another linen pouch

Yesterday, I showed the new pouch I made for my sister,

well she liked it so much that she asked me to make one

for one of her girlfriends,

so I did, my first commission work!

(well it is still family... but still!)

I used the same Japanese print but a different girl,

and different solid color and zipper.

I think it turned out just as cute,

I am going to make more of them!

Happy sewing!

new little pouch

Last year, I made my sister a little pouch,

like the ones here and here.

Weirdly, I guess I forgot to blog about it,

so I am not even sure when I made it (I use my blog as my journal!)

Anyway, as she was here this weekend,

(my sister and her pouch)

she kind of complained about how the pouch was not long

enough for her make-up pencils,

even though she really enjoyed the pouch.

She is nice, well most of the time,

we are sisters,we are obligated to argue with each other!

So I made her a new version:

longer, less tall.

I used a similar print fabric: a beautiful Japanese print with little girls,

some solid cotton and linen,

I am having a renewed crush on linen,

I know it is not really the season...

The back is simply quilted,

I used some iron on batting, and lined it with off white cotton.

Here are the 2 pouches together:

These prints are just so cute!

She left a happy girl!

My sister, not the pouch!

Happy sewing!

little sister's present

I am a little late to share this cute present with you,

(my sister's birthday was a couple weeks ago)

because last year, she read it on the blog before getting it!

So no faux pas this year!

She has it in her hand now,

it is totally safe to show you!

I used this tutorial from Pink Penguin,

Don't you just love all of  Ayumi's projects?

It went perfectly, just like in the tutorial,

I can totally envision making a few more,

may be a little larger as it is quite small

(6 x 3 x 4) but so cute!.

I was able to use some scraps pieces

from Miss C.'s quilt, and some linen,

everything looks good with linen!




Happy sewing!

It was a happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving,

here we kept it low key.

We set up the table with "our farm" produce,

nothing like natural pumpkins, squash and corn

to decorate the table.

The menu was simple and the company great,

just a perfect day!

Guest posting at Gluesticks

Today I am sharing my advent calendar

at Gluesticks

I am pretty excited, it is my first time,

I feel so special, I was invited!

You can add little giggles in the background,

yep I am a little silly!

Anyway, you can enter my handmade mitten

giveaway here!

Happy crafting!

the 12 days of mitten: the end and a giveaway

We are done with the 12 days of mittens,

I had a great time and a lot of fun.

But what a pressure!

Posting everyday 

(well almost, I had to take the day off for my anniversary!)

is hard work....I will be going back to a more leisurely approach,

a couple times a week.

 If anybody is making/will be making mittens,

 I would love to see pictures,

it would be fun to have a special mitten day,

I guess it will depends on how many mittens are made!

After overwhelming you with mittens,

it is only fair to give some away.

So here it is the mitten giveaway:

4 handmade mittens in the color of your choice:

red, blue, green, pink/purple(2 of each color), or one of each.

Just leave a comment telling me the color of your choice,

Miss C. will choose a number on December 1st,

we are still old school, but her math skills are improving and 

counting to infinity is her new goal (daughter of nerdy scientists!)

So go ahead one more time

and make some mittens!

How to: here and here.

For more inspirations on design check here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 12

For our last day of mitten madness,

here is my favorite use:

hand warmer.

For this project, you will need:

2 mittens,

2 squares of muslin 4.5 x 4.5

1/3 cup of rice or flax seed

thread.

Fold the square in half and stitch around 3 sides,
leaving an opening, I find it easier to leave an opening
on the larger side, just in the middle.

Turn it right side out, iron and filled it with rice.

Stitch the opening close
and you are done!

Now just put the inserts in the mittens,
place them in the microwave for 30 s,
grab the warm/hot mittens, put them in your coat pocket
and go enjoy the great but cool outdoor!

Go ahead,

make 2 mittens!

How to: here and here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 11

We have found many uses for the mittens:

decorating tables, embarrassing guests,

giving pseudo personal gift cards,

getting children high on sugar,

how about decorating the Christmas tree?

Well, not really tree!
We always get a live tree, so no luck for the photo shoot in mid-November!
But the mittens can also be used to decorate stair ways,
and a wreath! (like I did last year on this wreath.)

Over the years, we have put our mittens

on our tree, just to decorate it,

or to hide a little surprise just like you would in a stocking.

Because there is no limitation to color or personalization,

(after all it does not need to have a snow flake on it),

you can make them for every family member including pets.

We have some older ones with bones (cut piece of felt),

with a bear (charm), just let your imagination

and supply decide the direction.

These mittens made perfect decorations for Christmas tree

for family with young children and/or pets,

there are after all made of felt and unbreakable!

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 10

Maybe you found the mitten toiletries kit too silly

(well I would agree with that, but silliness is good for the soul!)

it can still be used as a little present for you guest:

fill them with some little chocolates

and left them on their bed, or night stand,

like in some posh hotel,

nothing says welcome to our home

like nice linen and chocolates!

Well a cup of hot tea on a nice mug rug is also a great addition!

I made this one like the one from last year,
I just skipped a few steps: these hexagons were just applique to the base
and not actually stitched to each other, I used wonder under
and zigzag stitch to keep them together,
I know, it is cheating, but still cute!

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 9

Do you have guests coming over for the holidays?

You know how sometimes when you travel, especially by plane,

it can be difficult to pack all the toiletries

you need on your trip...

well this year, here is what my guest will find:

a mitten with a toothbrush

and a mini toothpaste,

and no, it is not a commentary on their hygiene!

I just happen to often forget to pack one or the other!

Of course, it can be changed to other toiletries

like a razor!

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 8

Yesterday, we put red mittens in the plate,

well may be it is not your style, too traditional.

Because you are making your own mittens,

you can coordinate the color

to your holiday decor,

you are not limited to red and white,

how about a rich blue,

or an intense lime green?

I removed all the reindeer dishes,

and a lot of the traditional accents.

I kept the sleigh table runner,

but one could imagine the table without it

and still have a great wintry feel.

Go ahead,

make some mittens.

How to: here and here

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 7

We have used mittens in a few different ways,

but now let's explore using those mittens

to decorate the holiday table.

You have probably seen the Pottery Barn table setting

where stockings are used to hold the flatware,

well I am doing similar things with mittens!

Which by the way will be a lot cleaner,

come on, it is forbidden at my house to put socks on the table!

I am a huge fan of deer for Christmas,
and yes I did receive the deer dishes from Pottery barn!
I used one of my older quilt as a table runner,
the pattern is from Mount Redoubt Designs.

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here!

Happy sewing!

linked to Centsational Girl: tablescape link party

the 12 days of mitten: day 6

Do you feel done with gift card?

I think we are good for now.

Let look at the perfect little trinket to give

to your children and their classmates.

It is something I have done a lot

for my children when they were in preschool,

and to their group activities: scout, dance,..

It is a great way to give holiday treat

like chocolate/candy cane.

For this one, I would recommend

the fastest and easiest of the mittens.

Children do not really realize the different between

handmade and machine work,

but they do appreciate the mitten!

Go ahead,

have fun and make a mitten!

How to: here and here.

happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 5

Let have another take

on the gift card idea: the teacher gift.

It is always a little difficult,

you want to keep an eye on the budget,

and at the same time give something nice:

how about combining homemade

and gift card:

A mitten with a gift card to a coffee shop

and a coffee cozy!

It can be made with traditional Christmas color,

or more contemporary color,

or whatever tickle your fancy!

It is easy to coordinate your mitten to your cozy...

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to make mittens: here or here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 4

Now that I showed you all the way to make

those silly mittens,

it is time to find more use for them,

 besides advent calendar.

For today, it will be :

drum roll (at least in my head!)

gift card!

here is the gift card before and after:

now which one would you like to give/receive?

the sad one or the cheery one?

Go ahead,

make some mittens!

How to: here and here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 3

Yesterday, on the 12 days of mitten: day 2,

I showed you this year model.

Well it is a great edition,

it is labor intense,

especially if you make 24 for the advent calendar.

So here are some easier and faster version

of similar mittens:

For this one, I still went through step 1 through 5

but I then just stitched it by machine,

a lot faster!

Since the mitten pattern piece is the same,

the opening is a little smaller.

For this example, I did step 1 and 2,

then I place my pattern on top of both layer of felt,

then stitched all around (except for the top).

Then I removed my pattern, and

using picking sheer I cut all around the mitten,

then I attached the ribbon.

This step is a little harder, but it is really fast,

and very cute.

Now for the fastest one of them all:

I did exactly like the previous one,

but skipped attaching the ribbon,

I just made a hole with a hole punch,

and looped the ribbon through the hole!

Pretty and fast!

Of course one can also glue the flake,
but I am not a fan of glue, I know it is quite a shame,
especially since I had lectures in college by Pierre-Gilles de Gennes,
Nobel prize laureate for the chemical property of adhesion,
so basically glue!

So which one is your favorite?

all hand made or quick (but not dirty)?

Go ahead,
make a mitten!

Happy sewing!