Xmas Gifts 4: Horse of a Different Color

Do you remember Rainbow Brite and her horse Starlite back from the '80s? I had both toys as a kid. Several years ago I got rid of the horse by giving it to one of my nieces. It recently turned up when my mom moved. Mom showed up on my doorstep all pleased that she had found it for me.

It was dirty.

And it had rainbow colored hair.

My youngest little monkey took to it immediately, tucking it under his arm and blowing raspberries (that's his horse impersonation). But as much as I love looking at rainbows in the sky, seeing one on a toy horse's mane in my son's arm was a little disturbing. I hated to throw it away and waste it, especially since the kid liked it so much. So a master plan began unfolding in my mind: I'd give the horse a makeover. I wouldn't be wasteful, it would be a fun challenge, my son would have a "new" toy horse for Christmas, and it would be cool to think that it was the toy that I once played with.




I covered the hoofs by sewing little caps of black stretch velvet and stretching them over the glue-covered old hoofs (FYI I used flexible fabric flue). Later, close to the end of the project, I hand-sewed the hoofs in place to the bottom of the newly covered legs.




I made small triangles for the ears, then hand stitched them in place around the base. The next step was the to cut out the body pieces of the gray velvety fabric to fit onto the horse. I used the seam lines from the original horse as a guide. I machine stitched the fabric for the horse's back from behind the ears to the tail, then pinned it in place. All the other pieces were first pinned (or rather stabbed) in place then hand stitched.





These pictures were taken at various wee and not-so-wee hours of the morning on Christmas Day while everyone was asleep. Jane Austen on the DVD player kept me company. It was almost dawn when I went to bed. The horse was still hairless and had pins sticking out in a few places, but I wrapped it and put it under the tree anyway, then finished it up later after it was unwrapped. A 19-month-old child doesn't know the difference, right? Just as long as he can open a present on Christmas morning?



I really would have like the horse to be brown, but I couldn't find the right fabric in the little time I had to look (It was a busy season). So the color gray had to do. The fabric is so soft. It's some sort of velvet, though I don't remember exactly what. The black hoofs are stretch velvet, and the mane and tail are simply yarn. I'm happy to say that my little monkey loves the horse. And now I do, too.

Buffalo Patch Tee #2

I finished Monkey Two's buffalo shirt the day after the first one. Notice the buffalo is facing the other way? I also added a zig-zag stitch to the hem and sleeves. I made the process of this one much simpler, but messier. Instead of sewing the buffalo to the inside of the shirt and cutting away the t-shirt, I made the buffalo separate, then sewed it into the shirt. This made the furry fleece go all over the place. Maybe there's a compromise for the next time (if there is a next time!).

I really enjoy trying out new things, making it up as I go along.

Buffalo Patch Tee

Homemade buffalo on purchased t-shirt. I stitched over the red thread on the purchased t-shirt with brown thread to tie the buffalo together a little more. I thought about stitching "Buffalo" or "American Bison" onto the shirt (front and/or back), but I might just leave it alone. What do you think?


I straight-stitched the brown felt and furry fleece for the buffalo underneath the t-shirt in the shape of my buffalo, then cut away the red shirt and finished it off with the tight zig-zag stitch. I might try the next one by just cutting out the buffalo first and sewing it on top like a true patch, but that furry fleece is messy!


I meant to have this done before our Yellowstone trip a couple weeks ago, but did some other projects instead (I can't wait to blog those!). Yesterday Monkey One saw the plain red t-shirts and suggested we put the buffalo on right then. So we did. We haven't gotten to Monkey Two's yet. Maybe today?

Animal Brothers

Completed May 2008

To help welcome Monkey One's baby brother last year we made this little stuffed giraffe. (Inspired by these animals from Target)

Monkey One (then 3 1/2 years old) helped out quite a bit...


He did some (limited) cutting and pinning...


...sat at the sewing machine with me, and helped hand-sew on the wooden bead eye.


Then came the waiting (this picture). Finally, on the day of Monkey Two's birth, Monkey One gave his brother the gift.


In return, Monkey Two "gave" his big brother this corduroy monkey as a surprise.


The animals (and the brothers) proved to be a good pair.


Here's Monkey Two at four months old with his giraffe. I don't know if you noticed, but both giraffe fabrics were also used on Monkey Two's zoo blanket. I love how the giraffe's neck is twisted. It gives him character, though it was really just my sad sewing skills that did it. I was much happier with these animals than I would have been with the ones at the store I almost bought. Besides, they are really special since they were homemade by mamma and brother. What do you think?

Christmas 2008

For his first Christmas Monkey Two got a zebra to go with the growing homemade animal collection. Monkey One also helped with the zebra (along with the zebra's twin, who went to a cousin). What's next? An elephant?

Zoo Baby Blanket

Completed December 2008
I know almost nothing about making quilts. But I love quilting stores and find some of the cutest fabrics there that I attempt to make into something worthy. I'd had this super cute zoo print fabric for a year or two. I believe it's Alexander Henry fabric. I finally found the perfect use for it: a baby blanket for Monkey #2. I started the project before he was born (in fact, I went into labor a few hours after I was working on it one night), but didn't finish it until 8 months later, just in time for baby's first Christmas.


(Monkey #1 is holding it up for me. See his fluffy hair?) This quilt very closely resembles my dear friend Brinna's baby blanket that her grandmother made her. I'm not sure if I did that on purpose or not. The prairie point edge (as I'm told it's called) certainly was taken from her blanket. I really like the way it turned out.


Here it is, all folded up, looking cozy, and ready to be wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree. You can kind of see the quilting. I just outlined a few of the characters/scenes sporadically. The large giraffe print is minky. It's so soft, and lines the back of the blanket (found at the Fabric Center --They have the best minky prints). I love rick rack! (This rick rack was purchased from my local fabulous quilting store, Material Girls, which, by the way, has a giveaway on April 15 at Give Away Today)


Here's a closeup of the personalization I did on my sewing machine letter embroidery. I believe the green and brown polka dot fabric is by Moda. The yellow was from a fat quarter, but I don't remember any more details about it.


Here's the little monkey himself, at 10 months old, wrapped in his blanket. It's a good size: small enough to take with us on trips, and big enough to cover him in the crib and while nursing. I suppose I could measure it since that size description was vague. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Right now the baby is upstairs in his crib with the blanket, probably in a very similar position to this.

"A" Bird Magnet and a Freebie

...Just don't get your hopes up too high just yet.

I made this with a letfover image I had printed for the zipper pull on the bird pencil case (last post). I had printed it in all different sizes since I didn't know which size I would need in the end. What to do with the leftover print? A magnet! Maybe I'll eventually print some in different colors and make a set. (Or I could even make a whole alphabet with different animals. I'll have to change this one to "B" of course...) For now, my sister will get one random bird magnet for her fridge.

It lookes spiffing on my fridge with these photo booth pictures, doesn't it? Yes, I did have to clear a bunch of other junk away so I could take an uncluttered picture. I'm sure you don't really want to know what my refrigerator looks like.

I already put a thumbnail of what the original file looks like, but here it is again for your viewing pleasure. I let the color bleed over the edges, but it's supposed to be cropped round for actual usage. I know that you, oh humble and possibly imaginary readers, will all want to use this little birdie for your own projects (I flatter myself), and I'm sure you know how to right-click and save the image, so here we go: The first freebie on my new craft blog! This freebie is for anyone who a) Likes birds, b) likes the letter "A" and c) would ever possibly have a personal use for this image. You can't say I ain't generous! Just please keep it to personal use only.

Hey! You could ALL have a random bird magnet for your fridges!


(P.S. Sorry the image is so small. That was the original size. I'll remember next time to work bigger.)

Bird Pencil Case

Completed March 2009


For my first post on my new craft blog I'm showcasing my most recently completed project. It's a pencil case for my sister. She's been asking me to make her something like this for awhile now. She just went back to school to finish her Bachelor's degree, so I thought a pencil case would be appropriate. The Helen Keller quote ended up being exactly what I wanted (I found it after I started the project). It says "One can never be content to creep when one has an impulse to soar." The outside of the pouch was made with turquoise vinyl and the inside is lined with brown on yellow polka dot fabric.  I made that little yellow bird illustration for the zipper pull in Photoshop. The "A" is my sister's initial. She's loves birds.