Some Links That May Have Been Posted Previously

These links may have been posted at some time in the past but it doesn't matter since I'm the only one who checks this blog anymore so it really doesn't matter if I repeat myself.

Here are two super cute felt cases you could use for pencils or eyeglasses from Gingermelon.

Check out this post on Anyone Can Quilt and see what her great-grandmother did with her costume jewelry.

I love vintage hankies and have a bunch of them.  Some I bought at flea markets and some I stole from my grandmother (with her permission).  I'm always looking for ideas for what to do with them. I love this hankie valance from Flamingo Toes. Someday in the year 2026, I will make this valance.

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This blog was started in 2007 (!!!) as a way for me to keep track of crafty stuff in my life, and I miss doing that.  I know I made an eyeglass case last year and I have no pics of it or a post about it here.  There's a cross stitch that I have been working on since 2010 and I should post an update on my progress on that too. Even though I have no life, I can still post about crafty stuff like I used to, whether it's my own, or links to free tutorials or patterns.  I miss that!  And, everytime I go looking for something on this blog, it makes me want to get back into it.

Trying to find a random photo to post here . . . here's my dog Pumpkin from September 2016.

Frankie the Safety Pins Keeper

I recently moved and most of my stuff is in storage until I move again, (hopefully that will happen at the end of this month), but one thing I did not pack away is some safety pins because you never know when you will need one.  And, yes, I could go buy some if I needed any in the near future, but the point of this post is I found a neat way to store your safety pins.  Meet Frankie the Safety Pin Keeper.  I love him!  (I'm going to label him as a needlebook even though he technically isn't so I can find him when I'm ready to make one.)
I think he could double as a Halloween decoration too.  

P.S.   I just found this piggy bank on the onelmon blog (home of Frankie).  Must make this too!  

Werewolves of Wild Olive

I was looking for something Halloween-y to make this weekend and found two good ones on Wild Olive.

One is a no-sew Werewolf Hoop Art project and the other is a trick-or-treating werewolf embroidery pattern. 

I can't wait to get started!

Soft Pretzel Pincushion

I love soft pretzels, especially the kind you buy from the guy on the street corner in Philadelphia.  I also love pincushions, especially ones made from felt. Here's a felt pretzel pincushion from A Beautiful Mess that you and I can make.  Woohoo! [Via Craft Gossip Sewing blog] 

The Bunny I Made in 2011

In January 2011, a tutorial for a Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny was posted on Allsorts.  I made one in April of that year and blogged about it months later.  I just found a May 2012 draft post with some photos of my bunny. I'm posting that now in case anyone wants to make one for Easter.  Thank you, Jenny, of Allsorts for keeping your blog up so the links still work!

I think my bunny looks more like a bear but I still love her.  Here's my dog, Pumpkin, with my bunnybear.

I Need Cake!

Hello, I'm Patty, and this is my blog.  Tonight, I'm checking out all the links I have bookmarked, trying to find a recipe for a fruit crisp cobbler.  (I don't know why I titled this post "I Need Cake" because it's a cobbler recipe I need.)  So far, the recipe has not turned up, but there are lots of saved links to stuff I planned to make some day (yeah, right) so I've decided to post them here.  I've also discovered I have about twenty draft posts and I want to clean them out too.

First up, is a wreath made of hankies.  This is a great way to display your hankies if the idea of cutting up and/or sewing them freaks you out.  That would be me.  I think I might be able to cut the ones I've bought at flea markets and thrift stores, but no way could I do that to the ones I stole from my grandmother.  On the other hand, I would totally make a quilt out of my grandmom's hankies.

I really like this idea of a hankie bunting.  All you do is iron them and hang them up. So simple!  And, no cutting hankies!

Every Christmas, I try to make my mom some kind of ice skate ornament.  (When she was a kid, she was obsessed with Sonja Henie.)  Here's a tutorial for making a felt one.

I just like this bat coloring page.

Love this Christmas garland made from pipe cleaners and beads.  

Ok, I need a little break from clicking links.  This is Cha Cha, my last favorite dog at the shelter.  I love her and was ready to sneak her into my car and take her home with me the other day. She was available for adoption but was rescued the other day.  I heard she already has an interested adopter.  

Back to links:  this is a cute hedgehog pincushion.  My friend shares the cutest hedgehog videos and projects with me all the time.   If you love fashion blogs, check hers out at A.k.A. Ms. Smarty Pants. 

I love this little tote for carrying your stitching supplies.  You'll have to click the link for the Embroidery YOU Tote Time, right at the top of this page, to get to the pdf of the pattern. 

Could these felt stockings be any cuter?!  I seriously need to make them.

Here's a felt snowglobe from Bugs and Fishes.

And, one more:  an adorable mini card wallet via Craft Gossip  

I still haven't found the recipe I'm looking for and I have more links to share so I'll be back soon.  

Speaking of Needlebooks

I found another needlecase I'd like to make some day.

Felt Needle Case from Sum of their Stories 

Another Needlebook Pattern

Still going through email and checking links...

I really like this felt needlebook from Simply Vintage Girl.

There are links to that needlebook project and to some others on this Tipnut page.

It's Alive!

I haven't posted a thing since last November but I refuse to let this blog die.  I have so much info here that I won't remember if I do away with my blog.  Quick!  When did I break my knee the first time? How about the second time?  I couldn't tell you but I can find the answers on my blog.  I don't want to lose being able to do that.

I haven't touched a needle and floss in months.  Or a piece of felt.  I REALLY miss it.  And, I don't know if I will ever make this cute little felt pouch for holding an embroidery project but I'm still going to link to it.  Because I like it.  And, I'm an optimist.  I have hope I will make it some day.  And, then pigs will fly.  That project is called Keep Your Stitching in a Project Pouch and it's from Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive.  It was posted on the embroidery page on about.com.

Anyone remember how to create a link?  Hmm.  Guess I could click where it says "Link."

The Go Anywhere Case from  Clever Charlotte is cute too.  More felt.

One more thing:  do you live in Orange County CA and are looking to adopt an 8 year old Lhasa Apso mix with a super cute underbite?  Well, then Max is just what you're looking for.  He's available from OC Animal Care in Orange CA.  I had him out for a walk the other day.  He is a total sweetheart.

Max (ID A1379368 ) was adopted over a year ago and then he came in a couple of times after being picked up as a stray.  His owners always came to bail him out then but not this last time so he's looking for a new home.  He's friendly, happy, good on a leash, seems to get along with other dogs  and likes to be right by your side.  This shelter photo really shows off his underbite.

I'll be back again soon.

Make A Felt Turkey Times Two

Sew Mama Sew has a tutorial for a cute felt turkey.  

And, in 2009, I made this felt turkey from an applique pattern on Wee Folk Art.  Mine is 3D!

Gobble gobble!

And, Wee Folk Art, I'm glad six year old links to your site still work in 2015.  So many links here on Pip Stitch are to blogs that no longer exist.

Cute Cat Pincushion

This felt cat pincushion over at Bugs and Fishes is adorable!

That's all for now!

February's Post

I told myself if I was going to start blogging again, I HAD to finish at least one new project a month. I also decided I HAD to follow through with the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long (aka TUSAL) and post a pic of my orts jar every time there was a full moon.  So here's a photo of my orts jar.

Want more info on the 2015 TUSAL? Click here and Sharon will explain it.  By the way, the date for the TUSAL was February 18 so I'm late but at least I did it this month!

On to the project I finished this month.  Since this is February, I wanted to make something for Valentine's Day. I thought I had a small stash of vintage Valentine cards in a box under my bed so I decided I'd make a heart-shaped holder for them. Something I could hang from a door knob.  And, I wanted it large enough for this big card.

By the way, those are the only two cards I found in the box under my bed.  I really thought I had a few more.

The heart-shaped card holder I wanted to make is here at Plum Pudding.  It was posted on that blog SEVEN years ago  and I linked to it on this blog SIX years ago.  Wow, how time flies!

So here is my card holder.  It's made out of craft felt and a few odd buttons I had in my jar.  Oh and a piece of some pretty red ribbon.  I knew hoarding ribbon would make sense some day.

The funny thing is I made it large enough so the big Valentine card would fit but when I put the card in the heart, it kept flopping over. I still like my card holder though. Except the purple flower bugged me, which is why it's kind of hidden behind the other ones.  And, not clear in the photo.

The scalloped edge on the pocket is crooked -- I think I subconsciously have something against straight lines because I can never cut them -- and FYI, I have the dullest scissors in the world.

One more shot of my card holder in action:

So, we have a TUSAL pic and a project I started and finished in the same week. Pigs must be flying.

Edited to add:  I did have three vintage Valentine's card at one time.  I posted about them here.  The
big one is from 1946.

2015 TUSAL

Yay!  The 2015 Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long is once again underway thanks to Sharon at It's Daffy Cat.  

What is the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long aka TUSAL, you ask.

Basically, you'll save your orts (that piece of floss you're left with when you're done stitching that's too short to do anything with) in a jar, and every time there is full moon, you'll post a photo of the jar on your blog.  More info here.  Thank you, Sharon,for hosting the TUSAL once again!

The first full moon was January 20 so here is my orts jar (I'm never on time) along with a Valentine bag I started making the other night:

(More on the heart in my next post.  Hopefully, I'll blog again before the year is over.)  (And, I know there is no cross stitching involved but I used embroidery floss to sew the hearts together so in the orts jar it goes.)  (And, yes, I know the red heart is not centered on the pink heart.)

I believe there was only ONE year where I actually posted a picture of my jar every time there was a full moon.  In 2014, I posted pics of my orts jar three times. I'm shooting for four times in 2015.  Go, me!  Really, I'm hoping the TUSAL will get me to not only blog more often but also make more stuff this year.

This was my jar at the end of 2014.  Those are threads from the past few years.  

I'm starting with a new jar for 2015.  

Edited to add:  I have no idea why some of this post is highlighted in white.  I did not do that. Also, I can't get the font to change.

First Post Of 2015, Woo Hoo!

On Halloween night last year, I was bored and looking online for something to make and found a tutorial for making a felt sugar skull sachet at Adventures in Making.  So I made one but without the sachet part.  [Link via Craft Gossip]

I was happy with it until I stitched the teeth.  I tried to do them freehand at first and that did not turn out well so I traced the pattern on to some tissue paper and stitched right over the paper on the felt. This is the second time I've tried that method and once again I was disappointed in the final result. Maybe it's me but when I remove the little bits of tissue paper that get stuck under my stitching, I end up pulling on threads and then it looks like crap.  I'm also not thrilled with the blue whatever-they-are below the eyes.  The tutorial sample had three lines and I did four and I think it's too many.  But hey, at least I finished something.  Alert the media!

The other time I used the tissue paper trick, I made this strawberry scissors keep from Red Brolly last year.  This was another night where I just had this strong urge to make something. Red Brolly's scissors keep is made from fabric but I made mine with felt.  I used floss to make the strawberry's seeds, instead of pearl beads, and did not add a bow at the top because I forgot.  The green is regular felt but the red is super thick felt so the pointy end of my scissors does not poke through.  By the way, while I was making the sugar skull on Halloween, I realized I have the dullest scissors in the world.

I used tissue paper to stitch the embroidery design on the stem and then loosened the threads when I yanked out removed all the little bits of tissue paper.  I think I did a crappy job of removing the tissue paper and it messed up my stitches.  I hate this method.

My scissors keep in action:

After looking at the original, I think it needs that bow on top.  And speaking of cases for keeping your scissors, I love this one from Feeling Stitchy.  Maybe I will make that one the next time I need to make something.

I Keep Finding Cute Stuff To Make

Over at Imanufatti, there's a tutorial for a really cute Autumn wreath made of felt [link via Craft Gossip's Felting blog].  And, Manu also has a page with a list of all her tutorials.  I especially love the bunny brooch.

I have a cute sweater (it has a shaggy reindeer on it) that no longer fits that I really want to make into a pillow.  I've been thinking about doing it for years now and I think I found the tutorial from My So Called Crafty Life to get me motivated.  It's for turning your ugly Christmas sweater into a pillow and will work just fine for my reindeer sweater.  

I also love this wall art made of vintage Xmas fabric, embroidery hoops and cute ribbons. Hmm...I don't have any vintage Christmas fabric but I do have some cute holiday dog stuff (that I never wanted to cut up because I'm a dork) but I'm thinking I could put that in some small embroidery hoops.

Here's a huge list of DIY projects from My So Called Crafty Life.

I must make this Pretty Posy Pincushion at some point in my life. Lots of pretty stuff at Molly and Mama Makes.

So many projects . . .

You Can't Get Rid Of Me That Fast

So I posted four times in four days and then kind of forgot to come back.  Oops.  But I'm back now and I'm totally going to cheat by posting a link to a tutorial from 2009 and a pic of my version but it's for St Patrick's day and cute so it works.

Jenny made a felt shamrock pin a few years ago and shared how to make it on her blog Stitcher Scribbler.  Here's my shamrock pin with a felt guinea pig I made in 2009.

Nice blanket stitches!  Mine totally suck now.  I need more practice.

March 1 is a new moon so I'll be back soon with a TUSAL update.  (Details on the TUSAL are here.)

Something I Made In 2011

Happy 2013!!  Time for my daily weekly monthly whenever-I-get-the-urge-to-write-something post.  I haven't made anything in quite awhile -- not even for the holidays -- nor did I finish anything over on that 2012 WIPocalyspse List over on the left.  (The idea behind the WIPocalypse was to complete your unfinished projects before the world ended on 12/21/12.  Good thing the world did not end because I have a bunch of crap to finish some day!)  This was not my year for crafting!  So here's a post about something I made back in December 2011.

Back then, I decided to make felt Christmas stockings for both of my dogs.  I gave myself plenty of time to do it.  And then waited until the very last minute to get started.  I did not finish Lucy's stocking until Christmas morning at 2 am.  I was too sleep deprived to notice I had put the loop on the wrong side of it until my sister pointed it out.  Lucy didn't care but I did so it has since been fixed.

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This picture bugs me because the letters are done in dark green and you can't really tell. At least I can't.  (Maybe it's just my bad eyes.)  I think I used a stocking pattern from Martha Stewart's website but you can find tons of free ones out there if you just Google it.  You do know how to Google, don't you?  (I'll save my rant for another post but I'm convinced the majority of people on Facebook wouldn't know Google if they fell over it.  I do believe bloggers are way smarter though.)

Here's a close up of Pumpkin's likeness, which I love because it so cute, just like Punkie herself.  (Pumpkin = Punkie = Bunka Bunka.  Don't ask.  That's just how it is.)  I think the pattern was an embroidery freebie from Annie Oakleaves and I have been searching online for it so I could link to it but no luck finding it so far.  And, the hard copy that I used has gone missing.  Unless I stuck it somewhere so I could find it easily when I was ready to blog about it.  Ahem.

And, here's a close up of Lucy.  The pattern came from a site with free coloring pages (beware, there are lots of pop ups on that site so I hope you have a blocker) and I thought it was perfect because Lucy HATES having a doggy sweater on her, but she does kind of prance like that.   The coloring page is here.

So there you have my final project of 2011.  Woo hoo!

 

Going back to that list on the left, I have been working on the Scottie pillow.  I've started attaching the top piece to the bottom piece so it should be done soon. There's a lot blanket stitching so I do a little and then get bored.  Hey, maybe I could use one of those nifty sewing machines instead!

 

Happy New Year!!  (she said on January 12th)

 

A Mushroom Needlebook Made By Me

I just read this in the latest newsletter from the Toymaker:

"Then I had a thought that if I spent more time actually making and doing the things that I wanted instead of just looking at pictures then I would be a lot happier in the here and now. How about we take a deep breath and make the things we want to have and do the things that actually make us happy, even if it is in a small way?"

I love that.  So from now on, there will be more making things and less drooling over pictures going on in my life.  (I swear!)  To get on the right track, I just ordered two embroidery patterns from Penguin & Fish.  Remember the giant hedgehog pillow?*  I  am so going to make one.  (You can get the normal sized version of the hedgehog pattern on Etsy and then just blow it up on a copy machine.  I once asked Alyssa from Penguin & Fish if it was ok to do that and she said yes.)


large pillow versions of alligator and hedgehog embroidery patterns
Originally uploaded by Penguin & Fish

The other pattern I got is the Maltese puppy one.  I love Alyssa's adorable patterns.  I ordered the paper patterns but they're also available as pdf's.

While going through some pictures today, I found some of the mushroom needlebook I made back in February.  I know I did something a little different than the tutorial but I have no idea what that was now.  When you put the original together, you machine sew the spine of the needlebook.  I did mine by hand so maybe I put it together in a way where you wouldn't see the back of a back stitched seam.  Or something.

You can find the pattern for the mushroom needlebook here over on Generation Q. 

*You probably don't remember the giant hedgehog pillow since I can't find a link for it here so I bet I only posted it to Facebook.  Yay for Flickr!

This Just In

I just saw the link to this cute felt piece of pie from Aimee Ray on Craft Gossip's Facebook page.  It's from the book "Heart Felt Holidays."  (Must get it.)

And, yes, I did post twice in one night.  You might want to buy a parka because I do believe hell will be freezing over.

Hello, October!

I love how I am always saying how I am getting back into blogging and then I never do.  The thing is I REALLY do miss it.  And, it's not like I don't have anything to write about.  I can always find something. Even if it's just to post another dog picture.  (I'll wait until the end to do that.). 

Back in April, I made this bunny.  Yeah, I know, it looks like a bear.  And, the dress is not reversible like the one for the Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny Jenny made.  (Get the bunny pattern here.)  After I sewed the dress pieces together, turned them right side out, and then tried to sew the opening closed, you could totally see all the stitches.  I can't do a blind stitch or a hidden stitch to save my life.  So I just left it open.  Then I didn't add a yoke because I couldn't hide those stitches either.  So my bunny not only looks like a bear but she also can't show off her two sided dress and isn't fluffy like the original.  She probably hates me.  And, I just realized something after looking at Jenny's Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny on her blog: mine has no tail.  Oh yeah, I am quite the crafter.

By the way, the dress fabric came from Mary and the buttons are from Barbara.  Thank you, ladies!

I found this cute pot holder at the local antique store back in July.  I've always loved that bee pattern.   It's Vogart 293 and you can find it by checking Google.  (Some day I will use a different comforter when I take pictures, I promise.)

Cute dog picture time!  "Nice bear" says Pumpkin.

Next time I post, in May 2017, I'll show you want else I got from the antique store that day.  Happy Monday Night!