Sorry for being an absentee blogger - making Christmas gifts and baking cookies for various holiday functions and planning a 5 year old birthday party have gotten the better of me. Today I finished Moses' teacher's gifts and I am just thrilled with how they turned out. The inspiration for these came from the little plastic embroidery hoops I found at the craft store - aren't they cute? These were fast to make and just plain fun - I think I might be taking another trip to buy all the rest of those little red hoops.
All I have left to do is string them with a bit of vintage lace for hanging and affixing them to the requisite jar of goodies. What are you giving for teacher gifts this year?
Moses (after shrieking in fear): Mom! Titus is pretending to throw his fork at me and he has that IN-TROUBLE LOOK on his face!
We have had popcorn on the brain around here lately, because my dad just harvested his popcorn. Isn't it beautiful? Popcorn is a very low-stress crop because you basically grow it until it dies, then you let it sit and dry out in the field for a while, then hack down the stalks and bring it in. He grew about 8 different varieties, each one a different shape and color. There is black popcorn, pink popcorn, deep red, brown, silvery grey, and light yellow. I love it and so do my boys.
SO, yesterday I decided to do a Christmas project I've been wanting to do for a long time: make popcorn garlands. Very old-timey and economical, given how much popcorn we have laying around. I figured Moses is old enough now to wield a needle on his own, and my friend Jen gave me some lovely red and white twine, so I popped us up some popcorn (after burning the first batch, of course), and we set to work.
It is very hard to make a popcorn garland. I think one out of every ten piece went onto the string without exploding into a million tiny pieces of white fluff. Moses jabbed himself in the hand more times than I care to remember, and the whole project turned into a huge frustrating mess. After telling him I would finish the garland on my own, I managed to save the moment with a little butter and cinnamon sugar:
I think popcorn is much better eaten than strung on something and my boys seemed to agree - I think they each ate their weight in it. In summary: do not make a popcorn garland, either on your own or with your children. Now I know. :) (Thanks for the twine Jen!)
That's what Moses named this little guy, getting the name from his current favorite movie. This is my first attempt at making anything plush - I got the pattern from Bit of Whimsy Prims on etsy. I think he turned out pretty great for a first try, but since I am a perfectionist, we will be keeping this guy rather than gifting him as first intended. I wanted to try using this minky fabric for the body, and even though it was really slippery, it worked fine. However, I think he might look cuter if his head and body fabric match. I've already cut out the fabric for attempt #2 and hope to sew him up soon.
This is a seriously fun project - another great way to use up scrap fabric. I have so many Christmas projects going on right now that I can hardly decide what to work on. I'm finishing up two knitted gifts, need to baste the quilt I'm making for Titus, hope to make two of these foxes as well as a couple of dinosaurs... and then there are teacher gifts to figure out and BAKING. Sounds totally hectic, but I love it. Christmas is such a wonderful excuse to make things. How about you - are you making any gifts this year?
Around here we make Christmas lists. We are certainly not hung up on the "stuff" aspect of Christmas - I think everyone in my family would be just fine if we didn't receive any gifts at all. But since we do exchange gifts, and only one of us has small children, and only 2 of us are girls, my dad has begun requesting that we put together wish lists, and the whole thing has become a sort of Christmas tradition. It is actually becoming one of the parts of Christmas that I look forward to most, mainly because of how funny the lists are. My brothers, in particular, are very, um, honest about the things they want, and it is alway entertaining. After years of asking for nun-chuks for Christmas, Daniel has now branched out to wanting "waterproof pants that can be worn to class over pajamas," telescoping batons, and "shoe goo so I can patch the hole in my boot." Never mind asking for a new pair of boots... His wife, who he recently dragged to Illinois with him, has requested "anything that causes warmth." As I type this I am realizing that I might be the only person on earth who thinks this is funny, so I'm sorry if you are reading this waiting for the punch-line. Perhaps my other two brothers will submit their lists soon and there will be more things for me to laugh at... Happy Friday!
I really like making bunting - such a fun way to use up some of the millions of scraps that are taking over my sewing cabinet. This garland just got listed in the shop. It is a tad shorter than the other bunting banners in my shop because on the way from the ironing board to the sewing machine, I dropped one of the triangular penants into the sink. ew. and arg. It is still super cute, though, and a few dollars cheaper, which is always a good thing! I'm picturing this hanging in a little girl's room over her bed or across her doorway - so fun! I'm hoping to make more of these in the near future - or risk being buried alive in fabric scraps!
