Throw-back Thursday: Hedgehog Plushie

Sometimes when you see a project, you just have to make it. Thus is the story with this little dude. 

Let me introduce you to Sebastian the Hedgehog Plushie.

I was perusing some handmade toy pattern lists, when I found this little gem here. He was begging to be made. 

And sew him up I did. I had some micro suede left over from a vest, and bunches of little brown and tan scraps laying around. Whipped out the pinking shears and snagged some of the safety eyes from my crocheting sister's stash. I'm debating whether or not to give him legs, attach some ears, or embroider on a nose. :shrugs: He'll probably get those eventually.

Conveniently, it's my sister's b-day, and she was asking for a hedgehog and an otter (it's a BBC Sherlock fandom reference. There's also a hedgehog in 'The Hobbit' which is where his name comes from). Well, dearest, you're getting your hedgehog. I couldn't find any otter patterns.

Oaken's Hat

Raise your hand if you've seen Disney's Frozen! Raise your other hand if you can't stop singing 'Let It Go' and 'Love Is An Open Door!' Wave your hands around if you've made something inspired by the movie! 

Okay, I'll stop singing and dancing like an idiot now. 

Ahem.

I present to thee, Oaken's hat.  

Yes, that's Oaken of Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna. 

As we were walking out of the theater, my brother commented on how awesome Oaken's hat was. He later found a picture of Oaken online and made it his profile picture. A friend of his commented on how he thought that Oaken reminded him of my brother. Coincidence? I think not!

It was only a matter of time until my brother asked for Oaken's hat, so I had the plans already drawn up. Just needed to hunt down the supplies and learn how to make a pompom. 

Assembly and pattern drafting for this project was easy sailing. The circumference is made to his head measurements, the height of the band is also referenced to his head. 

As for the pompom, I tried the more conventional methods to not much avail. It was more frustrating than anything. Then I found this tutorial. Running with the idea of using an embroidery hoop for the base, I found a small hoop to scale down the pompom size. The results? SUCCESS! 

Hoo hoo! 

I think he likes it.

Source

Now to finish the outfit, we need to find a, uh..., colorful sweater and some leather suspenders. The facial hair part of things will have to be up to my brother. ;) 

Happy sewing!

SG

Throwback-Thursday: Burgundy 'Rococo'

A long time ago (January 2009 to be precise), I completed a monstrosity of a project. Up to this point, I had only done a few beginner sewing classes and some small, simple projects. For a class project, I jumped into the costuming pool with both feet and made my first attempt at a historical dress.

12th Night Ball 2009

I was so excited about what I had made. The years flew by, more costumes were added to the closet, and the burgundy behemoth was moved to the back of the clothes rack in favor of the newer dresses. 

Fast-forward four years to November 2013. A masquerade ball was approaching, and I stood staring at all the dresses. Which one? I hadn't worn the gold and burgundy gown in a long time. It was time to pull it out again. But lo, with several more years of research under my belt, the dress was suddenly woefully costume-y. Painfully costume-y. The dress assembly, the placement of trims, the silhouette, the closure in the back (horrid zipper installation), aahhh!!! Everything... 

I put the dress on Lady Catherine, the dress form, and sat back to soak in what needed to be done. Remove the lace and trim, change out the front panel of the bodice, rip out the zipper and but in a lace-up, etc.

Changing the closure was straight forward enough, so was ripping out the lace and trim. The front bodice panel was made from scrap fabric (Yay for fabric hoarding!). Yes, I held onto the scraps for four years. That just left the attachment of the lace on just the neckline. I didn't want to look like I was being eaten alive by lace. The result? I loved it. It still has a costume-y-ness about it because of the fabric selection, but it was vastly improved. 

The next 'improvement' to this ensemble will probably involve completely redoing the underskirt. In due time, in due time. 

Until next time!

SG

Spring Chicks Baby Quilt

Some friends of mine were expecting their first baby. As I was cleaning out the craft supplies, I found the inspiration for the gift I needed - an embroidery pattern.

This quilt features 'shoo-fly' quilt blocks off-set by hand-embroidered squares. I only had to buy the coordinating fat quarters (courtesy the local Joann's store) to make the shoo-fly since I had all the white muslin already in my stash. The chicken designs are from 'Rise & Shine' by Yesterday's Charm. The border fabric is also from Joann's. Just don't look to closely to the actual quilting of it though... getting the quilt top, batting, and backing to all line up perfectly is not my forte... As for the binding, well... I cheat. I buy wide bias tape (single fold) to do the last step. I use the machine to sew one side down and then hand sew the other to make a clean finish. 

I must admit, I've missed working on it. Maybe I'll need to make one for myself and add it to my collection. ;) 

Colossal Squid Plush

It all started while scrolling through Pinterest, and I found this lovely:

Source

It's ridiculous, huge, geeky, a completely unnecessary extra 'thing' in the house, and I loved it. But what sort of excuse could I conjure up to convince myself to make it? Christmas was coming. 

I much prefer a home-made Christmas. Something about turning your back on commercialism and consumerism and making things yourself just makes me feel freer. I'm weird that way. I'll step into a craft or fabric store any day, but when it comes to actual 'shopping,' I'll run the other way.

My Decembers are dedicated to working on our Christmas tree farm and gift making. Between paper-piecing and pj sewing, I actually made the giant squid. It's one thing to want to make something and actually doing it. I drew out the pattern pieces, cut everything out, and, with the help of my sister, Emily, sewed the silly squid together. We put the last stitch in on Christmas Eve. 

The thought of trying to wrap something of that size was daunting. This sucker's probably over 7 ft tall! So I skipped that step entirely. After my little brother went to bed and fell asleep, I crept into his room with the squid in tow, and gently put it right next to his head so he'd wake up with a colossal squid looking right at him. The next morning, all I heard was, 'Whaa...? WHOA!' And then he ran around the house showing everyone his monster plushie. 

Even when I was working on it, it was obvious that it wasn't a 'normal' project for me. Where would you hide such monstrosity? If I told you where I stashed it, I couldn't hide things there anymore. :P 

Fan Girl Sewing: Captain America Dress

Captain America is probably one of my favorite superheroes. Okay, he isn't just 'probably' he is my favorite superhero, and I can't wait until Winter Soldier comes out next spring. In the meantime...

My mostly completed Capt. A outfit.

Dress: An old sheet from my stash that someone gave me. I cut out the pieces, did a couple of seams, painted, painted a second coat, then sewed the rest of the dress together. The belt is a $1 find from the thrift store. Inspiration from here

Shield: It's only duck tape and cardboard. Woot! I found the tutorial on Instructables

Boots and glasses: Purchased at store. Nothing exciting there. 

All I need now is to make some red spats and find some red gloves. 

And my lovely sister made an amigurumi Captain America for me! 

Want one for yourself? You can purchase the pattern and download it instantly on Etsy!

I'll let Loki wrap things up for me: