First, some stuffed animals made from recycled t-shirts, socks and other such things, hand- stitched last summer.
This is a frog made out of a t-shirt.
Ok. I know it doesn't look like a frog, but that's what it's supposed to be, and (if I recall correctly) it was the first project in the book, Sew Me, Love Me by Hsiu-Lan Kuei. I like the wobbly button-bead eyes.
The following adorable item is made from a pair of my brother's outgrown dress socks, a yellow camisole and some fabric from my stash.
SO soft and cuddly.
Then I made this doggie, the perfect addition to any tea party. The other side of her face (not pictured) has a wide awake beaded eye.And now to more recent creations.
To be quite honest, I don't like this fabric at all. Rows of cats wearing sunglasses. Seriously? But my opinion of the fabric was improved a bit after said material was turned into an apron with green rickrack-lined pink insets and waistband. What dost thou think, my readers?
A recent trip to the library found me bringing home a massive stack of cookbooks, sewing books, and two classic novels, (A Tale of Two Cities and Nicholas Nickleby). Flipping through The Perfect Handmade Bag, this bucket shaped owl bag from the "kid's bags" section caught my eye and I fell in love.
The tree and leaves are appliqued on, leaving part of the hole open in which to insert the little owl.I didn't actually have enough of any fabric to make the entire bag, so I pieced what I did have together, and am pleased with the result. (On examination you will see a seam across the middle of the bag, and another one through the tree.)
I wanted the inside to have a pocket, so I added one (pictured [not very well] below).
On of my favorite parts of making this bag, was realizing that homemade bags can have a cute little handmade tag. I was delighted with the idea of a little french-knotted tree on either side of the tag, and got started. Problem: No matter how I tried, I could not make a french knot. After much trial and error, aggravation, and looking at several books (all with different methods for accomplishing this feat of french knotting), my mommy sat me down and showed me one more time, slowly, the way to make a french knot. I'm afraid I cannot duplicate what she showed me in words, but all I know is that it worked. And the results? See for yourself.
The last feature of this bag before moving on to the final projects is the button on the back. The purpose? To make everything inside stay inside.
I was looking at Sew Sunny Homestyle (a book which, the more I look at it, the more I like the ideas inside it), and saw a pattern for some jewelry mannequins. I'd been looking for a new way to store jewelry-- it looks like this will be it.
My (very nice) older brother took some time from studying to make me the stands on which the mannequins are mounted.Which is your favorite?
The first one is trimmed with a bit of "lace" from my collection and the second with some gathered ribbon.
On last thing: This is an owl I made when I was in Australia, visiting my sister and brother-in-law. My sweet sister gave me a little kit with felt, thread, buttons and a pattern for Sinterklaas Eve.
She found a picture on pinterest which led to the pattern, here.
And between uploading photos and writing I've just finished another one. :) Pictures later.
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