more christmas presents

These I made because the boys were bugging me for something fast. So these are puffy scrap magnets courtesy of the Pink Penguin.

These are more scrap magnets. not stuffed though. just fabric sewn around the magnets. I used pinking shears around the edges of the red and white ones.

these are made from quilted scraps from the coffee cozies coming up.

sorry for the dark photos. it was late when i finished these.

coffee cozies courtesy of House on Hill Road. (Sorry for some reason I can't get this one to link up.)

super easy. fast. nice. think i will try to make a couple more before the big day. ones on the right are quilted using moda fabric strips. the backing fabric is from an old pair of jeans. the buttons are from last year's big mother-in-law present of a 100 buttons. the middle fabric is felt.

these are some more mama chic wristlets from JC Handmade, because I love them and wanted to make some more.

buttons from the stash. quilted fabric is moda strips. backing material is from an old denim shirt.

my boys made necklaces for their grandmas from the shrinky dinks that they made.

and I realized that my mom needed some more goodies so i made her a rice foot warmer thingy.

the rice bag part if made from muslin. i probably put too much rice in it. oh well. i was just doing this from the seat of my pants.

cut two pieces of coordinating fabric. cut one of the pieces a little bigger and cut it in two pieces. folded down one side of each and top stitched it. then put them faces together and sewed clear around the entire piece.

turned right side out. and voila.

a pocket to put the rice bag in.

put bag in.

heat in microwave.

stash near the feet or any other cold appendage.

coming up... an everyday tote by lotta made by me for mom. more details to come.

Christmas sewing

First, the Pixie sewing machine stinks. Yeah it came with a lot of cool stuff and it was cheap, but it only works about half of the time. Bummer. So I borrowed my mom's Kenmore sewing machine and made the following...

2 sets of quilted coasters. This set for my dad's wife and...

This set of 8 for my mother-in-law. She has a big family.
Made this up as a went. started with 5" squares. quilted one square using felt as the backing. put right sides facing, sewing all around and living a gap of about 2.5" to turn it right side out. folded in the opening then top stitched around all the sides.

Fabric is from JoAnn's. precut fat quarters sold in a pack of all reds and whites.

I made 3 adult reversible headbands following this tutorial.

and 2 child size reversible headbands following the same tutorial.

Then what I wanted the most... wristlets by JC Handmade. Tutorial here.

The fabric is from JoAnn's. Precut in strips. I think that it is Moda fabric. Used felt for the lining and denim from an old shirt for the back.

I used some of the fun stitches available on mom's machine to top stitch the pieces.

Old headbands for the part to go over the buttons.

still need to sew buttons on these, but I am doing that today. I want to make more of these. I really like how they turned out.

There are 5 all together and one is staying with me.

Also made a whole bunch of little rice bags for the 5 stones game. tutorial found here.

there are enough for 5 gifts. need to sew or find some kind of container for them, yet.

Coin purses and a baby sewing machine

Leethal had these lovely coin purses in a free pattern the other day and I just had to make some. Besides my mom was needing a new one. So here are two of them made per instructions.

I added a Shrinky Dink "button" that the boys and I made last weekend.

To see the quilted insides, go here. If you read my other post on these you know that the quilting was a mishap due to cutting material toooooo early in the morning.

Then I wanted to make a green one out of the leftover malabrigo from the Fetching mitts. Well it turns out I can't read. I about a 9" kelly green zipper instead of a 7".

So I added 2 more inches to the knitted piece. And voila! A larger coin purse!

I love the "button" for this one. This coin purse is going to a friend of mine here at school next week.

I liked the quilted insides of the other two soooo much that I did it to this one on purpuse. These one has 3 pieces of like material sewn together. I absolutely love it and want to make more of these. It is a great way to join sewing and knitting and to use up some leftover yarn!

Also, I finally bought a sewing machine. Nothing exciting. It's just a baby but it should suit my purposes fine.

It's a Pixie Plus multi purpose craft sewing machine. It does a pretty good job. I was practicing with it this morning. Later today it gets the real test. Sewing a pair of slippers for my mom!

Plus it came with all of these goodies. Hand sewing needles, two thimbles, measuring tape, little scissors, pins, buttons, snaps, extra needle and a two threaders.

But that is not all...tons of prewound bobbins and...

several different colors of thread. Although I did discover that this stuff breaks pretty easy. :(

Another round: Christmas gift ideas/tutorials

Reusable sandwich bag by Betz White

I want to make some of these. I was thinking of layering the Capri

Sun drink bags inside instead of using the fancy fabric

that I can't find. Any thoughts?

Cereal Box Storage Bins by Urban Nest

Fabric gift wrap by La vida compartida
found this one while signing up for her giveaway, which
sadly... i lost.


Eddie cap by Mushroom Villagers

The weekender by weekend designer
This one is a little complicated for a Christmas present.

But I want to make one of these ...

some day.

christmas present galore!

First up, Fetching for my sister-in-law to go with the Star Slouchy Beret that I made earlier in the year.

Project: The Quickie Cowl (blogged about here).

Yarn: This is some wool/cotton blend in a beautiful chocolate brown.

Needle: US 9

this really is a quick knit. And it can be worn on the neck or to keep your ears warm.

I just adore the color and want more!!!

The boys and I experimented with Shrinky Dink paper. We have done the same project with #6 recycled plastic from to-go containers. I really like how they turned out much better than these. These have a kind of gritty quality to them.

The boys used permanent markers and made these lovely creations that they are going to be turning into necklaces for the grandmothers.

The nice thing about Shrinky Dinks is that you can put computer images on them, which you can't do with the plastic.

I love the samurai guy. these are all destined to be embellishments on knit and sewing projects for Christmas/ the future.

We also made glycerin soaps yesterday.

We scented them with vanilla, honey, peppermint, or lemon verbena.

We also used honey, dry milk, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.

And we dyed part of them some fun colors!!

The boys got a little carried away with the dye in these. I hope that they don't stain anyone's hands.

They are all going as Christmas presents as well.

And last but not least, a coin purse. This is a knitting and sewing project. This material came from JoAnn Fabrics (sorry, can't remember the brand name...???).

All you do is knit a 4 x 7 inch rectangle. Get a 7in zipper. Cut some material, slightly smaller than knitting and put them together. Well, leethal tells it better. Check it out over at her website!!
The pattern is in the webzine.

I had to add a little material to mine. Evidently cutting fabric at 5AM isn't smart. Still looks cool though. It now has that quilted effect.

I used some of the leftover yarn from the Quickie cowl. I plan on making two more brown ones and a green one with the leftover yarn from Fetching. I am going to embellish each with one of these lovely Shrinky Dink designs. I'll show you what that looks like, hopefully, later this week.