OMG for December - completed :)

Despite - you know - CHRISTMAS - and despite the fact that hubby has been home for a week (and I don't want to say that he's driving me crazy, but he's driving me crazy), I got my December OMG goal completed.  I wanted to finish this dinosaur quilt, and it's now done and in the washing machine :)  I posted my December goal here ... and here's the completed quilt, hanging on my clothesline :D

OMG dinosaur quilt completed :)

The back of the quilt

I did a quick finish to get this project done and donated - I couldn't find dinosaur fleece on sale when I looked, so I picked a print that had the right colours in it, and birthed the quilt with it.  I did some very simple stitch in the ditch quilting to anchor the backing to the QAYG quilt top, and called it a day.  He's done, and he's warm and snuggly and cute - I'm happy :)  He'll be headed off to Blue Hills next week for a kiddo who will hopefully be very happy with it!

Posting to December's OMG finish link-up here :) ... and my previous OMG posts here :)

The last tidbits (I think?!) of my pre-Christmas sewing :D

Last minute batcapes completed just before we went to visit friends with 2 granddaughters - I'm up for equal representation for the ladies, in the superhero department ;)

One last Batman wallet finished as a little extra in a Christmas gift :)

Source

Speaking of my Batman fabric - I'm definitely not done playing with it.  My Batman, though, is the Adam West and Burt Ward variety from the 60's ... that was pretty rockin' fare for kids back then!  BAM! POW!  ;)  *still crushing on Adam West almost 50 years later :)*

I ran out of drawstring gift bags while I was finishing up the last minute wrapping, so I whipped up a few reindeer that were already kitted :D

This is a good bag to have on hand in varying sizes - you never know when you'll need to wrap something in a reindeer!  ;)

Due to a miscount and a gifting rearrange episode, I was short a couple of snowman puppets, so I whipped these up in time to tuck them into the gift bag for Christmas gifting :D  This is another one of those items that would be handy to have stashed away in the gift box for unexpected or last minute gifting!


OK that's it for now - I have a large-ish project to upload before I get cracking on the housework ... stay tuned ... ;)

Batman :)

It's been a Batman kind of month so far, and I'm finally done my Batman projects - here are some photos :D

Batman wallet under construction - tutorial here :)

Finshed wallet (inside) and a Batman pillowcase :)

Outside of the wallet :)

Then I went outside into the snow ...

I took a chair with me for company ...

And I hung a bunch of Batman capes on the clothesline :D  As you can tell, it got pretty windy!

A split second of almost calm :)

 But of course the wind picked back up again, so I went inside ...

And took this photo from my kitchen patio door, LOL.

16 Batman capes are all finished for a birthday party :D  The Batman pillowcase and the wallet (along with a Hot Wheels batvehicle and some Batman stickers) will be tucked in with the capes as a surprise bonus :D  I need to find a box big enough to hold these, and then get them in the mail tomorrow - I hope the recipient likes them!  I made 18 capes altogether - one has already been gifted, and one - well - it came to a sad end when there was a glue mishap.  Sad - very sad.  But he died valiantly, and gave up his life so that another cape could live freely, without extraneous glue.  It was very touching.  Or possibly, I'm just a bit touched - one or t'other ;)

I'm not finished with Rudolph yet :D

When I spotted this applique, I knew it needed to translate into a drawstring gift bag :D  Or rather - THREE drawstring gift bags, for my neighbour kiddies :)  Tucked inside each bag is a pillowcase (these two, and this one), some candy, a fun pen and a key cap cover.  They're also getting a snowman set - I used one of my snowman drawstring bags to hold 3 hand puppets, snowman and snowflake stickers, some glittery snow playdough (which I'll make the day I give them the gift), and some cookie cutters :D  I think this will be my last upload to Bag It - the challenge closes in 4 hours, and I'm about to head down to the basement to hem 3 pairs of work pants and make a Batman cape :D  An elf's work is never done, apparently!

Posting 3 bags to Bag It :)  Thanks Patty, for all your hard work!

Snowmen, dogs and foxes hang out in my back yard :D

I took this picture while the snow was coming down, lol.  Here are 3 snowman drawstring gift bags (tutorial here) that I made for Christmas gifting purposes :D  I want to make more of them so I ordered more large buttons from Ebay - it's way cheaper than buying them @ the fabric store in town :D  These will be uploaded to the Bag It challenge (ending December 16), and will go also go in Ho Ho Ho for December (when the link goes up) :)

 I've been making Batman capes for my niece, for her son's 5th birthday party next month :)  I think having a Batman party qualifies mom for the Coolest Mom Ever award!  I believe the superhero himself will be visiting - for some reason I wish I was a 5 year old boy now, LOL!  These ones are all size 6 ...


Here are a few more of the capes - the 3 on the left are size 4, then there's a size 2 and one of the size 6's.  

Here are all the capes that are completed (I have 12 done of 16 needed), hanging out on the clothesline for their photographic debut.  The penultimate one, far right, is shy, so he's showing off his lining instead of his emblem ;)

 A couple of Christmas gift pillowcases - dogs (left) and foxes (foxii?  ;D) (right) :)

A close-up of the dog fabric ...

... and a close-up of the fox fabric.  This print seems to dance and wiggle when I try to take a picture - like some prints I've seen, it doesn't like having it's picture taken!  It's mini foxes :D

I spotted a cute pin yesterday and got it made less than 24 hours after I found it :D  Tutorial is here, and includes a downloadable template for Rudolph :D  His nose, by the way, is a fluffy pom pom ;)  I think this is a great bag design for the gentlemen we know and love and have trouble shopping for!  Rudy counts as #26 in my not-very-successful 52 in 16 attempt (52 new bag designs in 2016) - I still have 18 days left in 2016 to complete 26 more bags - where are the sewing elves when I need them :D


Linking up to several linky parties with these projects:
Reindeer bag will go to New to Me, Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew, and Bag It.   The snowman bags will go to Ho Ho Ho and Bag It.  The pillowcases go to Ho Ho Ho, and the Batman capes won't be going anywhere other than Stittsville, Ontario (when I get the last 4 finished) :D

Reindeer and stuff! *rubs hands together with glee* :D

 I think I need to create some cuter finger (and hand) puppet holders, lol. Frixion pens in thread spools are serviceable - but not very cute!  And these reindeer puppets are definitely cute, IIDSSM :)  The pattern is a freebie from The Red Boot Quilt Company - you can download it from Craftsy or from the Red Boot website :)  She did hers as ornaments - I left an opening in the bottom of mine to make finger puppets :D

 Snowman flex frame bags - I used the snowman fabric (from Walmart in the States) to make a Santa sack for a great nephew, and with some of the scraps, I whipped up several flex frame bags.  The tall one in the middle will be the packaging for a gift of a 3pk of Lindor chocolates ... and a gift card :)

 When I did my first batch of rocket puppets I wasn't pleased with how they turned out - they were just too plain.  I wanted them to go with a solar system bag for a solar/rockety themed gift.  I whipped these up and am very pleased with the results - they're cute :)  Although - when I looked at the original rockets just now, to get the link to the page, I didn't think they were all that bad, LOL!   Absence apparently makes the heart grow fonder!  ;)

 Another finger puppet here - Mr. Chickadee :)  I've had this website bookmarked for quite a while because she has an awesome collection of tutorials - aka Susan's Critters  and Susan's Birds :)  Someone pinned the chickadee pattern recently - I whipped this little one up last night - and as usual, finger puppetized the ornament pattern ;)  I'm thinking of doing more bird puppets for a gift for next year, so I'm going to put this one away until I can get more made.  I think a collection of bird puppets (or ornaments) along with a bird watching book for kids, would make an awesome gift!  Presented in a drawstring gift bag, of course, embellished with a bird or two :D

 From the &!#$ happens files, this is what can happen if you're winding a bobbin on a sewing machine that does the winding at superfast speed.  I wasn't watching the bobbin - I was probably looking at the TV, and this is what happened, LOL.

Needless to say, I wasn't going to pick out the loopy thread to try to salvage the thread at the beginning of the wind - I pitched this puppy in the garbage can with nary a thought, and wound another one - on a metal bobbin, LOL.  Watch your bobbins, ladies - sometimes life hands you a bobbin nest!  ;)

I took some pictures this morning of some pillowcases and drawstring bags I've completed in the last few days - it was snowing out but still fairly mild - quite a pretty day :)  I sent the pictures to my laptop from my cellphone, but they haven't arrived yet so I'll post them later.  They're all Christmas gifts as well :D

Flex frame bags are being posted to Bag It - the challenge closes in a few days (December 16, 2016) so if you're entering or are thinking about entering, get cracking!  ;)  The gifts (everything but the thread nests - those are for my own personal entertainment purposes :D) will be posted to Ho Ho Ho for December (when the linky goes up), and the reindeer puppets will go to the New to Me linky when IT goes up :)

OMG - December :)

Here's a quick drive-by post because my oven is going to beep in a few minutes to tell me that my turkey is finished cooking, lol.  I checked it a few minutes ago and it needed about 10 more minutes, so it's a good thing I type fast!  ;)

My goal for OMG this month is to actually finish the quilt I've been working on. I posted a picture last month of the progress I had made in November, which was to finish the last 2 (of 9) blocks, to QAYG them, and to trim them down to size.  I actually got the entire quilt top put together in November, so this month's goal is to buy the fleece for the backing, then birth and tie this puppy so it's ready to be donated :)

Posting this to the December goal setting party here :)

A couple of fun purchases :D

Of course I've been doing lots of Christmas shopping and sewing, but I've also snuck in a bit of shopping for myself - that's fun shopping!  Here are some recent (fun) purchases - NAYY!

Kismet Trinket Box pattern - I saw the announcement that Sara was going to be uploading a new pattern on her birthday, and as soon as I saw it I *had to have it* :D  And I did order it as soon as it went up, lol.  Check out the tester versions - WOW!   Here's a picture shamelessly stolen from her blog - Sara, I hope you don't mind :)  This part of the description (along with the price - $5US!) was what sold me:  "With minimal pieces to cut out and less than 20 sewing steps, these boxes come together quickly" :)

Kismet Trinket Boxes from Sew Sweetness :)

Yesterday I bought something fun - I went out for lunch with our oldest son, and we stopped @ Walmart to pick up a few things.  I bought these for ME :)  I bet you didn't know that Suddenly Sandra is a 12 year old boy, masquerading as a (54 year old) lady or a 54 year (old lady)  :D

Poop slippers :D

Same poop pictures, different angle, LOL!

I've also picked up a couple of craft books and a couple of DVDs ... this book is particularly lovely - I pre-ordered it in July, and it arrived last week :)  I can't resist that wonky kitty cat, and he'll be my first project :D

Cute & Clever Totes, by Mary Hertel

I know I'm not the only one using Christmas shopping as an excuse to grab goodies for myself - who else has done this, and what have you bought?  :D

I can now close down November :D

More Christmas sewing -  I tend to assembly-line projects when it's something I like - it saves time, and uses up a nice lil bit of stash.  Here are a few projects I've finished this month in multiplicate :D

First up - more Eunice bags - I've now made 9 of them, at last count.  These are Christmas gifts for my neighbour girls - they'll have other goodies tucked inside (stickers etc.) :)

Eunice bags

Wallets - tutorial here - I did some of these last year for Christmas gifts, and this year I'm doing some for the kids that didn't get one last year.  Some of them will get goodies tucked inside - gift cards or maybe even a little bit of $$$ ;)

Kids wallets

Close-up of the inside of the wallet

Snowman hand puppets!   I used this pattern, but I sewed mine together - I don't actually make *glued* projects, generally - it's great for kids, but I prefer something a little more permanent :D  These are for some neighour kids - I'm going to make one of my snowman drawstring bags (tutorial here) to hold them - I think it's very appropos :D

Snowman hand puppets

I'm not very happy with my rocket finger puppets - things went awry from the first moment I started them, and didn't improve as I continued to work on them. They're too plain, and there's a problem with the ric rac on some of them - I'm just not pleased with the finished items, and will be making a new set.  Not everything works out well, and these fit that description :D  (The pattern for the rocket is from a Rocket Toss game I bought on Craftsy years ago - it's no longer available)

Rocket finger puppets - not a success, lol

Christmas gift pillowcases :)  Nice stash busting (about a meter per case), quick to make up (even with all the raw seams zigzagged) and best of all - useful :)   I hope the kids like them :)

3 kids pillowcases - ants, ants and ladybugs 

Close-up of the ladybug fabric (from Fabricland)

Close-up of the red ant fabric (Fabricland)

Close-up of the blue ant fabric (Fabricland)

Recently I posted a picture of some Eunice bags I had finished up - one of the bags was made with soccer fabric (from Joanns).   These 2 items will be tucked in that soccer bag - a wallet, and a flex frame bag - I wanted to use up the scraps, and I thought these would be fun for an 8 year old boy :)

Flex frame bag and wallet front

Flex frame bag and wallet back

That's it for now - I'm tempted to take a break, but I have lots of things I could be working on - and besides - sewing is fun :D  I'll be back in Santa's workshop dungeon tomorrow, I expect, working away on something :D

Linking up with several linky parties:
- Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew for November (all of these items, lol)
- New to Me for November (snowman and rocket puppets - a success, and a fail!)
- Bag It - the 2 Eunice bags :)

Ladybug ladybug - fly away home :)

Quicky post, as I have to get some finger puppets finished up today, and I haven't even printed out the pattern, oops!  I just finished this project off, and I'm so pleased with it that I had to post it right away :)

Ladybug drawstring bag :)

Presenting ... ladybug drawstring bag :D  The tutorial is here - I printed out her pattern - I printed it out scaled to fit my paper (8.5" x 11"), proportionately, then increased the size by 50%.   My bag finished to 8" tall x 8" wide.  The wings are separate from the main body bag, but I tacked them down at the very bottom so they'd sit in place nicely.  The black dots are little sequins I stitched onto to the wings :)  If I can say so myself without sounding boasty, this is a mighty cute ladybug bag, and officially counts as #25 in my "52 in 16" goal.  I'm pretty sure I won't reach my goal in the next 4 weeks, LOL, but at the very least, I should pass the half-way mark?!  :D

Drawstring bag and finger puppets :)

These are the finger puppets I finished up that needed a cute storage bag to keep them corralled :D  This set of goodies is part of a Christmas gift for a 4 year old girl - her brothers' gifts are almost finished as well, and will be posted when I get them finished :D

All the puppets and the ladybug bag are new projects for me, so I get to post them to Fiona's New to Me for this month ... and since they're Christmas gifts as well, they qualify for Ho Ho Ho for November as well - YAY ME :)  ETA:  Oh yes!  The ladybug bag is going in the Bag It challenge - I almost forgot!

OK!  Butt off computer and back to sewing machine in 3 ... 2 ...

;)