Hoops and Yoyo

Hoops and Yoyo are characters from Hallmark cards, of all places. They also have a podcast and blog. I had the idea a long time ago to turn them into applique, but not the time or inclination to make it happen. However, in the course of teaching Sy to sew, I decided it would be a good, simple project for her to practice on.

The big advantages to having fleece as an applique material are that you don't have to finish the edges (it won't fray) and it doesn't show your stitches (if you match the thread). This makes is ideal for a beginner.


In fact, Sy did the template making (from coloring pages on the Hoops and Yoyo page), cutting, and most of the sewing on this one. She also did most of the piecing of the borders. Speaking of which, how perfect is that striped fabric border?

Instead of batting, we put a layer of white fleece in the middle so that it could be fringed and wouldn't require quilting in the middle.
It turned out really well, and it now belongs to the biggest Hoops and Yoyo fan we know.

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Very Hungry Caterpillar inches along and a quilt for the cat begins

Here is my progress so far on the Very Hungry Caterpillar. This project is now completely associated with Dexter - I high quality show I recommend to everyone! I have watched the first two seasons while sewing this guy. Is it wrong to sew a Very Hungry Caterpillar while watching a show about the trials and tribulations of a serial killer? ... Nah!... As I am unwilling to buy Showtime, I am going to need something new to sew to, though.


Here is my newest project (kind of). I've had this kit for a long time. My mom bought it for me after I lusted for it at Ben Franklin (where I picked up many crafts and lost many dollars!). I am finally getting around to making it. Currently, I'm making the blue and yellow squares. It's for Juno, one of the cats. She is really annoyed I gave away both of the blankies she was sleeping on. I think it's about time to make her one that won't go away. Also, if I don't, she will start plopping down on whatever I am working on at the time. Even when I have it in the machine. I turn my head, I look back, and there she is! So, yeah, it's a bribe. A very cute bribe. Just look at the giggling mice!

Hee hee hee!

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Sorry!

Hi blogworld! I am sorry I havn't updated in so long. I have been very busy with the science side of life. In a week, I will be become even more busy! So, just a warning, you will probably only see old projects for the next few months. If I can't do new, you don't get new.


So what have I been up to in the past couple of months?


Well, I discovered that the "B" flag was wrong. It actually has a dagged edge, not a white triangle. So it had to be reconstructed:

As I had feared, when I finally returned to the fabric store this cloud print was all gone. I haven't yet tried the others. Maybe I can sneak a trip in this week.

Another friend is having a boy. Darnit! It's like they know about my stockpile of girl blankies! I had a week to make something. I decided that I would copy something my mother made for my nephew - a Very Hungry Caterpillar applique. Now applique is not my friend. I've done it once. It involved using iron-on fusing web and the zig-zag stitch. This is what my mother did:


Looks easy! And fast! Oh no, not in my hands. So I got some perfectly matched batiks. I got a copy of the book. I enlarged the cover to a good size. Then I made plastic templates for the exact shapes... for all 20 green segments, the red head, the eyes, the nose, each foot, and the antennae. So then I cut out the fabric, and - omg - how am I going to zig-zag around those feet? I think about this while I iron over each piece's seam allowance. Mylar templates, by the way, are really neat! As I iron, I come to the sickening realization that I must hand baste the seams allowances. This takes a few days. I finally face the fact that I must hand applique the pieces if I want the shapes to be as close to the picture as possible. Positioning the caterpillar parts on the ground, which has since changed from white fleece to 12 squares of white-on-white prints, involves alot of scotch tape, some iron-on fusing web, and the window. I am currently hand-appliqueing. Here is what it's looking like:

Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Had I been in less of a hurry, I probably could have matched my segment fabric colors better to the picture. Maybe I will do that if I make another one of these (HA!). In the meantime, I am frustrated that I missed out on this fabric! It was apparently a hot seller when it came out. I am not at all suprised!

As far as the baby boy for whom this was intended, it's going to take too long. He gets the frog panel blankie that is the sole member of my boy blankie stockpile. It is super-cute (and, being a panel, was super-easy). I will show you a picture tomorrow.

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