Valerie: July 2009 Archives

"Fat Cat" is a footstool hog, and he is always lazing around on my wicker footstool. He barely fits onto it but  it seems to be a favorite spot none the less, especially when it's time for me to sit and watch a favorite show! That's when I came up with an idea - Nancy, the Gum Drop Pillow queen, always has a pillow or two in the works, and I thought they were really cute. I decided to make the large size - partly because it was about the same height as the footstool and partly to fit "Fat Cat." I also thought it would be cute to put his picture on top.

Well, the first attempt was just a little too rolly poly for him since I used the stuffing the pattern calls for, which made it too firm for him. That's when I got the idea of stuffing it with bean bag pellets. The most economical way to accomplish this was to purchase an inexpensive bean bag and take out the pellets, which is easier said than done.  You gotta love your pets when you have static cling and hundreds of pellets sticking to your body! I ended up pouring the pellets into a box and using a funnel made from lightweight cardboard to pour them directly into the gumdrop pillow form. When it seemed to be firm, yet squishy enough to spread out and fit a "Fat Cat," it was complete. He loves it!

Then came the real time test. After a few sniffs
and sideways glances he decided to give it a try.

Here's a cute little mitten pattern from Oliver + s that could be used as an ornament or package topper. It's a good way to use up scraps of holiday fabric and odd buttons and to practice those embroidery skills. If you go to the "distressed" link you can go to Liesl's Flicker page and see lots of examples. The pattern is smaller than some of the pictures look- so you could enlarge the pattern if you want.

I'll admit I didn't follow the tutorial to the letter. I was a little lazy and just went ahead and blanket stitched the two mitten pieces together and then embroidered through both layers. I wasn't going to use them as gift tags, and the knots on the back should not be visible when they are hung on the tree. I also used ½" ribbon to make the hanging loop, but now I think a ¼" ribbon would have been better in proportion to the small size of the mitten. They turned out very cute, though, and everybody loves them. The fabric I used on the cuff is Laurel Burch's Bountiful Blessings with our white felt used on the mitten.

Laurie in marketing had a great idea - she is going to trace her three sons' hands onto the felt and then trim them out like the mittens. You could embroider their names or initials along with the year. This would make a fun annual family project and a great way to watch those little hands grow and change from year to year!

Well it's that time already - Christmas in July! It's a good time to get a jump on things and have some fun. I recently found a tutorial here for making mini-stockings and creating an advent calendar, and I thought the mini-stockings were way cute. We like to decorate our tree here at Fabric.com with a homemade touch, so these will be perfect! I only made twelve, which seems like a lot when you're making the same thing over and over. I thought about numbering them for the twelve days of Christmas. This project is great as a jumping-off point for adding our own personal touches, and would give me a good excuse to try out one of our new embroidery machines we now carry. I will probably embroider some felt and cut out an oval shape and glue them to the stocking cuffs. Monogramming them would also make a nice touch for both your own tree and to give as gifts.