Thankful Turkey

Here is another Fall item (started two years ago) that is finally finished. Last week it was plucked out of the UFO pile and given the finishing touches. This was another project from Create and Decorate that was a lot of fun to make. The feathers are cut out of wool, the veins are stitched on, and then they are treated with fabric stiffener (I used “Stiffy” – insert joke here 🙂 ). Once the feathers are dry, the directions called for you to glue them together and then glue onto the body. However, I had much better luck stitching everything with black perle cotten – it was much sturdier and you know it won’t come apart.

The whole thing is brushed with coffee to give it that “prim” luck. My husband keeps smelling coffee in the house although neither one of us drinks it (the coffee smell fades away after a few days). The original directions made one that was about 12 inches high (suitable for a table centerpiece). My is about half that size, since I thought a smaller one would be more versatile.

Bartleby the Pumpkin

I really love Halloween crafts and I finished my first one this year – Bartleby the Pumpkin! The pattern was in the recent issue of Create and Decorate and I couldn’t resist his grinchy grin. The pattern had more of a party hat on him (made out of paper), so I opted to make a witch’s hat instead with a spider and spiderweb.

Of course, his name makes me think of that Herman Mellville story you read in school – Bartleby the Scrivener. Remember that one? It was about poor old Bartleby and all he ever said when asked a question was “I would prefer not to.” He drives his boss crazy, but instead of firing ol’ Bartleby the boss moves to a different building and leaves Bartleby behind! Such a strange story, and one I remember very vividly.

UPDATE: Just finished this one as well. This one is larger (if you can’t tell from the picture – it is probably twice as big). Not sure where they both will go yet….

Meet Max the Ladybug

Like any typical four year old, my son loves bugs – any shape, size, or kind. He is especially fond of ladybugs and bumblebees, so you can imagine that when I saw Heather Bailey’s “Flutterby” pattern I had to get it. This pattern shows you how to make a butterfly, bumblebee, and a ladybug pincushion. Of course my son pointed out that he “didn’t want antenna pins” on his bugs :). I started with the ladybug, since I had some great red and black scraps left over from a dress I am making (to be posted later…) and it seemed like least time consuming since there is no additional applique or embroidery required. That said, it still took a few hours to put it together because it has so many pieces (15 I think). Here is the finished product:

I think he turned out pretty cute, but I am planning to make another one this week now that I understand the pattern better. For the next one, I also plan to add on the legs and antenna (I left these off my first one since my son would have likely pulled them off), embroider a mouth, and do something different for the eyes (the wool felt I used for the gold part has started fraying, so I think I will glue the felt down first and then sew on the eye).

Also, July 23rd marks my one year blog anniversary!! Thanks to all who have started reading my blog, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Check back on the 23rd for a special anniversay giveway – I will be pulling something from my stash and giving it away to some lucky reader!!

Dee Dee aka Big Mama Whale

After I finished making the sea creatures for my son, I saw this cute little Dolphin pattern by Melly and Me. I ordered it online (but it is also featured in a recent issue of the Australian Homespun magazine (issue #79)). I was able to get it cut out and sewn together in less than 2 hours.

I used some left over Fourth of July fabric since my son’s favorite color is blue and his favorite shape is stars. I introduced this as Dee Dee Dolphin, but my son re-named her “Big Mama Whale” since she takes care of his other sea creatures. Too cute!

The Witches of Apex

Sharon Stewart of Liberty Rose always has the cutest patterns and it’s tons of fun to take classes from her. I recently took her Wilomena Witch class, and this was the result (the black cat was made at a different time):

This is a basic doll body stuffed with a mixture of sand and sawdust in the base (to give it weight), and then fiberfill for the rest. We used tulle and fancy netting for the skirt, and of course got crazy with the embellishments. I was so inspired after this class I went home and made three more witches!

I now present the Witches of Apex – Wendy, Winifred, and Willow:

I can’t decide which one is my favorite. I’d like to add more embellishments, Sharon always has tons of great stuff to use for decoration. My supplies are more limited – but I did think I was pretty clever for buying the Halloween confetti that has bats, spiders, and pumpkins, and using those as accents. Something for a shawl or brooch would also add more variety.

I also don’t know what I am going to do with so many witches!