Another dog vest expansion

I got a referral! Well, okay, maybe someone I know through my friend who I did the previous dog vest alteration for was there when I handed over the finished product and later asked me to do the same for her. But, I'm just telling myself that word is getting around about my excellent craftsmanship! Regardless, here is the second doggie vest expansion. I used some blue fabric from my stash that happened to match quite well and pieced together some scraps of cotton batting for the lining. I had to remove the velcro and move it slightly to fit the fabric that I had, but I think it will be okay since it will be on the under-side of the dog!

Case for crochet hooks, makeup brushes, etc...

My stylist recently asked if I could make a pouch for her makeup brushes so that they wouldn't get the inside of her purse dirty. She suggested something similar to the sunglasses cases I made previously, but with the flap on the long side. However, after thinking about it, I decided to try it like this instead:

There is an elastic strap across so that makeup brushes (or in my case crochet hooks) can be held in place and can be easily accessed. You just fold it up and close it with the magnetic snap. I like this a lot, but I think I need to add some more stitching on the elastic to make the slots tighter for the smaller hooks. I tried some decorative stitches on the elastic, but had a lot of trouble with skipped stitches. I had the most luck with regular straight stitching. (If anyone knows any suggestions on how to avoid this on elastic, please share!) I would probably also move the elastic nearer to the middle next time. I was worried about getting too close to the snap, but I think I could have gone a little closer and still been okay. I have a few other ideas in mind for the makeup brushes, so I am going to make a few other options and take them in next time I get my hair cut to see which my stylist prefers. I just love getting suggestions of things to make and then figuring out how to make them!

Magnet Update

So...it's been a while. But, here are the beer bottle cap magnets I said I was going to make. The glue took a long time to dry and then I was too lazy to take pictures. I finally took some pictures, so these will all be going in my shop soon (with the exception of the Blue Moon magnets that will be going to my friend Andrea). I have several projects in progress and several more new project ideas so I hope to have a lot more to post soon!

More team spirit

My husband was jealous of the Nebraska koozy I made for my friend so I had to make one for him too. His friend wanted an Iowa koozy so this will be going out in the mail soon. A few more are in the works too.

I learned several lessons from this project:

1) Fusible webbing makes applique so much easier.

2) Related to #1: Even though I often think that I'll just skip a step (like using fusible webbing) to save time, it usually makes it harder, more frustrating, and ends up taking even longer.

3) Hand stitching is not actually the worst thing that I could ever have to do (like I previously thought).

4) Practice makes you better at things (like hand stitching - don't get me wrong, I am no pro, but I am a little less bad now that I have done it a few times).

Husband craft!

My husband came up with this craft idea. We glued magnets to beer bottle caps. Now our fridge is covered with these beauties. We have a nice variety, but I decided to post the classy ones! We have too many so I will be posting some in my shop!

Oven mitt

Remember this fabric? Well, I finally made something from the orange dots and stripes - another oven mitt. This one was going to go in my shop, but ended up a little too small and with a few other imperfections. So, it is going to my sister instead! She recently moved, so is in need of oven mitts. This works out perfectly!

Nebraska crocheted bottle koozy

Ok, I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of in love with this, my latest creation. An old friend special requested a crocheted bottle koozy with some Nebraska Husker spirit so I hand appliqued this N onto a red bottle koozy. I should have used the fusible webbing to stick the N down before I started stitching because it got a little crooked, but I was lazy and didn't bother. Before I started, I wasn't sure how this would look, and at first I was concerned about my inability to nicely hand stitch and how it was looking kind of tattered and unprofessional. Now that it is done, I think that it just adds to the overall look of the koozy . In fact, it reminds me of a vintage letterman's sweater! I may have to try this again!

Dog vest expansion

My friend (and faithful blog reader), Jenni, bought this little vest for her dog, but it was just a little too small. So, she asked me to add an expander panel. I removed the Velcro from one side, made a rectangular panel from some fabric from my stash (and lined it with a scrap of batting left over from the edge of a quilt), sewed the panel to the side the Velcro was removed from and sewed the Velcro on to the other end of the panel. It only took a few minutes and now little Bella can stay warm when she goes outside this winter!

Felted coffee cozy

I crocheted this coffee cup cozy from wool yarn and washed and dried it to felt it. Now it works great as a replacement for those cardboard ones that you get at the coffee shop. I need to make a couple more to work out the pattern. This is actually not my first attempt at this. I made one about a year ago that was much too large, thinking it would shrink a lot when I washed it, but it didn't. Then I started making a second one, but made too many increases too early so it was okay at the bottom, but huge at the top. This one is about the right size, so I'll have to see if I can replicate it!