Sewing

Handmade Presents

Hello again! Now that everyone has finally gotten their gifts, I can finally share what I sewed this year. It took forever for our Christmas presents to reach people this year. It’s a good thing we celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas! The Husband said he was told at the post office that the building had been so full of packages that you couldn’t actually walk inside! Crazy times we live in!

Here’s some hats I made. The one with the hippo was for my Dad and the plain red one was for my friend.

My dad one year when I was little, kept singing the song “All I want for Christmas is a Hippopotamus” and we ended up finding him a clay hippo statue at the local thrift store which made us all giggle. I thought it was time for him to have a nice warm hippo hat to remember his daughter. The hat for my friend is lined, although I forget what I lined it with. I think a dbp maybe? He’s outside a lot and I made neck warmers last year for him, so I thought a hat would also be useful. He is married to K1.

For K1, I made a nice Cocoon Cardi and I might have to make a matching one for me. It’s so elegant looking! I did forget pockets though, although sometimes they don’t look nice in dbp if it pulls funny.

The boys got Viking shirts, which was really fun! I had virtual tea with both Ks today and the older boy was wearing his. It warmed my heart!

My younger brother got another set of pjs. This one had flannel pants with food puns and a plain blue raglan shirt.

I made the pun pants in memory of my Grandpa Ollie, who could clear the room with a few well placed puns. My brother says they both fit nicely and are very warm.

Everyone got microwave bowl cozies and a soup mix from Motown Soups. They were a hit! When we had our family zoom with my inlaws and sister in law, the inlaws opened theirs first and my sister in law was so impressed that I had to suggest she not go looking for any until her package actually got there. 🙂 The inlaws got bowling pin fabric. These two below are my parents’ set and my sister in law, I believe. My aunt got lemons and my brother got the same “basgetti” ones that we have. I really need to make a couple more to take to work as they would be extremely helpful there.

The Husband also got one of the pj pants that I have said I’d make him and then didn’t… Whoops! In my defense, the pattern I used first was not comfortable and I couldn’t find another one for a while. Since I’ve found a good pattern now, I can hopefully catch up. This pair has bears in sweaters. The Husband has a thing for bears in sweaters.

Piggy got a few handmade presents as well, although not by me. My inlaws made her some adorable bandanas and a little coat that will need some adjustments. She is still a chonky one.

She also got food treats from K1 when we got our cookies and gets so excited for them!

It’s so funny because she is so little on the face and then opens her mouth and it’s like you can see to Australia! I’ve actually compared it to a Tardis from Dr. Who- much bigger on the inside. 😉

I made these cute ornaments from toilet paper and paper towel tubes, because 2020 may have been sh*t, but I could at least make something pretty with it. 🙂

Behind it you can sort of see the Lego Christmas Village, which has a new home in the china cabinet. What? You mean other people actually display their china in the china cabinet? That’s some small imagination right there it is! Legos look much better there!

We missed the Lego Christmas Village set this year, unfortunately, but did get a really cool A Christmas Carol Lego book, which will look very neat in the village next year.

For my work people, I made a few spa things- peppermint sugar scrubs and green tea peppermint bath salts. I don’t have pictures, but they were both super cute. I packaged them in a zipper pouches. My parents got fun masks too. My dad got a soaring eagle and my mom got pianos that she can wear while teaching.

Although I didn’t make as much as I wanted to make this year, I’m pretty happy with what I did get done. The bowl cozies were super well liked and I gave a lot of people books too. I hope to start earlier this year and make more of Christmas handmade.

For now, I’ll leave you with a peaceful Piggy picture. I don’t know about you, but I could certainly use some extra peace on Mondays!

Crafty · Sewing

All Wrapped Up In Sewing

I accidentally pattern matched on my jammies and didn’t realize it until just now. Disappearing flamingos! Ha! Sometimes it’s the little things that make me happiest.

In other news, I finished the dress for the wedding! Before we have to leave! I still need to make a small purse to take with me, but think I got my carry-on sorted as well.

This bag has been sitting in my UFO box since grad school. That would be four years, for those keeping track. I had it all sewn except for the strap, which was too thick and wouldn’t stay attached to the bag. My older sewing machine had fits trying to make it work.

It has a nice padded and zippered pocket to hold my iPad and enough space to throw  book and sewing project in it for the plane.

I’m glad to finally get it finished and be able to use it. I have to check the airline guidelines to make sure it works within them. How fun is it though for a travel bag?

Now, on to the dress! I was originally going to make a silk dress from a saree; however, I thought all the way through transporting a I had to re-cut the bodice as it was quite apparent that the medium size was meant for someone a bit differently shaped than I am… It is a family event, after all.

It was a crazy, annoying thing, but I figured it out. I’ve not worked with knits before. The seams are a bit messy, but luckily around the middle where you won’t see it. The next time I make it, I will get the seams a little bit neater. I probably should have made a test dress instead of using my good fabric. It worked out though.

This is how I want to wear it for the wedding. It’s in a swanky winery, so I thought the color was appropriate. Someone furry, with a “fancy” name, likes to chase the tails when I am trying to figure out how to tie them. Here are a couple more options.

I do like how this one looks on me. Very neat and simple. The back is just about the same.

This one I think I would like better if this was the back instead of the front. This one has smaller straps across the back.

This one looks so glamorous, I think! Here’s the back.

I might not be able to pull this one off. It might be too much.

Let me know what you think! The Husband says he thinks it’s pretty, but I should probably get “a girl’s opinion.” 🙂 (Fancy doesn’t count. As long as I am petting her, she doesn’t care.)