Fenwick the Fox

While my sewing machine was getting looked at I thought it was the perfect time to try a handmade pattern by Shelly from Gingermelon.  She was offering a relief sale for hurricane Sandy.  All proceeds would go to help Sandy victims through the Canadian RedCross to help Americans.  I hope I got that right.

I felt this was a win-win opportunity for me.  Help Sandy victims and purchase a Gingermelon pattern. Yea!  I purchased Fenwick the Fox and Woodland Elf patterns.  I am really excited about the Elf pattern but decided to get a feel for hand sewing on felt with the fox pattern first.  The tiny pieces make it go fast.  I bought quality wool blend felt, which is strong and will hold the stitches here.   Gingermelon shop link is here.

I looked for 7.5 mm eyes but could only find 6.5 mm so I tried to embroider around it, but with the safety plastic behind the eye, I found it easier to make an eye shape.  Unfortunately, he looks a little different because he looks a little sly now.  Sly fox...hmmmm, giggle.

He is sitting on snow.   Strangest weather day on Thanksgiving starting out around 50 degrees and then  by evening it dropped down to 20's and snowing.  I actually like the white covering.  Makes all the beautiful lights in the neighborhood a little more merry.

I am thankful for my family and also the ability to see and sew.  I'm thankful for all the talented artists out there sharing their patterns.

Have a great weekend!

Friday's Fall Foliage and Frights

I don't have any sewing or craft pictures to show so I thought I would share some fall and Halloween pictures.

This picture reminds me of a cheerleader, above. Yea, rah, rah!

Something about the crunch, crunch of the dried leaves and that organic fall smell that is so captivating.

I normally don't post blurry pictures, but this picture kind of reminds how slow life moves when one is little, but becomes somewhat of a blur the older we get.

Another hat this one made for Audrey.

Sorry this post is heavy with pictures...

Now onto all Hallows Eve....

It was relatively chilly so the girls wore costumes that enabled them to layer underneath.

I got them to say "Trick or Treat" real loud, but the "Thank you" after was sporadic.

Look at all those treats!  Our young neighbors were real troopers letting me take a picture of them.

Happy Halloween!

    Who is that scary clown following us?

                        It's Daddy!

Thank God for our body's ability to make insulin so we can consume all this sugar!  Let's go on a roller coaster blood sugar ride!  No, actually my girls have no problem eating only one piece of candy a day.  After a few days, the candy goes on top of the fridge and hopefully they will forget about it and I can bring it to work...or is that wishful thinking??

The lollipop turned their tongue black.  Neat trick for a yummy treat.

Black, yummy goodness.. the lips cannot tell a lie.


Happy November... oh yea, a new Crafty BOM video today. I must go check it out!

Cleopatra's Puzzle Completed

I have enjoyed sewing curves and I am glad to have completed theCleopatra's Puzzle block..  What I realized when making this block was Kona fabric is real nice (off white center half moon shape).  This block has a mix of Kona and another no name brand.  I really liked working with the Kona fabric.  I will remember this next time I make a quilt.  In fact I might just stock up on some.

 The wrinkles are distracting my efforts in using stripes, gosh darn it!  It looked so pretty before I sewed it.  These are some stubborn wrinkles I tell you!

Why was I thinking this was called the Greek Cross?  

On to paper piecing.  I am rather excited to try the flying geese pattern.

Have a great weekend!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Drunkard's Path

I think I know why they call this block Drunkard's Path.  I feel like I need a drink after completing it. (lol)

It is a neat block, but my skill level is such that it turned out to be one of my not so pretty blocks as far as technique goes.

My girls are urging me to get off the computer, although I just got on because they want to go slide.  Afterwards, it's down to the basement for the Greek Cross.

Have a great Wednesday.

Fun with Fleece

I thought I would try my hand at some Polar fleece hats.  I dug through my stash and used up scraps I had from making other projects.

I am a little hurried when taking pictures with my girls in it.  So as much as I would like to do over the pictures, I just go with what I got.

Polar fleece is fun and there are so many fleece tutorial projects on You Tube I couldn't help be inspired and gained confidence to experiment.  My flower was inspired by this You Tube tutorial here. It didn't surprise me when mine didn't turn out like the one in the video.  I don't have a die cutter and it doesn't matter, I still had fun. 

Front view,  my Jamie.

Fleece flower with button on top to make it more girly.

Side view.

I realized after I finished the hat that I had used the wrong side of the fabric, Arrrrrgggggggh.
Question... would you have noticed if I hadn't pointed it out?

I was happy to know if I use a ZigZag stitch around the rim with cotton thread (what I had on hand), the hat will stretch and the stitches will not snap apart.  I'm loving the zigzag stitch! 

Did you know you can make an outline of your kids hands and make some fun fleece mittens guaranteed to fit?  Go here.  I plan on trying the pattern soon. Also, check out Alisa Burke's blog, here.  Love it!! Totally inspiring...all of it..cooking, drawing and of course sewing!!! Lucky me to have discovered her blog!

A picture drawn by Audrey.  Maybe she is dreaming of a tropical vacation.

Have a nice week!

Trick or Treat Bags

I was wanting to try out these cute bags from Suzanne's blog, Just Another Hang up, here. (I love Suzanne's blog. It is everything I aspire my blog to be. After I visit her blog I am left feeling so grateful for people like her, so talented and so generous with her free tutorials and inspirations!)

I had to wait for my sewing machine to come out of the repair shop. It needed a tune up.  I have to say these were so easy to whip up and am so happy she posted these when she did.

I thought I could take quick pictures but my pictures turned out terrible.

To be honest, I didn't stick with the measurements Suzanne had. Last year, the girls had to end their trick or treat fun because their little bucket filled too fast. I was going to cut out the 11 x 11 measurements but wound up making one 12 x 14 inches and the other 15.5 x 12.5 inches. The picture below shows how the larger measurements look on a child 4.5 years of age. I figure they will grow into them. I gave them the choice of fabric and an appliqued detail, if they wanted.  Audrey was happy with the just the fabric on her bag and Jamie chose a dinosaur and ghost.  I found a panel at Saveurs for a few dollars.  My favorite picture no one chose, which was a blue Haunted House.  I will post a picture of it later.

Note to self.  Trying to take pics during your lunch hour is not doing your blog a favor, but is what is real in your life, so get over it.  People who read this blog are forgiving.

Have a great weekend!