the twilight scoody

Whenever I finish sewing something I show it to my husband.  Much like a child says to their parent “listen to this! watch me!”, he feigns interest at this point… I think it’s to encourage me to show him *only* the finished product, not the 59372 steps in between.  He calls it “inspection”, and my work is usually “approved”… sort of a quality control I guess

I can tell when he really likes something that I’ve been working on because his eyes get really wide and he usually says something like “WOW”… if he doesn’t care for it he makes a face, then pretends that he didn’t make the face, then asks me pointed questions to guide me to the “right way”.

When I showed him this new scoody, his eyes got really wide.  Then he told me to flip it around (they’re all reversible) and said I looked like a vampire.  It’s totally a vampire scoody!

He thinks that the black side out looks more vampire-ish, but I think the black side in is cozier.  I do have to tell you that this black rose swirl fabric was the WORST to cut.  I’ve cut and sewn shag minky and it wasn’t as bad as this stuff.  It looks like black muppet exploded all over the kitchen and the static is keeping all of it attached to every surface.  But it’s pretty snuggly…

christmas ninja part 5: things to keep stuff warm

The next and possibly the last category of  xmas-making-of-things.  I suppose the tablet cozy could have fallen into this catagory, had it not already been in the last one.  First, let’s start with something for me!

I saw this yarn around new years and had to have it.  Then I started working with it and figured out that I was gonna need more.   Then I had to find a third store to finish filling my need.

I just love the colors and I used a ‘Q’ sized hook (which was comically large) and 18 balls of yarn.  The blanket is enormous, I think it would fit on a queen sized bed.

Second entry: a tea cozy for Nana

I had the measurements of the teapot, but that’s all I had.  I used this Emily Taylor’s Domestic Diva for Riley Blake in red for the outside and in brown for the inside.

All the quilting was freehanded along the damask  pattern on the outside. Binding around the edges and a little loop on top for pulling!

 

Finally, more warm for me: flannel for pyjamas.  I’m going to do a separate post on all of my pyjama pants, by here is the fabric:

oh yeah, gotta love the monkeys

christmas ninja part 4: bags to put things in

I started to realize that if I outlined every single thing that I made this xmas, I would be here until Easter, so I’m grouping widely, just let me know if you want me to slow down and show you something in more detail.

Exhibit 1: the tablet case.

Robot print on the outside, circuit board print on the inside, this beauty was intended for my dad’s tablet.  No velcro or clasps to scratch it up, there are magnets sewn into the inner faces.

In my defense, it fit my iPad with loads of room to spare in both dimensions.  Fluffy quilting make it soft padding for crashing into things, like dogs (my parents have 3 enormous siberian huskies).   How was I to know that his tablet is like 3 times thicker and an about 25% longer than an iPad?

V2:

By repositioning the magnet onto a little flap, I extended the reach of this baby by several inches. It can be closed either with the flap on the inside OR the outside of the body.

My cousin invited my family to her place for dinner… she said not to bring anything, but I wanted to bring something nice for her.  Enter flavored Schnapps… and pretty bag to put it in!

and looky inside!

And lastly, a bag all for me!  This is based on that cute little earbuds case… just bigger. Can you believe I got this stuff on super-duper clearance?  So cool.

It’s seriously neon green!

christmas ninja part 3: the scoody

When ninjas find something that they like, they do it a lot. Inspired by the Scoodie I drafted something that looked more like a hood from a snowsuit.

The process is easy: Make inner, make outer, sew right sides together matching seams as closely as possible, turn and top stitch!  Those orange ‘W’ looking things were my attempt at a visual break… the scarf pieces are quite long. After I cut the left and right hood pieces out, I used the rest of the width for the scarf parts.

The great thing is that they’re reversible – if you don’t feel like cute owls today, you can turn the pylon orange side out – also good if you’re lost in a blizzard.

It’s also upside-downable – if the scarf ends are pointing down you have more face-room, for chinooks, but if the scarf ends are pointing forwards you have more face coverage, for sub-arctic days.

So here are some fine specimens, thank you to Tigger for modeling.

christmas ninja part 2: the dressform pincusion

G is taking off for Japan this Christmas (read: “took off”) so I had to finish her gift early. I saw these and actually watched the video to see the instructions and thought they’d be PERFECT for my stitchy family and friends this year… I mean, I love them, so they must too, right?  My father always tells me that the best gifts are ones that you would like to receive yourself… perhaps that’s why I get a lot of tools around Christmas some years…

Anyways, I made a few, so here they are! This one is G’s:

It consists of a cotton exterior stuffed with fiberfill, with a small oval piece of balsa wood on top of a candle holder for a base, a wooden sphere painted in glitter to top it off, and a piece of fuchsia tulle to finish it, and a couple of pretty pearlized pins for good measure. And a whole lot of hot glue – my favorite is the kind with glitter.

Here’s my mom’s:

The front and back are a safety pin pattern and the sides are a zipper pattern.  This one has the top in silver glitter and has a scarf from Martha Stewart’s new glitter eyelash yarn.

This one is my MIL’s:

Notice the orthogonal placement of the measuring tape pattern between the sides and back. This one has gold glitter and gold organza that I dug out of a closet.

merry merry merry

Candy cane reindeer!

I’ve been ninja-ing up some epic xmas posts about the gifts I’ve been making – expect them to be posted soon, as soon as  the recipients receive them!

lost

Lost: 1 very pretty hat

Last seen on this head:

Reward offered if found… I have cookies. I’m very sad. I wore it to Zoolights last night and then took off my hat, cowl, and mittens on strings in the car.  At home I stuffed them all into my bag and went inside.  This morning there were only a cowl and mittens on strings in my bag.  Then I started to cry. :’(

 

hey girl

These Ryan Gosling memes have gotten way out of hand… they’re far too funny!

Quilt Dad had the funniest post I’ve seen about it so far.

My personal faves from his list?

Hey girl, of course I don’t mind if all of our kitchen appliances have Hello Kitty on them. I love her too.

Hey girl, this infinity scarf is totally going to impress the guys at work. especially because you used AMH voile … AND velveteen.

Hey girl, I know you’re unsure about it, but you know what I always say: you can never have too many ruffles.

Hey girl, I’m so glad you signed up for another round of that pillow swap. I think 14 is the perfect number of pillows to have on our bed.

Hey girl, I’m nearly done packing for my business trip tomorrow. Thanks for whipping up these drawstring bags for me: one for my shaving kit, one for my computer cords, & a third for snacks on the plane. Oh look, you already filled it w/ goldfish crackers. You’re the best!

Hey girl, I hope you like that pincushion in your stocking. I had my grandma teach me how to hand sew just so I could make it for you. xoxo

Hey girl, I know they look alike, but you totally posted a picture of that quilt before she did. She’s obviously a poser. And fat.

Hey girl, I know we’re short on floor space, so feel free to drape your quilt rows over my Bowflex. I think it looks festive.

Hey girl, come here and check out this episode of Storage Wars. Is that a featherweight? I love when you teach me about sewing machines.

Hey girl, these christmas stockings have been in my family for generations, but we can totally swap them out for those ones you just made.

Hey girl, you still have 322 hexagon templates to cut out? Stick them in my briefcase. It’ll give me something to do during my conference calls.

Hey girl, of course you can leave all of your sewing stuff there. Who needs a formal dining room, anyway?

Hey girl. You, me, Buble, and the hum of your sewing machine. You sure know how to make a house a home. xoxo

Hey girl. I know that’s your “super secret” sewing project for me, but do I spy a scoodie? Oh, it’s going to be a very merry Christmas.

the christmas ninja part 1: the swap

This is the first of what is likely to be many ninja-ed gifts this year. We had a christmas party at work with an optional under-10-dollar gift exchange. I’m not really sure how much these cost to make, but if you count the fact that I charge out my time at a min of 50$ an hour, I think they’re worth about 200-300$   To be honest, I first decided to make them round because I wanted to use bias taping and have not yet mastered the art of corners. :S

I’m not sure why my phone camera is being so difficult… I might have to start using a real camera…

Do you recognize the fabric? When I bought fabric for the Christmas swap I think I bought a 1/2m of each so that I’d have some extra for christmas-y type things, that this is definitely one of those things.

These babies are insulated with insulbright and  triple-duty. First they have the obvious use being a place on which to set a hot pot. Second, they have nice little pockets so when you want to grab a pot, the tops and bottoms of your fingers are covered. Guess who always burns themselves by touching the outside of the stove?

Third, they can store a covered dish either for transport or just for keeping warm. In three different sizes, you could use one for each purpose!

project complete!

Boy, when I get it in my head that I’m going to finish something, I totally get it done!

cowel & beret

I just love the color of the buttons, and I added a fake button to the beret, mostly to help with placement because the details shift around when you stretch it over your head. G had the fabulous idea for matching mittens, so I’m going ahead with that too!!! (because right now my mittens don’t match! It’s tragic, really.)

Beret details