Mike is home!

From mike in the desert

Turtle

From Bend-the-Rules Sewing I made the next toy, a stuffed turtle. I used some blue and orange corduroy that I had in my fabric box.

First I traced and cut the blue body parts



The top is one piece and the bottom is two, the top has darts sewn in.



The legs, head and tail are traced and the legs are sewn together.



The legs are then cut, turned and stuffed. The head is three piece sewn together and the tail failed, I switched to a small felt piece. Once all the parts are together the turtle is sandwiched together.



The turtle is then turned and looks quite turtle like.



Next its stuffed and the stomach hole is hand sewn shut.



The final touch is to add some eye so the turtle can see and then he is complete.

Black Apple Dolls

Inside a Black Apple is one of my favorite online shops and blogs. Not too long ago she went on Martha Stewart and made one of her dolls, the pattern and instructions are available here. I really wanted to make some dolls and these seemed like something I could handle.

The first step is to cut out all of the doll parts.





Next the front of the hair is sewn to the face.





The face is then sewn to the front of the body. The face can be painted or sewn on, I decided to sew since I lack much creativity. Here I have started trying to draw faces out.



The back of the hair is then sewn to the back of the body.



The arms and legs are then sewn, turned and stuffed. I made the legs white thinking it would look like tights but the just look really pale.



Here I have stitched the faces, my Mom voted for open eyes.



The limbs and bodies are layered together and sewn all the way around, when you turn it right side out you have a doll.





The dolls are stuffed then the opening is sewn shut, the result...some long legged dolls!

Hooter Hider/Bosom Buddy/Nursing Cover

Having worked in the library for many years I have seen way to many mothers who think its entirely ok to just whip it out and feed their babies in public. Its an issue some people feel strongly about one way or another but I feel it is inappropriate. I sure don't want to see it and having had teenage boys on my staff who see it and then talk about it all day I am not a fan. There are ways to feed a baby in public without exposing oneself. This is one of them, I first heard about them from a coworker, then saw this tutorial on a craft blog. It seemed fairly easy to make so I thought I would give it a try.

First you cut out the main fabric piece and the strap.

From crafts

The strap is cut into a short and a long piece, both are ironed in half with right sides together.

From crafts

Next they are sewn and turned followed by a seam on each side.

From crafts

On the short strap two d rings are placed in the middle before it is sewn.

From crafts

The long strap gets a curved end, this will go through the d rings.

From crafts

On the main fabric piece a seam is sewn around three sides.

From crafts

On the last/top side the straps are attached.

From crafts

The boning is placed between the straps.

From crafts

Once that is done the hooter hider is complete, the strap goes around your next and the boning helps it keep its shape, it also allows you to see the baby without exposing yourself to the world.

From crafts

A Ball

I found a pattern to make fabric patchwork balls on a blog (I have lost the link, but if I find it I will add it). They gave patterns for three sizes and instructions. Here are the three pattern sizes.



I traced the patterns on various pieces of scrap fabric I have bagged up so some prints may look familiar.



Next I cut out eight pieces for each size ball.



The pieces are pinned and sewn in sets of two.



The sets of two are joined to make sets of four.



The four are joined to make a ball. A small one inch opening is left to turn the ball and stuff it. The opening is hand sewn shut.



I chose to stuff the ball with the small scraps of fabric from all my recent projects. It is a heavy ball but it rolls well. This is the large size, next I will sew the medium and small.

Another Blanket

This blanket was a joint effort between me and my Mom. She has been getting fabric she thinks will be good for the baby and we came up with a plan. My brother cut the squares and when my Mom came to visit we planned the pattern and she started sewing.


Its the same blanket technique I have been making, with flannel squares on top, a flannel back and a cotton/poly lining.


It came out very cute and feels warm and ready to snuggle with.