Another Christmas gift.

my sister loves octopus’s, and sometime this year I came across the most adorable pattern for one made out of felt. this is made with all hand stitching so it was again something made while watching a movie I had already seen. this time it was the fellowship of the ring. yeah I made this before Hobbes, even though I posted about him first. I liked this pattern it was easy, though time consuming sewing all those little tentacles. actually cutting them out was harder then sewing them. I don’t know why, it took less time, I guess just the fact I had to cut out sixteen of the same thing. the pattern gives tips on how to make this easier, which I of course didn’t read till after I had them all cut out. oh well, that’s typical of me. I glance over directions, but don’t really pay attention till I have an issue. and yes I do that with every pattern. the pattern also explains what order to sew the body in so your knots all end up on the bottom, making them less obvious. and as you can see the pattern turns out the most adorable little octopus ever!
http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2006/3/sigmund-octopus.aspx

Hobbes plush

now that Christmas is over I can post about what I made people. I only made two gifts this year, which is about normal for me. my sister told me about this Hobbes plush her husband really wanted, and gave me a link for a pattern and tutorial. the pattern was easy to follow, and the hand work made easier by doing it while watching “the return of the king.” yes the best way to get through tedious tasks is to do them while re-watching rather long movies. I did have to resize two of the back stripes, by making them both an inch longer, but that wasn’t a big deal. the one thing I found aggravating about both the pattern and tutorial is I couldn’t find where is said how much fabric to buy. I don’t know if I just missed it, or what. in any case I ended up buying too much fabric. its better to have too much then not enough right? in the end I think a 1/4 yard of each color would suffice. which is actually too much for the white, but all the places I have been that is the smallest cut you can get. you can also see if you look at the tutorial that my placement on the stripes for Hobbes’s arms and legs is slightly off. that is due to the fact I we lost internet for several days, and I guessed at the placement. (should have saved a picture right off) I think it looks alright though,. my brother in law seemed to like it, which is really all that mattered since it was for him. and really I was pleased with it as well. I mean come on its adorable!
Pattern and tutorial here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Stuffed-Hobbes-with-pattern/?ALLSTEPS

A little princess dress

I finished the dress for my niece, who will be turning six in two weeks. I used simplicity pattern # 4764 the only alterations I made to the pattern were because of the scalloped edge on the fabric I didn’t want to turn under the hem, I went ahead and added three growth pleats to the skirt. that way it can be lengthened when she grows if it is something she wishes to have done. plus it looks cute. also I wanted the scalloped edge on the sleeve. I wish now that I had made the sleeve just a bit longer then it is, I didn’t take into account that on the pattern they added a band to the sleeve, which would have made it an inch or so longer. instead of the band I made a casing on the inside for elastic. I’m sure it will be fine, that’s just me being ticky. the other thing to note is I used less crinoline then called for . last years I made her a princess dress as well and its so fluffy its hard for her to navigate, this year I decided to not go quite as big. which in a way is selfish on my part, I don’t care for making the crinoline, its scratchy, yeah I’m a wuss when it comes to that type of thing. the dress though went together really nicely. I did have to add an extra layer of lining to the skirt , but that had to do with the fact the fabric has eyelets and the crinoline would have shown if I didn’t. I’m making a matching dress for her 18 inch doll so they can be all matchy, matchy, when I finish that I will post it too. my niece chose the fabric from my stash, yes I told her to pick whatever she wanted, she of course chose the fanciest thing then went on to tell me exactly what she wanted. “a dress that goes all the way to the floor with puffed sleeves.” so I think this qualifies.

a few detail shots

making a gift.

Eep! what am I making? its a surprise. I am working on this and another little thing, for holiday gifts plus a dress for a little girl who is turning six next month. With the holidays around I have been busy doing things other then sewing, but I need to keep up with my sewing. Sometime in January, maybe February I am going to start on another decade project dress. I think my goal right now will be to focus on the twentieth century first, then move on to earlier dates. I do have a few patterns picked out. Now I just need the fabric. because of course what I have in my stash just wont work.....well...I could make it work, but.... I want to go fabric shopping!