hurrayic

A little felt comes in handy...

You never know when one of those many thrift store felted sweaters (which have been sitting in bins unused for some time now) will come in handy...

like yesterday, in fact...great for our static electricity experiment.

Didn't exactly get the 'wow' results I had hoped (my guess is that the air wasn't as dry?), but the spot of color from the wool sweaters was awfully nice. :)

Green Giveaway Winner

Thank you, Everyone, for your movie and music suggestions!  Some we've watched; some we haven't seen yet.  Some we've listened to; some we haven't heard yet.  So thank you! And thank you to Sew Mama Sew for hosting this Holiday giveaway.

The chosen winner is: Kathy who said:

Love the greens, so pretty! We like to watch some of the classic movies with our kids, like My Fair Lady and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Green Giveaway

For the past several years, Sew Mama Sew has hosted a Giveaway Day.  And for the past several years, I have not participated as a giver.  This year, I thought why not?  I was unable to make any handmades this year specifically for the giveaway (very busy with other handmades), but I figured that some fun supplies are always appreciated. Another plus?  I get to destash a few items...

I'm giving away to 1 winner...

1 skein of Alchemy yarn in Juniper
a small stack of fat quarters with green prints
a small stack of green felted wool squares made from recycled sweaters
    (all are from a pet-free, smoke-free home)

In order to be counted in the giveaway, simply suggest a good family-oriented movie recommendation (new or classic or foreign) or a music album in the comments below.  I'm always looking for suggestions.  Thanks! Oh...and leave an email in your comment so that I can reach you if you win.

Just a few other Sew Mama Sew (and Hurrayic) guidelines:
Only 1 comment per person/household please.
Comments will close promptly on Friday, December 16th at 5pm PST (8pm EST).
I'll post the winner by Sunday, December 18th.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond.
If no response after that time, a new winner will be chosen.

To see and participate in lots of other lovely giveaways, visit Sew Mama Sew!

~~~~ Comments closed! Thank you for the wonderful response. 

Come back Sunday to see who the winner is! ~~~~~

A Little Sewing: A Monster

One of the very first blogs I ever visited (after realizing what a blog was) belonged to Hillary of Wee Wonderfuls.  So naturally, when I saw her book, I was interested in trying out a wee wonderful of my own. 

There are so many lovely dolls and toys in the book.  I love her color combinations and the folkart feel.  I also like her odd little creatures. 

My youngest does too!  He thought the monster, Koji, was very cute.  I can understand why he was drawn to it: humor and mischief wrapped up in one funny little toy. 

 
I chose a kelly-green baby-wale corduroy (it looks minty in these pictures) for the body and used a thrifted sweater (multi-striped) for the spikes down Koji's back.  For his eyes, I used another thrifted sweater and added a simple French knot for the blue centers. 

Here's the ham with his monster!

 

A Little Felting: Bears

Some of you may remember these.  Several years ago, I began making felted purses (cats & bears) from thrifted fulled sweaters and little bits of embroidery.  I made several for a lovely friend. Soon afterwards, I gave a few of them away to other fellow bloggers in a giveaway.  At one point, I thought perhaps I'd try to open an Etsy shop for all kinds of handmade goodies. 

That was 3 years ago! (whew!)  Life stepped up in various ways, and the purses (actually a lot of crafting) were put on the back burner.  Recently, I began to finish a few of the them that I had begun and that were gathering dust (not literally; they were covered) on the shelf. 

I do hope to begin an Etsy shop.  Baby steps, of course.  But for now, I was just glad to add a few finishing touches to some of them.  Still have several more to finish.  It lifts the spirits a bit.