Confession time

Since that Candy Snowman Stocking kit in October of last year I have been collecting felt kits. At first it was only a few, but then an obsession took hold and now I have enough kits to get me through years of sewing, according to my husband anyway. I have scoured EBay for deals and waited anxiously for coupons to some of my favorite shops so I could acquire a few more, rationalizing I should buy them now before they aren't made any more. Yesterday, I received notice that Bucilla will be releasing 4 new designs in April. The email included a photo of two of the kits soon to come out and I have already marked one of them as mine. I enjoy making these up and adding a few extras like linings and larger backs so there is more room to stuff with goodies. It comes in spurts, my interest on projects, so I have been amazed how much my attention has been kept with these kits. I can't even use the excuse that it is because I am making them for family because that hasn't mattered in the past. I realize that I have more kits then I can display so once the 16 are finished for family I will be making these up and putting them on Etsy. Anything to let me continue to make these as I enjoy them so much.

For anyone who hasn't done one of these kits, they are time consuming but oh so worth it. Each stocking is made up of layers of felt, cut and hand sewn into place to create gorgeous images, embellished with sequins, beads and embroidery. Every sequin is held in place by a bead. I know there are some people who upon hearing the word kit assume that it is an easy and talentless project. I have to disagree. Although the kits come with everything you need to create an item if you don't take the time needed or try to perfect your stitching the end product will not be as nice as someone who does. I think it takes talent to turn those pieces into something. if you have absolutely no sewing experience I would suggest trying an ornament kit first to see if you enjoy this type of project. That way you get a taste of what's involved, you don't get overwhelmed with hundreds of pieces, while being able to have a finished item faster.

One of my favorite things to do is read reviews on items I love to see how others find them or hear their stories about who they are making them for and the recipients reaction. The ones that irritate me are those people who give a product a low rating when the review makes it obvious that the only reason for the low score is because that person cannot read. The one that sticks out the most was on a tree skirt kit sold on Amazon. The title of the product states kit, item description points out that this KIT comes with everything you will need to stitch this tree skirt, included are felt, sequins, beads and needles. You supply the stuffing. Additionally there were other reviews about how much work it takes to stitch but the hours it is taking will be worth it to have a family "heirloom" that their family can appreciate every year. One shopper even uploaded in progress pictures to share. Then comes along a person who, after all of the above is available to them, gives the kit a 1 star rating because they didn't know it was a kit, that you have to put it together and calls it false advertising because there is a photo of a finished product in the images. Aarrrgghhh!!! What is wrong with people?! LOL I read the review and was in shock. The language was very strong, to boot. The worst thing is that because of this person the rating of the kit is now skewed.

I have been working more on the Over the Rooftops and have finished one reindeer. I will be giving my opinion about this kit versus the Bucilla kits I have been working with soon.
Till next time ~

The Guilt Won

 The Guilt grew to the point that I just couldn't complete the stocking I had started. I don't want to run out of time for the family stockings all because I did a stocking I wanted too rather than needed too. So I neatly packed it away and pulled out my second family stocking of the year. This one is a Janlynn kit titled Over the Rooftops. I've only ever done Bucilla kits so I am looking forward to the comparison. Although this one is much larger, 23" rather than the normal 18", I don't think it will take me much time at all to finish. The pattern is really simple when compared to Bucilla kits. I have already decided on at least one change, the reindeer's eyes. I don't like how they look in the picture so I will be embroidering them slightly differently. Not a major change and probably wouldn't even be noticed by anyone else but it will please me. If you have done these kits before you may notice that my floss isn't quite as long as they come in the kit. I cut those really long strands in half so that they aren't as stressed by the time you get the the end of the floss and there is less tangling. On a side note I misplaced the thread that came with the kit immediately after opening. I haven't a clue where they ended up so I raided my floss stash and was very happy that I had decided to keep left over floss from completed kits as that allowed me to replace all of the threads with matching colors.

I store my kit pieces in a large sewing box to keep the pieces from cat fur and cat theft, my cats are inquisitive and they looovveee those sequins. I had tried to find a 2 1/2 gallon Ziploc bag for storage but they aren't sold in my area. This box is the largest I have been able to find in my area. Since the box isn't quite large enough to store some of the felt sheets without folding, I cut them to fit. As you can see with the brown felt below, I make sure that I don't separate the numbers identifying the parts from the parts themselves and then I cut them to fit flat in the bottom of my box. Otherwise all the time I took to iron out the wrinkles would be for naught. My sewing box came from Walmart, we don't have a large craft store in the area like Michael s or Joann's, in fact the closest of those are 2 hours away. I really like this one though for the tray that comes with it. In the past the trays have been made in very thin acetate plastic, prone to distortion and breakage. This tray is made from hard plastic and the little dividers are nice. One such divider is the perfect size for my pin box. I use thin, rust free pins to hold some of large felt pieces in place while I stitch so they don't get skewed as I go.

Finally, there is a picture of what the stocking will look like when completed. As of last night I had everything organized and ironed and I had started working on the front. The second photo shows the progress I had made. Not much but then again I didn't work for long.
Till next time ~

 getting ready to iron and cut out

pieces all organized

interesting instructions, very different appearance than Bucilla

cut to fit in my sewing basket

very wonderful sewing box

finished product to be...

Woodland Santa...

I know it's early for Santa but I completed the front to my husband's stocking. I was planning to post in progress pictures but I had so little to go I figured I would just wait until it was finished. This kit is  discontinued and hard to find. I had been drooling over these on EBay but never thought I could justify the price for just wanting to do it, but then I asked my husband to get online and choose his own. We have very similar tastes apparently. : ) He liked it for the muted colors and as I mentioned before this one is unique, there are no sequins used. Where a sequin would normally go blanket stitching, running stitches or outlines stitches were used. I had a lot of fun doing this one. However, I do have to say that every time I try to make him something I fight with the materials. This was no exception. The felt was deeply stamped. The maroon was the worst. It looked as though it was drawn on with crayon the lines were so thick and hard. There are places that I really had a hard time covering the lines and had to increase the number of strands used to get a close if not complete coverage. I apologize for the washed out appearance. I took the photo with my Kindle, plus it is night time as I just finished the gingerbread man about 10 minutes ago, but I was anxious to share. I will embroider his name later when I am ready to make a liner and attach the back. Since I don't have the liner fabric yet that will be a little down the road. Once I do I will take better pictures so you can really see how pretty these colors are. Now onto the next one, which I had set aside to do this one when it came in. I didn't get very far, only have the front pieced together, embroidered and sequined waiting for the appliqueing to begin. Only down side to completing it is that it isn't for family. It just happened to be one that I thought was super cute. I plan to make up some for Etsy later so I guess it will end up going there in the end, just feel a bit guilty since I KNOW I should be working on the family stockings first.
Till next time ~

A New Beginning

Well this is my second attempt at a blog and I am hoping that I will be posting more often to this one. My first blog I made the focus on only one of my hobbies, miniatures. However, I haven't been working on those much at all due to current living arrangements, there just isn't enough room. Eventually  that will change, but in the meantime I have been working on my other crafts more and more and felt strange posting about them on a blog that is supposed to be about miniatures. So, I decided I would make another one about ALL of my projects. For those of you who don't know me from my other blog I am happily  married to my high school sweetheart, the mother of two wonderful children and a full time employee at the local hospital processing payroll for 550 employees. I have been crafting since I was little. I rarely am found without a project in my hands, be it crochet, embroidery, beading, tole painting, ceramic painting, miniatures, or felt applique. I have probably left off a few, but those are the main ones. I love anything handmade/homemade. The work that goes into something like that is amazing and if the person really loves what they are doing it is reflected in their work. If I am not working on something then I will be reading/watching other people's projects for continual inspiration.

October of last year I came across a blog of a woman who quilts, but she also admitted to having a  small obsession with felt applique stockings. Seeing pictures of her progress and reading about her working on one of these stocking kits inspired me to try again. In 2001, my sophomore year of high school, I made my first attempt at one of these stockings. I remember having fun with the front but when I had finished I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to attach the back. I ended up giving it to my brother to hang on the wall at Christmas time. So, last fall I made the jump. I ordered a Candy Snowman stocking for my daughter. Half way through that one I ordered Tree Finishing for my son by Christmas I had completed both of those plus a Sugarplum Fairy for my niece, a Football Santa for my nephew, a Patchwork Santa for my aunt and a Golfing Santa for my uncle. I don't have photos of my niece or nephews but below are the others. I felt that the backs when cut exactly from the felt provided didn't give enough room to actually stuff the stockings so I purchased separate matching felt and cut the backs out. I also lined the fronts with an additional piece of felt so that the stitches were hidden and wouldn't catch on anything inside. My aunt and uncle requested an additional 3 inches be added to theirs to make them longer. That was a chore to figure out but well worth it in the end. I added those 3 inches, made larger backs and also made a semi removable liner from coordinating fabric. By that I mean I stitched the lining in place along the tops but left the rest loose so if needed you could pull them up and out for a quick hand wash. I didn't do that to the other 4 stockings I made but I may start doing that as I like the d how they looked, plus it was really practical, no fuzzy candy. I apologize for the staggered pictures, they loaded strangely.









 

 

Candy Snowman Elora's Stocking





Sample of the lining to my Aunt's



















Patchwork Santa, my Aunt's



view of the back



Detail





Golfing Santa









I have now decided to make a stockings for all of my immediate family. Sounded like a great idea at the time after I saw every one's reactions to the completed ones. However, I set myself a deadline of Christmas 2013, then I counted. That means I need to complete 16 in one year. I should have done the math sooner, as it is I just really started working on my Husband's stocking last week. LOL I have fondly titled this "The Year of the Stockings". Fortunately it seems to only take me two weeks to complete a front and an hour to attach a back. Liners add a bit more time but not a lot. I like to save up a few finished fronts to do all the backs and liners at once. Surprisingly I love the hand stitching aspect but always dread having to use a machine. After much calculations and arranging if I work non-stop this year, minus vacation in September, birthdays and holidays I should make my deadline. If I at least finish the children's stockings first then I will be happy. Adults will understand.

 

Besides the stockings I am also crocheting a couple of afghans. My husband has requested one in a soft grey in a pattern called "Catching the Wave" found on Ravelry. My son, 5 years old,  requested a green one and my daughter, 2 1/2 years old, wants one done in purples. I also have one almost completed in a Celtic Knot pattern. That one has been a lot of fun to do. Later I will post pictures of that one as well as the in progress photo of my husbands stocking. His is the most unique I have seen.

 

Till next time~