Another Crazy Weekend

I seem to pack my weekends back-to-back-to-back. I need a weekend from my weekends. Usually they are filled with things that need to get done around the house and farm (or in the case of the last month - social events :P ), but this last weekend was TWO bazaars. And my head decided to throw a migraine into the mix at the end of the first event because it could. I wasn't a happy camper. Thankfully, my sister was with me all day, and her boyfriend was able to help with packing up. I'm not sure how things would have gone if I were by myself. 

The timing of the events worked out perfectly though - set up for boutique #1 on Friday evening, sleep, get to booth to manage by 8:30, visit and talk to people all day, pack up from boutique #1, set up for bazaar #2, get some sleep, get up, grab some final details for bazaar #2, finish set up, visit and talk with people for hours, pack up, and sleep some more. Fit nibbling on things somewhere in the mix. My brain hurts just writing all that.  

There was a little girl at the Saturday event, a daughter of one of the vendors, who essentially did laps around the room all day. Every time she came to our booth, she would stop, look at the doll dress on the mannequin, sigh, play with the skirt, go through every single dress on the rack, sigh again, then slowly walk on. We started talking to her whenever she stopped by, "Do you have a doll?" "Which one?" "Do you have a favorite dress?" And so on. Towards the end of the day, she brought her mom over to show her her favorites of course asking if she could get one. Her mom said not today, and they headed off. Back at their booth, the mom gave her friend the money to buy the dress and one of their own bags to hide the dress in. It was really sweet to watch, and I think I know what she's getting for Christmas. ;)

Saturday's event was rather interesting - most of the vendors there were reps from multi-level marketing companies with only a small handful of us with handcrafted goods. It was my first time at this event, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It all worked out though. And I got to spend a couple hours with one of my besties who is a crazy, amazing knitter. And we got to have our booths next to each other. ^_^ 

 See what I mean? She's been a very busy bee. 

  And she makes adorable geeky plushies. Just take a look at Perry! 

And Pokemon! And Mario mushroom! Eevee and Pikachu sold before the boutique even opened. :P 

 And darling and dapper octopuses! Octopi? Octopum?  

Usually this event is held in December, but the organizers changed the date to be a fall boutique. Hey, I'm game for whatever if my schedule is open! To go with the autumn theme, I knit some tiny pumpkins. I will most definitely need to make more of these because I love them so much (and the orange one sold, so there's that too). ;)  

 Well, until next time! 

SG

Sew 1, Knit 2

I have yet to meet someone who doesn't have more than one hobby or craft. 

For me, what I create depends on what I feel like doing or the weather - gardening isn't very fun when it's hailing or snowing. :P Another pastime that could easily consume my days is knitting. 

One of the things I like about knitting is how much more transportable it is compared to sewing. I can go over to a friend's house for some netflix, roasted pineapple, and knitting for an afternoon hang-out. Hauling a sewing machine would complicate getting out the door. :P 

Actually, I learned how to knit long before I learned how to sew (3rd grade as opposed to sometime in middle school). My skills are basic at best (learning how to knit in the round was a huge break through for me), but I still enjoy it. 

Over the years, my taste in colors and yarns have certainly changed (does anyone remember the fuzzy yarn in the early 2000's?). Because of my sensitive skin I have to be careful about what materials I work with, so I've really enjoyed working with natural materials (cottons in particular). I'd like to get into working with more animals fibers, but I don't feel worthy. ;) Another thing that I started to notice over the years - my sensitivity to metals. I turn green wherever my skin touches metal, so I also have to be careful about what kind of needles I use; bamboo fits the bill nicely. 

One of the first things I learned how to make was dishcloths, and my sisters and I still make them using the same pattern that I got from my sweet teacher.

My sister made these particular ones, by the way. ;) 

During berry season, we could easily drown in all the cardboard cartons that they come in. We simply re-purposed some of the clean ones to store and display these dishcloth sets. 

In comparing our simple cotton dishcloths to what we buy at the store is an eye-opener. These little things can stand up to just about anything that we throw at them, and trust me, living on a farm puts very high demands on all of our kitchen linens. The dishcloths from the store don't hold water very well and wear out rather quickly compared to 100% cotton hand-made ones. 

Like I said, learning how to knit in the round blew open the doors to so many new and exciting patterns, so I went a little crazy and made a lot of small plushies. Since I didn't really have anyone to share them with (as toys), I attached a string so that they can be ornaments! The string could easily be removed if you would rather have a plush instead of an ornament. 

I like how each of the hedgehogs have different personalities. It wasn't on purpose, but it's just how their faces came out. They're all still very sweet, but each just a little different. 

It's a pair of pears! 

I don't know why, but I really like knitting food. :shrugs: Just don't eat the red cap. ;) 

I need to make more of these. Like, a lot more. Like, a squirrel hoard more. 

I think that I need to make another one of these but with three small eggs instead of one GIANT egg. The poor bird that laid this. :P 

Are you interested in any of these? You can shoot me an email via the tool on the sidebar, and we can start chatting! 

Until next time,

SG

Spot the Sleepy Puppy

Sorry that I haven't posted anything lately... Between getting a job and all the things going on 'round our farm, I haven't had a whole lot of time to dedicate to sewing... The sewing that I have been able to do has been in bits and pieces, making for slow progress on any project.

Anyways...

I found the most adorable sewing book at the library. And I truly mean the most adorable. Storybook Toys by Jill Hamor is certainly a book that every seamstress wants in her collection. Even if it is just for the world's cutest pictures. 

I loved the book so much that I put it on my Christmas/birthday wish-list. Lo-and-behold, it was under the tree. ;) But I haven't had an excuse to make one of the projects in it 'til now. 

A couple in our church just adopted a little boy. They've been waiting for a baby for two years, and now they have a little boy. I've been making quilts for all the babies lately, but I wanted to break my trend and try something different. Spot the puppy was the perfect thing to make for the little one. 

I even had all the supplies in my stash.  

I love having all my fabric on mini bolts. I can quickly scan everything to see if I have what I need before I made a mad dash to the craft store to get what I need. 

I transferred the patterns onto Swedish tracing paper (best gift EVER! I use that stuff all the time!) and cut out the pieces.  

As I was cutting out the fabric, I was really beginning to wonder, 'How on earth are these pieces going to make a dog?!' I trusted the directions and followed them to the letter. I wasn't disappointed; I had a sweet, lounging puppy when all was said and done. Actually, I didn't follow it to the letter exactly. (Big surprise there ;) ) The directions are for a pajama holder for your little one. I wanted a plushie, so I didn't put in the pocket inside the puppy's belly. I just stuffed him all the way and closed him up. 

I truly believe that faces are what make or break a doll or critter. Actually, I'm :really: picky about toy faces. One of my biggest pet-peeves is people who put weird or freaky faces on dolls. I guess of all pet-peeves, that's an okay one to have.  

With that all said, no pressure, right? I mean, how hard can a dog face be? Well, the face pieces weren't part of the pattern. ;) I took a deep breath and started to free-hand cut the felt into what sort of resembled what was in the book. After getting the eyes and nose cut and positioned on the face, it needed a little something extra. A spot around the eye was the perfect addition. 

G'night, Spot!

Until next time!

SG

Disclaimer: I haven't gotten anything for 'reviewing' the book. I just wanted to share it with you :) 

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.

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