Out of Season

It's too early for Christmas, I know, but if I let this project wait until December, it will never get done.  We need Christmas stockings.  I've made stockings for my sister's family:

And my sister-in-law's family:

But we've just got two store-bought faux fur ones that are not personalized or special.  So it's been my goal to make stockings for my family.  I've pinned a number that I like, particularly the elf styles, but they were a little bit shabby chic.  I wanted something with a bit more splash and I was inspired by this pieced stocking late last week.

So with an hour to spare on Saturday, I started working on it and came up with my first stocking.  I was really moved by that small scrap of marbled gold lame that I made two years ago:

This was the fabric that set the color scheme and away I went to form the following piece of stocking art:

A little closer:

That marbled fabric really works here.  I think that darker blue is a little off, but it's too late to go back now.

Most of these other fabrics were from my mom, I'm pretty sure.  She unloaded all of her fancy barbie-dressmaking fabrics onto me when she moved.  I really like that top velvety, furry cuff.  It's so soft and snuggly.

That curly toe was a devil to stuff and it needed to be stuffed so it wouldn't dangle like a sad, limp you-know-what.  I'm going to sew a dingle bell on the tip.

I lined it with that blue satin:

And the back is some stripey gold fabric (also from my mom):

So there you have it...

What?

Wait a minute...what's that?

Man!  I busted through and ripped a hole in it when I was stuffing that stinkin' toe.  Ugh.  It looks like I've got some repair work to do.  Well, I've got an idea for it, so I'll keep you posted.  Until then...just enjoy the rest of it!

Home Stretch

I've been distracted by other little crafty things, so the 40 Year Old Geisha has been taking a while to finish, but I'm almost there.  I have this last little corner to finish and then the thing will be ready to prep for framing.

(Potential) Cape 3

My mother-in-law sent me a birthday package with all the fixings to make my own cape.

I'm not sure when I'll get to it, because,  I have some other projects lined up ahead of it, but it would be a good project for the fall.  I'm keen on that third style.

Thank you!!

Thrifted Crafty Things

I went back to the thrift store to look for that abandoned bit of cross stitch and it was gone.  I hope it went to a good home.  As long as I was there....

I found these two crafty items.  So that is an unopened box of Whimsy Dip (from the makers of ModPodge), which is some sort of plastic dipping sauce to coat things.  I pinned a tutorial on making a rubber origami bird and I'm pretty sure this stuff is the same concept.  It comes in red and green dipping sauces, but I have a feeling they are the ugly red and green of the 80's.  Things were just a different color back then.

I also found some paint brushes.  They were made of red sable, which bothers me.  They were also made in China, so now I have a bad feeling that the red sable that donated this hair did so under duress and did not have a pleasant life.  Ugh.  I'd hate to go vegan, but the world is really horrible to animals and I don't want to give up dairy and honey and eggs.  Ugh!  

The last thing I found was at a different thrift store that I got to browse around for ten minutes before closing.

Nesting dolls!  I have an idea for them, but I'm not a drawer or a painter, so my idea will probably end of looking like little blobs of poo.  I love this folksy style for faces, so I'd love to make them like that.  We'll see.

Oh, and this next thing is not crafty, but it's nifty:

99 cents!  And perfect for when Z wants a firetruck themed birthday party at the Firefighters Hall and Museum.   This was my favorite little find.

Antique Things

I've been on the prowl for a small curiosities shelf for many years.  I have a set of hand painted zodiac animals that are made out of silk worm cocoons and a set of eight carved Chinese horses.  And then a bunch of little odds and ends.  Anyway, I finally figured out that I could use those printer type drawers that are all over the place.  I went out and picked this one up.  Forgive the poor quality of the photo.

Neat.  So I need to clean it up and put on some mounting hardware and this thing will be ready for treasures.  

While at the shop buying this one, I also happened upon an umbrella stand, which has also been on my list of things for the house for a number of years.  This one is metal and mod.  Very fun:

I desperately want to spray paint it some funky colors.  Blue?  Yellow?

It has this odd little top piece that my mom pointed out would have had an umbrella handle attached to it so that the whole thing would look like an umbrella when put together.

Maybe I can just add a finial gem for pizzazz.  The umbrella is a kid umbrella that I picked up at the thrift store.

She loves it!  I was sick of her obsession with the big umbrellas, so this was found just in time for spring!

More Finds

I stocked up on embroidered doily things at the Textile Center Garage Sale.   I'm on an embroidery kick right now, so...

I like these sweet little bits of cross stitching. I never do that...it seems way too precise for me.

Satin stitches.  Mine are always so sloppy.

I don't like this one with the blue very much.  I'll probably let the kids play with it.  Same goes for this bird one:

The next two doily designs came with a long doily and a little one.  These were the whole reason I bought the bag lot of doilies:

This brown one is the prettiest!

Oh, and one more thing:

Look at that!  What a great crewel apron kit! 

Textile Garage Sale

And there it is:

That's just the one photo I took from Saturday's Textile Garage Sale hosted by the Textile Center.  It was great!  So many people rummaging through the goods.  My friend and I got some good deals.  I didn't want fabric, but I bought fabric.  I'm such a nut, but I didn't go crazy.

First off, we have this picture of new fabrics:

 The lace edged one at the bottom was not very interesting to me, but Z thought it was pretty, so maybe she'll get something made out of it.  I also grabbed a thing of linen, there in the middle.  It's a decent amount of fabric and I'm not sure what I'll do with it.  The other fabrics are cottons and there's not a lot of them, but those florals were nice.

More cottons and cotton-blends, here:

I love those circles on the bottom.  I'm pretty sure that was vintage.  I also like those green florals.  

A knit:

I don't know.  It's kind of ugly, but I want to learn how to sew with knits and I want to do it on the cheap, so this was one dollar.  Undies for Z or maybe a little racerback dress from Crafterhours.  I don't know, but I need to stop being afraid of knits.

$2.00 bag of corduroy, with the label that they were smaller pieces good for stuffed animal construction:

Lots of colors!  I love that thick green one on the right.

This one intrigued me:

 That's a big ass square and there are four of them on a yard of fabric.  I don't know what to do with it.  Floor cushions come to mind, but it's not a super heavy duty fabric.

This little bitty is adorable:

There's not much of it, but it warms my cockles.

And that's it for fabric.  I bought some other things, too, and I'll probably post them later this week.  Some of the stuff was priced way too high and not priced to sell, but I suppose that's why there was a bag sale at the end of the day.  We did not return for the bag sale, but I could see doing that in the future.

Abandoned

I saw the above piece of cross stitch at the Goodwill a few weeks ago and it made me sad.  I almost bought it and I keep thinking about it, so I may go back and try to rescue it (if it hasn't been saved already).  

Anyway, it made me sad because what if all my efforts (and don't forget my mother's efforts) on the Geisha embroidery are for naught?  What if my children do not look at them as family heirlooms, but pieces to be tossed?  

I keep thinking of all the embroidered/cross stitched/latch hooked pieces that I've seen at thrift stores over the years.  I want to rescue them!  I said as much to my husband and he just felt the need to point out that my craft room is already filled.  I think his exact words were, "Don't you think you have enough stuff in there?" 

Short Stack

Why, Mr. Fox, what are you eating?

Delicious felt pancakes?  Oh, yes!

And is that some real maple syrup to pour on top?  Oh, yes!

The white is a little too white.  I was hoping for a little bit of a yellow-white, but I just worked with what I had on hand.  The construction of these was so very easy.  I cut out two white felt circles and two layers of leftover batting in the same circle size.  I layered them batting, batting, felt, felt and sewed all around the perimeter of the circle.  I then cut an X in the middle of the outer layer of felt, which then allowed me to turn the circle right side out. I then used two slightly smaller circles of brown felt to tack on the outside with a blanket stitch.

The maple syrup container was purchased at Target.  It had their generic label, which makes me suspicious that it was not real maple syrup.  Thankfully, there was not a lot of syrup in it, so if it was fake, I am not too damaged from consuming it.  (Because really, there is nothing more disgusting than Mrs. Butterworth's...except maybe smoked eel.)  Anyway, I've removed the label and keep wondering if I should add a little maple leaf to it for a little pizazz.  We'll see.  My drawing skills are really not up to snuff.

More Hats

My little nephew turned one in early March and I did not make his gift on time.  My major reason for not doing it in a timely manner was because I could not locate swimsuit fabric, which was a special request by my sister-in-law.  Not spandex for a lady's suit, but men's fabric.  

I wandered around multiple local fabric stores, but could never find it.  I ended up getting it online and when it came, I wasn't even sure it was the right kind.  It's a microfiber type of fabric, so it is very soft and slinky.  I thought it should've been more scratchy, but maybe there are a variety of swim trunks?  Anyway, she said it was the right kind, so I guess that's good.  It's not the color I thought it would be...it's green and I was hoping for a dark teal.  

I used the Oliver and S bucket hat pattern from their book, which I have made before.  I still have trouble fitting the brims.  I also have trouble finishing the inside lining, too.

It's always so crappy looking.  I suppose the trick is to hand sew it.  I have no time for that nonsense!  

Wicked Witch

Six years ago I picked up a slice of fabric with Wizard of Oz panels.  I really just wanted the Wicked Witch of the West panel to make a pillow for my mom.  After six years, I finally got around to doing that:

 Maybe photographing it on a green chair was not the best idea.  It is not a perfect square, so I hand stuffed it.  What a disaster!  It's so lumpy.  Sorry, Mom!

Purging

I have been working on removing fabric and things from my stash.  I have way too much stuff and I'm not using a quarter of it.  I was able to give some fabric to my kid's classroom, because they are babies and they like different textures.  

I sent a box to my mom.  She wants to make tropical tunics, so I went through all my florals.  I think there were about five different prints in the box.  I tried to unravel some of the squirrel tail and I sent that to her, as well.  I had also been saving a bunch of broken dishes for a future mosaic project that will never happen,  but she makes things like that, so off they went.  I also a sent a few craft kits.  

The second box that I've been working on is filled with fabrics that I will never use.  I was going to donate to the Goodwill, but then I remembered that the Textle Center's annual garage sale is coming up, so that's where this next box will go.

I've been pricing everything, but didn't think to write down yardage.  Ugh.  I may have also written fifty cents on things and they want whole dollar amounts, so I have to fix that.  I suppose I should always read the instructions first.

Cape 2

When I asked my sister-in-law for suggestions for my niece's birthday, she immediately suggested something hooded.  I turned to the Oliver and S: Little Things to Sew book and used the Red Riding Hood pattern to make a red, hooded cape:

That looks a little purple for some reason.  Bah!  I lined it with a dark blue floral:

I gave it to Z to wear for a bit and it was absolutely adorable on her.  My intention was to make two capes, one for Zelda and one for her cousin.  They are the same size, so it is easy to do stuff like that.  However, Z didn't like the little arm holes and wouldn't put this on again.  What a stinker.

The arm holes are my favorite part.  I like the shiny button, too.

And to top it all off, I gave my niece a book to go with the cape:

I bought it at the Red Balloon Bookshop.

As for general construction issues -- there really were none.  The thing came together very easily.