Crafter without a Cat

Possessive Kitties

2011-11-20T07:45:00.000-06:00

Tyco and Cleo are a bit possessive of the new quilt.

Julie got up from her desk chair to retrieve a print out and found Cleo staring her down when she returned:

Tyco didn't wait for her to get up. He just scooted in behind her:

Birds for the Kitchen

2011-11-13T07:30:00.000-06:00

After I made my mom two bird pot holders back in May, I told her I'd make her another square one since she liked that one better so she'd have a set. I meant to have it ready when I saw her in July...then in September...but I just didn't sew much this summer.

I decided to use a different, brighter color scheme for this one, so hopefully she doesn't mind that they are not a matching pair.

I really love this brown fabric. It doesn't match the birds at all, but the binding ties them together nicely. For some reason the binding looks so much brighter on the back, even though I took the pictures in the exact same spot right after each other.

In my effort to use up craft supplies that have just been sitting around, I busted out my rusty crochet skills and also made this dish cloth since I thought I recalled that she liked ones like this. The colors are somewhat complimentary to the birds.

Lightning Bolt Block Pattern

2011-11-06T06:30:00.000-06:00

I've received a couple requests for the pattern I used to create the lightning bolt blocks in my Pink Stars quilt. Since I paper pieced the block, the pattern got destroyed in the process, but I was able to recreate it:

Download the pattern

How I designed it:
I started by drawing a rectangle roughly the size I wanted the block to be and drawing my lightning bolt within. Then I sketched it out to fill the rectangle in a way that I could divide up for sewing.

How to sew it:
The block is comprised of three sections (top, middle, bottom), and each section has 3 pieces (2 dark, one light). Cut the pattern apart on the two diagonal lines, separating the top, middle, and bottom sections. Using the paper as your base, sew each section, making sure to leave a 1/4 inch seam allowance on the top and bottom of each section. Then sew the sections together and remove the paper.

If you've never paper pieced, SewHooked has a lot of paper piecing resources. I use magazine pages as my base because they tear away so easily. For larger blocks, I use parchment paper. Alternately, you can cut all the pieces apart and use them to cut out the appropriate shapes.

Either way, you will end up with a lovely lightning bolt block:

Piggly Wiggly Bag

2011-11-05T07:30:00.028-05:00

I love reusable shopping bags. On my trip to North Carolina and DC this summer, I added 5 new ones to my collection, each particularly special because I couldn't get them at home, but the red Piggly Wiggly quickly became my favorite. I didn't shop at Piggly Wiggly when I lived in NC because there wasn't one by my house. (I looked for a bag at Food Lion but they didn't have them. I did get a Tar Heel one from Harris Teeter.) We made a special stop at Piggly Wiggly just because I thought they might have amusing bags. They did. I was not a fan of the "Piggly" side, but I loved the "Wiggly" side.

And then it got ripped by a cashier at Target:

Horrors! I've never had a bag rip before, and I was mad at myself because I had been particularly careful to only use this one for non-grocery shopping trips so it would stay in better shape, and I had forgotten when I handed over my bags on this trip. I was horrified and traumatized. Once I calmed down, it occurred to me to recycle the "Wiggly" part since I'm not that fond of the "Piggly" side anyway. Fortunately I was able to stop by Michael's while traveling for work, and they again had the orange and black reusable Halloween bags I used to make my Clemson bag last year. It was a bit tricky to sew on a bag that was already assembled, but now I have a lovely "Wiggly" bag again.

Owl Necklace

2011-10-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

I am not a fan of dressing up for Halloween, so I thought I'd make a festive Halloween accessory instead. I needed something to make a charm out of, and I thought of shrinky dink plastic. I'd seen this owl as a pumpkin carving template. I cut it out before punching a hole for the necklace, so I had to hot glue a jump ring to the back. It also didn't shrink evenly, so it hangs kind of lopsidedly. Oh well, it only has to last one day. It's has a 3" wingspan. I'm going to call it Hedwig, after the owl from Harry Potter.

Bat Card

2011-10-30T07:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Quilt Binding Tutorial

2011-10-23T07:30:00.002-05:00

Back in August, I had a question about how I bind my quilts. Since I had a quilt in progress, I decided to demonstrate my process.

You will need: Quilt top and backing, batting, pins

Preparation: For this method, your quilt backing needs to be larger than the quilt top. I make mine about 4" larger, so for a quilt top that is 36" wide by 44" inches long, your backing would need to be 40" x 48", so you have at least 2" on every side.

Step 1: Lay the fabric you will use to back the quilt right side down on the ground.

Step 2: Lay the quilt batting over the backing.

Step 3: Lay the quilt top on top of the batting, centering the top over the quilt backing. Pin or baste as you normally would.

Step 4: Trim off excess batting.

Step 5: Quilt the quilt. This method looks best if you quilt a continuous or closed design. Stopping your quilting lines at the edge of the quilt will not look as nice on the back. Because the binding is the back of the quilt, there will be no binding to cover the end of the quilting lines on the back. I generally don't quilt within an inch or two of the edge so the quilting and binding lines won't overlap. See the picture at the end of this post for an example of what the quilting looks like on the back.

Step 6: Fold the edge of the quilt backing up to the edge of the quilt top.

Then fold the folded quilt backing up over the quilt top and pin in place. Do this around the edge of the whole quilt.

Step 7: When you get to the corners, they need to be mitered, and excess fabric will need to be trimmed off to make them fold nicely.

Pull the fabric out from the corner.

Snip off a little bit. Remember you can always snip more later if necessary.

Now snip off some fabric from the bottom edge to avoid bulk.

We want to fold this flap under to create our mitered corner, but it doesn't all need to be tucked under, so snip off a bit.

Fold under and pin in place.

When mitering, keep in mind the direction you'll be sewing. It's easier to sew when the all the miters fold clockwise...

...instead of counter-clockwise.

Now the quilt is all pinned.

Step 8: Sew around the quilt, about a quarter inch from the edge of the binding. I sew down the the corners to secure them. That's all, you're done!

I use this method on all my quilts, regardless of what the back looks like, but you do want to keep in mind what you'll be folding over to the front when you design the back.

Fabric in My Mailbox

2011-10-22T07:30:00.002-05:00

Amanda sent me some fabric she didn't think she'd use. I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet either, but it's always good to have options! Recognize the middle red one? She used in one of my Christmas ornaments last year.

Orange Crazy Nine Patch

2011-10-16T07:30:00.004-05:00

Well, at long last, the orange crazy nine patch is complete! I started two sets of these blocks in January of 2010. I finished the blue crazy nine patch in December of 2010. This will be only my third completed quilt for 2011...quite a drop-off from the last two years.

I like how the quilting turned out, except that the smaller blocks are obviously more heavily quilted. I really liked the way the quilting looked on the larger blocks, and I struggled to find a cohesive pattern for the smaller blocks. I didn't want to do any more quilting on the larger blocks.

It is off to live with Tyco and Cleo!

Finished size: 39" x 51"

Work in Progress

2011-10-15T08:15:00.026-05:00

The only sewing I've been doing over the last two months is in an effort to get stuff out of my house. This project has been sitting in a box in closet for years and I decided it's time to do something with it. There was no way I was ripping out stitches to recycle the fabric as I've done with other projects, so I finished up the blocks and now I have 80 badly pieced blocks that are far from square to deal with. I'm not taking the time to square them up as that won't really help the design. I started this quilt in 2001, before I had a rotary cutter, and the design suffered for the lack of precisely cut shapes. I loved the fabric when I bought it; not so much anymore.

Cleo's #1

2011-08-15T16:35:00.001-05:00

My sister won a pitching contest at a bar at a ballpark. She was extremely pleased. Her prize was a bucket of beers, so I decided to make a first place baseball ribbon to commemorate this achievement. Cleo took a liking to the ribbon.

August Birthdays

2011-08-14T08:00:00.007-05:00

I made these cards for my August birthdays, my dad and Zack's grandpa.

Bookworms

2011-08-07T07:30:00.010-05:00

Amanda and Chris sent me a package which included these adorable little crocheted bookworms they made:

The first is a "Rowdy Librarian" themed bookworm and the second a winter-themed bookworm. The librarian bookworm has a tiny checkout card for a book called "Tales of a Rowdy Librarian." I will be taking the librarian bookworm to work of course.

Buttons

2011-08-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

Visiting North Carolina meant I could make a trip to Michael's. I mostly raided the dollar bins and got this cute little bucket of buttons. The big button was the top of the container. I need more colorful buttons so it was a lovely find, I only wish they'd had more colors.

Art Inspiration on Vacation

2011-07-31T06:45:00.001-05:00

I didn't do any crafting while on vacation (though I did help my sister-in-law build shelves for her closet; that was a new experience) but I did see some beautiful art while in DC.

This was at the World War II Memorial:

This is a floor at the Library of Congress:

The Jefferson Building is just amazing.

I had to take a picture of this painting since it's on the LOC Authorities site:

Quilter's Corner

2011-07-30T07:15:00.000-05:00

While visiting North Carolina, I spent a few days with Amanda, famous here for her awesome Christmas ornaments. She and Chris welcomed me to their guest room with this personalized chalk board.

They attached the loopy side of Velcro around the edge so they can customize the board to the guest.

They also had a nifty sewing table in the room, and I just had to take a picture since I have a Singer as well, but the table is not this cool.

Map Bunting

2011-07-17T07:05:00.068-05:00

I keep seeing bunting tutorials all over the place. It seems a bit excessive for something so simple, and I never thought I'd have a use for bunting. However, there is a lot of empty wall space in my office and it occurred to me that bunting would be a good space filler. Most tutorials are for fabric bunting, but I decided that I didn't want to bother with fabric for work. So I pulled out my Mod Podge and my abundant stack of maps, raided the recycling bin for cereal boxes, and got to work.

I needed to cover a 10' wall so it's too long to get a picture of the whole thing. I used 5 flags for every 2'.

I put buttons on the ends:

My favorite:

I'm glad Traverse City didn't end up upside down. You can even see Glen Arbor and Leelanau! The eyelet covered up the Homestead. However, the eyelets make a huge difference. They look so much more polished.

Each flag is 3" across the top and 3.75" high. I got 12 flags from the front and back of each cereal box. I used maps of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Virginia, but I didn't need that many so Virginia got dropped because it did not quite match the other two. Since I Mod Podged the maps and then cut the flags apart to save time instead of doing them individually, some of the maps ended up upside down, but the writing is pretty small on most of them so you can't really tell from a distance.

Clothes Pin Quilt Hangers

2011-07-16T08:30:00.001-05:00

I decided all my mini quilts needed clothes pin quilt hangers. I used smaller 2" clothes pins for the mini quilts. No gluing required for the smaller versions; you can just clip a 1/8" dowel in the upper hole of the clothes pin.

Pretty Paper Balls

2011-07-10T07:25:00.000-05:00

I saw this polyhedron tutorial and thought these would be another ideal decoration for my office. The balls are connected by embroidery floss and will hang from the light fixtures in my office. The larger one is made from 3" circles and is approximately 5.5" in diameter. The smaller one is made from 2" circles and about 3.5" in diameter. I used 2 sheets of 12"x12" scrapbook paper and connected them with mounting squares. Cutting out circles is tedious, but they didn't take very long to put together. I absolutely love this paper! However, the tutorial does say to use lightweight cardboard. I probably should have at least used card stock, but that wouldn't have been nearly as pretty. I do hope they don't fall apart.

Sprucing Up My Machine

2011-07-09T09:45:00.001-05:00

Before:

After:

My machine is old. The foam on either side of thread holder was disintegrating. I decided to replace it with green felt so it would look nicer and stop shedding.

Flag Cards

2011-07-03T07:30:00.001-05:00

These are the cards I made for the grandparents for the fourth of July. Happy 4th!

Money Magnets

2011-07-02T09:40:00.002-05:00

Now if they would only actually attract money! I have a couple handfuls of foreign coins from countries I have never visited. They have been sitting in my jewelry box, and now they are spread out on my dresser as I brainstorm and solicit ideas for what to do with them. My sister suggested magnets, which is a great idea since I love magnets and some of the coins are already magnetic. However, I already have far too many magnets so I still have a lot of coins to repurpose.

Mini Rainbow

2011-06-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's so cute and tiny! These are scraps from my radial rainbow mini quilt. I was going to use them for the back of the quilt, but when I came up with a better idea, I still wanted to use them.

Finished size: 8" x 3"

New Fabric

2011-06-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

These three yards can make up for the three cuts I just got rid of. The green was purchased with the hope that one day I will have enough greens that some will actually coordinate with each other. The blue fills a color hole in my stash, which was very noticeable after my rainbow mini quilts. The teal will be a nice tone on tone coordinator. Yay for the clearance rack at Joann's being 50% off. I knew the price of cotton was extraordinarily high, but I haven't bought any fabric that wasn't on the clearance rack since the shark quilt and I just haven't been at Joann's much in general, so this was the first trip I'd noticed that all my trusty $3.99 fabrics are now $5.99 a yard. That's quite a jump. A 40% coupon doesn't make as much of a dent. I'll be sewing out of my stash as much as possible and continuing to rely on the clearance rack.

Tiny Crazy Nine Patch Blocks

2011-06-19T07:30:00.003-05:00

Apparently I've had enough deconstruction lately. I finally brainstormed an idea for turning my orange crazy nine patch blocks into a quilt top. I made 18 3.5" blocks which will be used for the top and on the back.

Cozy Kitty Quilt

2011-06-13T16:00:00.002-05:00

Julie sent me some new pictures of Tyco and Cleo enjoying the quilt I made for her:

Cleo is quite comfy.

ETA - Tyco did not agree with the decision to put the quilt away:

Butterfly Wall Art

2011-06-12T07:00:00.013-05:00

Another decoration for my office. I decided I needed something more colorful to complement the owls. This one also has a bit of sparkle. I added some gold glitter glue to coordinate with the butterfly. It's only 9.5" square, so I still have quite a bit of wall space to fill.

Camera Case

2011-06-11T08:00:00.006-05:00

I decided I wanted a less bulky camera case for my travels this summer. Since it's for traveling, I thought this airplane fabric was appropriate, and colorful! This is the first padded pouch I've made. Each side has two layers of cotton batting, so it was a bit difficult to turn, but it should cushion the camera nicely.

It's considerably slimmer than the other case:

Radial Rainbow Mini Quilt

2011-06-05T06:15:00.085-05:00

I got the image for this quilt in my head while working on rainbow mini quilts #1 and #2.

I am amazed at how well it turned out. I was very afraid the intersections wouldn't line up at all. It turned out exactly like I imagined it:

It wasn't until after I had finished it that it occurred to me to add some color to the corners, but by then I was nearly out of these scraps anyway. I considered cutting it into an octagon instead of a square but decided not to.

I finished the front but then could not decide what to do on the back that would be suitably match the front. Three weeks later, the solution popped into my head:

I would have liked a nice scrappy and colorful border, but I used up the very last of the purple on the back. The purple square is actually pieced from a longer, narrower scrap.That's the risk of working with scraps.

It was so pretty I just had to take some in progress pictures:

How I assembled it:

Ta da!

Mod Podge Book Art

2011-05-29T07:00:00.025-05:00

Our new library director created a new department, so we've been moving offices at work. I am part of the new department, and as it turns out, the new department is going to be located in my current office. My old department is moving down a floor, and they took all the decorations with them! The walls were completely bare. Based on their current offices, I didn't think my new office mates would have much to contribute in the way of wall decorations. Fortunately, while recently decluttering the apartment, I had come across two 8.5 x 16" metal posters I had stashed in the back of a bookshelf. I was going to donate them but decided they would be recycled into office decorations. Conveniently, we are also weeding quite a few books to make room for the relocation of my old department, so I grabbed one from the recycling pile.

I decided an owl would be a cute and appropriately bookish graphic to complement the book pages. I had never used Mod Podge before except for the small bottle of Puzzle Saver I used for my scissor holder because I happened to have it on hand. I ended up using half an 8 oz. jar. First I watched the tutorial videos at Mod Podge Rocks, which were very helpful. I used matte Mod Podge and am very pleased with the results.

Destashing

2011-05-28T08:50:00.016-05:00

Continuing my crafty cleaning, I am getting rid of some fabric. This is a big step for me, but these three are not conducive to quilting, so why should I keep them when they could be of more use to someone else? The bottom one isn't cotton. I don't even know where the top one came from. The middle one was given to me by my sister after she was done with it. I used some of it to make the lunch bag I used before I made my new lobster lunch tote. It's pretty, but it is comprised of squares sewn together - which is how it was purchased off the bolt - so it's a little odd. They are going in the donation box, along with two skeins of orange yarn I bought thinking I'd make Zack a scarf, but he doesn't like scarves and I don't crochet that much.

Tea Cards

2011-05-22T07:30:00.002-05:00

Mother's Day and my mom's birthday are both in May. These are the cards I made for her this year using a cute little tea pot graphic I cut out of a bookmark and some coordinating stickers:

Shamrock Rainbow Mini Quilt

2011-05-15T06:50:00.010-05:00

This was the first of two scrap fabric rainbow projects I started over Easter weekend. I couldn't decide how to quilt this one, so the second project got finished first. A couple weeks ago I had run across this shamrock fabric remnant while organizing my fabric scraps. It was originally used for a St. Patrick's Day ornament for my grandma, and it lends itself well to rainbows. The back is just plain green and it's only quilted along the top and bottom of the rainbow strip.

Close up of the sparkly shamrock button:

Finished size: 10.25" square

Bird Pot Holders

2011-05-08T06:45:00.005-05:00

When I made pot holder s for Julie, I decided to use up the batting to make some for my mom too. I used the same fabrics that I used for her mug rug.

Rainbow Mini Quilt

2011-05-02T06:30:00.001-05:00

This is actually the second scrap fabric rainbow project I started over Easter weekend.

I kind of like the back more. It's not as busy.

Finished size: 6.5" square

Free Motion Foot

2011-05-01T08:24:00.001-05:00

I never thought I could do free motion quilting because I can't lower the feed dogs on my machine. Earlier this year (yes, I've had this machine for 15 years) I discovered I had a raised plate that covered the feed dogs (not pictured here), so in March I ordered a free motion foot. A month later it finally arrived. Zack picked it up for me and when I got home, he had taken apart the pedal of my machine and was trying to figure out where it belonged. I nearly had a heart attack. I told him where it actually belonged and we tried to put it on, but we couldn't figure out how to attach it (I doesn't help that I don't have a manual for my machine). I took it back figuring it was the wrong foot, but the guy at the store called and said it was the right one and to bring in my machine, so I went back and he put it on for me.

Yesterday I finally made my first attempt at free motion quilting:

It's a bit of a mess. Clearly, I need more practice; especially on controlling my stitch length.

This flower turned out nicely, though with this much quilting you can hardly tell there's any batting:

I also took this opportunity to use up left over bobbins, and I had a brilliant brain storm for keeping them organized:

It fits nicely in the drawer of my sewing table and now I don't have to dig through a pile of bobbins trying to find an empty one. I knew saving film canisters would come in handy!

Birthday Fabric

2011-04-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

For my birthday, my favorite aunt sent me a package full of fun surprises including sewing supplies!

The fabric on the left will be perfect for my rainbow project:

I was most excited about these awesome pins:

I previously owned no decorative pins, and I had no idea they came in so many cute shapes! You can see them modeled on my new pin cushion!

Sewing Accessories

2011-04-21T07:20:00.006-05:00

Whenever I am quilting, my scissors always end up on the floor, so I've been wanting to make a holder for my scissors for the side of my sewing machine table for a while now. When Amanda sent my birthday present wrapped in a little metal candy tin, I immediately knew it would be my repurposed scissor holder. I used Mod Podge Puzzler Saver, which I conveniently had on hand though I've never used it, to cover it in a scrap of fabric and then glued on the ribbon to finish the edges. It then occurred to me that I could avoid the same problem with my pin cushion by making a flatter one to attach to the side of the sewing machine table. Fortunately I had a conveniently shaped tin on hand for such a project, along with coordinating ribbon and fabric!

They don't stick out very far:

Beer Bread Experiments

2011-04-10T07:15:00.005-05:00

In 2009, I had my first taste of beer bread, and it was delicious! It was a Tastefully Simple mix. I had never heard of Tastefully Simple. Earlier this year, one of my co-workers invited me to her Tastefully Simply party and I knew I needed to get some of the beer bread mix. In the mean time, someone had emailed a beer bread recipe to one of the listservs I'm on, so I decided to see how it compared, since it would be nice to have a more cost effective substitute. Then I came across a recipe online for a two ingredient beer bread so I decided I'd try that too. Over the last month I've baked (and eaten!) a lot of bread!

This is one of the Tastefully Simple loaves:

This produced the nicest loaf shape. It was the sweetest and had the softest crust.

These are the beer and self-rising flour loaves:

This recipe produced a salty loaf with crusty crust.

This recipe uses regular flour, baking powder, and brown sugar:

These loaves were also crusty, but had a sweeter taste due to the brown sugar. If I had read this recipe more closely before I tried the self-rising flour, I think I would have tried adding brown sugar to that recipe. I'm out of beer now, but if I make more bread I will use the self-rising flour with brown sugar simply because I have no other use for self-rising flour at the moment.

Basketball Cake Balls

2011-04-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

One of my friends made a version of these Bakerella cake balls a while back and I decided they would be perfect to turn into mini basketballs for the NCAA championship game tonight. UNC is out, so I don't really care about the tournament anymore, but I decided to make the balls anyway since we needed to have treats for the new person who started in our department at work today. They do not look particularly attractive. Here's a close up of one of the tidier ones:

The recipe yielded 47 balls and my bag of orange candy melts covered 21 balls. The bag probably would have covered 1-2 more, but I over microwaved the first batch and burned it. I was going to cover the rest in regular chocolate, but we taste-tested the 2 badly covered ones and decided they were not that tasty, so I decided it wasn't worth the effort and threw out the rest. Of course, we don't really like cake. Fortunately, everyone one at work who tried them thought they were tasty. After considerable research on my options, I used brownie topping to create the lines. My primary consideration was that it dried solidly so I could transport them to work easily.

Shark Quilt

2011-03-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

My third baby boy quilt! I have been wanting to use this quilt design for awhile, but I'd had difficulty finding fabric to make it work. I was thrilled to find this cute shark print. Black seems a bit unconventional for a baby quilt, but I really like the color combination.

Finished size: 39" x 51"

Tidying Up

2011-03-26T08:45:00.001-05:00

Since early this year, I've been on a cleaning binge. Of course, I'm not sure you can call it a binge if it's most of the time. I really like to clean, de-clutter, and organize. In a two bedroom apartment, I tend to quickly run out of places to organize; however, one area that tends to get avoided is the craft area, because I am such a hoarder when it comes to things that might one day be useful for a project. I've recently been trying to remedy that, and I have been evaluating and reorganizing how I store supplies and tossing useless bits and pieces that I've kept out of habit.

Between the sewing machine, ironing board, and craft desk, my crafting space takes up about 3/4 of the second bedroom, with the other quarter being the computer desk. When I'm working on multiple projects at one time, I tend to run out of room to put them and still have space to work. I tried to remedy that by hanging these little wall baskets for corralling small projects in progress:

(The mice have since been completed.)

(These fabrics have been sitting out for a year now, so I'm not sure they qualify

as a project anymore and probably should just be put back in the stash.)

I also made some paper baskets to corral little pieces:

(The cranes have since been added to the crane mobile.)

One area I struggle with is getting rid of items I've made. Frequently I can't put my finger on why I don't want to part with a meaningless item. In some cases, just having made it seems to gives it sentimental value it wouldn't otherwise have. I don't want to want it, but yet I'm not ready to let it go. That, however, is not always the case. Some projects get tossed easily and, if it's worth the effort, I often have no problem taking apart projects for parts. For the rest, I've resigned myself to waiting until I'm ready to part with them.

Cupcake Experiments

2011-03-20T09:48:00.001-05:00

I don't usually count baking among my crafty endeavors, but these cupcakes were just too pretty not to post!

It's not uncommon for craft bloggers to post about food though. Inspired by this post about a rainbow and unicorn birthday party, these cupcakes were an experiment to see whether I could achieve the vibrant colors of the cake. (My birthday's coming up and I already have unicorn fabric!) The cupcakes are pretty, but not nearly as bright as the cake. I ultimately decided it was not worth the effort to try again since neither Zack nor I are big fans of cake.

Since I was on a roll, I also made cupcakes that look like they are topped with spaghetti and meatballs because they were just too cute! No pictures of those because I had to pack them to take to work. I used Milk Duds for the meatballs. Everyone thought they were cherries, but I thought they made good meatballs.

Lobster Lunch Tote

2011-03-13T07:00:00.003-05:00

I needed a new bag for taking my lunch to work. While cleaning out the closet after reorganizing my fabric, I found this lobster bag, given to me by my high school German teachers. It needed a bit of refurbishing to serve as an appropriate work bag. It was too flat, and the handles were too skinny. I lined it with canvas to make it sturdier, gave it a boxier bottom, and added the handles from my old lunch bag. Yay! I love recycling things I love but don't use into things I will use.

Finished size: 4" x 10" x 12"

Folding Fabric

2011-03-12T07:00:00.002-06:00

I had a minor fabric disaster. The hanging closet organizer I use to store my fabric ripped. Instead of removing the fabric first, I tried to take the whole thing down with the fabric in it. Naturally, all the fabric fell out in the process. I purchased a new organizer in the same style, but the new one is fabric instead of plastic, so hopefully it won't rip. It is not my ideal way to store fabric, since the weight of the fabric makes the shelves sag, but it works well for the space I have. I spent a lot of time refolding fabric so it would fit in two columns, but I was even able to fit in some additional fabric.

Pocket Pot Holder

2011-03-06T07:20:00.003-06:00

I love this design so much, I almost didn't want to send it to my sister. This brown fabric is also a leftover piece from her quilt, and I used the green fabric that she really liked but that got nixed from the final palette.

I really love the back too, which has a pocket. I like the quilted flower in the corner.

Finished size: 6.5" x 8"

Floral Pot Holders

2011-03-05T07:35:00.006-06:00

These leftovers from Julie's quilt were just the perfect size for pot holders, and I knew I wouldn't want to cut them up any smaller. I used two layers of cotton batting leftover from the one quilt I used it in. I backed them with two fabrics she vetoed for the quilt, though I hope she doesn't dislike them too much because the browns are just perfect for disguising any food spills.

I put little hanging loops on these. I never hang my pot holders, but these are pretty enough to display.

Finished size: 7" x 7"

Kitties on a Quilt

2011-03-04T16:15:00.001-06:00

Julie also sent pictures of Tyco and Cleo enjoying her quilt:

Cleo, on Julie's lap, on the quilt

Tyco

Tyco hogging all the blankies. "King of the blanket pile" according to Julie.

She said one night Tyco wouldn't come up on her lap until she put the quilt on her lap
instead of the other blanket.

More Mice

2011-03-04T16:00:00.001-06:00

I made a second set of mice as toys for Tyco and Cleo, using a pattern with some adjustments. They are not quite as cute as the first pair.

Here are the kitties enjoying their new toys:

Cleo Tyco

Picnic Quilt

2011-02-27T07:00:00.001-06:00

After much fabric deliberation, Julie's quilt is finally finished! This one is for her and Todd, not the cats. It's the second one I've made with Moda's Avignon Picnic pattern, though I made my own adjustments since this one involved no jelly rolls. I really liked the first version, but I also really like this brighter color palette.

I did a different design for the back on this one:

Finished size: 39" x 59"

February Birthdays

2011-02-26T07:00:00.001-06:00

February is a popular birthday month! My husband, aunt, and three of my close friends all have February birthdays, so I have a major birthday card session in January. I made only one design this year, with a slight variation. They're much more vibrant than last year's designs.

Black paper behind the greeting:

Red paper behind the greeting:

The blue is not part of the card, just the fabric on which they're laying for the photographs.

Hexagon Mug Rug

2011-02-20T07:00:00.005-06:00

This mug rug is for my aunt, the same one who just received a birthday quilt. I actually used left over blue fabric from her quilt. She sent a picture of a navy mug with white lettering, saying "Pistons." Since I didn't want to do a basketball theme, I needed fabric that would work well with blue and white. The striped fabric was also used in quilt block #10.

Finished size: 7.25" x 10"

Sparkly S Magnet

2011-02-19T09:00:00.002-06:00

This little rhinestone S came off a sweater I accidentally shrunk, the same one I cut it up to create sock owl #2. Since my name starts with S, I turned it into a magnet. First I glued glitter to the edge of a bottle cap. Then I wrapped the S around a little metal disc and glued it into the bottle cap. Now there is glitter all over the house!

Heart Mug Rug

2011-02-13T07:00:00.002-06:00

This mug rug is for Amanda. She couldn't send a picture, but she described her mug as "cream with pink hearts that look like they're stamped on." The "stamped on" look was going to be a problem to re-create with fabric, so I settled for some appliqued hearts instead. Fortunately, I do not lack for pink fabric. Three hadn't been used yet, but one was used in both my bento box quilt and my pink and orange quilt while the other is from my and Melissa's pink and green quilt. There's one tiny scrap on the back from my pink star quilt. I absolutely love the scripty beige fabric and it is absolutely perfect since Amanda is my pen pal! It was recovered from the deconstruction of my cat quilt.

Finished size: 7" x 9.75"

Bird Mug Rug

2011-02-06T07:05:00.001-06:00

This mug rug is for my mom. I really love this design, which is fairly reversible. It incorporates three of the fabrics I used in the blue crazy nine patch quilt.

I actually did this side second and it became the front since I liked it more:

I did this side first, thinking it was going to be the front:

I think a border of dark blue around the bird print would have looked nice, but I didn't want it to get any larger.

Finished size: 7.5" x 10"

The Mug Rug Project

2011-02-06T07:00:00.001-06:00

Last October, I asked my mom, sister, aunt, and pen pal to send me pictures of their favorite mug. I planned to make them all mug rugs. I had seen mug rugs popping up all over Flickr. According to the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap Flickr group, a mug rug is "an oversized coaster for your mug or glass or cup and has room for a cookie on the side! It can be any shape or size." My goal was to make a mug rug to match their mug using only fabric from my stash. This turned out to be an interesting challenge since I didn't know what they'd send.

Clemson Clothes

2011-02-05T16:56:00.000-06:00

Zack likes orange, so my parents sent him an orange sweatshirt for Christmas. However, since my dad bought it, it fits me better than Zack. I decided to convert it to a Clemson sweatshirt by adding iron on letters:

I also updated this converted fleece:

It really needed a zipper to make it useful, but sewing through the zipper and the orange bias tape was not working, so I got rid of the bias tape. Now that it zips, I will actually wear it.

Blue Crazy Nine Patch

2011-01-30T07:30:00.002-06:00

This was my last quilt of 2010. I finished it on New Year's Eve. I made two sets of crazy nine patch blocks in January of 2010 and have only finished one quilt so far. This one is a surprise birthday present for my aunt.

This is one of my favorite quilt backs so far because of how nice the quilting looks.

Finished size: 39" x 54"

Baby Bag

2011-01-29T07:30:00.003-06:00

I bought some baby gifts at Target for a co-worker, but I neglected to buy any gift packaging. I decided I wasn't going back to Target, so those baby boy fabrics I bought before Christmas came in handy. Fortunately I had some coordinating fabric and trim on hand.

Finished size: 8" x 8" x 8.5" tall

Scrappy Mini

2011-01-23T07:15:00.000-06:00

I pulled out scraps of these fabrics awhile ago for a mini project. I was pleased that I found scraps of them all. I wanted to combine these particular fabrics because they show up in this combination in my scrap quilt, and I really like them. They just make me happy.

This is why I don't hand quilt anything:

Finished size: 3.75" square

Avignon Picnic Blocks

2011-01-22T06:45:00.000-06:00

I am making another of Moda's Avignon Picnic quilt. The last one I made I only used one jelly roll instead of two. This time I'm not using any jelly rolls. While you lose the advantage of quick strip piecing with this method, you gain the advantage of not having a lot of seams in the solid fabrics. You still use 2.5" strips.

Here's how to piece the blocks if you are using only one or no jelly rolls:

Then you lay them out in alternating rows like this:

For my lap-size layout, I made twelve blocks with white centers and six blocks with white borders (plus four half blocks).

Pin Cushion Cat Toys

2011-01-16T07:30:00.005-06:00

Tyco and Cleo needed some toys. I came across this tutorial for these mice pin cushions you can wear on your finger and thought they would be perfect.

ETA - Tyco enjoying the pink mouse:

Julie's Quilt Progress

2011-01-15T07:30:00.007-06:00

Julie sent me fabric so I could make her a quilt like the one I made for dad. She got a bit overwhelmed by Joann's though, so while she sent enough fabric, she didn't send enough different fabrics for the pattern. Thus we began a long process of me selecting coordinating fabrics I thought she might like and sending pictures for her approval. I'm glad I did because her choices surprised me.

I pulled these three from my stash, the blue and green from quilt block #46:

I picked up these at Joann's:

And we ended up with this:

Not all fabrics are represented equally, but here's the first set of blocks:

Goodbye Old Iron, Hello New Iron

2011-01-08T07:05:00.008-06:00

My iron died. It was ten years old and needed to be replaced anyway, as it was getting kind of gunky.

The heating coil broke and I burned my ironing board cover, which also really needed to be replaced because the foam padding was shifting and worn out. Fortunately, it did not ruin any fabric.

I really loved my ironing board cover. It had stars on it.

I got a new iron and ironing board cover. They match.

Travel Pouch

2011-01-01T07:05:00.001-06:00

After visiting my sister for Thanksgiving, my mom requested a bag she could use to keep track of her phone charger and camera cord while traveling. She wanted something bright she could spot easily in her larger bag. This is what I made her:

I love the colors. She chose the floral fabric from my stash, and I also had the orange for the liner. I was going to get an orange zipper, but they didn't have one in the right length, and I'm really glad I ended up with the blue instead.

I happened to have the ribbons, felt, button, and beads already. I couldn't believe how many coordinating accents I had on hand.

It's about 8" x 10" x 2" on the bottom.

Sparkly Star Yo-Yo Ornament

2010-12-31T09:15:00.001-06:00

I tried to replicate the yo-yo ornaments using a star leftover from my ribbon tree instead of a rhinestone. The yo-yo is made from the sparkly fabric I used for the pink star quilt. While I love the sparkly star, I don't think the non-round shape in the center works quite as well. I probably should have tried to make a star-shaped yo-yo, but that did not occur to me. Or maybe it's the odd number of ribbon loops that throws it off.

Yo-Yo Ornament Tutorial

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2010

2010-12-30T15:55:00.007-06:00

This is the most amazing creation Amanda and Chris have come up with yet: a Christmas book cart made out of foam! One strand of bulbs even lights up! They went to a Christmas parade where one of the floats for the library had book carts. When Amanda told me about the book carts in the parade, I mentioned Unshelved's Pimp My Bookcart contest. Little did I know, this would inspire them to pimp a book cart for me for Christmas.

Tiny books on one shelf:

Tiny magazines on the other shelf:

It's going to work with me to join my rowdy librarian glasses.

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2010

2010-12-29T16:30:00.001-06:00

In addition to ribbon, Amanda really likes buttons. (Hmm, perhaps inspiration for next year's ornaments?) This little felt tree reminded me of the sequin tree ornaments I made last year, so I really should have thought of it myself and made one for her, but I'm sure I don't have quite the collection of buttons Amanda does.

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2010

2010-12-28T20:28:00.000-06:00

The tag on this ornament said "Merry Christmas...from your favorite article of clothing." I think it's so adorable that I want to keep it out all year even though it says "Merry Christmas."

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2010

2010-12-28T20:27:00.000-06:00

This year Amanda decided to re-read my letters to her for ornament inspiration. The tag on this ornament said "Because you mentioned it in ALMOST every letter." For awhile I was going to Joann's every weekend, so of course I had to relay my fabulous fabric finds! I love my mini bolt of fabric, and I think I'll keep it out all year.

Snowman Gift Tags

2010-12-26T07:45:00.001-06:00

These snowman scraps were too small for the cathedral window ornaments, so I glued them to little cardboard circles for gift tags.

Reindeer Rootbeer

2010-12-24T07:30:00.000-06:00

It's a root deer! Ha! One of my coworkers brought these in for everyone. I just had to laugh they were so cute! I'd never seen this idea before, and then they showed up on One Pretty Thing. It's a great office gift idea because they're so easy to make - just pipe cleaner, googly eyes, pom poms, glue, and bottles of root beer. Fortunately we happened to have a little vanilla ice cream on hand so we enjoyed a root deer float! Merry Christmas!

Ornaments for Julie

2010-12-21T16:00:00.005-06:00

I made these ornaments for my sister in 2008. Two years later she finally sent me pictures, since these were pre-blog ornaments.

She had two Christmas trees and one had a red and gold theme. The orange and blue ornament is for the other tree. She loves the Tigers, so she really likes orange and blue.

Try making one yourself with this tutorial.

Christmas Stars

2010-12-19T07:00:00.006-06:00

I've made felt versions of these stars, but this is the actual method suggested in the tutorial. I used fabric leftover from my tree skirt, which I also used for ornaments in 2008.

Felt Christmas Stars

2010-12-18T07:00:00.003-06:00

More felt stars! These are just so cute and easy! I modified this tutorial. I am sending a couple to a friend for her son and daughter and I embellished them further by adding their names in gold glitter glue.

3D Ribbon Tree

2010-12-12T07:00:00.024-06:00

This is by far my favorite ornament this year. It doesn't hang though, so I suppose it's more of a decoration than an ornament, but it's still adorable. I am very pleased with how it turned out. My original plan was to use a styrofoam cone as the base, and just pin the ribbons on. However, when I went to the store to buy one, I discovered that the styrofoam cones were flat on top instead of pointy. I could have worked with this if the cones were smaller, but they weren't narrow enough. So on to plan B. The base of this tree is felt. I stitched a little tree form and stuffed it. Then I took folded 2" lengths of ribbon and stitched them around the base of the tree, working my way up. I used a soda can to create the base of the tree topper. It is 4.75" with the star.

Woven Ribbon Tree

2010-12-11T07:11:00.004-06:00

Oddly enough, I got the idea for this ornament from a belt. The back is felt. I sewed the vertical green ribbons to the felt at the base of the tree and then sewed up the sides once I'd woven the horizontal ribbons through. The ribbon along the edge is hot glued down.

Cathedral Window Snowmen

2010-12-05T06:45:00.002-06:00

I made six of these little cathedral window snowmen.

Make some for your tree with the Cathedral Window Ornament Tutorial.

Ribbon Wreath

2010-12-04T07:05:00.004-06:00

A slight variation on the ribbon and rhinestone ornaments.

Learn how to bunch ribbon with this tutorial.

Ribbon Bunching Tutorial

2010-12-02T16:00:00.030-06:00

To bunch ribbon like I did for the ribbon and rhinestone ornaments, you will need a ribbon, needle, thread, and scissors. Use your preferred method to keep the ends of the ribbon from fraying. I melted the ends of my ribbon instead of using Fray Check or nail polish and really liked the results.

Tie your thread to the edge of the ribbon to stop the knot from being pulled through the ribbon when bunching, then use a running stitch to sew from one edge of the ribbon to the other on an angle. This creates a zig zag down the ribbon as seen here:

The above picture is just for the big picture. Don't wait till the end of the ribbon to start bunching. Start bunching after you've sewn a few zig zags. This makes it easier to bunch.

When you get to the end, pull it tight and again tie your thread to the edge of the ribbon. If you are creating a circle, stitch the two ends together. Once you have a circle, you can glue on your embellishments, similar to the construction of the yo-yo ornaments.

This was 11" of ribbon that was 1.5" wide and it produced a 2.5" bunch.

To create a rhinestone ornament, you will need:

24" of 1" wide ribbon
3 4" pieces of 1/4" wide ribbon
1 6" of 1/8" wide ribbon
1 20mm rhinestone
Needle and thread
Scissors
Hot glue gun

Step 1: Using your 24" piece of ribbon, create a ribbon bunch as shown above, joining the two ends to form a circle.

Step 2: Using the 3 4" pieces of ribbon, create the ribbon wreath as show in steps 2-5 of the yo-yo ornament tutorial, looping each piece of ribbon like this:

Attach the 6" piece of ribbon to the back of the wreath.

Step 3: Apply glue to the center of the rhinestone and attach to the top of the ribbon wreath. Apply glue to the bottom of the ribbon wreath and attach the bunched ribbon.

Yo-Yo Ornament Tutorial

2010-11-30T15:50:00.013-06:00

Here's the ornament we'll be making today:

It's so easy it barely requires instructions, but it's always nice to have measurements instead of messing around figuring them out yourself.

Materials:

1 yo-yo (yo-yo making instructions) - I started with a 5" circle to end up with a 2.5" yo-yo
3 5.25" lengths of 3/8" wide ribbon
6" of 1/8" ribbon
1 20mm rhinestone
Needle and thread
Scissors and pen
Hot glue gun

Step 1: Make a yo-yo and assemble materials.

Step 2: Create your first loop with one of the 5.25" ribbons. Each loop should be about 1/4" smaller than the yo-yo. Since this yo-yo was 2.5", the ribbon loops are 2.25" when folded. The ends of the ribbon are the back of the loop. Leave a tail of thread for knotting later. This photo is just to show how the ribbon is folded and sewn; the actual loop should be pulled tight.

You can also loop your ribbon this way instead:

This works best for thinner ribbon.

Step 3: Create your second loop and anchor it to the first.

Step 4: Add the last loop.

Step 5: Use the 1/8" ribbon to create a loop from which to hang the ornament. Stitch it to the back of the loops and knot your thread.

Step 6: Hot glue everything together. I'm not talented enough to photograph while working with quick-setting glue, so I don't have pictures of this. Add glue to just the center of the back of your ribbon loops and attach it to the center of the yo-yo. Then add glue to the back of the rhinestone and attach to the center of the ribbon loops. Ta-da! You're done.

Related tutorial:
Ribbon Bunching

Also featured at One Pretty Thing.

Ribbon Snowflakes

2010-11-28T07:18:00.003-06:00

I decided to make some Carolina blue ornaments for Amanda and myself. Conveniently, Carolina blue has a nice snowy feel about it when combined with silver. I added mirrors to the backs of these ornaments to stabilize them and used sparkly puffy paint to add a snowflake.

Try making one yourself with this tutorial.

Similar ornaments:
Ribbon and Rhinstone
Yo-Yo Ornament

Ribbons and Rhinestones

2010-11-27T07:10:00.003-06:00

It quickly became apparent that this year my theme for Amanda's ornaments would be ribbon.

Try making one yourself with this tutorial.

Similar ornaments:
Ribbon Snowflakes
Yo-Yo Ornament

Thanksgiving Cards

2010-11-25T07:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I was thrilled when I found these stickers back in October. They have foam backings so they are slightly raised. The top two cards are my favorites. I like these a lot, but my leaf design from 2008 is still my favorite.

Peppermint Yo-Yos

2010-11-21T07:10:00.013-06:00

It's Thanksgiving week, so I'm kicking off the 2010 Christmas Ornament Showcase with one of my favorite designs this year! These ornaments were rather impromptu creations. I was toying with the idea of yo-yos for a different design when I was inspired to use ribbon and rhinestones instead. I love the way they turned out! I would happily mass-produce these, except I can't find packs of only red rhinestones in this size.

Try making one yourself with this tutorial.

Similar ornaments:
Ribbon and Rhinestone
Ribbon Snowflakes

Julie's Quilt Fabric

2010-11-20T13:59:00.000-06:00

This is the fat quarter bundle Julie picked out for the quilt she requested using the jelly roll quilt pattern.

Envelope Art

2010-11-14T07:27:00.002-06:00

I cut these images out of a magazine, figuring I could use them for cards. I decided to put the taxi on a road when I was inspired to add the security envelope, which just happened to have arrived that day. After that inspiration, I decided to incorporate security envelope designs with the other images as well. I had the second design on hand as well, but the blue I had to wait on till later in the week.

My favorite:

Quilt Request

2010-11-09T18:28:00.000-06:00

My sister liked the quilt I sent my dad so much, she wanted me to make one for her. Since I got the jelly roll I used on clearance, I wasn't going to be able to use the same fabrics. I told her to pick out some fabric and I make her a quilt with the same pattern. Pictured above with Tyco is the fabric she's sending.

Water Bottle Tote

2010-11-07T07:40:00.031-06:00

I made a tote so my water bottle would be easier to carry. I decided to construct it out of a canvas bag I'd purchased before the reusable shopping bag trend but never used because its shape made it less than ideal as a shopping tote. The best part was I just cut the bag straight down the seam and I didn't even have to detach the handles - when I formed the tube they were perfectly placed. I lined it with the pink fabric left over from the bento box and pink and orange quilts.

Pen Pal Card

2010-11-06T07:30:00.002-05:00

I write to Amanda pretty much every week. I try to send interesting cards or stationery, but they don't always end up being as cute as this:

Jelly Roll Quilt

2010-10-30T07:24:00.005-05:00

This quilt was an experiment in washing. I always pre-wash my fabric. However, in this case, I ran into a problem. Some of the fabric had already been pre-washed, but I wasn't about to wash the jelly roll strips. I also don't wash quilts before giving them away, but I thought it would be wise in this case since I wasn't sure how the final product would come out of the wash. Overall, I am pleased with the results.

Before Washing

After Washing

Before Washing

After Washing

This quilt went to my dad. It's not really dad-sized, but it's a nice guy color theme. Plus, I sent one to my mom and made one for her cat, so I figured he deserved one too!

The pattern is a Moda's Avignon Picnic.

The quilt top
Jelly roll post #2
Jelly roll post #1

Finished size: 39"x58"

Owl Key Chain Holder

2010-10-23T06:31:00.012-05:00

I saw this project on Craft Passion (where I also found the turtle). Since Amanda enjoyed making the owl so much when she was here, I wanted to make one of these for her birthday. It's as close to Carolina blue as I could get.

Re-Quilting

2010-10-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

I decided my blue and yellow star quilt needed some more quilting. When I originally quilted it, I only quilted around the stars, which is not much quilting for a twin size quilt. I don't use it much, but I decided if I ever needed to wash it or wanted to give it away, it would need a little more stability. I quilted an inch inside the stars and an inch outside the stars. I did the same thing in the columns along the sides, along with quilting around the whole edge of the quilt. It would have been nice to do some fancy star designs, but I am just not that patient.

Hello Kitty Bag

2010-10-10T06:20:00.033-05:00

This Hello Kitty bag is made from recycled underwear. Yes, underwear. I couldn't pass it up, but it was not a style I really liked, and as a TJ Maxx purchase, there weren't many size choices - plus, I'm not the greatest at estimating the size of my butt when it comes to unknown brands of underwear - so they didn't fit very well. I had the ribbon on hand and the lining fabric was from my stash, so it ended up being a very economical project since I had a 50% off coupon for the black fabric.

I added the Sanrio tag to the lining of the bag:

Finished size: 7" x 8.5" x 3"

Tiger Paw Tote

2010-10-09T07:20:00.004-05:00

A plain orange bag became a tiger paw tote with the help of a homemade stencil and some puffy paint. I first stenciled the tiger paw and then covered the stenciled area with a thicker layer of puffy paint. It's not exactly screen print quality, but it turned out pretty well. I was also pleased with how accurately my stencil came out since the real logo (below) has so many nooks and crannies. Zack says that's because the logo was created with an actual tiger's paw print.

Surprise Trip to Michaels

2010-10-03T06:30:00.006-05:00

Last week I had to travel for work to a city I'd never been to before. I had a busy conference schedule, so I didn't investigate what the city had to offer. When I arrived I spotted a Michaels! Fortunately I had time to stop in. Oh, how I've missed Michaels, particularly the dollar bins! I got a few packs of note cards, along with the items pictured above. Yay for Halloween! The orange bag will be getting a Clemson tiger paw logo and the stickers will be perfect for Thanksgiving cards.

Finished Tiger Paw tote

Jelly Roll Quilt Top

2010-10-02T06:27:00.001-05:00

I decided to use Moda's Avignon Picnic pattern with some alterations. I did not piece the blocks the same. Part of this was due to the fact that I did not use a jelly roll for the solid fabric, but also because my piecing method meant fewer seams. Despite my frustration with the jelly roll, I am really pleased with how this is coming along! The non-jelly roll fabrics blended right in. I even know how I'm going to quilt it. I just have to decided what to do about the back.

The finished project!

Pumpkin Pin Cushion

2010-09-26T06:30:00.004-05:00

I'm on a bit of a pumpkin kick. I found the tutorial via One Pretty Thing and thought, why not add to my pumpkin collection? I don't really need another pin cushion, but it will go nicely with my yo-yo pumpkin.

Patchwork Pumpkin

2010-09-18T06:35:00.005-05:00

Last weekend I discovered the tutorial for these stars, and, while browsing the rest of the blog, I saw a mini pumpkin quilt. I was inspired to make my own, and here is the result:

I just love cute little projects like this! Fortunately I do not lack for little orange scraps. It will go nicely with my little yo-yo pumpkin from last year. The leaf scraps are from my New Zealand bag.

Finished size: 8.5"x8.75"

Felt Star

2010-09-13T16:15:00.019-05:00

I saw a variation of these on Flickr, with a link to this tutorial. I immediately wanted to make some as Christmas ornaments using the snowman fabric, but I decided to try it first with felt. It's just a pentagon within a pentagon. I was debating just gluing down the orange, but I decided to embellish it a bit with stitches instead. Now, I think I might just make some more with felt!