Holiday Gifts 2016

I can't make all the holiday gifts that I want to give this season. Well, maybe I could if I didn't wait until the last minute... and I can't talk about or share pictures of gifts I'm working on during this time either, so what to do? Well, at the bottom of the post I'll add some links to sites with great sales going on this week since I love to shop online. Of course I solicit local businesses, craft fairs and etsy.com - but traveling to the mall this time of year is out of the question for me.

In the meantime, I can still share my "other" projects here since I usually have a knit or crochet project that I carry around in my purse. These are always quick, repetitive patterns to keep me busy during long waits/car rides since the gift knitting that I'm working on is too complicated to carry around.

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Leave a Comment books, gifts, knitting

December's Projects

Here are some of the projects I finished up 2011 with. Mittens, scarves, hats, Smittens.

Patterns at Ravelry, individual pictures at Flickr.

10 comments gifts, knitting

World’s Largest Pom Pom?

Chanukah has begun, Christmas is a few days away and I’m still creating gifts for friends and family.  Another year without family photo cards, can’t seem to get my act together on that one.  But I did make the world’s largest pom pom.

To go on top of a special hat, hope their neck is strong enough to hold that up.

Happy Holidays!

2 comments gifts, knitting

Hand-Stitched with Love

 

Got one good picture of this snowman and his friend; didn’t have time to iron before rolling it up and wrapping as a gift.  Not sure I should call this “embroidery” as it was just back-stitches and french-knots.  Started a few days ago, finished Christmas day and delivered.  Was glad to get that project done, been thinking about it since I bought the magazine with the pattern in 2003!!! 

Next - a pair of mittens almost done knitting, need to photograph those and another completed last week (burning up the stash yarn!), maybe a quick crochet bag, and an Artful Thursday recap – then it will be 2011!  Can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.

Thank you all for your comments over the past week .. and the whole year – I really appreciate them and the time you take to visit, your feedback and support.  Wishing everyone a safe and warm winter (or cool if you’re on the opposite side of the globe from me!) – and a Happy New Year! - Tammy

4 comments embroidery, gifts

Artful Thursday – Easy Drawstring Bag Tutorial

This is a super easy and quick project… it’s taken me longer to photograph and write up a how-to for this blog post than it did to create this bag.  I whipped up a bunch a few nights ago to wrap some presents in and find it’s a great way to use the mounds of fabric that seem to multiply around here (t-shirts are fabric, too!).  These an eco-friendly way to wrap presents – no paper filling up the recycling bin and they can be washed and reused (how about: a travel bag for shoes;  toy pouch; makeup bag; lingerie bag; storage… how many ideas can you come up with?).

 

What you’ll need:

• Knit fabric – it doesn’t unravel or fray at the edges. (t-shirts are great!)
• Needle, thread, scissors – sewing by machine or hand – for machine sewing you will need a ball-point needle – essential to sew through knits smoothly.
• Ribbon, cord, shoelace, heavy yarn, etc… for drawstring.
• Safety pin or bodkin to help thread the drawstring.
• Embellishments optional – ribbon, embroidery floss, appliqués, fabric paint, etc. – whatever you can think of.

I’m not going to tell you how much fabric you’ll need since I don’t know what you’re wrapping.  How to figure it out?  If you were going to wrap it in paper, that’s about how much fabric you’ll need– you will need some of the overlap for your seams and the drawstring part – so it’s an easy estimate to just lay your item on your fabric and cut away,  no rulers necessary.  Same goes for cording and embellishments – they all go according to the size of the bag you’re making.

How To:

Cut out fabric:

Create drawstring casing - fold over one long edge so that your drawstring will fit inside and stitch close to the edge: I went back and did another row next to that line of stitching to make it extra-sturdy.

Turn to the right-side and embellish your bag: Here I used ribbon** from my etsy shop.

Now fold, right-sides together and stitch around three sides – starting just below your casing: I trimmed all edges with pinking sheers when I was done.

If you like, you can fold up the bottom edge and sew across the two corner triangles that are formed.  This will create a cute flat bottom for your bag.  You can make very large triangles, too, if you want to make a wider bottom for your bag (it all depends on what the bag is for.) Bottom inside-out view: Next, you can trim off those pieces on the corner so they’re not lumpy in your bag:

Turn right-side out: Sorry about the smudge mid-picture… I thought I was getting sun-glare.  Turned out I just needed to clean the lens of my camera.  Must have been from yesterday’s snowy pictures – guess I wasn’t as careful as I thought I was protecting it from wetness.

Almost done!

One more thing is to thread the cording.  In the past I’ve used a safety pin or a pair of hemostats, but I picked up this “Elastic Pull-Thru” by Dyno at an antique store and it’s been super-handy.  I found something similar online:

Threaded, knotted, gift added, cinched and now it’s ready to go:

Let me know if you make any of these, and add a link in the comments to share.

Happy Artful Thursday! 

**I’m kind of tired of selling ribbons in my shop – if anyone wants all the yardage that I have left (it’s not all listed)– make me an offer, please!

7 comments Artful Thursday, fabric, gifts, recycling, sewing, tutorial

EtsyBloggers Carnival – Recipe for a Sweet Treat

 

Today’s Blog Carnival is being hosted by: Spotted Cow Soaps.

“Share your favorite Holiday recipe and tell us why it has become your favorite Holiday recipe.”

My favorite recipes are ones I can share or gift!  The recipe I make every year and that I’m most frequently asked the recipe for is one I often gift to teachers and friends – Frosted Walnuts; followed closely by requests for Rolo Pretzel Treats.   Here it is:

It’s nice packing these in a tin and giving the whole bunch to someone special, too.  Why is it my favorite?  Because it’s easy, so good and makes people smile.

Enjoy!

3 comments food, gifts

Blogging, Knitting

According to [some people on the internet that make up all sorts of rules] good bloggers have consistent posting to keep their readers engaged and coming back for more.  I read so many blogs in my feedreader that if someone isn’t posting regularly, I hardly notice – there’s always 100 or more posts to keep up with.  I usually email subscribe to the most inspiring and check my reader a few times a week.

Personally, I keep ideas in LiveWriter, plan ahead and pre-write some posts – have tons of pictures not yet uploaded here or at flickr… and still I can’t always get my act together.  Hopefully, you’ve subscribed to my updates and are getting these automatically so you know when I’m back online (see upper left-hand column for a subscription box). 

Hmm.. So, what have I been doing?  Keeping up with two teenage daughters.   Baking lots of bread because I can’t justify shelling out $4+/loaf when half of them have additives I’m either allergic to or simply can’t pronounce.  Knitting.  Sewing.  Thinking about baking some holiday treats to give as gifts – check out these two - Saucisson au Chocolat et aux Figues and Ale & Pretzel Soft Caramels.  Last year's caramels were a huge success so I’m ready to try it again.

Been knitting up some fingerless mittens in my spare time – when I’m in waiting rooms, helping with homework, etc…  They’re really mindless to do.

These were a gift and I wasn’t sure the recipient would know what they were without the thumb, so I cut out the back of the box of crackers to make holders for these.  Added “Fingerless Mittens” to the cardboard later on, too.

Pretty simple pattern, just k2,p2 in the round, on dpns for as long as I wanted them to be.  Then for the thumb hole, I stopped at one needle, turned to the wrong side and k2,p2 for 7 or 8 rows until I had it as large as necessary.  Once that was done, I just continued round, joining again, until the top (about another 6 rows). 

How are you handling this holiday season?  Have any “to-do” plans left for the next two weeks?

2 comments food, gifts, knitting

Packaging Edible Gifts

Been having fun coming up with cute and tasty gifts. 

There’s so many good chocolate bars in the stores lately, so I decided to make another batch of these cards, (how-to found here).  I knew they wouldn’t be standard sized, so bought the chocolates first and then tweaked the size of the card template to fit snugly.  Last time, I printed templates directly onto my patterned paper, skipping the overlay step for the inside piece.  This time, all I had was heavy-weight white, so did the basic shape on that and then used patterned paper for the overlay piece.  This worked out well since I have an entire package of white cardstock and can be frugal with the scrapbook paper.

Filled with Chocolove Premium Chocolate Bars:

I couldn’t resist, knowing the “love” would appear in the cut-out of this card, and it tastes sooo good.  Yes, I buy food because of the packaging sometimes – it just makes it special! (Anyone else out there do that?  I’m definitely a sucker for an eye-catching wine label, too.)

If my girls will help out, then I’ll make another bunch for public school teachers next week.  I’m liking this treat a lot because it’s good for male and female teachers.  I think this year I’ll focus on the crafting side of the gifts instead of the baking.  (Check back here in a few weeks… I do have some caramel recipes I wanted to try out, so who knows if I’ll have time and change my mind!)  Readers, are you making or baking holiday gifts this year?

2 comments gifts, holiday

Quick & Easy Crochet Gift Bags

Thanks to the how-to & pattern at CreativeJewishMom, I whipped up a couple of crochet gift bags the other evening.  I left out the decorative edging, and used bright primary colors for two little boys:

I’m glad I found a use for those single balls of bright colors!  These pouches were quick and easy to do.  I added a shoelace for a closure, sewing the knots together so little hands have trouble trying to undo them.  I also sewed the lacing to the bag at the center of the pouch, hoping they stay intact.  When I was done, I used the remaining yarn to make a little catch-all for someone’s desk:

Will fill with some treats, wrap and mail out next week.  This was such a satisfying project – the yarn was chunky & felt so nice in my hands. 

Do you have any quick & easy projects that make you happy?

6 comments crochet, gifts

Crochet Robot

I was surprised (but happy) to see a crochet robot in the first spot of “Giving 101” in this month’s issue of Elle magazine. 

It was encouraging to me that handcrafted items were appreciated enough to be featured here.

1 comment crochet, gifts, robots and aliens

Old Books & New Art For Sale

Pretty descriptive title, huh?

I’ve finally made something new & that fits into my EtsyChai membership – a “Commandments” wall hanging -

found at my etsy shop.

Next, I have tons of old books that my mom brought over from Israel in 1960.  Many of them are school books and they’re all in Hebrew.  I figure someone out there may be interested in these, so I’ve put them up for sale on Ebay.  You can see them here.

 

I actually have many, many more than these 24 – some encyclopedias and more fiction.  I hope someone wants them.  If there’s interest in these 3 lots then I will list some more.

3 comments books, embroidery, gifts, sewing

Crochet Wedding Cake Zero Calories

The wedding was in May… but I finally made a little wedding cake for the bride.  I started out much larger with a heavier weight yarn, but this looked so much more charming.

Cardstock box directions here. 

Now I need to think of engagement ideas for a special cousin.  Any suggestions?

 

4 comments crochet, gifts

Artful Thursday – Stamped Wall Hanging Tutorial

I’ve had this “Commandments” stamp for a while, and it’s always given me trouble when I use it on paper, so I thought I’d try fabric today. I had fabric remnants from curtain lining created years ago so thought this would be a great canvas to make a wall-art present for an upcoming Bat Mitzvah.

The image on the left was created when I placed the stamp face-down on the fabric in the “traditional” stamping method. The image on the right was created when I lay the fabric over the inked stamp and used a brayer to roll over the top.

Careful! Don’t let the fabric slip around.

Next, I cut out squares of cotton quilt-batting for the backs:

I layered the quilt batting and another piece of white fabric behind each piece, then using the free-motion foot on my sewing machine and metallic thread, I outlined some of the images that I stamped.

I kept going back, adding more details, then beads to make the image pop. I'm enjoying the mixed-media approach to art, I can incorporate all the things I love to do!

After I was satisfied with all the beads and quilting, I sewed a piece of sturdy wool felt to the back of the piece and added grommets to hold a hanger. Taking a tip from one of Paper Bird’s Artful Thursday tutorials, I used wire and beads to create a hanger.

On the back I embroidered the Hebrew words “Mazel Tov” - which translates to Good Luck, and is used as a “Congratulations”. I was glad to make this for a friend’s daughter and I hope she enjoys this unique piece!

Happy Artful Thursday.

2 comments Artful Thursday, challenge, embroidery, fabric, gifts, sewing, tutorial

Monday Mashup – Crochet, Knitting, Sewing, Flower Pics

To say that I’m working on many projects would be an understatement.  Here are pictures of: my latest freeform crochet-along on Ravelry; a top I finished knitting and am blocking now; and another flowering plant I discovered blooming in my garden.  I’m also working on some crochet bracelets to sell, and a necklace for an upcoming birthday present.

I made these Quilted Organizers, thanks to jcasa’s great pattern – and now that I have all this fabric taken out of storage and strewn all over my workspace, I’m planning to make a bunch of handbags and maybe some more of these little books:

These are for sale locally, at Apotheca.  The only thing I have to organize now is enough time to be home to work on all these (and early enough in the day to be alert!)

Thanks for all your comments on my posts, I really appreciate your visits and the time you take to leave me your feedback!  In the midst of hectic household stuff, kid’s softball games and the general mayhem of life, I’m looking to my crafting projects to keep me a little calm.  I carry yarn and needles everywhere I go… maybe I will even figure out a good way to carry some hand-sewing with me, too.  While waiting at school pick-up lines, or on the bleachers during a ball game, if I can focus and get some things created, that will make me very happy this week.

Do you take things with you on the go?  What are you going to work on this week?

5 comments crochet, gifts, knitting, sewing

Packaging

Sometimes I struggle with packaging.  Is it easy for you, crafty readers?  Do you have a method for all your items?

For these Love Birds, I wanted to make sure that kids wouldn’t grab and play with them – to keep them clean and to protect the eyes from being poked out of the fabric. So, I:

• bagged them in cellophane corsage bags;
• tied with a strip of fabric from my scrap bag;
• used a Sizzix machine (a great find at a yard sale last summer!) to cut out the hearts from a wool sweater that I had shrunk. 
• Added an eyelet (sewing box salvage from an antique store), and some bakery twine (saved from a real bakery box, thanks to NY bakeries that still use it!) to add some ‘love’.  
• You can find Baker's Twine online, too  (affiliate link).
• Finished each off with a label printed on sticker paper and punched out with a 1” circle punch – (trying to make the most of that tool purchase!)

Since these are going to be on a shelf in a shop, I thought about them differently than  items that I may store at home and sell online.  But now that I have done this, I’m thinking it would be really nice to ship items like this, too & will wrap, everything sold, like this, through V-day. 

There’s an Etsy Packaging Pool at flickr that I turn to sometimes for inspiration.  What about you?

3 comments business, gifts, recycling, use what you have

New Year, New Projects

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you may notice that I start a lot of projects.  I finish many… but certainly not all.  I love the inspiration and new ideas that I’m constantly getting – but once that’s over with, I don’t always have the motivation to keep working on something if I already know how it’s going to turn out.  

I’m not into making “resolutions” – maybe setting some goals is a more appropriate phrase for me.  And still…. I haven’t set any of those.  I’m committed to the usual – exercise more, eat less sweets, spend more time creating then browsing the web, and working on projects that I truly enjoy.

Last week’s scarf ripped out: 

to make way for this quick cowl:

 

The scarf was really, really beautiful, but I just couldn’t commit myself to all the knitting and following a chart – especially when it wasn’t reversible.  So, in a car ride last week, I whipped up the Quickie Cowl, sewed the seam, and gave it as a gift.  It was so nice and quick, I’m going to have to make a few more of those.

Next finished product – not gifted yet… (hope you’re not reading this!)… a pair of fingerless mittens with some great, squishy sock yarn (Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino).  I re-did the 2nd one at least four times, I just couldn’t get the tension right, modified the pattern… what a mess.  Now they’re done and I’m pretty happy. 

This week, I will look for a cute button for the side of these as a little accent.  Or maybe I’ll crochet one.

I also whipped up a great hat last month in bulky wool – I have to get a shot of that one to put up here.  Now onto sewing projects I think .. and thinking of Valentine’s Day projects!

1 comment gifts, knitting

Have a Sweet Holiday

I’ve been baking a little, and crafting a little, and wrapping things up for 2009 (really and metaphorically).  I’ve reached the point where I realize I can’t do everything without getting burnt out – so I’ll have to be happy with what I have done at this point.  I managed to make some treats for teachers for today, but these Honey and Sea Salt Caramels weren’t done until school was over.  They are so good, I almost can’t believe it.  Packed up and ready to travel to family:

When I looked back on one of my old blog posts to get the recipe for the teacher Rolo treats – the link was bad, so if you’ve never had or made these goodies – I’m putting it up here for you and for my own future reference:

Rolo Pretzel Treats

2 bags Rolos, 1 bag mini pretzels, 1 bag pecan halves

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread a single layer of pretzels.  Place one un-wrapped Rolo candy on each pretzel.  Bake at 250 F. for 4 minutes.  Pull out of the oven and squash a pecan half onto the top of each Rolo.  Let cool completely.   Try not to eat them all as you pack them up.

In regards to my Inspiration post… not so inspiring results.  I’ll keep working on the birds pattern, but the first (and second) incarnations didn’t thrill me.  As far as the other projects I had lined up to do – I’m nixing more difficult ones and will probably whip up a couple of bulky scarves and other tiny projects.  It’s a good thing that I still have about a week before I see the folks I’m making these for.

Next year I vow to get a better schedule going and plan each holiday’s crafting far, far in advance.  Not only did I neglect my Etsy shop terribly, I have local opportunities that I let slip by because I procrastinated too much.  Each year I try a little harder to be more organized and be more productive, and each year I can see some progress… I just have to keep working on it. 

4 comments food, gifts, holiday

Mittens on Monday

 

Finished these mittens a while ago (a month, two?) —just had to weave in ends today & photograph.  Nice and snug. Project on Ravelry.

Sock yarn made into fingerless mittens.  Love this color and yarn.  Been working on these on and off, modifying a given pattern, and finally sat down to finish this one today.  Now I just have to hope that the 2nd one comes out the same. Project/pattern on Ravelry.

2 comments gifts, knitting