Project Catchup

This year's projects are off to a roaring start. I finished six projects in January and managed to get most of the way through a quilt. Not bad for a procrastinator, eh?

The little dragon is named Fugloid Wright. See all the ugly stitching? Me too. I was pretty excited to try this pattern out, so I rushed through many of the parts that I should have taken my time with.

This was my first Etsy purchase. The pattern was created by Lynne Henson and was very easy to follow. The pieces are incredibly small and the bulk of it is handsewn. Still, it came together quite quickly and I'm pleased with my new little winged friend, even if the construction is sloppier than if I had taken my time.

If you pick up the pattern to make a dragon of your own, I recommend forgoing the wing stiffening and instead, extend the wire along the entire leading edge of the wings. This will allow the entire wingspan to be poseable, and help keep the shape without making the fabric stiff.

Stuffing the beastie is trickier than it seems. Too much stuffing and it becomes difficult to pose the dragon. Too little stuffing and the dragon won't hold it's shape. I found this fantastic variation on the design and I may have to incorporate some of those ideas in my next dragon.

The pants are actually made from a Simplicity pattern for PJ bottoms. I had leftover fleece from Christmas presents and I wanted a pair of close fitting exercise pants.

I started by tracing the pattern onto my fleece, cutting it off just below the knees. I sewed them together following the directions, but didn't hem the bottoms. Once they were together, I turned them inside out and put them on. I pinned the seams on the outside of the legs so they fit closely. I sewed the new seams and trimmed off the excess. Voila! Exercise pants!

You can't really see, but the ribbon for tying up the pants is a very cool black and white floral pattern on grosgrain. Yay for discount ribbon!

Of course, there are probably tons of better ways to do this sort of thing, especially if you have any sewing skills and/or experience drafting your own patterns. This method worked good enough for me though and I'm please with how they turned out. They fit perfect and are so soft and fuzzy.

One of Buttercups little friends just had her first birthday. Since Bella's parents are fond of homemade, I thought that she might enjoy a handmade doll.

I'm hoping to get some more of these put up in my Etsy shop this winter. The face is hand embroidered and I put a little pocket on her chest with a red felt heart. The idea is that on one side of the heart will be Bellas name and on the other side will be the name of whatever she decides to call the doll.

Bella seemed to enjoy her new doll. At least, she spent some time chewing on dolly's head.

More project photos and write-ups coming, including my first complete quilt (going to a friend of mine who's currently in Iraq), my very cool gear for next football season, a tutorial on customized thumbtacks and a little recipe that I'm calling Coconut Popcorn Shrimp of DAAAAAAMN!