Ornaments for Julie

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.

Kitty Ornament

My mom and sister love their cats, so last year I made them these kitty-themed ornaments. They're one of my favorite designs - I love the paw print fabric and the kitty button! Thanks again to mom and dad for sending a picture.

Try one yourself using this tutorial.

Christmas Ornament 2008

These are the Christmas-themed ornaments I made for my family members last year. Thanks to my parents for sending a picture since I didn't make one for myself. Instead of covering the seam with matching fabric as usual, I used gold ribbon on these. The buttons on the top are little red hearts. You can see the fabric a little better in the picture of my tree skirt.

Try one yourself using this tutorial.

Thanksgiving Cards

It's August and I need to start thinking about Christmas ornaments! So far I have one idea that is specific to one person, and one idea that I don't really want to replicate too many times. My mom wants several of the design I made last year for her friends. And then there's cards! This is the card I made for Thanksgiving last year. The green paper is left over from my wedding album; the brown is from my sister's. The leaf is not a die-cut; I cut them all out by hand! (I think I only sent 6 or so.)

Green Dragonfly

I made this for my mom last year and sent it off without taking a picture, so I rectified that while I was home last week.


I was working with leftovers from a larger project, so I had to piece the back, but I like the effect.

Indispensible Scarf

I am not the most talented crocheter - I can only do a basic stitch - but I still love this scarf even if it isn't fancy. The colors of this yarn are just so perfect, I can wear it nearly everything I own. It comes in handy at work when I'm not wearing a turtleneck. After my mom saw it, I also had to make one for her.

Fabulous Fleece Hat

When I found this fleece, I just had to buy it - I couldn't believe how perfect it was! With my recent move to the Cold North, I was in need of some new winter apparel and this color combination was a perfect match for all my coats: the black pea coat for not-so-cold weather, the long pink coat for when it's a bit colder, and the full-length poofy brown one for when it's ridiculously cold. Plus, it was on sale for $4/yd., and with half a yard I made the hat and a scarf! It's such a simple design though, that even if I'd had to make one for each coat, it wouldn't have taken very long at all!

Bats

I saw a pattern for knitting bats, but I don't know how to knit. They were just too cute to pass up, so I decided to make some up out of felt.

The Quilt Block Project

In the summer of 2008, I decided to start a new quilt. All my quilts so far feature repeating patterns, and I wanted to do something that would incorporate blocks of various designs. I found this fabulous multi-colored fabric on clearance at Joann's and bought the rest of the bolt (a little over 3 yards) to use for the back of the quilt because it would go so well with so many colors. I started out trying to make each block out of my stash, but quickly realized I would need to purchase at least some solid colored fabrics if I wanted to use up my scraps and have the blocks be color-coordinated. I originally planned to make 12-15 blocks, but quickly got carried away, so now I have enough for 2 quilts! Future posts will each feature a block, and you can also see them rotating in my Flickr badge.

Corduroy Bear

I really wanted to make a stuffed bear out of my old green corduroy pants. Unfortunately, his bean stuffing does not allow him to support his head in a sitting position, but I think he's really cute anyway.

Pin Cushion

Yet another project using the leftover baby quilt fabric. Since it's floral, I thought it worked well for flower petals. This flower is hot-glued into a tiny 1.5" ceramic pot. Unfortunately, attempts to take photographs of a side view did not turn out so well. I made this mostly because it was cute, but after completing it, I do not how I went so long without a pin cushion. It makes life a lot easier.

Baby Quilt Fabric

I made this ornament out of the leftover fabric I used for a quilt I made for the baby of one of my friends. Unfortunately, in my excitement to mail the quilt, I forgot to take a picture of it, but at least you can see the lovely fabric here.

Try it yourself with this tutorial.

They're Not Coasters

These are the flat folded star ornaments I made. Be careful, they are easily confused with coasters.

Penguins

I could not resist making several of these adorable penguins for the ornament exchange.

Orange Owl

Julie was kind enough to send me a picture of this owl I made her as part of the ornament exchange (conveniently she is keeping it up all year). Maybe seeing how cute it is will encourage me to finish the one I started for myself.

Snowflakes

I saw an Instructable about how to make impressive snowflakes by simply sketching a design on the paper before you cut. I must say I think this method produces lovely results! It does help to have a very sharp pair of scissors though.

Orange Dragonfly

When my mom saw the dragonfly quilt, she wanted one too. They are a lot of work, so I agreed to make her something smaller, and I sent her a pot holder. Then Julie saw my mom's and she wanted one too. This is the one I made for her.

Dragonfly Quilt

I was pleased to discover a quilt display when I went to the state fair this summer. I saw a dragonfly design using curved pieces, so when I got home I just had to figure out how to create one myself.

Finished size: 28"x42"

STAR Baby Quilt

In 2007 one of my STAR friends had a baby girl. I made this quilt for her 1st birthday. I had to go with a star theme since she's the first STAR baby.

Finished size: 35"x44"

Squirt Stars

I came across an online tutorial (via the Craftzine blog of course) for how to make these 3-D stars out of soda cans, so of course I had to try it with a can from my favorite soda. It's a good thing I don't drink a lot of soda or I'd have a whole garland out of these!