Cosmetics Bags

Hello there!

I finally started to sew for Christmas. I cut these a while ago, but didn't have time to touch them before yesterday, when I finally got to sew them all! These will go to my nieces who are getting big enough to want a neat toiletries bag when they go places.

The fabric is some polyester I picked up in an op-shop a while ago, the inside is quilting cotton in either sunshine yellow or burnt orange. I mixed the colours of the handles, the zippers and the inside so no bag is the same.

They are in need of a good pressing, but I couldn't wait to show you, they are so pretty! Now on to the boys' toiletries bags.

A gift set, with links to tutorials :)

Here's a gift set I made today.  The tote is a simple bag (many tutes available online), and the tall pouch was modified from this one :)  The fabric was chosen as she loves horses, and the insides have been personalized with ...

 horse embroidery (freebie) ...

and her name (freebie) :)

I've made several similar sets in themed fabrics to suit the recipients. The boxy bag pattern has been modified from this one, and the tall pouch is linked above.




With the addition of chocolate, lottery tix, bubble bath or dinky cars etc., these are a great gift for men, women and kids of many ages!

knitting through November

Hi folks! 

I'm Becca and I blog over at Knit Happens.  There's been some fab knitting progress happening on here, I'm sadly lagging behind with my Christmas knits but I thought I'd share the little bits I've managed to finish! 

Above you can see the stripey phone sock.  It was super simple and quick to do, you can find the pattern here.  A couple of my friends will be getting these. 

I've also knitted a snood for my nan (as requested, she's so on trend!).  There's been a fair bit of snood lovin' on here, but if you've not had a go yet, here's the pattern I used.  And below is said snood in action, kind of.   

Anyone got any tips for improving knit productivity?

x

Doing it in private . . .

Here's what I decided to make as a surprise present for my daughter - she likes Fair Isle/Nordic style knitwear.  I went for a pair of socks rather than mittens - you're less likely to lose one sock  no matter how drunk you get in the student union bar!  I stopped putting her mits on strings a long time ago. 

My main Christmas craft difficulty (apart from lack of time - obviously there's never enought time) is that I'm struggling to make secret gifts for my partner and younger daughter who lives at home.  I'm considering using work lunch breaks (total three hours per week) otherwise I'll have to lock myself in the bathroom.  What does everyone else do?

Lullaby Lamb Felt Doll

Hi, everyone! I'm Amanda from Virginia, USA. I blog over at Sewin' in the Rain and this is my first time posting at Crafty Christmas Club. I credit CCC for motivating me to finish my first handmade gift of the season!

A little girl in my family is turning 1 around Christmas so I made her this cute little "Lullaby Lamb" doll out of felt, fabric and embroidery floss! The pattern is a design from Gingermelon, an Etsy shop with a bunch of adorable doll patterns available. She's based in Canada but her patterns are sent through e-mail and I got mine almost right away!

The lamb came together pretty easily and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Basic embroidery stitches are used to join the pieces. The original doll height is described as 3.5" (~9 cm) sitting down so I doubled the size of the pattern pieces to get a larger doll. Most pieces are whip stitched together and then stuffed with polyfil, including the wee snout!

Materials include:

• High quality woolen cream felt for the body from Purl Soho in New York. It doesn't pill like cheaper felts and has a smooth feel (though I admit using cheaper felt for the flower at the head and the pillow.)
• Leftover fabric from my first-ever skirt for the foot pads and inner ears.
• Seed beads at the center of the flower.
• Silk satin ribbon at the neck, also from Purl Soho.

I attached the pillow to the body of the lamb so it wouldn't get lost. As you can see, I also added a little message on the pillow! I'd love to make this again or try some of her other patterns. I know it'll go a lot faster now that I've done it once.

Have a wonderful week, and happy crafting!

~Amanda

Surprises - v - perfect fit . . .

I made my daughter (age 18 and away from home at university) a silver ring for Christmas.  Would it fit the finger she'd prefer to wear it on?  Would it fit any of her fingers? Would she even like it?  As the weeks have passed, I've got more nervous so when I saw her on Saturday I let her see the ring and try it on.

Surprise spoilt but she loved the ring and I can now re-size it to fit perfectly. 

Next I have to make a surprise gift for her!

A slow start is better than no start!

Hi All!  I'm Valerie, and I blog over at sewcranky.  I admit to being late to the holiday crafting party and was so excited to be able to get started today.  I'm hoping to get a lot done over the long weekend, as I will not be going to work or out shopping at anything resembling a mall.  Just thinking about the parking is enough to make my stress level spike!

I'm making my (toddler) nephew a chef coat and so wanted to customize the one I'm giving my BIL to match the one I'm giving my nephew.  I'm always excited to be able to use the fancier features on my sewing machines, so (even though this isn't a very exciting post compared with some of the amazing, creative projects I've seen on here (sorry)) I had to share with someone!

I did a test swatch figure out how the placement of the name worked in the embroidery hoop.  I'm not good enough to do this by estimating, so I measured exactly where I wanted his name.  I also used the blue thread in the bobbin so that any bobbin thread that pulled through wouldn't show.

And here it is!  I'm thrilled with how it came out.

Yay!  One down.... several to go.