Lots of Snowmen

    I made the rest of the snowmen ornaments and used up every inch of the white felted wool I bought.   Very little waste on this project and I love these guys.  There are twenty three of them.  I made two banners of ten snowmen each with some bakers twine and they are hanging in my living room.  The other three are standing with my trees in my dining room.  So much fun.

Making A Fabric Pumpkin

   I got a wild hair a couple of weeks ago to make fabric pumpkins.  I found several videos on Youtube.   There were quite a few videos and some of them were easier then others.  I made mine with just a little bit of hand sewing. 

   I made my pumpkin by cutting a 19" inch circle of fabric.  I did a running stitch 1/2" from the edge with embroidery thread (using all six strands) to gather up the top, stuffed it with fiberfill and closed up the top leaving a little opening to put my stem in it.  I made the stem by cutting a 2 1/2" strip of acrylic felt.  I cut one long edge of the strip making it rough, rolled it up and stuck it in the pumpkin.  You can hot glue the stem in the pumpkin, but I didn't need to.  I made the leaves with the same felt.  I cut a hole in a square of felt and slipped the hole over the stem and cut the leaves in the felt square.   The tendrils are twine treated with fabric stiffener. 

   This was a fun easy project and it would be so cute with some fun Halloween fabric or plain orange.  I will be making more of these to decorate next year.

String Blocks Make A Great Big Dog Bed for McPherson

    I had to make a dog bed for my daughter's little Cairn Terrier, McPherson.  She rescued him in January and he has been a great addition to her life.

     I made him a scrappy bed a couple of months ago with some 3" scraps I needed to get rid of and he loves that bed.  No picture of that effort, sorry, but here's a picture of McPherson.  Isn't he the cutest?  He is 17 pounds of squirrel hunting craziness.

   Since his first scrappy bed lives in the great room area, McPherson needs another bed for the bedroom.  I had some string blocks all ready for this project.  I put 9 of my 10" square string blocks together, sewed that top onto a stabilizing piece of fabric, added a backing pieced together from three fat quarters, stuffed it with three bags of fiberfill and hand sewed the open end.  Done.

Small Fabric Christmas Trees - Fun Sewing

     I love to watch Debbie Shore sewing tutorials on youtube and in one of her videos she makes these ultra cute stuffed Christmas or any holiday or season trees.   Here is a link to her video: fabric Christmas tree tutorial. 

   They are super simple to make.  I just drew a big triangle on a piece of card stock and used that as my template for my tree pieces.  I used fabrics I found in my stash and you can decorate them with thread, beads, bells, buttons or even some of those miniature ornaments you find at the craft store.  I just tied some ribbon to the top to get the pictures done.  I can also see these as a sweet decoration in rooms with color coordinating fabrics and this would so make a cool big pin cushion near the sewing machine in a pinch.

  I did take some time off from working on my quilted shower curtain to make these trees because I needed a little break, but the shower curtain is coming along.  I have the top done and I also added the backing.  I'm in the middle of doing the quilting.  Once I finish the quilting, I will add the buttonholes for hanging and it will be done.  I should have it done in a couple of days and I will share pictures then.  

Neck Pillow For Long Distance Drives

  When I'm not driving, of course.

   I'll be using this around the house as well.  I may even make another for a back up.  I have quite a bit of neck pain and I usually deal with it, but I think this will help me a lot.

    I used this tutorial here.  The link has the .pdf pattern and the sewing instructions.  This project took me about 2 hours from cutting the fabric to the last stitch.  It was fun to make, it fits well, and is super comfortable.  I used cotton fabric from my stash and an almost 12 oz. bag of fiberfill which I bought yesterday.

   Using stash fabric and a $4.00 bag of fiberfill, this would make a nice gift for someone.