Another Winter Bird: 12 Months of Ornaments Project 1

I love Jen's bluebird, and since she gave me a sneak peek before I started crafting mine, I went in a different direction so that we'd have some variety to share with you.  My dove with red accents is based on the felt bird ornament kit offered by The Purl Bee here.  The design seemed simple enough, so I printed pictures of the kit and attempted to figure out the construction along the way.

I cut out the biggest bird body from my printout and used it to trace two shapes each on red felt and white batting scraps.  I did the same with the wing, tracing the shape onto felt and batting (two of each).

I used red perle cotton embroidery thread to stitch the red bird bodies to the white bodies, and then I stitched the layered wings onto the bodies with simple X stitches.  I used a scrap of red yarn to make a loop and used my hot glue gun to secure it to the inside (red) of one half of the bird body.  More hot glue attached the two bird bodies to each other -- just a glob of glue in the center of the bodies did the trick.  Gluing the halves together in the center only gives the ornament a bit of dimension.

Winter Bird: 12 Months of Ornaments Project 1

Little Blue Bird

On January 2, Elizabeth and I launched a year long ornament project. I have a little one on the way and need indestructible ornaments for my tree and let's face it... November and December are crazy enough without trying to whip together 12 ornaments. To learn more visit the 2012 Ornament Challenge page and get sewing and sharing!

January's project theme is Winter Bird and I've created my first addition to the tree, Little Blue Bird. I hadn't mentioned that I'm also trying to use up some scraps around the sewing room, so everything you see here came out of a drawer or storage bin. I've scanned the Little Blue Bird pattern in case you'd like to make a flock for your tree. These little birds would also look good as decorations or even a mobile in a child's room.

If you make a winter bird ornament, please take a photo and add it to our Flickr Album to share! We'll be selecting a few to feature as inspiration in an upcoming post.

We'll be posting February's theme soon on the 2012 Ornament Challenge page so don't forget to come back and visit.

Big Finish: Random Reflections Quilt

You may remember that I posted about this quilt when it was in progress back in July. Along the way, I decided that I'd give the finished quilt to my sister as a gift, since she'd given me the print fabric.  A November birthday gift quickly turned into a Christmas gift.



I finished the binding and gave it a run through the washer and dryer to give it a nice crumpled look. Then I covertly embroidered a label for the back while lounging in my parents' living room with the quilt recipients sitting just across the way.



The quilt was wrapped and under the tree by Christmas eve.

;  

On Christmas morning, armed with coffee/tea/hot chocolate and warmed by the fire, we got down to business and started opening gifts. Looks like the quilt was a hit, and I'm glad I decided to give it away to a good home.




(I think she likes it.)

Snowflake Latte

I couldn't resist sharing a snapshot of my snowflake latte, made by my dad on my last morning in Tennessee after Christmas.  Whenever I visit, he hands over my morning brew adorned with smiley faces, Christmas trees, snowmen, and even cats.  The snowflake is a delightful new addition, don't you think?

DIY Applique Onesies

My good friend Anne is expecting her third little boy this month, and I was looking for something special to make her/him because, well, he's sure to have plenty of hand-me-downs, and a new baby deserves something new.  I bought a package of 4 onesies and used a couple of different tutorials to make this set for Baby Benjamin.

One thing I love about the applique monogram tutorial from Skip to My Lou is that it provides PDF files for the whole alphabet, so you can download, resize, and print the letters you need.  I opted for an uppercase and a lowercase B for variety. "B" is for Benjamin.

For the other two onesies, I pulled some favorite fabrics and made neckties. I used the template and instructions provided at Crap I've Made (and yes, that is the best blog title ever created).

Sparkly Cuffs

Ah, the Christmas season lingers and after the cookies have been eaten, the presents unwrapped and now sit there staring at you...patiently waiting for you to put them away, what is a girl to do? Surf the internet of course and find wonderful, sparkly handmade items that are so impressive that it puts my small handmade goods to shame. I'm a little obsessed with cuffs right now and so I stumbled upon Dolores Petunia on Etsy and these cuffs are simply gorgeous as well as being totally custom.  Artist Courtney Price builds elaborate jewelry, headpieces and sashes that make me wonder "how did she do that?". I can just imagine myself in a little black dress with one of these beautiful pieces sparkling on my arm! I've featured my favorites below!

#1 Custom Spiderweb Cuff 

I love the shape and how delicate it is even with all of the volume.

#2 Custom Cuff - Orchid
I especially enjoy this one because of the stunning orchid set into all the sparkle. Orchids are the only plants I can keep alive, and this one is no different!

#3 Custom Cuff - Ruby

I love the little pops of color here and there and that ruby red is a perfect winter shade with grey.
All photos courtesy of Dolores Petunia

 

Grey Chevron Baby Blanket

I know what you're thinking: "Finally, she makes something grey! Isn't that the point of this blog?"  (At least, I'm sure that's what my dad is thinking. He always says "But that's not grey." Thanks Dad.)  Anyway, I love this baby blanket that I knitted, and it couldn't be more grey.



The pattern is the Chevron Baby Blanket from The Purl Bee.  Chevron, zigzag -- whatever you call it, it's lovely and so easy to knit.  The Purl Bee made it in "a delicate spectrum of natural colors."  I made it in alternating heather grey and variegated grey and white using my favorite yarn for baby blankets, Bernat Softee Baby.



I enjoyed making this blanket, especially how quickly it knitted up on size 11 needles. The finished size is approximately 26x36 inches (mine's a little longer than the pattern version). I like this blanket so much that I immediately started another one in a different color combo. After I took this photo, though, I'm not sure if the rose is the best pairing with the variegated yarn, and I'm debating tearing it out and using pale yellow instead. I'd love to hear your opinion -- Should I change the color and start over?