I finish off the other pages. Then it's time to make a cover.

Quiet Book

These are pages to one of the Quiet Books I'm making for a friend. I made the first one for Alma and I've been perfecting them now that I'm making a few for someone else. I started it because I want Alma to play with religious toys at church so it's not as hard a transition when we have to take the toys away.

The clock on the left has hands that actually move. The hands have rivets and I loosely sewed a button in. The Temple is actually a velcro puzzle and all the pieces come off.

I have two sets of animal puppets to go in the ark. It zips open. I'll put them on once I finish the pages.

The wise men's gifts are velcro as well. You can take them off and put them near the manger. I need to put a few stitches in the velcro, it's stick on and trying to come off. Peter's fish all have button holes. You can take them off and put them in his net.

You can't see it in the photo, but there are button holes at the base of the bed. I will eventually make kneeling stick puppets that can be in bed (there's a pocket) or in the button holes 'saying their prayers'. The hay on the manger lifts up to reveal baby Jesus.

The creation page is a lift a flap. There's a picture for each day. The tithing coins come off and go in the envelope.

The tower of babel is a weaving activity. Around it is "hello" in a bunch of different languages. Daniel, the angel, and the lion are all finger puppets and come out of the cage.

The whale has a zipper just like the ark. Jonah is attached to a ribbon and you can take him out. Ruth is just ribbons for braiding.

Baby Moses comes out of the basket on a ribbon as well and there  are laces. The red sea opens up to reveal people. The only people I paint in red are Moses and Jesus.

There are stick puppets for the Jesus Loves Little Children. They go under his arm in button holes.

Last but not least, the rock moves over Jesus. I forgot to put the 'He Has Risen' at the top of the page. Oops.

Cat Dress

You probably won't believe this, but my cat likes to wear clothes occasionally. She loves to play with fabric scraps (she'll talk to them - no joke!) and she got it wrapped around herself one day so I tied it around her middle. She purred. 

That's when I started putting clothes on her. Our theory is, she sees us make stuff and put it on, so she wants some too. She prances around the house. It's adorable. So I decided to have some fun and make her a little dress. I modeled it after another one we have with a few alterations. I don't do it all the time - maybe once a month if that. I'm crazy, but not that crazy=P

Crochet Car

A crochet project I did over the space of about a week. You're supposed to do it with foam blocks, but my husband made a form out of cardboard for me. It's really easy b/c it's a bunch of little squares of various sizes and then you sew them together over the top. It came out pretty well.

Japanese Teacup Cozy

One of my very first crochet projects, and done without a pattern. I love my Japanese style teacups because they keep the tea hot w/o burning my tongue. Regular cups it seems it's either too hot or too cold. The only problem with the Japanese style is they are hot to hold since there's no handle. So I measured around the cup and decided how long it had to be and how thick I wanted it. Then I crocheted it together and slipped it on. It works wonderfully and I love it!

Cat Collar

My cats have a tendency to destroy normal cat collars. They clean themselves and it slowly rips apart the fibers. We already have Lex in a leather harness (he needs a handle) but Delilah can't wear her harness all the time as it causes mats. 

So rather than wait until we had the money to buy a dog collar, I used some soft suede I had in the house. I triple layered it because it wasn't incredibly thick. I used the hardware from a dollar store collar we'd gotten and decorated with a fun embroidery stitch just 'cause. Then I had my husband put holes/rivets in and voila. She loves it - she purred when I went to put it on her.

Cat Bed

 So as you can probably tell from the picture, my can doesn't fit in a normal size cat bed. She weighs roughly 16lbs. It's not all fat (although she is overweight), she's a ragdoll mix and those cats can weigh up to 20lbs full grown. 


Since we don't have the money to buy a dog bed for her, I made one. We found the fleece on discount about a year prior and and got it for this purpose. I knew what kind of bed she likes so I just measured her and made it big enough that she can sprawl out if she wants. I centered the bottom on her breed and just made a tube to go around it. I even put dots of puff paint on the bottom to keep it from slipping off the table too easily (duct tape can help that too). She absolutely adores that bed (b/c she knows mommy made it - she's very smart). My other cat, Lex, actually fits in there with her if she curls up. It's cute.

Baby Gift

So the guy that gives my husband a ride to school (saving us gas money we don't have) was out a few days b/c his wife had a baby. Well, as kind of a thank  you, I decided to make a baby gift for the new baby. It's a little boy so I made a turtle bib from a pattern I have. It's lined with fleece with ribbons for feet, and there's circles of white felt under black buttons for eyes. Then it's just a simple ribbon tie. I used the same yellow fabric, also lined with fleece to make a small blanket to go with it. I stuck it in a shoe box with a thank you card. Brandon will take it with him tomorrow when he goes to the library to meet his ride for school.

Kindle Case

 We were very fortunate last Christmas to receive a Kindle from my Dad. Of course at that point we wanted a case to put it in to protect it and make it easier to carry. The first version was a bit too small, not very well made, and didn't have a strap.

So this is the latest version. The fabric is the remains from a cat bed I made (I'll post that later). I carefully placed a hole in the bottom so it can be charged while in it's case, a pocket, and a rope carry strap. The pocket doubles as both screen protection (you put it in backwards) and someplace to put the carry strap at home or when my husband carries it (I guess slinging it over a shoulder is too girly=P).

Of course I had to use a ragdoll (the fabric is cat breeds) for the pocket picture since one of my cats is a ragdoll-mix. 

Changing Pad

 I made the changing pad for a couple reasons. First of all something to change him on - padding for the changing table or protection if you really need to change your kid and there's no table. Second it's convenient when you don't need a whole diaper bag's worth of stuff.

It was actually pretty easy to make. It called for some foam form thing but I just used batting. It was what I had and it works. Then it's just two quilted pieces that form the pockets, straps, and velcro closure. It fits a couple diapers, wipes container, and drink or other supplies. Pretty handy.