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custom wool felted bag :: maroon

I had hoped to sell a lot of items on etsy during the holidays, but I didn’t have a lot of time to make things to stock my store. Fortunately, it was because I had custom orders! One of my favorites was a matching messenger bag and scarf. The sweater was huge and superwash wool. It didn’t felt at all, so I had a lot of fabric, but I had to be careful it didn’t unravel while sewing.

maroon wool felted bag

Most of my bags are one of a kinds, depending on the shape and design of the sweater. I’m thinking of writing up a standard pattern, though. I really like how this one turned out.

maroon wool felted bag

I’m also loving my scarves. I made a bunch for Christmas presents this year. I hope to have a tutorial for these up on the blog soon. They are so warm!

maroon wool felted bag

Soon to follow, all of my handmade holiday gifts!

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a million little pieces

Ok. That’s a little bit of an exaggeration. I’m talking about all of the Christmas toys that come with too many pieces and nothing in which to store them. I have to give a thumbs up to the folks who designed M’s drum. They put a handle on it, so you can turn it upside down and store the drumsticks and other instruments inside. Brilliant!

Her awesome eco-friendly tea set could have used an awesome eco-friendly tote or basket, though. And it would have been great if her cute wooden “paper” doll set came with a cute wooden lid. Plus, there is the growing collection of matchbox cars and Thomas trains. I needed to get control over all these bits and pieces, so I sewed up a bunch of drawstring bags last weekend.

These were super easy and economical. I bought the set of fat quarters from Michael’s with my 50% off coupon, the ribbon came from a thrift store and the muslin lining came from one of my amazing garage sale fabric scores last summer. Total for all of the bags: about $4. I love these so much, I’m thinking of making some for my knitting projects. M thinks they’re pretty cool, too.

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donuts!

That word means different things to different people. If you ask T about donuts, he’ll think you are talking about spinning the car around in the ice and snow. It’s an event, as in, “I’m going to an empty parking lot to do donuts.” (In Nebraska, they call them cookies. Weird, huh?)

Let’s talk about the other kind of donut, though. The tasty kind. Over the weekend we were killing time while waiting to pick up a pizza. I decided to dive in to the closest thrift store while T and M hung out in the warm car. I usually do a quick loop to check fabric, yarn and craft stuff, and then breeze through kitchen and household items before heading out. This trip I found something really cool in the kitchen section: donut pans! They looked brand new and were $4 for the set. Ever since I got Jessica Seinfeld’s book, I’ve thought about making donuts, but never really took the time to investigate the molds. I snatched them up and made donuts the very next morning.

They are baked, not fried, so they are more like cake donuts. The only modification I made was to use all pumpkin puree instead of half pumpkin/half sweet potato. The first batch turned out a little small. I didn’t know how much they would rise, so I didn’t want to fill them too high. We got a bunch of little, skinny donuts. I used a lot more batter for the second batch and they turned out great. Better than great, actually. My family inhaled them. I’m surprised they left any sugar on the plate!


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patchwork scarves :: wool and denim

Last summer I bought a cute little patchwork quilt that I’ve been planning to make into a tote bag. When I started deconstructing it, I realized it was made up of long, skinny rectangles. Perfect for scarves! Two scarves, actually: one backed with wool, the other backed with denim.

I think I am officially addicted to making scarves this season. If you are on my holiday gift list, you should probably expect to receive one!

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my creative space

It took a long time for me to get my creative space in order. When T and I both worked from home, we shared this room together. Last year when we finished our basement, we built him an office. It was empty until this past summer—until my week of reading deprivation, actually. With no blogs or television, I went to work clearing out my space. I moved T’s things down into his office. He had a built-in desk, so we donated his to the Mission. I gave away fabric, recycled tons of paper and freecycled a bunch of stuff.

The dresser is T’s from when he was younger and it’s now for my fabric storage. The little wooden pantry is from our kitchen in Maryland. That’s where I keep all the little sewing supplies that can’t sit out with a toddler around. My sewing table is a granite table top that I’ve had since I moved into my first apartment on my own.

We’ve been thinking about getting some matching furniture for me—something inexpensive from Target or Office Depot. It would be nice to have everything match, but I’m really liking this eclectic look. I’m surrounded by lots of memories!

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i made it myself: purl bee blankie

My aunt asked me if I would make a baby blanket for a friend of hers. I had been itching to make this Purl Bee blanket for awhile, so we decided on this pattern. The family is in Arizona, and we agreed flannel might be a better choice than fleece.

purl bee blanket

I followed the pattern exactly except that I basted the ric rac on before sewing everything together. It was my first time using ric rac, and I was a little nervous about getting everything to line up. The basting worked perfectly and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

purl bee blanket

The only thing left to do is give it a good ironing, but I’ll do that just before shipping. Right now it’s staying folded in a plastic bag. The flannel is like a magnet to all of the colored, loose thread bits I’ve got floating around!

Did you make something yourself? Post it here!

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felted wool scarf :: gray and red

So I’ve been trying come up with an idea that makes use of the felted sweater sleeves from my totes and I figured it out. Scarves!

The beauty of these is that they give you all the warmth of wool without having to wear it next to your skin. (I know at least one person for whom this would be perfect.) I am going to make a bunch of these for my etsy shop and will try to keep some of them in neutral color schemes. Dads, brothers and husbands need hand-sewn crafty goodness in their lives, too! More photos over at etsy.

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room with a view

Here’s the view I am facing as I sit at my desk and work today.

We haven’t had sun in almost a week. Seriously! Not since Monday, for sure. How am I supposed to take pictures of my projects for the blog without sun? Mother Nature, please do something!

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holiday shopping online tonight!

Tonight, over at Etsy Labs, there is a Trunk Show featuring handmade items from all over the world. I belong to the Lincoln, Nebraska team, and we will be featured from 7-8 pm CT. All of the members of the Lincoln Handmade Team are so talented — from jewelry making and paper crafting to knitting, crochet, sewing and even soap! Check out all of the wonderful handmade gifts available and then head over to the Trunk Show at 7pm CT for special discounts and prizes. We’re in the “Teams” room!