A Thrift Shop Treasure

In 1976, (dang that seems like a hundred years ago) I bought this pattern and made tons of these felt ornaments. My children were little then, five, three and almost two years old. I sold the ornaments for $20 a dozen to make some extra money for Christmas. I also made enough to decorate our Christmas tree with them.

Over the years, a few got lost.  Then, in 2000, my husband and I sold our house and everything we owned to run away in an RV. I went through all of the Christmas ornaments I had left and divided them up amongst all the now grown up children.  For some reason my children all loved those felt ornaments. Maybe it was because we had them for so long, that it was just a tradition to see them on our tree. Or maybe it was because I made them.

I have been wanting to make some more, but the pattern was long gone. So, you can imagine my delight when I came across the pattern in a thrift store in Flagstaff, Arizona last week. So, I haven’t actually made these yet, but I am sharing the love on the I Made It! Blog party over at Everything Etsy.

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Introducing My Little Shop

Sewing is one of the things I love to do–I spent all day yesterday making these little bags. I piece the outside, then layer it with batting and a lining, add a zipper. They are very useful for things like cosmetics, pencils, gadgets, toiletries.  The smaller brown one in the front is a special request for a medicine bag.

I created a little shop to sell them in, so if you look up to the menu bar above, you’ll see a link for it. Right now, these bags are $8, shipping included, but I can only ship in the United States.  Come back often to look, you never know what I’ll be making next!

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My New Project

Ok, it is not really new–I cut the original 3″ inch strips and sewed them together in March of 2008. The next step was to cut them on a 45 degree angle, then sew them together again. I had a fear of the 45 degree angle, so I put the entire project under the bed and slept on it, literally, for over a year.

Today was the day I decided to tackle those cuts. My folding table is stored behind the back seat of the truck. My iron is in the linen closet. Scissors, rotary cutter, thread, magnetic pin bowl are in the wicker trunk in the living area. The sewing machine, folding chair, cutting mat and rulers are all kept under the bed. It took a while to gather everything together, but I finally got started. Then I couldn’t figure out how to place the ruler on the fabric to accomplish the 45 degree cuts. Dang.

The guy who lives next door is a carpenter. I went over there and asked him about it, so he came over and helped me figure it out. Thanks, Dennis. Between the two of us we got it. He went home and I worked on it all afternoon. The picute above are all the strips I cut today. They are numbered because you have to sew them together in a certain order to get the pattern to come out right.

There are eight sections in all. I finished three of them today. This is going to be a really large quilt, queen sized at least. This one is for Becca and Ken. I have another set of strips all sewn together, with all the same fabrics except one (I didn’t have enough of all the fabrics to make two quilts). The second one is for Seth and Sarah. I am going to send both of them to be quilted by the lady who quilted Becky’s quilt for me. I think these are going to be gorgeous.

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Getting Creative Again

One of my new co-workers is adding a baby boy to their family soon. I had bought these fabrics in Flagstaff on our way up in April, and have been letting them sit there for a while, while I figured out what to do with them. I think they will make a very nice baby quilt for a little boy, don’t you? Now I just have to figure out what pattern to use…

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Jewelry Making Class

Lynda and I went to our wire wrapping class on Saturday. The lady who taught the class makes some really pretty stuff, but she does not allow you to take pictures. I was going to show some of the process of making the bracelets we made, but she told me to “put away my camera”.
I can show the finished product:

I made the bracelet on the right with silver and gold wire in the class. I came home and made the one on the left with silver and copper wire. I definitely need some practice but they are ok for a beginner.

Here is what the clasp looks like. The one I made in class looks a whole lot better than the one I made at home later. Again, it just needs some practice.

These bracelets are 7 and a half inches long. I think I need to make mine 8 inches to fit my “plus size” wrist.

Then, today, I used a different pattern but the same concept to make this bracelet for FabGrandpa. I used a piece of sterling silver patterned wire and gold wire in it. This was really hard to make because it was hard to keep all the wires together and to keep them from bunching up while I was making the binding wraps. I got really frustrated with it and walked away from it three times before I was able to finish it. I like the way the clasp on this one looks.

Here is the front of his bracelet. I can see the mistakes in it, and my father in law probably will too, but then again, it does look pretty good for a beginner, and FabGrandpa liked it.

So, tell me what you think. Will I be able to master this?

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And The Winner Is…

Back on December 18th, I announced my Etsy store opening, and offered a contest to win a “Wait Book” in the color of your choice. I put all the names of people who entered the contest in a paper bag and drew one name out. And the winner is:

Christine of Chris’s Coop! Whooooo Hoooo! Yay Christine! So, Christine, you can email me at FabGrandma at gmail dot com and we can discuss which color you want from the choices I have available.

Y’all stay tuned, I have more stuff to put up for sale in the coming week. I am having so much fun making things to stock my store with!

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