April Sewing

Wow where did the months go? I went to load pictures today of what we have been up to and realized it has been almost 2 months? Well here it is what we were up to in April, sewing and more sewing.
I was in the spirit of spring decorating and found myself glued to my own sewing machine. M decided she too would like to work on some of her own projects and out came her sewing machine. M received lots of great fat quarters for her birthday and has been slowly using them for various projects. For this project she made a sweet bear from Sew Darn Cute. The bear is pictured on the cover and is a simple project for 7 and up.
http://www.amazon.com/Sew-Darn-Cute-Projects-Embellish/dp/0312383835/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276915456&sr=8-1#noop

Felt Panda

M worked on a project she called "the best" she loves stuff animals and I put a limit into how many come into our house because if M had it her way I'd have one in every corner of the house. So when we looked over "The Cute Book" by Aranzi Aronzo the other day she decided on making this sweet little panda. Most of the mascots in this book are to be made larger by enlarging the given template but M wanted hers to be the actual size given in the book.M was able to follow the directions step by step easily as the book gives detailed written directions and uses step by step illustrations.We found that pining the paper template to our felt made it easier for cutting as well as using sharp fabric scissors.Sewing was the most time consuming part of this project but well worth the end result.This project is best for children 6 and up that are able to sew independently.

Supplies used:felt in black and white (synthetic or wool),fabric scissors,cotton thread,embroidery floss,crewel embroidery needle, googly eyes and polyester stuffing.


http://www.amazon.com/Cute-Book-Aranzi-Aronzo/dp/1932234683/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246844624&sr=8-1

Coin Purse

On a rainy day and a much needed break from the pool M and E worked on these adorable coin purses.I had seen a similar felt purse in the Felt Wee Folks (see book below)book about 4 years ago and couldn't wait until M was old enough to make one.The book provides a pattern for the coin purse and the felt characters for the front flap but I found recently an alternate character template to use. In an episode of the Martha show Jen Hopwood showed how to make Snappy tees with adorable felt characters. The characters snap on and off on the front of kids shirts(see the link below). Jen was also kind enough to provide the templates for the cute felt friends and that is where our owl came from. So the project below is the merging of two great ideas.
M and E had a great time making them and E of course enjoyed the sewing part very much. I had E make one but she did require help and supervision so I would say this project is most suitable for kids ages 6 and up to do independently.

Supplies used in this project: felt (craft or high quality wool) cut to 4" by 10", embroidery floss, crewel embroidery needle, Aileen's tacky glue, pinking shears and a small snap.


http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/2008Q4/tvm_091808_frogandowl.pdf


http://www.amazon.com/Felt-Wee-Folk-Enchanting-Projects/dp/1571201939/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246838534&sr=8-1

Weaving Loom

While shopping with my friend for knitting supplies we walked past this oldie but goody and reminisced on how much fun it was to use the weaving loom when we were both little. Julia also remembered how much time this took her to complete and the end result being victorious.I was sold! Anything that may involve hours of work is great at our house. The winter is long and cold and the temp has been bitter cold -20F making for many indoor play days. As a side note this mom does not play outdoors unless it is 30F or more.I was not a BNR Minnesotan nor will I ever have the stamina to brave the cold as one.As a native Guatemalan and later raised in sunny California, I am still asking why am I here? Oh yes, quality of life....

M enjoyed this project but had many questions(as usual)to why we needed more pot holders?Why did someone cut up their pantyhose to use for potholders?Was this a green project?

The start went well but once we got to the weaving of over and under I recommend pre stretching the loopers.The box indicated to do so and I thought I could skip it but M 's frustration showed me otherwise.

E liked pre stretching the loopers as they served as slingshots.I do not recommend the over and under weaving for a 4 year old as their dexterity is not fully developed to do this on their own.E tried but was frustrated that the hook got caught before looping through.She was able to do the bottom layer which required stretching the loopers straight across the loom and hooking all 18 of them without a problem.

We now are left to finsih the edges there are two ways explained thoroughly by illustrations and directions. We will blog about that later.

http://www.amazon.com/Craft-House-Corporation-Weaving-Loom/dp/B0006O8NEA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1232495326&sr=8-1

Embroidery

The girls were both off this week for winter break and I thought we'd work on things that I had wanted to always but they just seem to lack the patience for. We have two weeks to work on one project which is about the amount time needed to work on embroidery with a 4 year old. E is the only one who continued on her embroidery project from start to finish M found it to be "boring" as she said hence no pictures as she quit early on to her project. Then again E also enjoys cooking,caring for her babies and cleaning so maybe that is why embroidery was up her alley.This is a project where you will need to sit with a four year old and help guide the needle and make sure they do not poke themselves with the needle.I only recommend doing this if you are very patient and understand that your child may work on it for a whole hour or just five minutes at a time.I was especially excited about this project because it is for my friend Jenn who is a regular cook.Jenn is also one of my few friends whom I can see wearing an old fashion farm apron.

Supplies:Embroidery hoop,embroidery transfers by Black Apple

http://www.sublimestitching.com/theblackapple.html

and crewel embroidery needles. carefully threading the needle.

Making progress into the vine motif.

Voila!

Warning:Child may poke your eye several times as they pull the thread up from the hoop.