Felt Food - Cookies

I finished up my felt food with some cookies -- peanut butter, thumbprint, and chocolate chunk. I did use the sewing machine to make the fork marks on the peanut butter cookies and also to sew the chocolate chunks on. I used various circle sizes and just added two layers of batting and sewed around the sides.

I think that is all from the felt kitchen for now. I want to make some gingerbread and maybe some sugar cookies for stockings but I will do those later.

Felt Food - Pop-Tarts

When I was looking for ideas for felt food. I found Pop-Tarts but decided not to make them as it is something that Miss K. We don't buy them because they are never in the stores, we don't buy much processed food, and they don't sell the kind I like (I don't even know if they still make the kind I like). Well, the other week I found them in the local store that I usually avoid because it is dark and crowded. They remodeled so it is not as dark but it is still crowded. Anyway, they had Pop-Tarts in the reduced cause no one knows what this foreign food is and so they are not buying it area. I bought them thinking I would give it to my friend cause I knew her kids would enjoy that taste of home but since they are home I have had them on my shelf. It was just a box on the shelf until yesterday. Someone discovered it, opened it, and enjoyed a treat. Yep, she is stuffing her mouth quick before mom sees it and cleans up the mess. I think she decided that she likes these and don't you dare think of giving them away.

I decided maybe I should make some Pop-Tart felt food. Here it is. I used beads on the top to give it the look of sprinkles.


Notes:
Off white - 5 x 3.5"
Pink icing - 2.75 x 4"

Sew the pink onto the off white with 1 layer of batting. Then sew the beads on. Sew the off white together with 2 layers of batting.

Enjoy!

Lunchtime

Well, after that delicious breakfast, we do need to think about lunch. We have simple lunches around here. A favourite is a cheese quesadilla or just noodles. Usually our noodles just have butter and cheese but we got fancy and added some spaghetti sauce. Here is a close-up of the bow-tie pasta. It was so easy to make.
For a change we can have ravioli. Use the same spaghetti sauce. I might need to make more sauce. I guess I should make a big batch of sauce.
Since we are here in Asia we will also have some dumplings. Hmm, that makes me hungry for Auntie LL's wonderful dumplings made with the Beijing recipe.

Notes: (mainly so I remember what I did)

The bow tie pasta was 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" trimmed with the pinking shears before gathering together.

The ravioli were 2 inch squares, trimmed with the pinking shears and then sewed and stuffed with fiberfill.

The dumplings were circles and the stuffed with fiberfill and sewn.

The spaghetti sauce had 2 to 3 layers of batting and then was hand sewn. I added the cheese before sewing the red pieces to gether.

Breakfast Food

I have recently made some food for Miss K. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. A stack of pancakes.
Now I am working on some lunch food.

Gift Bags

I am not sure where I originally got the idea for making fabric gift bags. I did find a website that sells them as well as a few others. I decided that the thing that makes the bags cute is the fabric. One of the reason I decided to make them is finding wrapping paper here is very difficult. The other reason is I got tired of wrapping gifts and then unwrapping and throwing the paper away.

I started by just using some fabric that I had around the house. Some of these prints are leftover fabric from my work days. The star fabric actually has "sample" stamped in big letters on the inside. I did buy ribbon to coordinate which is not a problem because I got to the notions market. Which is one of my favourite places to go. Here are some pictures. I made some Christmas bags as well. I found the "Merry Christmas" fabric on the $10 (local dollars) a meter table. That is like hitting the $1 a yard at Wal-Mart.

Here is a bag in action. She knew what to do. She untied it and dug in.
I love the gift bags and have found some more fun fabric on the $10 a meter table so I am going to make some more.

Shh - the quiet family

I have recently grown tired of all the plastic in our life and in toys. Months ago I saw Simply Stork had a quiet family that she made. I decided to make a family for Miss K.

My first attempt was not so good. I tried to dress him up a bit and add a tie but it just made him look like Dilbert.

I then decided to email Simply Stork and she was kind enough to send me direction. Those sat in my inbox until my UFO (Unfinished Objects) project. I did them. Okay, after I took the picture I realized that momma's eyes were in the back of her head which I guess means she really is a momma. I ended up giving her hair extensions in the back and putting new eyes on the front.Here they are all wrapped up and ready to go.

Spring Table Runner

One of the things that I have been doing is working to use some of the fabric scraps that I have. Some of them are very small but some are bigger. I decided that for our table I like table runners. Our table gets used for so many things that a table runner adds some colour but does not cover everything.

I made the binding from strips of fabric so it also has a patchwork look. I had some bigger pieces of fabric and so I was able to make some napkins to match this.
I just have to show you the back. I was quite pleased with the quilting. I enjoyed quilting it which is something new. I have always enjoyed the piecing but am learning to enjoy the quilting. I also enjoy the finished piece.Now I am ready to quilt Miss K's quilt that I pieced in the last weeks before she was born. Maybe I should quilt it in the last weeks before she turns four. I need white quilting thread and then I can begin.

Three Bags

One of the things on my UFO list was to make some bags for Miss K and siblings. I wanted something for when we go out to take treats, books, and other little fun things. So here they are using up fabric that I had except for the meter and half that I had to buy of navy canvas. Some of this is old stroller fabric which I have had in my fabric box for years.

I started with 2 11" x 11" pieces for the body. Made the bottom by pulling (might be a more technical term) 1 1/2" inches to make the bottom. I made a 7"x7" pocket but should measure again because it might have been reduced to 6"x6". The handles are 4" wide and then folded and folded to be 1". They are 14" long. The velcro closure strap is some of the handle strap just put there.

I wrote that out for me so the next time I made one of these bags. I will remember the sizes. Now I can get rid of the little post-it note that I had all that written on.`

Christmas Stockings

I needed to make some more Christmas stockings. That was a project the past few weeks. We now have 5 with different quilt type patterns at the top. They were easy to make and are roomy for all kinds of stocking treats. I am slowly getting ready for Christmas.

Bow Tie Quilt

This lap quilt, movie night quilt was started November 2005 when my mom came to visit. We peiced using various solid scraps that I had. We started to quilt it and I had grand plans of quilting just a bit every evening and it would quickly get done.

I am currently in the mode of finishing projects and this was one of those projects that has been hanging around here and needed to be finished. I am thrilled to have it finished.

It is hand quilted. It is not going to win any prizes but it will keep us warm.

Baby Shower Gifts

Years ago I made a pattern for a bib. I found one that I liked that was a nice size and traced that pattern. Since then I have been making bibs for baby gifts. They are easy to mail and just a little something to say congratulations! I have fun digging through my fabric boxes and finding fabric. The mom's group was having a triple shower and so I decided to make bibs. Of course, in the middle of sewing my machine needed to be repaired but a friend loaned me her machine so I was able to finish them.

This is a pink stripe with teacups. I got the pink stripe from a bathroom that I hemmed and it was cute and I just couldn't throw it away. I added the teacup fabric because it needed to be pieced.Then I made brup clothes and boy bibs for the ones having boys.
I opted for a simple gift tag and skipped the envelope because I am conserving envelopes. I am having so much fun with the onesie stamp. I stamped on printed paper, embossed, and cut it out and put it on the gift tag.

Three simple gifts. Well, we (my friend and I) divided up the diapers from the diaper cake and a few other things we had gotten and included the bibs and burp clothes and we had a gift or in this case three gifts.

Quick Wipes

Our box of wipes was getting low and I decided it was time to just make some. I had actually bought flannel when we were home but found this flannel in my fabric box. Don't ask what else I can find in that box. Anyway, I just cut 8 inch squares. I love my rotary cutter and then just zigzaged them and I have 5 wipes.

I wash diapers so why not wash wipes as well.

Another doll quilt

This was so easy to piece. I just made long strips and then cut them into squares and then put it together. I did the quilting on my machine and it is okay. I think I need to learn a bit more about how to quilt on my machine. My niece, Baby K, turns 1 in July. I actually finished it and gave it to her while we were home.

Sewing with scraps

I have plenty of scraps and lots of fat quarters. I think I bought those once when I was thinking I would make lots of quilts or I thought they were pretty fabrics. Now is the time to use what the fabric that I have around.

A little friend was having a birthday and I decided that a doll quilt would be the pretty gift. This was so easy to make. I just sewed the stripes and then cut to the square and the pieced it. I did machine quilt it.

I have another one peiced for my neice's first birthday. Now I need to quilt it. I am going home in 2 weeks (thanks to frequent flyer tickets). I want to take it with me so I don't have to mail it so I better get busy.

Correcting my Problems

I broke the first rule and the most important rule of buying clothing on the street. I didn't check the seams, zippers, buttons, snaps, etc. Rather what happened is I saw a pair of Osh Kosh overalls in Miss K's size and I grabbed then.

Later I discovered that the snaps didn't work. That is probably why there were on the street for sale. I tried to fix it by sewing snaps in there but the snaps didn't hold. They became a pair of overalls that she couldn't wear.

I decided to try something. I cut the legs off just above the snaps.And then I made a nice full, a bit too full, of a ruffle out of some fabric that I had. It was actually a fat quarter. I made a jumper for her. I feel better that I was able to make something that she will wear and something that she actually needs.
Ignore the head it always seems to be tilted in pictures. She doesn't go around with her head titled but does that just for pictures. Oh, ignore the tights as well. I wasn't going to take those off when she tried it on.

Ready, set, sew

Miss K loves to sit at the sewing machine. I think it is the buttons that she enjoys. Maybe someday she will learn to sew. I remember learning to sew straight lines with notebook paper. My first skirt was a wrap-around skirt. Do you think they will come back in style by the time she is ready to learn to sew?

My latest bag

If you know me, you know I love bags. I found these directions but just like I do with my cooking and changing recipes. I did that with the bag as well. Maybe the size given in the instructions works if you are putting the bag in your car but I don't do that and it was too long for me. Also I didn't have double sided fusible fleece so I used some quilting batting that I had and made my handles a different way.

I have not yet tried to make the little pouch that the bag can be stored in but want to try that.

Here is one of the bags that I made and I do think it is cute. Don't tell but the next time I am going to make the handles a bit further apart.

Ornament Exchange

Years ago I enjoyed being part of an ornament exchange. You would make the the same ornament for everyone in the group and then exchange. One of the forums had an exchange and I decided to join in the fun.

Well, the first thing in an ornament exchange is to figure out what to make. I wanted my ornament to reflect me. Plus it had to be something simple cause that is me and had to use things that I had because I was not spending a day to run to the craft store. Ribbon is easy to buy and I did purchase a yard of that.

I had some Chinese silk that I bought and decided to try something with that. You would not believe how difficult it is to find a free pattern online but I finally found one.

Here are my first attempts. I tried with the red fabric first. It is not as stiff as the teal. I didn't like the way they looked. I think some of those were with a modified try to make myself pattern. I thought maybe it was the thin fabric so I tried the stiff teal fabric. They look like field hockey sticks and not stockings.

I showed them to a friend for her opinion and she decided that the red were cute and I think they have a bit more of a Christmas spirit. So I opened the Christmas stocking factory in our house. I did not use any child labour in the production or assembly of these stockings. These do not contain lead but then again I didn't get them tested.

Here is the finished product. Of course, every stocking needs to be stuffed and so I stuffed these plus it makes them look a bit fuller.
I mailed them off and can't wait to see what I get.

Finished

I always enjoy when I get a project finished. I made a quilt for Miss K's baby. Since our napkins, towels or whatever she could find have been used as blankets I decided it was time to make a quilt for her. This is truly a patchwork quilt. I had started years ago when a fun activity was to go through my mom's scrap box making a patchwork quilt. Well, that quilt never was finished and actually since I started that I learned quite a bit about quilting like you need straight lines and seams and the pieces should be uniform. I decided to cut that quilt apart and make K's baby's quilt.I did most of the quilting while we were traveling in the States. I finished the binding last week. Hopefully baby will like it.

Problem Solved - Not Quite

I decided that I could make some diapers for baby. K has cloth diapers why not make some for baby. I know a few people suggested it but I saw that after my great idea.

I came home this afternoon. I did a quick online search for free baby doll diaper pattern. Nothing. I decided to be creative and using some paper made a pattern. Then I pulled through my fabric box and found some fabrics. Mom, do you recognize these fabrics? Since it is just for baby they don't have to be thick or fit snug.

I was pleased with the fit. I dressed baby. When, K got up from her supposed to be nap. I showed her baby with the diaper. The first thing she did was take the diaper off and say "done". A little bit later I said "baby, needs a diaper". So K goes her to room and gets another disposible diaper. No, I just made new cute diapers for baby.

Anyway, baby has two diapers and neither one is on her. She is still without clothing.

Oh well, I had fun being creative.