Christmas Gifts

It is always a challenge to decide what to do for Christmas gifts.  Kids have so many toys now, and parents seem to always have so little space and plenty of clutter.  But I hate being the Aunt who never sends anything but a check, especially now that some of the kids are old enough to know who gave them what.

So for Christmas this year, all the kids are getting fleece blankets.  I just bound fleece and embroidered their names.  The girls are just 1 yard cuts- so they aren't square.  Conor's is a yard and a half.  It happened to be what I had, but also the girls are littler, so I didn't want huge blankets for them.

It was a very simple project, but everything handmade is time consuming- it took a decent amount of time to make the binding and apply it.  I can do other things while the machine is embroidering, but it does have to be monitored, so you can't just walk away.  I wish I had used a different font for Conor's name- the stitches are just a bit larger than I'd like which causes them to fold weird.  But overall it looks okay. 

Binding lesson learned: thicker fabric works way better than thinner.  Even better if you starch it!

The best thing about this project- it isn't heirloom. So if the kid wants to drag the blanket all around like Linus does in Peanuts, it is no big deal.

Wreaths!

One of the Christmas projects I really wanted to do this year was a fabric wreath.  On other blogs, they looked quick and easy.  So I sat down with a bunch of 1" x 5" scraps (cut approximately, I wasn't too careful) and a big crochet hook and started putting them onto a wire wreath.  It was pretty easy (most of the time- I tried knotting and that was a pain, so I ended up slip knotting them with a crochet hook) but it was not quick.  I think it took me about 5 hours of my day off, working pretty much the whole time.

Still- isn't it so pretty!  I have a smaller wreath form, so I'm going to make another for valentine's day I think.  The sequin bows are hanging on our lights inside, so I added the extras to the wreath.

That wreath hangs indoors and we wanted one for the front door too.  So I made this one.

 

I can't decide if I like all the decoration things just in one spot or not.  This was just a cheapo wreath from Michaels and then some of the stick-ins they have.  I put them around the wreath too, and I didn't really like how it looked.  But with them all in the corner, it was too bottom heavy so I wrapped the ribbon around the wreath.  I really like that, but Kevin doesn't.

More Pajamas

I made Kevin another pair of Pajama pants.

I used the same pattern again, still not following it (it has a weird old timey style with piping).   I did the same modifications to greatly lower the waist band, and then lowering the fly- otherwise, it would be way too short, since the waist band is drafted to go to the chest.

The only mistake I made was not stitching down the part of the fly that ended up in the elastic casing.  It really makes no difference, because one side of it is closed- but one side remains open. There didn't seem to be any part of the instructions saying to do that.  He could put a quarter in there.  You never know when you might need a quarter.

I did not attempt to match the plaids at all on the sides (and they don't match) but oddly, they match nearly perfectly on the back seam.  This makes me wonder how matching the plaids could be possible, because if I matched the sides- then wouldn't the back seam not match?

I'm excited to say this is my first TNT: Tried and True.  Now if I know Kevin wants Pajamas, I know exactly which ones to make.

Except now he says "but they don't have pockets..."  URGH! You never said you wanted pockets! I could have added pockets. 

All I was told is that the first pair I made (years ago) didn't have a fly, so I found a pattern that had a fly.  But- at the time I didn't buy new fabric and used the least girly stash fabric I had.  So then the complain was that the second pair  was purple.  This pair fixes both these issues, and now he is saying he needs pockets.  Who needs pockets when they sleep?  I mean, I gave him a place to put a quarter :)  I guess if I make another pair (probably next year, he doesn't wear PJ pants all that much) I will add pockets.  Probably just in the side seam.

I also made a gaggle of headbands.  Courtney asked for ones that wouldn't slip out of her hair when exercising, and she specifically asked for velvet (skating dress remnents), so I used some crushed velvet I had.  Then, I have a micro-suede one I like, so I made one (ottoman remnents), then I used a textured fabric that came in my fabric mart box.  And there is the flannel one from this morning.  If you look at the stitching lines, you can see the flannel one has the stitching very inward- I used the quarter inch foot, but changed to the edge stitch foot for the others. I like that better.   I also stabilized the stretch velvet and the mystery stretch fabric, and that helped a lot.   My other note is OMG as a quilter I take the ability to press cotton easily for granted.  Trying to press these fabrics was a nightmare- all three of them.

I'm not good at the things I'm not good at.

Suzy taught me how to make stitch markers today! It is HARD. The twisting at the end is really really difficult. We went to Michaels and I almost bought beads, but in the end I only got some for knitting onto a cowl. I love my stitch markers. (The one on the own is the one suzy made.)

Here's me holding the first one I made. (Note the short hair.)

The first craft of the day we took on was felted soap. I can't wait to use this. I'm trying to not use plastic bottles anymore, so I'm going to start using bar soap for the first time since I discovered body gel. I'm excited about the wool covering. Mine is the green one- I accidentally put the seam on the top. The felt should get tighter and more even with use.

We also dyed yarn. This is Suzy's first time dyeing, handpainting with Kool-Aid. I dyed some laceweight yarn for Christmas knitting, using a mixture of Jacquard and Wilton's. (AKA the wilton's didn't work and I threw different dye in).

Then we went on an unproductive hunt for DPNs for suzy- Michael's, Walmart, and then the yarn store- which was closed :( It did produce ice cream at Walmart though. And beads for my lace knitting (yet to be decided pattern)- though I still need a smaller crochet hook if I'm not going to thread them)

Sneak Peak

Oh, I miss papercrafting so much. This was so much fun!

A little sneak peak, this is my favorite of 5 panels:


Because I'm not doing this anymore, I didn't feel the need to "save" the good stuff. So I broke out my favorite patterned papers, flowers, stickles (glitter glue), crystal effects (the clear epoxy), buttons, and rhinestones.

Another panel:

I still haven't put the finished product together (stuff is still drying), and then I need to reglitter and area I messed up, but I think this is going to look pretty cool!

Craft #2 is going to have to wait, I have more knitting to do.

What to do?

I am being crafty today- making my "chain letter" gifts. (I'm sad, only 2 people commented... but that's okay, because that way I don't have to make 5 things.)

Anyhow. I am being papercrafty, something I haven't done in a very long time (since knitting reclaimed it's rightful place) and I've pulled out tons of stuff. But I can't find my crop-a-dile. (I don't know anything about that store- just needed a picture). The crop-a-dile is one of the only ways to punch holes into chip board. (It also sets eyelets).

So what's a girl to do? Ask her husband for help.


The edges aren't quite as pretty as if I had punched them, but it works, and he drilled through all 5 layers of chipboard in one go.

I'll post a finished project a) after I finish it and b) after mystery recipient tells me she recieved it.