Crafting for Charity

As I mentioned in the previous post "Martha Had a Little Lamb", I had been working on a project for the non-profit St. Paul's Childcare Center located in Winneconne, WI which provides childcare and education services for low-income families and residents of the village of Winneconne. These little lambs were presented to some of the students as an Easter gift. A cotton calico was chosen by my aunt for the bodies of the lambs, while a pink batik fabric was used for the inside of the ears. I made seven of these softies all hand-sewn without the aid of a sewing machine. I'm old school when it comes to stitchin' and sewin'.

I also decided to design my own label so that I can market my items some day in the future. I used a tutorial I found online to make my very own fabric labels, like those sewn into shirt collars or sewn into stuffed animals. I love how they turned out! I can alter the colors using computer programs so that they can match whatever fabric I'm using. Genius! I plan on incorporating this logo into every piece I create from now on. A girl has to get her name out there somehow!

Don't forget:

Got any ideas for a t-shirt (or tea-shirt!) you want to see made? Send me an email at a.joy.taylor@gmail.com with your design idea. It can include text or images or even just a simple description of what you want it to look like. Bonus points for wit and ingenuity!
The contest winner will be announced next month when they see their design made into a t-shirt and featured on this blog. The winner will also receive the one-of-a-kind t-shirt sporting their design as a prize.
Submissions must be received on or before Friday, April 24, 2009 to be eligible.

Softie: Martha Had a Little Lamb

Mary isn't the only one with a lamb these days. I made these fluffy sheep by following a pattern from Martha Stewart Living. It's a fabulous site for gift ideas, learning new techniques, or just for gaining fresh inspiration. After seeing some of the patterns and ideas on this site, I challenge myself to embellish and improve on them. I did that with the white lamb here. I used a polyester faux Sherpa Wool I found for ueber cheap in the remnant bin. You can't see it very well from any of these photos, but I used a light pink fleece to line its inner ears. I chose to make the other one out of purple polar fleece also found in the remnant bin for a very reasonably inexpensive price. A girl has got to do what she can to save money these days!

I especially like how the white, fluffy Sherpa Lamb turned out. I think it could make for a great baby shower or christening gift. I can even change the inner ear color to baby blue for a boy. I've also considered embroidering names and dates either on a scarf around the lambs neck or even directly onto the lamb itself if I can make it stand out well enough. These lambs could then become personalized for each child. I'm also looking into making lambs for charities. If any one knows of one that accepts handmade donations, give me a shout out! I'd be happy to craft a donation.

And I'll definitely be getting my fair share of practice on these little baa-baas since my aunt has commissioned me to make her seven of these little lambs for her students.

Stay tuned for photos of that flock coming soon!

Softie: Gone to the Dogs

Anyone with a love of canines will appreciate today's post. Both of these cute little guys were inspired by Japanese Mascot patterns that can be found all over the web and in Japanese books sold on Ebay and Etsy. A while back I fell into the very dangerous habit of purchasing fabric that struck a cord with me but that I didn't necessarily have a use for at the time. The lime and teal hues of these fabrics shout 1970's nostalgia, but there fun and quirky in a modern way. Meet "Bubbles" and "Frankie", two lovable canine companions whose vintage charm is worse than their bite!
Recognize those daisy button eyes on "Bubbles"? They are the same La Mode buttons I used on Pointy Kitty and Squiggles the Kitty. I love the versatility of their shape and the lime green color has been surprisingly versatile as well. This chubby canine was a holiday gift for my aunt. I wanted to experiment with stuffing techniques, so his head uses the bamboo Nature-fil I can't stop raving about, and his body is filled with rice. The rice gives "Bubbles" a bean-bag quality and he can be sculpted to sit in a variety of poses.

Where "Bubbles" the Dog is chubby and stout, "Frankie" the Wiener Dog is long and lean. The lime, teal, and mustard yellow of Frankie's fabric wouldn't work on just any pup. But Frankie's fresh attitude and linear profile really work the vintage color combination. Like "Ries" the Raccoon, I used safety-lock animal eyes and nose to create his face. And to add to the whimsy, I made Frankie a teal collar and used a sterling silver puppy paw charm as a dog tag.

When you're going to the dogs, you have to go all the way!

Softie: Ries the Raccoon

This little guy has been my most ambitious softie to date! Inspired by my vino-loving uncle, this raccoon was hand-stitched using brown corduroy and a wine barrel printed calico. The abstract look of the wine barrels is subtle yet still discernable. It conveys the wine theme in a masculine manner yet does not overwhelm the imagination and detract from the whimsy of this playful raccoon. Safety-lock animal eyes and nose were used for that curious expression he seems to be making! I'm thrilled with the way the rings on the tail turned out. He's holding a cork from one of the random bottles of wine I've been known to enjoy on occasion.

It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one's present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason.

- Latin Proverb

Anyone who knows me will recognize the similarities between his name "Ries" and the name of my favorite variety of wine, Riesling. I simply fell in love with its lush flavor while studying abroad in Germany. I was fortunate enough to participate in an internship at Pieper Vineyard while there in the spring of 2005. I've included some personal photos of this unique experience.

Softie: Pointy Kitty and Squiggles the Kitty

Thanks to Hillary Lang at Wee Wonderfuls, I was able to make a charming gift for my goddaughter. Following her pattern for the Pointy Kitty, I used a bright and colorful pink calico fabric in a spring theme, with purple felt as accents. Lime green daisy-shaped buttons by La Mode made for whimsical cat eyes and complemented the accent colors of the calico fabric. A scrap of cream felt was used as a nose and embroidery floss in the same color to attach it.

As a variation to the Pointy Kitty pattern, I changed the shape of the accent felt pieces on my second creation. Using a scalloped edge instead of the triangular pointy one, I named this one Squiggles the Kitty (right). For Squiggles, a corduroy fabric (my fav!) in a patchwork theme of pinks, greens, browns, and yellows, made for an ideal choice, while magenta felt made up the scalloped patches on its head and torso. To thematically match Pointy Kitty, I used bright pink daisy-shaped La Mode buttons for the eyes and used a scrap of leftover purple felt for the nose.

Overall, this project proved successful and made for a great gift. I do however need to work on techniques for attaching the head of this frolicing feline. I haven't quite figured out a really clean and sightly way to do that yet. But practice makes perfect!

Ms. Lang's pattern can be found by following this link: Pointy Kitty

Softie: Ollie the Owl

Any proper student of Classical Studies would of course have a little obsession with owls. As a symbol of the goddess Athena, owls appreared on ancient greek coins and were a popular representation of wisdom in the Classical world. Those ancients really knew their stuff. These timeless little creatures are once again a huge trend in crafts, fabrics, and home decor.

Becoming more adventurous in my softie making, I set out to design my own full-sized softie and gave him the name "Ollie", named after the owl that visits the backyard of my parents' house and softly hoots me to sleep sometimes. A fabulous 70s-inspired floral fabric in black, cream, grey, and maroon is anchored by black & cream felt, and a cool grey corduroy. Once again, this piece is handsewn (no machine!) but this time uses Fairfield 100% Bamboo Nature-Fil Stuffing. I highly reccommend this low cost earth-friendly alternative to traditional polyester stuffing. It's soft, lush, user-friendly, and naturally anti-bacterial.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the results of this little fella. I included the wings as a last minute addition and they turn out to be my favorite element of Ollie. If I ever use this pattern again, I'd like to sew the wings "in to" the owl body instead of "on to" the owl body. I would get much cleaner results...but that's just the perfectionist in me! :)

First Softie: "Owl In My Pocket"

I felt my inaugural attempt at blogging should be about my inaugural attempt at softie making! Nicknamed "Owl in My Pocket" due to it's miniature size, this creation is hand sewn with love and epitomizes my novice-ness at softie making. He's stuffed with cotton balls! (I've since upgraded to bamboo stuffing, rest assured you other craft-a-holics!) Brown felt was used for the body and goldenrod felt for the beak and feet. Embroidery floss was used to attach the beak and feet, to embroider eyes and wings, and to sew "Owl in My Pocket" together.

Designed from my own pattern, elements were kept pretty basic. A lot of guess and check work went into the details, as I am a perfectionist!

Check back for more of my recent exploits including more softies, homemade
cards, baked goods, and more!