A Few Completed Christmas Gifts

Is it already a week into December? My, how time flies when you are drowning in schoolwork. There is less than two weeks left in this semester, then life around here may go back to normal for a few weeks.

One of my 31 by 31 goals was to have Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. That didn’t happen. I know a lot of people love shopping this time of year, but I despise it. I hate the crowds, the disgruntled store employees (no they are not all disgruntled, but it seems there is at least one), the rude shoppers, all of it. I would just rather stay out of the stores this time of year.

So instead of facing the holiday crowds, I have been busy trying to sneak in a few moments here and there making a few Christmas gifts. I thought I should share them with you guys, since they are all quick and easy this year.

Today is the crochet segment.

I highly recommend the Crochet Hipster Hat by Lorene of Cre8tion Crochet. This hat is a super cute and equally fast project. (I made two hats last night!)



I made the first one exactly as the pattern is written, bow and all. I used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn in Oatmeal, and a size I hook. I love that the stitch looks detailed, yet is so simple once you get the hang of it.



This second hat is a request from my step-daughter….made last May. Oops! At least now I have a handmade Christmas gift for her. ;)

She had requested an orange hat with a brim. We went to a few different stores looking for yarn, and she choose Lily Sugar’n’Cream cotton in Hot Orange. Let me tell you, this stuff is magic for dishcloths. Horrendous for hats. I had crocheted and frogged three different hats from three different patterns before finding success.

This hat is also a Crocheted Hipster hat, with a twist.

I used a size J hook, and worked the pattern through the eighth row. Then I crocheted the brim from Lorene’s Newsboy Slouch pattern. *For more info, see my project page on Ravelry, or leave a comment below.



Next up is from Frayed Knot Crochet Patterns, Easiest Head Wrap EVER!!!

If you haven’t noticed, I am all about easy this year. And this pattern did not disappoint. I used Red Heart Soft yarn in Turquoise, and a size H hook.

The neighbor girls have been hinting about ear warmers, so I know I will be making a few more of these before Christmas.

What handmade gifts are you making this year? Please share any links! I will do all I can to avoid the Christmas crowds.

Guy Gift, Camo Blanket

Today’s project was an Easter gift for my husband. And, if we are getting all technical and honest; it was supposed to be a Christmas gift. Oops.

The week before Thanksgiving hubby was dropping hints vividly describing a blanket that would be “so cool.” And whining because, “Nobody makes me anything.”

Determined to be the best wife in the world I ventured to JoAnn Fabric. The weekend after Thanksgiving.

I knew better. I have been there on that crazy weekend before. I had vowed to myself and anyone listening that I would never step foot in that store Thanksgiving weekend for as long as I shall live.

But fleece was on sale….and hubby wanted a fleece blanket.Specifically a camo fleece blanket, with our last name and school in our school colors. He was even dreaming of using this blanket at football games. It went a little like this, “Hey man, that’s a cool blanket.” He had planned on replying, “Thanks, can you believe my wife made it?”

Long story short, Christmas rolled around, and I still hadn’t touched the fleece. But then while making these Easter gifts for the older kids, I thought, “I can use this same method for Bri’s blanket.”

And so I did.

*So sorry I didn’t take any process photos. Here’s a short summary though:

First I found a font I liked, and printed it at the largest size possible. Then I traced the letters onto fusible web. *Remember to reverse the image, either when printing or while tracing.

Next I ironed the letters onto the colored fleece. Cut out the letters (this is pretty time consuming, thankfully we have a short last name and school initials). Arrange the letters onto the top layer of fleece and iron in place. *You may want to stick with a few pins also. The fusible web doesn’t adhere to fleece very well.

Once you have the letters in place, slow down the speed of your machine. Zigzag around the letters. I choose to use contrasting thread (red thread for blue letters, and blue thread for red letters).

Almost done! The last step is to bind the blanket. I used this method. Not my favorite method for a blanket this size. The corners ended up a bit wonky for my taste. Next time I’ll try the method I used here.

*IMPORTANT: Before you put another project under the needle, clean your sewing machine! Fleece tends to produce a ton of lint. Nothing’s worse than having your next project get tangled up in the sewing machine.

Are any of you die hard Black Friday shoppers? Personally, the thought of stepping into a store that weekend sends fits of anxiety through my body. As always, I love to read your thoughts!

Sewing for Tween Girls

Girls seem so easy to sew for…until they become tweens.
My step daughter was invited to a birthday party. My husband requested that I make the birthday girl one of these hats. Great idea…for a winter birthday, not quite fitting for an April celebration.
However his mention of a hat did get my creative juices flowing…
Using fabric and notions from my stash I made a hat. Then I sewed a bag. After that I stitched up a notebook cover. And finally, about five minutes before the party, I whipped up a rolled flower hair clip.

I searched and searched for the perfect hat to sew. I found a few tutorials, but in the end decided to just dive in.

After three failed attempts I smartened up, and followed this tutorial. This tutorial was one of the first I had found, and her hat was super cute. But I didn’t feel like doing the math.
Learn from my first three mistakes- and do the math!
The hair clip is just a basic rolled flower. The material is the same as the hat and purse linings.
When I asked my step daughter and the neighbor girls about popular purse styles, I was told (direct quotes from a group of eleven year old girls):

• They go across your body.
• They have a flap.
• The flap has to close, so their stuff doesn’t flop out when they are running. *I decided I did not want to know why they might be running so fast that their stuff might fall out…
• A pocket is necessary for little stuff like lip gloss.

This bag came together very quickly. (I was successful at ‘winging’ this project.)

The magnetic closure was salvaged from a purse in the refashion tote.
*Not pictured are two inside pockets.

Lastly I had decided to cover a notebook.
Again, I just did my own thing. In my opinion it looked like crap, but the girls loved it.
I was told, “eleven year olds do not even know what seams are, so we also don’t know if they look bad!”
Eleven year old logic won.
Do you have any tween girl gift ideas? Sewing for this age group is so different from sewing for the little guys.

Partying here:

Sewing Update, Summer Camp Kits

Remember my absence the week before Easter? I had told you I was busy at the sewing machine. Then I promised to give post about it? A week isn’t too long to make you wait, right?
Our older kids go to camp for a week during the summer. This will be their third year. Every year we scramble around to gather everything they need for camp; towels, toiletries, sheets, blankets, etc.
The biggest problem is that we do not always get everything back after camp is over. One parent may help them pack, and the other one picks them up. They may go to their grandparents’, who live within walking distance to camp. Camp gear is usually left at each place along the way. (That is the joy of teens, they always leave a trail…)
I think I may have found a solution! (At least I hope!)

I made them a monogrammed towel, washcloth, and toiletry roll.

I am absolutely thrilled at how this project turned out!
It all started when my sewing machine started clunking. The previous project was with fleece, so I knew lint bunnies were causing my machine to clunk instead of purr. After cleaning out the lint, I decided to oil my machine. During the oiling process, I found a lever. I had no clue what this numbered lever was for, so I pulled out my trusty owner’s manual. This lever controls speed, it is used to make monogramming, applique, and sewing satin or other materials easier. Hmmmm…..
You learn something new everyday! This project looks so professional, and is a heck of a lot better than the hand sewing I was doing for appliques. (This is partially why I never sewed down the appliques on these shirts, or these ones.)
*Spoiler alert! I was so thrilled with the kids’ camp project, that I went and monogrammed something for hubby. (Stay tuned.)
My mind has been swirling with other things to monogram/applique. The next project on my to-do list is matching sheets, and a bag to keep all their gear in.
Did you know about this lever? Or is this just common knowledge, and I’m a little behind?
Have you learned something new that impacted your crafting lately? Please share, and leave a link to your project in the comments. I’d love to check it out!

Taking part in these parties:

Thankful For Huge Messes

I am so thankful for this:

A huge mess? Yes, a huge mess. A huge mess that I have probably picked up about twenty times today. Why am I thankful? It means my little boys are FINALLY feeling back to normal. Thank goodness!

Because this nasty bug has stuck around so long, my Christmas crafting has been put on hold. I have spent naptime debugging, shampooing carpet, trying to catch up on laundry, dishes, clearing a (gate-able) area for the tree, you get the idea.

Today I was able to craft! I’ll post updates later this week, here’s a snippet to hold you over:

Pretty little earrings for the neighbor girls. I think I like the snowman (complete with each girls’ initial) just as much as the earrings. (Note to self: learn to take better photos!) This is my first time ‘wire wrapping’ my earrings. I am in love!

The best part? They are even packaged. (This may be normal for some, but not me. I am usually trying to remember where I stashed the gifts, AND rushing around like a madwoman trying to find and wrap everything on Christmas Eve.)

Are you getting your holiday to-dos done? Or are you in my boat, and had to decide that some things may not get done this year?

Pink Cheetah Baby Shower Gifts

There’s a new baby on the way! It’s a girl. We don’t get many girls in this family. So of course, I have been crafting up a storm.
The color/theme is pink cheetah. I found this fabric at JoAnn’s, and used brown flannel as a compliment. We know her name, so that made these gifts really fun!
The first thing I made was a blanket. This blanket is about a yard widthwise, and lengthwise.

For this blanket I used this tutorial from A Feathered Nest.
Next I made my specialties; bib, burp cloth, and onesie.

I tried a new pattern:

This pattern is the Snuggler from Simple Sewing for Baby. (I’m not getting paid for this- just wanted to let you know where the pattern came from.)
Next up was some yarn work (fulfilling my crochet kick).

The hat on the left was made using this pattern (with some adjustments for 0-3 month size), the headband from here, and the hat on the right from this pattern.
Everything got the addition of handmade tags, including care instructions. I love giving handmade gifts! What are your favorite baby gifts to give?

Participating in these parties: TOO Cute Tuesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday