An Angel For My Christmas Tree

I've had a "cutter" quilt in my garage for some time now which was made many years ago by my grandmother. A cutter quilt is a worn, frayed, quilt which can no longer be used as a quilt. I don't like cutting into old quilts but I decided that it was the only way to keep any memory of this quilt. Since I try to make a new ornament every year for my Christmas tree,  I decided to make little quilted Christmas ornaments to share with family and friends.

Supplies:

• Small scraps from old cutter quilt
• Craft buttons - 3/8"
• Curly doll hair
• Ribbon for bow
• Jute or other ribbon/string for hanger
• Needle and thread
• Glue gun
• Fine point marker 

Cut a heart and a triangle from the quilt. Sew a running stitch around the edges to prevent the batting from falling out. Overlap the triangle on top of the heart and sew or glue in place. Draw eyes on the button face and glue to the top of the triangle. Glue curly hair to top of the button head. Add a bow and a hanger. You could also add a date or other information to the back of the ornament.

What are your favorite little Christmas tree projects?

Little Weekend Projects

It's a rainy, dark, gloomy Monday, my favorite kind of day to sew. It is not, however, a good day to take photos of my weekend projects. I have this book on my Christmas list but, apparently, it won't be available until after Christmas. That's okay. It looks like it will be worth the wait.

Last Christmas, I made new stockings for my family. They were velveteen with embroidered cuffs. My daughter and her husband had a new kitty named Louie so I made him a small stocking with the scraps. This year, they have another kitty named Mia who, of course, needs a stocking. I still had enough scraps left for one more little kitty stocking. Cats love Christmas, too!

Louie

Mia

I found this canvas tote bag in the clearance department at Hobby Lobby for $2.99. The machine embroidery design was a free download for members from the ASG website. Now I have a nifty little tote bag to carry my supplies to my monthly ASG meeting. I need to get back to Hobby Lobby and get more of these totes before they are all gone.

I found these cute little fat quarters at Tuesday Morning, seven of them to be exact, for only $3.99! I have no idea what I will make with Tiny Toons fabric but I could not resist. Any suggestions? Tuesday Morning is close to Hobby Lobby and I try to run in occasionally because you just never know what little treasure you might find there.

What are your favorite rainy day crafts?

Kwik Sew 3915

I'm starting to really like Kwik Sew patterns, especially since I got my new coverstitch machine. I picked up 3915 a couple of weeks ago when I had a coupon from the local fabric shop. Kwik Sew patterns are a little pricey and they hardly ever go on sale locally. This is a new pattern and I couldn't find any reviews on PatternReview.  I took a chance and it turned out pretty nice. I will definitely use this pattern again.

Since I wasn't sure if I would like it, I did a test sew with a piece of cranberry red polyester interlock knit that I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics on sale for almost nothing. Well, I didn't waste that piece of fabric because I love the pattern and plan to shop for more knits tomorrow.

This was an extremely quick top to make. I sewed everything on the serger and coverstitch machine except for the little loops for the buttons and the row of gathering for the front collar.

What did you make today?

Silky Scarves

I decided that I need to start accessorizing more so I have been on a scarf kick lately. I bought 2 yards of a couple of silky print fabrics at Hancock Fabrics. Since the fabrics were 60 inches wide, I was able to cut 3 scarves from each, 20 inches wide by 72 inches long. For this scarf, I folded the fabric right sides together lengthwise and serged the long seam. Then I serged the shorter crosswise seam, tucking one side of the scarf inside the other and leaving 2 inches for turning. I pressed the seams lightly so that the scarf still has body and does not look too flattened. There are lots of tutorials for these on the web. Just search eternity scarf or infinity scarf.

 This is the same scarf wrapped one more time around the neck for a shorter version.

This scarf is cut to the same dimensions as the scarf above but is not stitched into a circle. It is just a traditional long scarf. Fold right sides together and stitch across the ends and along the long edge, leaving an opening for turning.

I bought a yard of this pretty 45 inch wide print at WalMart for $3.00 per yard and cut into 2 strips, about 22 x 36 to make 2 scarves with a finished size of about 10 1/2 inches wide and 35 1/5 inches in circumference. Since it is a shorter scarf, I added a mobius twist so that it would drape nicely.

The cost for these scarves ranged from $1.50 to $2.75 each! Quick and easy Christmas gifts for the ladies on my list!

Janome Coverpro 1000 CPX

I decided on the Janome Coverpro coverstitch machine. There is a great support group on Patternreview. There is a four part guide with tips and great information provided by Coverpro owners. There are also several useful videos on youtube.com with helpful hints such as how to remove the fabric without unraveling the hem. I told my hubby that it would revolutionize my sewing. That might be just a little bit of an exaggeration but not much. He said it sounds like I should get one just as long as I charge it on the card that earns his free flights!

I had a busy weekend and haven't been able to actually sew with it yet. I did try it out though since it was threaded and ready to go right out of the box. This sample hem was stitched after removing one of the 3 needles with very few adjustments.

 
Now I will really enjoy sewing with knits. Any suggestions on mail order sources for nice knit fabrics?