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!
Here's a super cute So Very Thankful embroidery pattern that I must make this month. [Link via Craft Gossip]
Edited to add another embroidery pattern from Creative Kismet. This one says Give Thanks Every Day! I really like them both.
This video never fails to crack me up. I'm so glad Kellie shared it on Facebook a few years ago.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!!!
Beware: Bad Photos Ahead
I wanted to show you the felt turkey I finished last night (just in time for next year's Thanksgiving!) and the daylight is fading so I quickly snapped a few pictures of it after picking the poor thing up off the floor (it had fallen off my night table) and tossing it on the bed. I had no idea there was stuff stuck on it until I looked at the uploads. I've circled them so you wouldn't miss them. See where it says "Open" -- well, that's really a circle around the pen mark that I noticed as I was stitching the turkey together. I tried but couldn't remove it and hoped it would blend in with the orange felt.
Those other two circles are drawn around things that were not there when I put the turkey on my night table last night. I'm not sure what they are, which is why there are question marks next to them. I guess I could walk down the hall to where the turkey is still lying on my bed and inspect them. Or I could go vacuum my bedroom rug, especially around my night table. Or maybe I'll just show you my garland. It's still Autumn, right?
(Sorry it's so dark. The wrinkled sheet is a nice touch.) I can't find the link to the blog where I found the tutorial but I'll add it as soon it it turns up. I didn't follow the directions very well anyway. Basically, you cut a bunch of fall-colored felt into leaf shapes (I found one on Google) and then back stitch them as you're attaching them together, placing beads in between the leaves. But I'm not that talented so I did it my own way.
First, I cut out one set of leaves and back stitched each one. I didn't like how the backs of the leaves looked and that you could see them so I stitched a second set and then whip stitched them together in pairs. Then I attached three beads to the ends of the leaves and put them all together, and 17 months later, I had a garland. And it was still Autumn!
By the way, I checked the turkey and the two extra marks on it were just fuzz. Here it is again, fuzz, ink and all.
You can find the turkey pattern at Wee Folk Art. I stuffed mine instead of doing it as an appliqued block. I wish I had stuffed the feet as well since they're a little too flat.
Be sure to check out all the fantastic free applique patterns and other patterns at Wee Folk Art if you haven't been there before.
Before I get to the giveaway, I wanted you to see the felt biscornu that Loralynn sent me as awhile ago (and I cannot believe I keep forgetting to share it). She had posted a photo of the biscornu on her blog and I thought it was the neatest thing. I love biscornus (biscorni?) anyway but this one was special because it wasn't cross stitched. The design was embroidered on to felt which I thought was really cool. She was sneaky and got my address by telling me she wanted to send me a card. I was so surprised when I opened my "card" to find the biscornu instead.
This is the top. Or maybe it's the bottom. I love the button.
This is the flipside. Look at the pretty beads and perfect chain stitch. I wish mine looked that good!
And, here's a blurry picture of the side so you can see how she attached the two pieces.
Isn't it great? Thank you so much for the biscornu, Loralynn! I love it!
On to her giveaway . . .
Loralynn is having a Thanksgiving giveaway for a cute apron she made that would be perfect to wear on Turkey Day and a matching potholder. She'll pick a winner on November 12th so go leave her some comments.
I really like her tradition of making a Thanksgiving tree:
The second thing we do is prepare a Thanksgiving tree. It simply consists of an ice bucket and an interesting twig from outside. I added fall colored flowers to the base for interest. We cut out leaf shapes from fall colored cardstock, enough for there to be at least two for each person. I lay these on the table in front of the "tree." Everyone is required...yes, I said required...to write on two leaves, two different things they are thankful for. This has to be done before dinner is served. After dinner, while still at the table, we read what we have written and then hang the leaf on the tree. It was awesome last year! We got everything from "I am thankful for my video games" to "I am thankful to be alive" (my Dad is a heartattack/bypass survivor). If you don't do something like this in your family, you should try it. It costs very little and is a great way to bring the family together while counting our blessings.
And, Anne at Green Jello does something very similar: a gratitude tree.
Great idea, ladies!
Not sure what to do with your leftover Halloween candy? You can find two great ideas on Alpha Mom, an advent calendar and a tree decorated with cute little candy packages.
And, for an added bonus, there are instructions on making a turkey pinata [link via Craft].
