A couple of updates

So these have both been seen previously, but not in their final form.  This Dr Who cross stitch was seen on oatmeal and framed with a painted hoop, but I had made a second version on blue, and this was put into an IKEA frame.  I like how it turned out as well.

And the tiny Christmas stitch-a-long was last seen finished, but waiting on the embroidery hoop frame.  I finished painting it red, added coats of poly clear coat, and voila!  I love how it looks in the hoop, and it's ready to be hung next Christmas.

Another drawstring backpack

So....yet another drawstring backpack.  I have a friend who had seen one that I made (but apparently didn't blog!) and was astounded to learn that I'd made it, and immediately expressed interest in commissioning one.  Well, I remained noncommittal as to the commission, but I did make a mental note to make her one at some point.  This was supposed to be part of her baby shower gift (as in, part that was for HER), but I didn't have time to sew it up before the shower.  And so there the pieces sat for a long time.  But I'm hoping to see her soon, so it was time to finally finish this.

The outside is your basic black twill, which is kind of my go to.  (I don't know why my camera was acting up and having fuzzy edges, either.)  I used a purple zipper for some interest.  And the straps are the last of my black paracord from Lowe's....need to get some more of that.

Purple zipper with the lining of the front pocket peeking through.  I did like I've done on all of them - made the front pocket a full one, and lined it with the lining fabric.

And then I added a full inner pocket, which was lined with the lining fabric, as well.  And there I used a plum colored zipper, that almost perfectly matched a color in the sugar skulls.  I would rather have used a blue inside, but I didn't have one that matched any of the blues in the print.  And I didn't want to use black, because I wanted the zipper to stand out for ease of finding it.

She likes sugar skulls, so I thought this print was perfect when I spotted it.  Hopefully she'll love the bag!

Back to the scrub caps

It's been awhile since I've made any scrub caps.  The first one was a Christmas gift for a new colleague.  She liked the ones I made for other colleagues previously and asked for one for herself.  She chose the fabric, and I provided the labor as a gift.  She has a bigger head and a lot of hair, so she requested the "enlarged" size I made up from the Whale Watching pattern - the Dalmation prototype.

While I was at it on scrub caps, I decided to stitch up another pattern prototype - the Hummingbird pattern.  I've had the pieces cut for months but just never found the time/inclination to do anything further.  This wasn't difficult to make up, though there are a couple of fiddly steps.  Ultimately, I realized yet again that I have a big head and a lot of hair, so this one isn't going to work for me.

I have one more pattern prototype cut out.  Maybe I'll stitch it up sometime soon.  And I have my eye on a few more patterns to try at some point.

Final finish of 2017

My final finish of 2017!  Finished on New Year's Eve, in fact, while watching hockey.  This is a pattern from weelittlestitches on Etsy.  I used a Aida canvas from Loops & Threads (found at Michaels), because it's easier than getting around to framing stuff. :)

I liked the pattern overall - it worked up quickly.  Not much backstitching here.  I will say that's my quibble - not necessarily the lack of backstitching, but the fact the backstitching is hard to see on the pattern.  And the detail on the jackets is hard to see in real life.  I used three strands of floss just for those areas to try to make it more visible.  But that's my only issue.

Christmas Cross-stitch Sampler

Someone in one of my FB cross-stitch groups posted about a free tiny Christmas stitch-along early in December, and I thought it sounded like fun.  It began with the Christmas tree in the center, and then each day added to that. The patterns were sent daily, and they were designed to take half an hour to an hour at most.  The idea was to help get you in the mood for Christmas.

I kept up for awhile, but then had to abandon the stitch-along in favor of finishing Christmas gifts.  The week after Christmas, I picked it back up and got back to work.  And I finished it only a week "late," so I'm pretty happy!  I've got an embroidery hoop to frame this - just in the midst of painting it red right now.

Boxers everywhere

We know that boxers are a common gift for the males in my life.  (Although I'm surprised to not see any of the ones for my boys in there....did I seriously never blog them?  Let's see if I can find those pics....okay, here's one....These are some of the original boxers, after they got a prototype each in their stockings to test size....)

And more of the early ones....

Okay, back to this year.  These are for my husband, and both prints were from JAF.  He got the craft beer print in his stocking, and the dino skeletons are going into a box until Father's Day.

These are for Thing 1!  All fabrics again from JAF.  The superhero words print is the boys' XL, which is what he is currently wearing.  But the Mario, Zelda, and knockoff Minecraft are all men's size XS.  We'll see how those go.

These are for Thing 2!  The Chicago Blackhawks and bottle caps prints were from JAF.  The surfing skeletons, tools, and Marine Corps prints were from stash - I don't remember where.  These are all boys' size L.  (His previous ones were boys' M, and they're getting a bit tight.  He already had a Blackhawks print as seen above, but heaven forbid that he not have a Blackhawks pair that fits!)

These definitely went over well at Christmas!

More Christmas sewing

For colleagues, I always try to go for something small and preferably quick/easy to make, but useful.  This year, I had decided to go with zippered pouches.  They're useful for whatever you want to hide in there, but they're cute and easy to customize.  In this case, I had intended to mostly use the pawprint prints - on white and black.  But I had scraps from other projects that went well with certain people - The Walking Dead, tie-dyed peace signs, animals in carrier, dog yoga, and garden peppers.  All are lined with broadcloth in solid colors, and all have matching or coordinating zippers.  I also added a homemade granola bar (in a plastic bag) in each one.

These seemed to go over well, which is good!

Christmas sewing

Back in 2014, I made a set of Christmas stockings as a wedding gift for my sister and her new husband.  Since then, I made a Christmas stocking for my nephew - just realized that I never blogged it, so here it is.

And so this year I needed to make a new stocking for my new niece.  Kept to the same font, same simplicity.  But decided that purple would go well for a girl.

And then my nephew got a set of new PJs for his gift.  The pants are from KS SFT, and the shirt was embellished to tie it together with the pants.