Magnets & Felt Fishing Game

My original idea for this was felt fish with magnets sewn inside and a felt hook with magnets sewn inside. I didn't want to buy anything new, so I was using materials that I had on-hand. It turned out the felt was too thick for the magnets I used. This would be better with a) stronger magnets or b) thinner fabric.

Anyway, this is how it turned out. My kids like to play with the fish, even without the fishing pole. These are just scraps of felt stuffed with a little poly-fill and small refrigerator magnets, finished with a blanket stitch. Fishing pole- a small wooden dowel, raffia, and more magnets glued together.
My son demonstrating all the fishing fun!

Floral Embellished Onesie

I started with a plain white onesie and an old jersey shirt- this one is a ballet pink with some silver stitching detail running through it. I thought the silver would be a pretty detail on the flowers.I cut small flowers from the shirt, maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. This was the most tedious part. It is hard to cut something small from jersey because it curls.Using 2 strands of embroidery floss in a coordinating color, I sewed the center of the flowers onto the onesie. I pulled on the flowers a bit to get a puckering in the center to create texture. i wanted it to look ruffley (is that a word?)
Finished project! It took less than an hour, even stopping to take pictures.

Folklore Bag

One Yard Wonder Project: Folklore Bag

This bag took longer than I expected... I was hampered by my poor sewing skills and my tendency to try to cut corners. Next time around I'm sure I will be quicker. I love the size- it's just right for all my stuff w/o being too big and heavy. I like the wider straps too- they don't fall off my shoulder when wrangling kids. I want to try it in another fabric... I love this fabric, just not for this pattern. Maybe something lighter and more fun for summer.

Tiny, tiny Tie

I wanted to make a necktie for my son to wear for Easter this year and some upcoming weddings we are attending. I tried this tutorial/pattern from Ottobre Design. The directions were pretty easy to follow (once I really concentrated... what happens to your brain when you get pregnant???) and it came together quickly except for turning it right side out. The pattern says for ages 4-7, but mine turned out super tiny- definitely not big enough for my 4 year old. That's why mine was so hard to turn out- it was SO skinny. Needless to say, my son can't wear the necktie. Most likely it will be used for teddy bear/ doll dress up clothes.

Does anyone have a necktie pattern they like? I ended up buying a tie on Etsy, but I'd still like to try making one.

Crafting Hiatus

I'm back from my crafting hiatus! Not that I was intending to take one. I am pregnant with #3 (yeah!!!) and have been really sick- so sick I couldn't even do any crafting! In my world that is really sick. It has been a LONG 3 months, but I am finally feeling a little bit better and I'm ready to get my life back. I have tons of projects bouncing around my head... hopefully I'll be posting a lot soon!

Here's a project I finished in January before the nausea set in. I got this book for Christmas- One Yard Wonders. It is awesome! Over 100 sewing projects using just one yard of fabric- perfect for my fabric stash.

This is the first thing I tried- a carry basket for baby dolls. It came together really fast and turned out great! Instead of using it for her dolls, D uses it when she goes "grocery shopping" with her play food. Pretty cute.

More one yard projects coming soon!

Boxy Little Bag

I made this bag for my son who LOVES his cars. He is always trying to carry 5 or 6 of his most favorite cars around, and I spend a lot of time waiting for him to pick up all the cars he's dropped before we can go anywhere. I finally decided he needed a purse- so this was my solution. There are a bunch of tutorials online for bags like this. I used this one, but I wouldn't recommend it... it was a little confusing, I ended up modifying it in the end (to add the strap), and I didn't realize that there would be exposed seams inside. I didn't read very well before I started cutting up fabric. I like the way it turned out anyway- and it is just the right size for Lightning McQueen and his friends.

Felt Christmas Stockings

I am packing up Christmas decor today, so i thought I'd throw these on the blog before I shut the door on Christmas. I made these stockings several years ago, but finally just finished them this year. I added linings (so the felt wouldn't stretch out) and ribbon at the top to finish them off. I used a double faced satin ribbon on 3 of them which turned out to be pretty bulky. The single faced satin worked much better.