I am free to show all these projects because they are safely in the hands of their new owners!
One of the shops I got some fabrics from has an absolutely astounding blog. It's full of contests, tutorials, and ideas. That would be Sew, Mama, Sew. Every craft store tries to get us started on Christmas projects in July, so we don't have that December insanity. Sew, Mama, Sew's blog did too! Among the Christmas project tutorials was this gem. Though I do like that Robert Kaufman fabric used in the tutorial, I didn't fancy buying more of it than I needed. So I took a look at the measurements, and I took a look at a Christmas "layer cake" I bought the previous November. (A "layer cake" is a Moda product containing 40 precut 10 inch squares all from the same line.) With some changes to the cutting, I could make TWO advent calendars from just one layer cake! And have barely anything leftover! YES! So that is what I did.
One for my sister and her kid:
One for DH's brother, his wife, and their kid:
Impulse buy makes good!
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I've been busy with school, but that doesn't mean I haven't been making stuff. It's just all Christmas-related. So I can't show it off just yet. I don't want to ruin any surprises. Normal posting will resume pretty soon, as I am making very good progress. There will be a flurry of posts after December 25th, that I can promise. In fact, I already have some posts made which are set to post later this year!
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A little background...
I learned how to knit last November. To keep things simple, we could choose a hat or a scarf as a first project. Now, scarves I do not need. I have plenty and I live in California. I wouldn't give anyone else a scarf either, because everyone has enough scarves. Hats, however, are useful. I decided I would make A Hat.
As it turns out, knitting can be somewhat subtle. I have started over on The Hat no less than 6 times, possibly more. In multiple colors. I think I have it now. We shall see. I have tried regular needles (don't want to deal with that join when the time comes), circular needles (too long), and arrived at five (not 4, tried that) double-ended needles (sometimes annoying, but they get it done).
And here is my "progress" along with my failed attempts, and my needle collection:
Enough background, what is this major accomplishment? Well, I set aside the human sized Hat a few days ago, and made this:
I used a free pattern for an American Girl hat, and changed it a little. Now, it ain't perfect, but it's done! Also, I didn't go buy yarn for it! When I tie quilts, I don't use all that much yarn, so I always have nearly a whole ball left over. Now, this yarn isn't good for tying, but for knitting, it does ok!
So there you have it, I have knitted something, world!
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I couldn't get back to sleep the other night, so I got up and started on my way-passed-critical-mass Mending Pile. When I finished, I slept really well! Here is the new Repaired Pile:
We've got some patches, some reattached buttons, new waistband elastic, and new hems - all sorts of little challenges.
Part of my motivation may have been to bore myself to sleep, but another is that the mending pile lived on the bed. The guest bed that my sister will be sleeping on in a few weeks. Take a look:
Yeah, I've got some more work to do...
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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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Before: One favorite wool sweater with a giant hole in it plus one pair of pants with a disastrously and completely failed inseam
After: A throw pillow of marginal usefulness (but at least more useful than before :-)
Completely useless: Napping cat
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Being laid off, while also waiting for parts for my apparatus at school, has its advantages - I have been working on a ton of projects I had been meaning to get to. Not just sewing: I cleaned out the file cabinet and digitized the CD collection! I have also been teaching my friend Sy to sew and waging War on Flannel. I've got so many projects running in parallel right now! Look for some finishes to start rolling out before the weekend!
Here is a picture of all the projects, in their various stages of completion, at once to tease you:
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