Winter Banners

The weather people are forcasting a snowy winter in the Northwest. Who pretty snowflakes and lights that twinkle in the night? My kiddos and I made these little banners to welcome winter.

With two pieces of felt, scrap ric-rac, and felt stickers, these little banners came together easily.

The only sewing I did was to sew on the ric-rac which became the string for the lights. You could glue it on in advance and then let the kids get started. We're working on counting here, so they counted and sorted the different light stickers. We had 30 so they each got 15 (one pack from Joann's for $1.00). They divied up the colors that went best with their sensibilities and with their felt. Then they made their patterns. Once they had the designs ready, they pulled the adhesive and placed their lights along their strings.

I helped with the snowflakes because some of the felt stickers didn't cooperate with the intended die cut. Joann's has other stickers--gingerbread men and ladies, penguins, etc. You don't need kids to make this project fun. They would make great gifts for the holiday season, too!

Winter Pillow Cases

Winter pillow cases
Originally uploaded by hmsohly

What fun! Just in time for the snow in Seattle, my friend, Nancy, and I made pillow cases for our kiddos. She wanted to get it done last year, so I found a great tutorial. With my stash and what Nancy had, we made five cases while our youngest kiddos were at preshcool.

These would be great wrapping for larger gifts and were a happy surprise for the little people in our lives. Nancy is inspired to make them for other seasons, too.

Wool Fall Runner

Wool Fall Runner close-up
Originally uploaded by hmsohly

Here is a fast one! With a wool remnant and one seam, I have a fall runner. . . something that can take us from September to Thanksgiving. A pretty flannel would work, or another plaid you like. These colors just seemed perfect for our house.

It is super simple. Fold your remnant in 1/2 with the selvadges on each end. Seam it and press. Easy, peasy, lemon-squeezy.

Thanksgiving Crafting with kids

With scraps of cotton, some felt stickers, acrylic paint and a sharpie marker, we now have a banners to remind us and welcome friends as we approach Thanksgiving.

I simply hemmed the scraps and created casings for dowels. I found a font I liked, enlarged it and then traced the word "thankful" onto the scraps. The kids painted the letters. I love the spots where they are outside the lines. Once the paint was dry, they chose the pattern order of the stickers and placed them. I had fun, tracing the letters in the brown Sharpie, to make the words pop.

This will soon be fluttering on our door. Find a a scrap, a font you like and some felt stickers. Or find some leaves, make crayon rubbings through the fabric or find fall colored scraps and have the kiddos make patterns with those.

Thankful for my little helpers.

Gail Pan Had Me at It Again

Gail Pan Had Me at It Again
Originally uploaded by hmsohly

Here is a gift, basted and ready to stitch. I made one of these in red for our home and my mother loved it. This year, she will receive this one as a Thanksgiving gift. The colors are more in keeping with her delicate, victorian sensibilities. Oh, I hope she loves it. You could easily make one of these before the holidays for yourself or for someone you love. Visit Gail Pan at her blog for the "A Christmas Wish" patterns and just stitch a block each night. The panels come together so quickly. You could even do a four-block version and choose your favorite words. Use your favorite colors and keep it up all year, if you like. If you need inspiration, visit the flickr group to see what others stitchers and quilters have done.

Quilt Festival Entry

sydney's quilt
Originally uploaded by hmsohly

I made all three of our kiddos quilts last Christmas. This was for the big girl in the house. She is my step-daughter and it makes me incredibly happy to see her wrapped up in it on weekend mornings or while she does her homework. It is simple. . . but started the redecorating in her room. I just love that she uses it.

So this simple, black and white is my entry. Thank you, Amy for organizing the Quilt Festival!

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