Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

from the cutest little chick on the block! 

 

 

 

Christmas in October, Part 2

After finishing our new Christmas tree skirt and getting all of the fabric cut for the stockings, I kind of stalled out on finishing them, turning to a few other projects instead.

But this week, I told myself they had to be finished before I could start anything new, and since I was dying to make myself a 241 Tote, I finally got the stockings done.

I used the same fabrics as the tree skirt, Robert Kaufman's O Tinsel Tree collection in the Winter palette (purchased from Hawthorne Threads). I love whites and blues instead of the standard red and green Christmas palette, and the modern yet classic look of this line really appealed to me.

I had to do some very creative cutting to make the fabric I had work for these. When I bought the fabric, I just kind of guessed on how much I'd need for the skirt and stockings, and I was just barely able to make it work.

I decided to do patchwork for the front of the stockings based on the parts of the pattern I used. Each stocking uses the same five fabrics laid out in a slightly different order, with the exception of the cuffs, which all use the Tinsel in Frost fabric, my favorite from the collection.

I used this tutorial from Fabricworm, which I also used last year to make B's temporary stocking. It's well written and easy, especially if you just used a solid piece of fabric for the front and back sections.

I decided to just use a solid piece for the back of the stockings, which you'll rarely see anyway. I used the tinsel fabric for my and Matt's stockings and the Snowflake Dots in Winter for B's stocking.

I lined each of the stockings with the same fleece I used to back the tree skirt. Because the fleece was so thick, I decided to leave out the batting, but if I was making these again, I would probably sub out the fleece and batting for something thinner, like flannel or felt. The fleece turned out to be very bulky, especially around the cuff area.

I'm still debating on whether to add our names or initials to the body or cuffs. Part of me doesn't really care whether we each have our "own" stocking, so the names seem superfluous, but I did like the way B's initial looked on his temporary stocking, so I can't decide. Thoughts?

I still love this little snowman.

I can't wait to see these guys lined up on the fireplace in just a month or so. How is it almost November already??

Sewing for me

I follow a lot of sewing blogs, and it's not unusual for a blogger to get "stuck" on a pattern they love -- from Wiksten Tova shirts to Washi dresses to quilt blocks. Now, I'm guilty of it, too. I love, love, love Noodlehead's 241 Tote pattern, and I just finished my third in about as many weeks.

Finally, after making one for a friend and one for my sister, this one's for me!

I wasn't sewing when Flea Market Fancy caused such a stir the first time around, so it was a bit of a mystery to me why everyone seemed so enamored with the line and had been hoarding it for years. But when it was re-released recently, I finally saw the appeal and knew I had to snag some for myself.

 

I've been planning to use these in a bag for awhile, and the 241 Tote turned out to be the perfect project. The main exterior fabric, strap, and inside pocket are Bouquet in Turquoise. The outside pockets and lining are Leaf & Dot in Gray, and the lining of the pockets are a linen from my stash.

I love how pretty and feminine the bag is, and the soft colors are a perfect taste of spring as the cold sets in around here.

While I love making things for others, it's always nice to make a little time for making something for me, too. This one was worth the wait.

Okay, I think I'm done with this pattern for a little while (unless I get some requests, of course), but it'll definitely stay in my "go to" pile.

Because this is too cute to wait until Halloween

Today, our friends Katie and Chris hosted a pre-Halloween costume party for the kiddos, and Beckett was happy to be in attendance as the world's cutest chicken. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, so I'm going to let them do that. The ridiculously cute lion and elephant in some of the pictures are Katie and Chris's twins, Ben and Ava.

(This one makes me laugh because it looks like B's just dying in the heat. Don't worry, he was fine.)

I also made a few treats that turned out too cute not to share. I pinned this picture earlier this week as inspiration, though I ended up doing brownie pops instead of cake pops because the brownies were easier. (All the pops lined up remind me of the space alien toys from Toy Story.)

I made enough pops to fill my Pyrex dish and then decided to just cut up the rest of the brownies into squares. They still got an eye though. This was also a trial run for B's birthday party in a few weeks, which will have a cute monster theme. I can't wait!