Boxer Shorts

Hi all...Stitchybritt here, ready to show you my latest Christmas creation - a pair of boxer shorts for boyfriend.  They may seem like a regular old pair of boxer shorts but I am actually really proud of them - not only because they worked out well, but because they were really quick to whip up (about an hour in total) AND they're made from fair-trade, organic cotton.

Here's Snorky helping me to cut out the fabric.  Basically I took an old-worn out pair of boyfriend's boxer shorts and cut them up for a pattern.  I doubt he'll miss them, but I'm not sure how he will feel about me showing you all his pants on the interwebs : s oh well

I then had five pieces - two front, two back, and the lining piece for the front opening.  I stitched them all together with waist elastic and this is what I got...

Pretty neat, huh?  The front opening works like this, so boys can visit the loo easily...

And a simple elasticated waist.  That's all there is to it.  I'm quite pleased with them, and if they fit well, I'll probably make more for boyfriend in the future.

Not long to go now Christmas crafters!  Good luck for your last two weeks of crafting!

Stitchybritt xx

White Elephant wristlet

I've got plans to make about two or three more of these types of bags, based off of A Lemon Squeezy Home's tutorial. I've only got this one completed so far, but thought I'd share now just in case anyone is interested in using the tutorial. I added a strap so that the bag could be a wristlet, which is more portable in my mind than just a clutch.

I made this one for the white elephant gift exchange at work. The owner of my company (male) got it, and I felt a little bad that he ended up with it. But he said that he'd plan to use it to hold his tees when he goes golfing. Go figure.

Embroidered Apron

Hello everyone, KraftyKat back again! Yesterday when i showed you my homemade gift tags i promised to be back soon with some actual finished gifts...and here i am! Today i finished an apron which is a present for my boyfriend, who likes to cook (lucky me!).

I made the apron out of cotton canvas that i picked up at the local market. I traced around an apron that we already had to get the shape, cut it out and sealed the raw edges with bias binding. I used contrasting thread for effect.

Those of you who follow my blog will know that i have recently been on a course to learn hand embroidery - i used this new skill to embroider the shape of a chicken on the front of the apron, using thread to match the straps and stitching. To do this I first printed out an outline picture of a chicken (Google is your friend here!) then cut it out and traced around it onto the front of the apron using tailors chalk. I then stitched a simple backstitch around the outline. I think the result is rather effective.

I think the most fiddly part of the whole process was sewing the straps. I folded the raw ends over twice and stitched around them in a box shape to prevent fraying. I then attached them to the apron, trying to sew within the previous stitching like to keep it tidy. It's still not amazingly neat, but it doesn't show up too much so it's all good!

Right, one gift down, 5 to go. Stressed? Me?!

K xx

Oh Sarah O's Christmas To-Do List

Hello Everyone! My name is Sarah O of ohsaraho, blogger of all things artsy, crafty and fun. Christmas is less than two weeks away, which means that I am in full Christmas elf mode, knitting away on my last minute gifts, completing my last minute Christmas shopping, and wrapping up all of my Christmas gifts to place underneath the tree. Right now I have several projects on my knitting needles that I am hoping to complete. Here's a list of knitting pattern's that I'm hoping to complete this holiday season (note: if you have a Ravelry account you can click the link to view the patterns):

• To Eyre... by Carol Sunday. This shawl pattern is based off of one of the shawls worn in the new Jane Eyre movie (which I have yet to see). I picked up some skeins of Ella Rae Classic wool in a grey/navy blue color for this shawl and can't wait to knit this up and check out the film.

• Cambridge by Carol Sunday. I've had my eye on this shawl ever since I saw those paparazzi photos of Kate Middleton pushing her shopping cart. I've even caught myself thinking that I could shop like a princess, if only I had that shawl. I'm sure I could not afford the original, but thankfully there is a look-a-like pattern available on Ravelry. So this weekend I picked up some skeins of The Spectrum Collection Fluffy Stuff DK yarn in green and began casting-on this shawl. Check out my progress:

• Wurm by katushika. This floppy hat pattern is based off of the hat worn by Michael Cera in the film Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. It looks like a fun, quick knit, but I'm not sure of what colors and what kind of yarn I'm going to use.
• Ribbed Watchman's Hat by Channah Koppel. This pattern was originally designed to create hats for Israeli (IDF) soldiers. I'm actually going to use this pattern to create a navy stocking hat for another soldier that I know whose a little closer to home.
• Winding River Cowl by Kathleen Cubley. I recently purchased some beautiful Lion Brand Amazing yarn in Mesa and hope to quickly knit this up for a family member who often ventures West.
  

Inspiration and tutorials

I am so excited to be a part of the Crafty Christmas Club again this year. I have already begun making the presents for my family and I just wanted to show you some of the great tutorials I have been inspired by.
First I want to share with you the new Pinterest board that I have setup for this purpose: "Making Christmas Gifts 2011". I am a great fan of Pinterest especially if you can link through and find amazing tutorials.
One of my favorite is the Porcupine Pin Cushion  from Prudent Baby. It was so easy to make and look real nice - just something for the people in my life who love sewing.
Another of my favorites is the 3-way laundry bag by // Between the lines //. Its so easy to make and I have already made 3 for myself (check them out here on Grey Duckling) and 2 for family gifts.
Last year I made decoupaged a bowl with stamps for my husband and this year I have also been decoupaging a couple of gifts for the family (more later).
Finally I want to show you a picture of a couple of decoupaged Christmas decorations I made this year (see last years decorations here).  





During the summer I decided to move more of my personal projects over to my own blog "Eddie's Room". Since I am now 8 months pregnant the latest posts have been about making baby stuff so if you are in need of inspiration for baby gifts you are welcome to have a look over there or on my other new Pinterest board "Creating for baby".

Unless I give birth before then I will be back soon with some pictures of the gifts I have made so far.

Eddie

Rosey rosettes

Hi all!

My name's Juliet and I blog over at The Crazy Gypsy Chronicles. It's been so good to see everything that people have been making this year, I've been learning and being inspired so much!

This Christmas I had grand plans of making ALL of my Christmas pressies, but being a beginner crafter/sewist/everything I haven't been so successful.

However, I have made these sweet little shoe clips/ brooches for my boyfriend's family's Secret Santa. Each couple brings one girl gift and one boy gift as a surprise pressie for another family member. Given the size of his family, this is a good plan!

These were so simple to make and are budget friendly. To make these you need:

- Shoe clips/ clip on earring bases (I used these as my local bead shop had no shoe clip bases in stock)
- Fake flowers, leaves optional
- Craft glue
- Wire cutters


Step 1: Using the wire cutters, snip your flowers from their stems, as near to the base as possible. I tried scissors, then a stanley knife but wire cutters made this a cinch.

Step 2: If you want to add leaves, pick some pretty ones and snip these with a bit of a stem.

Step 3: Cover the base of your clip with craft glue, and arrange the leaves and flower head on top. Press it down firmly and check to see if the stick is going to be good and strong. I'm afraid I have no photos of this stage as I was, being a clumsy person, covered in craft glue and dared not to touch my man's expensive camera with sticky fingers.

Step 4: Leave the flower clips, upside down, overnight to dry.

And you're done! Wrap prettily and gift away!

I hope that this inspires some of you - these would be excellent stocking fillers and are so quick to put together they would make great last-minute gifts too!

Happy Christmas crafting all!

Quilting with Jeans

Hi all!

Valerie from sewcranky again.  Despite being mostly KO'd by this miserable head cold I've got, I managed to finish the lap quilt for my BFF Jenn.  She had gifted me with a bunch of old pairs of jeans.  I used the back pockets to make a neat 12 gore skirt, but I had all this leftover denim that I didn't want to toss, so I thought I'd incorporate some of it into a quilt for her!  I cut 2"strips out of the denim and stitched it all together.  I combined the 18.5" denim panel with a 48.5"x 30" panel that I'd made from irregular pieces of green batik and brown quilting cotton.  I used minky to back it all.  The most fun part was the irregular free-motion quilting that I did on the green/brown part of the quilt.  I think it gave it the more organic appearance that I was hoping for.  Totally snuggly.