Thursday, December 25, 2014

Handmade Holidays 2014, Part 2

Giving handmade gifts is infinitely more exciting for me than the store-bought alternative. Granted, you can't hand-make everything - I wasn't about to learn glass-blowing to make my father-in-law beer glasses. If it can be made with fabric, though, it's worth a shot. I should also mention I decided to hand-make many gifts before I was offered a full time position two weeks ago, so as you can imagine, finishing gifts has been a bit harried.


I made these two Open Wide Pouches by Noodlehead - the one in the back is for my almost-going-to-college sister, and the one in front is for my almost-7-year-old niece for her upcoming birthday (she's a December baby like me!). The tutorial was so thorough and easy to follow, though I did have trouble with the zipper part (leaving the side sticking out). I had to undo some stitches and hand sew. I'm pretty sure I just didn't read something right. Otherwise, they look professionally done, if I might say so myself! I had fun adding different machine stitches to the outside, too.


Plus, they hold so much - an already wrapped notepad and some books for my cutie niece! I knew she'd love that purple Cotton and Steel. :)


 I also made a cute apron (tutorial: Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom) for my 2.5 year old niece - she'll use it to serve "tea" and help Mommy in the kitchen. She loves purple, so this favorite Dear Stella print of mine was a no brainer. I felt a bit of separation anxiety... but I also enjoyed actually using some of this hoarded print!

 A quilted name, of course! I didn't get a picture of her wearing it (she was a bit cranky at the time) but I'm sure I will in the future.

 I staggered through sewing whipped up this wine tote for my aunt and uncle! I enlarged the measurements from this Craftsy tutorial a bit to accommodate the quite large bottle of wine we bought them. I hope they use the tote in the future! They seemed pretty stoked about it (and they appreciated that the inside was another fabric!). The tutorial itself wasn't hard to follow, but the prep work was more than I bargained for, and the many layers was a bit of a machine workout. I'm really happy with how it came out, though! I'd definitely try this again.


 I also made these reversible solid/half-square triangle coasters for a close friend. I chose the fabrics to match her living area! These were pretty self explanatory - I just had to figure out the HST math.


I've determined that, when in doubt, here are some gifts that you can sew up for pretty much anyone:
1. A double-sided tablerunner
2. A pillow or pillow set that coordinates with their home (or for a child, their room)
3. Coasters that coordinate
4. A zippy pouch
5. A quilt!

I still have three gifted quilts (yes, full quilts) to share with you (hopefully before the year is out!), plus a couple of other gifts. I'm tired but satisfied with how all of these have been received!


Merry Christmas!!

...and from my smallest, very sleepy niece as well. :)

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF.

10 comments:

  1. Junie B. Jones! Awesomeness in an awesome zippy. I've made that very apron, in purple of course. Glad you had a lovely craft-filled holiday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, that is a lot of sewing and gifting goodness! Congratulations for getting it all pulled off even with the new full time position. I would love to see your niece in that adorable apron - I bet she is so cute! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great gifts! I hope you got great gifts in return ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Merry Christmas, friend! I hope you had a great one. I'm sure these lovelies brightened up your family members' holidays. You were so productive the last couple months, I'm in awe of how much you got accomplished! Hopefully January brings some selfish sewing :)

    P.S. I had the same problem with the noodlehead pouch when I made it. Will have to try again and see how to make the zipper stick out :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jeez you were busy! That is an impressive bunch of handmade gifts!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a gorgeous array of handmade goodies! You were a busy elf! Nice finishes all!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fabulous and sure they will be delightes!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. LOVE that wine tote. Thinking maybe I should whip up a few to have around incase of wine emergencies :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. My, you have been busy. I hope you're enjoying the break and sewing at a slower pace! My DD would love that butterfly fabric.

    ReplyDelete

Let's start a conversation! I love comments and I'd be happy to reply to all who have an email address accessible. Thanks for commenting!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...