Tuesday, February 3, 2015

(Mostly) Holiday Handmades 2014

I wasn't very inspired this year but was pretty happy with the results of what did get made.

An hour on pinterest found lots of felt food ideas to go with the play kitchen my nephew was getting for Christmas. In me fashion, I took the ideas, didn't actually follow much of the how-tos and just went for it. There ended up being a bit of a theme of "fasteners". I was mulling some sort of pea pods with button peas that "pop out" through button holes to continue the theme but didn't get there. 
( I didn't get a picture of the bag of "popcorn" but it was based on this tutorial, although I just used one layer of felt and a little stuffing. They are stored in a red and white striped drawstring bag.) 
 

The slices were from this tutorial and then I just winged the peel. It closes with velcro.


The banana zips into its peel. I got to use another of the grandmother's never ending zipper stash. After the banana was made, I just pinned and sewed darts in the peel to get the right shape. Pain in the neck and worth making an actual pattern if I was making more than one but I was happy with the result.


Not for the holidays but a new baby got an owl sweater from Penny Straker's famous pattern. It's been years since I made one of these and it was fun revisiting an old friend.


Apparently having a preschooler entails very frequent birthday parties. One morning I was lacking a 3 year old birthday gift so a last minute baby carrier was made for one of my cuddle dolls to be a mommy to a jingle baby.



Quentin's main gift was a beginning blacksmith class series through Sarqit Outdoor School but I felt that he needed a little something homemade. This is a magnetic screw holder bracelet based on this tutorial. (Warning: The author of that DIY rambles a lot and doesn't have sewing experience - which she admits at great length.) I followed the general idea but used just a heavy twill from my stash for the fabric, skipped the rivets, and used fusible velcro instead of sewing it on. 
Harbor Freight carries the super strong tiny magnets so I didn't have to pay shipping from an online vendor. If you needed 100 of them online would be a better deal but not so much for 10.  
It's handy we had a pile of vent pipe from the in progress laundry room available for the metal and that Q just bought a nice new set of tin snips. I love the way cutting with tin snips feels, kind of smooth and buttery. I need to find more projects that give me an excuse to use them. 
My freehand attempt at a little sashiko style stitching finished off an otherwise extremely drab object. I went for "manly" looking embroidery so that's okay, right? ;)


I had the treat of going to a workshop at Fancy Tiger in November to make a pair of reversible Overmost overalls (by Deborah Moebes at Whipstitch). They're fully reversible with the Michael Miller owls on one side and a small wale gray corduroy on the other. Sewing without any child interruptions for 3 hours was quite the mini-vacation. I was also reassured that I haven't truly become less competent but that all those interruptions at home do just sap concentration.


Willow needed new indoor slippers. I buy premade sheepskin lined suede soles for these. The uppers are cashmere from thrift store sweaters.


Both girls got thrummed mittens. (One of Willow's is turned inside out in the picture to illustrate what "thrumming" is.) I made a the smallest size in the pattern for Willow and they're still too big for her. I modified the Clare's to make them smaller with no thumbs. Willow likes borrowing Clare's. Oh well.

I've been trying to use up a bunch of yarn from my stash and have designed several new hats so I'll have to coerce my model soon (preschoolers can be quite finicky about such things) and post patterns. Nothing fancy but still fun - a lacy swirl, a tricorner pompom hat, and kitty ears.

7 comments:

Jensia said...

Phenomenal Blog! I should thank for the endeavors you've made in composing this post. I am trusting the same best work from you later on too.
digital marketing trends

LeoneKhunze said...

I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are really convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are too short for newbies. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post. web design online singapore

WintyWen said...

Hi there, I found your blog via Google while looking for a related topic, your website came up, it looks great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.IELTS writing

DruZeta Mitar said...

Thanks so much for giving everyone a very breathtaking opportunity to read in detail from this site. It's always very lovely and also full of a great time for me personally and my office acquaintances to search the blog minimum thrice a week to read the newest issues you have got. Not to mention, I am also certainly contented with all the great tips served by you. Selected 2 facts on this page are rather the finest I have ever had.
Different types of media in Singapore

Sophie Grace said...

I’m typically to blogging and i actually respect your content. The article has really peaks my interest. I am going to bookmark your site and maintain checking for brand spanking new information. Please search instastalker to discover nice photos and videos on instagram.

LexieBoyer said...

excellent post, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector do not notice this. You must continue your writing. I'm confident, you have a great readers' base already! security system integration

Abhimanyu said...

There can be any number of causes for low testosterone in men. Men who suffer from low testosterone may be able to address the issue with testosterone therapy by visiting a men's clinic for low testosterone treatments.premature ejaculation specialists in Florida