felt basket

2011 A Year in Review

7 Comments / 4th of july quilt, baby quilt, bottled rainbows, cobbleston road, Easter Basket, felt basket, felt flower, flag quilt, halloween, handmade gift exchange, monkey business quilt, mystery quilt, pillow case, table runner, whirly gig pillow / By

This year has been a year of creation for me. I have spent hours upon hours letting my creative self soar – something I have rarely allowed myself to do.  This year marks the first time in my life when I stopped following sewing and quilting patterns and started following my gut.  It has been incredibly liberating. I have made my own knitting and crocheting patterns for years – easy to do when you make a knitting mistake and end up liking that better than the original design.  Sewing though, was so much scarier for me. Cutting fabric has always seemed so final to me, like there is no going back. Knitting…I could just rip out my stitches and start over – no wasted materials or money, just time.

I learned this year that if I cut something and end up not liking it that I can hold on to that fabric and save it for a later project – ie. Bottled Rainbows.  I now view scraps and “mishaps” in a whole new way.  I also learned this year, as I mentioned earlier, to follow my gut. I know what I like and if I listen to my inner voice odds are everything will work out just fine. This is something that I have learned in both my crafting and personal life. Trusting yourself and your instincts is so important and I am so glad that I figured that out. It is so much more fun to sew now. I am not afraid.

I have a few goals for 2012. I am going to list them in no particular order with no real timeline in mind other than to do them at some point this year.

  • Make several more dresses for Anne (I won 4 patterns from Hopeful Threads by Lily Bird Studio and I really want to use those patterns!)
  • Learn to use the serger my mom gave me
  • Practice FMQ and attempt to keep up with the challenges over on SewCalGal’s blog
  • Publish at least 2 patterns
  • Turn the 3 quilt tops that I have already finished into quilts
  • Do more handmade gifts
  • Play More!!!

Do you set yearly goals? How do you hold yourself accountable? Better yet, do you hold yourself accountable?

NOTE: Don’t forget, I am one of the bloggers who is going to lose Google Friend Connect in March 2012, please take a moment and follow me via Bloglovin’, Facebook, RSS or networked blogs.  You are important to me and I want to be able to stay in contact with you!  Check my side bar for all the best ways to stay in touch after GFC goes bye bye!

Tutorial & Free Pattern – Chinese Take-Out Easter Basket

1 Comment / Easter, Easter Basket, felt, felt basket / By

This year I decided to do something special and a little different for my nieces (8 and 9) and my nephews (5 months and 8).  I made my nephews matching Easter Chinese Take-Out Baskets and my nieces got matching Easter Purses.  The older kids are getting bean bag bunnies (and it is my brother’s problem if they are turned into ammunition against each other) and my youngest nephew will be getting a plush bunny – when I have time to make it!

Here are the older kids Easter “Baskets”:

Purses for the girls
Take-Out for the Boys

The pattern for the take-out box can be found here.

Not much is needed for this pattern.

  • Two pieces of coordinating felt 22×22 inches
  • Pattern pieces – cut out and taped together according to the directions on the pattern
  • Some peltex scraps for the top
  • Some fusible web, for one I used Pellon and the other I used Heat n Bond Lite
  • Coordinating Thread
  • Sewing Machine
  • Scissors
Step 1: Cut out and assemble pattern pieces
Step 2: Cut out fabric pieces

Heat and bond for the large piece, and peltex for the smaller pieces

Step 3: Fuse the large pieces together – follow the directions that come with your fusible – I had an easier time working with the Pellon, but probably because I am more used to that brand.

Step 4: Mark a square for the bottom of you box – I used a sharpie do this on the INSIDE fabric
Step 5: Follow your sharpie line and sew around the square 3 times
Step 6: Sew the sides together – use a 1/4 seam

You now have a lidless box!

Step 7: Sew together your top pieces – I sewed around the edge of all 4 using a 1/4 seam

Step 8: Sew lid pieces on – using 1/4 seam

I wanted my inside fabric to be on the outside for the lid – so while the main body was inside out – I had the right side fabric to the wrong side fabric and sewed
Once you have sewn your lid pieces on, turn your box right side out and voila! A felt Easter Chinese Take-Out Box!  All you need is to stuff it full of bunnies and chocolate (my brother can put the chocolate in) and you are done!  Once the pattern pieces were cut out – it took me less time to assemble this (including take pictures) than it did to write this post.
Enjoy!

Work It Wednesday

2 Comments / Easter, Easter Basket, Easter Flower, felt, felt basket, felt flower, work in progress, work it wednesday / By

This is crunch week for me as I need to get all my Easter stuff finished for my nieces and nephews by Saturday to mail down to CA where they live. I am making good progress. I have finished everything for the girls and as of last night everything for my oldest nephew. I just have my 5 month old nephew to work on now.

Here is my progress thus far…

Bean Bag Bunnies from 2 Little Hooligans – Check
Anne’s Basket and the purses for her cousins
Side View
Girls are a go!
Anyone up for Chinese on Easter?
Go ahead, open it, you know you want to…
Bean Bag Bunnies!

I whipped together The Chinese Take Out Easter “basket”  for my oldest nephew last night. I am hoping that he and his sisters like the bean bag bunnies and actually use them for a bean bag toss and not just as ammunition to throw at each other.

I am also planning to make a minky Bunny stuffy for Anne and for my youngest nephew, I am hoping to start on that tonight. If I only finish my nephew’s on time I will be very happy. Anne won’t really know if I am late with her’s at 17 months she isn’t going to know if she gets it on Easter or not.

What are you working on this week?

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