Uncomplicated

This blog post is a reminder to myself to keep things simple.  

At the moment I have a million (ish) fabulous ideas floating around in my head.  I start by drafting my patterns and adding elements, and by the time I'm sewing I realize that I have made things WAY TOO COMPLICATED.  Has that ever happened to you?

If you haven't noticed, I get pretty excited about uncommon animals.  You know, the ones that are totally unique.  Yep, teddy bears and stuffed kitties are nice, but they're fairly common.  A stuffed kangaroo?  Now that's not as easy to find!

See, it all started with a realization that I have a baby shower to go to this Saturday (eek!).  And yes, I do already have a gift to give, but it is not hand-made.  So I decided I'd make a small stuffie for the new baby.  Here's my sketch.  A bunny.  Not so difficult, right?

Ha!  Then I thought - oh, I bet that baby would like a crinkly toy!  So I added the crinkle factor (in this case, a sanitized pretzel bag).  Then I thought - oh, one is not enough!  I'll make a family!

  But even before I could finish one bunny, I had a "great idea" (anyone ever seen Wallace and Gromit?  "Don't worry, I have a GREAT idea!").  Yeah.  A kangaroo family.

Yes!  A pocket!  A little joey to snuggle in it's mommy's "pouch"!  Great idea!

But by then the crinkle bunny family was partially finished.  So now the kangaroo daddy has been finished.  So I'm kind of committed.  (Or maybe someone should consider committing me!)

I mean, really - look at those ears.  Gorgeous!  But ouch - they were fussy!!!  There's a bit of the "crinkly" in there, and then I gathered them, then the patch on the inside.... what was I thinking?!  And that's only the daddy kangaroo!

And since I was already committed, I decided not to leave this poor bunny family unfinished.  They deserve to be together, right?  So here's mommy:

Doesn't she look happy?

And if I ever get Mrs Kangaroo and little Joey finished, I'm sure they'll look every bit as happy to be a family...

...IF, of course, I can tear daddy kangaroo away from my little Sunshine!

Have a very blessed (and uncomplicated) week!  :) Caren

Foxy!

I went on a Womens' Retreat this weekend.  I brought along some "stuff" to keep my hands busy (while I wasn't playing (piano), singing, eating, walking, or talking).

Countryside Softies

One of the things I brought was this great book I had just borrowed from the Library.  I tell you, the creatures in this book are so adorable I actually had looked at the thrift store for wool sweaters I could use.

Something so unique about using wool.

 I like the placement of all the buttons.

And I love all of the bits of hand-sewn goodness!

 The one thing I did change from the original design is the nose.  The instructions called for wrinkles (lines of hand-stitching along the snout).  I chose to omit them and add these quirky floss "whiskers" instead.

I like 'em!

Now that I have gone through the process, I feel a surge of little wool creatures coming soon!  

I already have patterns drafted for a raccoon, a puffin, an aardvark, and a three-toed sloth - these poor creatures are rarely in the limelight - I think it's about time for them to be seen!  Will they be made in time for Christmas?  Who knows.  But I love that making one little thing from someone else's design teaches me new things I can incorporate into my own!

Random Mermaid Stitchery

I have had this mermaid "in process", hanging on my wall for months now.  I decided to give you a little look, even though it's not finished.  It is part applique and part embroidery.

I started with a little doodle of this mermaid (I used a lightweight fusible web so it ended up reversed).

 I added some big seaweed pieces and began to embroider, creating as I went along.  I love the little snails.

And I like the 3D effect of the starfish.  I cant remember how I made them, though, only that they all started out like that skinny green one on the left.  Just skinny and green - boring!  So I kept adding layers until I was satisfied.

This is an interesting project, because I do not have a sketch (except the mermaid herself) to refer to, I'm just doodling along with my embroidery.  A fun keep-my-hands-busy project, adding bits here and there.

I'd like to add bits of "stuff" to her hair.  I'm thinking maybe some iridescent seed beads?  Hmm.  Still thinking on that one.  And by the way, she's looking at something in her hand.  I haven't decided on a pearl or a necklace/chain.  Or maybe something else.

I am usually a "get it done" type of person.  I prefer the smaller projects that I can finish in a short amount of time.  But for some reason I'm ok with this one being unfinished, hanging as-is on my wall.  I did tuck the extra fabric under the hoop so it didn't look so unfinished - my husband's "suggestion".  (This is a 14-inch hoop, in case you're interested.)

I'm thinking of adding neon tetras at the top (because they're my favorite fishies).  Feel free to send me some suggestions in the comments section.  I'd love to hear from you!

:) Caren

Stockings (Part 2): Applique

As I said in my last post, I am working on making Christmas stockings for kids in foster care as part of the Stockings for Kids project.  I have finished up three patchwork quilted stockings, and I am bursting at the seams with ideas for applique designs and I'd like to share them with you.

First off, we have the Christmas robot and the kitty with a tree.  You can't see the note at the bottom very well, but it makes me chuckle.  I wrote "fortunately I sew better than I sketch!!!"

Here's the kitty with the tree.  It looks so different from the sketch, though the applique pieces are the same, because of the fabric and embroidery techniques I used.  I wanted the kitty to be stripey.  I think this fits the bill.  You can't tell from the picture, but I used a backstitch for the star and a blanket stitch around the hat.  I have found the perfect white button for the pompom at the tip of the hat.  So assuming the kids don't take off with my button, it should be finished up tomorrow!

Here's my slightly wonky Christmas robot.  I want my stockings to look handmade.  Not bad quality, but just "off" enough that they can't be mistaken for mass-produced.  I do all of my embroidery by hand (which was not easy on this one, since the body/arms/wheels were made from vinyl).  I wanted this robot to be slightly wonky (like Wall-E after he got smooshed at the end of the movie).  I think that's how we humans are.  Smooshed.  But God has a way of healing our hearts and putting things in place like no robot can.  So I am praying that the child who receives this stocking will also receive Gods healing - way down deep in his (or her) heart.

I know I already showed you this picture, but I just love the details.  I was trying to figure out how to make stitches that resembled rivets.  I think this works pretty well - and I love that my 90 cent bag of embroidery floss from the thrift store had just the perfect shade of "robot grey" (my name for it).  And those glasses!  I can just imagine a cute little near-sighted robot going into the optometrist saying "take me to your candy cane glasses."  

Next up, a chilly penguin, and a sweet kitty with her teddy bear (I'm thinking pink fuzzy fleece for the kitty).  I'll keep you posted.  

Chow for now!  :) Caren

Stockings (Part 1): Quilty Appreciation

Hi all!  I've been busy this weekend with a bunch of family stuff, but since this is my crafty blog I thought I'd share my newest project with you.  Last week I found out that Lyanna from PurplePandaQuilts has given a challenge out to fellow crafty folks - she is trying to get Christmas stockings made for kids in foster care.  As she says on her blog: "From October 1 - Dec 1, I will be hosting a stocking drive to benefit the foster children of Central Virginia".

So I decided to join her!  A while ago I received a box of festive fabrics from my bloggy friend Brooke.  She is an amazing quilter, and had already pieced together some blocks for me.  Now in case you don't know me well, I'll tell you - I have ZERO experience with quilting.  None.  But the blocks were already put together - and they're so great - and they'd be PERFECT for Christmas stockings!  So I gave it a go.  

Which brings me to the title of this blog post.  I have a new-found appreciation for quilters, and the art of quilting in general.  Seriously, quilters are ARTISTS!!!  I am not intimidated by new ways of doing things, and Lyanna had a tutorial for making a quilted stocking, so I thought I'd jump right in!!!

Fortunately, the tutorial was a good one.  Oh my - after 4 hours of hard work, I finally figured out that there is a tension adjustment on the BOBBIN.  And that was just for starters.  But I finally did it.  I quilted straight (or as near to straight as I could get!) lines down the front of the first stocking, then tried out the "stitch in the ditch" method for the others.  That worked a bit better, and I actually came away from it with some fairly cute stockings.

So for all of you quilters out there, I say thank you.  If you love it, do it well.  And I promise, you will get no competition from me!!!  I encourage you to use your craft as an outlet of joy and good will to others.  Not just for holidays, but in every season.

Well, I'm off to work on my next few stockings, which are fairly heavy on applique and embroidery (oh yeah!  Back to my comfort zone!!!).  This fun little face is a sneak peak for my next post.  Until then, be blessed.  :) Caren

Robot Lunch Bag

Hi there everyone!  I finally made a lunch bag for my Spunky boy.  I'm sure he didn't care that his lunch was in recycled bags (a new one each day - Giant Eagle, Ohio Thrift, Schwebels, Kroger, and even a JoAnns bag once!).  It's probably good that we did that for a month (at least), because he wrote his name on a little piece of paper each day and we taped it to his lunch - great handwriting practice!

This lunch bag matches the messenger bag I made for him.  See that adorable reverse appliquéd robot on the front?  I like that this bag mimics the messenger bag but it's just a bit different.  And can you even believe that I have ORANGE bias tape that matches perfectly?  (A thrift store find - in a bag with green and [slightly yellowed] white bias tape - wonder how long THAT's been sitting around?!)

Do any of you remember this post about Spunky's Robot Messenger Bag?  I entered it in an online contest.  They just announced the winner.  It wasn't me.  I wasn't in the top 10 either, but am I surprised?  Nope!  ...I digress...  Back on topic:

I was going to make the closure something different, but Spunky asked me for Velcro - he wanted it to be just like his book bag.

I made the lining for the bag out of a thin vinyl table cover.  (Found it at a thrift store.  I know, you're shocked, right?)  I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't be strong enough to withstand a year of lunches with Spunk, but it's held up for a week.  So far so good.  Just got to remember not to put it in the dryer if I wash it (hmmm...do any of you know if those table covers can be washed in a machine?)!

This is my favorite part of the bag.  The cute little name tag.  I wrote on the other side with a fabric pen (did you know they come in fine tips, just like a real pen?!!  I was so super excited when I found that out!) and stuck it on the bag with a fun little blue cable tie.

So that's all I've got to show you of the lunch bag.  I found a great tutorial for a reusable sandwich wrap, and I have some bits of robot fabric left over (and a TON of that ugly-ish green stuff I used for the lining), so maybe I'll make some of those.  Not today, though.  I'm ready to make some more toys!

Have a Hippity hoppity happy happy day!!!
:) Caren

There Was an Old Lady....

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly...

I finally finished the old lady!  This is a big mouthed puppet-y doll that I have been making for my son's kindergarten teacher.  Apparently she swallows more than a fly (the old lady, not the teacher!).  The teacher lets the old lady swallow all kinds of things - as a teaching tool!

If you saw my giveaway winner announcement (this post), you know that the old lady was a guest judge for picking the winner.  Well, she has since put on clothes!

I had thought about giving her horn-rimmed glasses, but that didn't quite work out - she looked too much like Woody Hayes (former Ohio State coach), so I scratched the idea.  Her guts are made out of the canister for a sugar/flour bag.  It worked out quite nicely.

I wanted to make it so the mouth would open but the head wouldn't come off (hate to cause future psychiatric bills for those kiddos), so I used suspender clips for the hinges.  Worked like a charm!

Spunky really likes her.  And the teacher was so excited she is planning to use her in her lesson today!

Wonder what kind of things she'll be eating today?

Cheerio! :) Caren