Since Jesse is out of work and we don't have an income beyond unemployment, which, predictably, doesn't cover all of our costs, I decided to make a lot of gifts for the kids by hand this year. We were able to buy some things as well, thanks to some money that my mom and dad sent out, and they also got gifts from Newson relatives... but I was really excited by the things I made by hand this year. So much that every time someone asked me about my Christmas, all I could remember were the things I made.
I started the sewing binge by finally making Melinda, Jacob and Alex some stockings to match the pair I made for Jesse and myself before we had any kids. Here are all of our stockings lined up: Jesse, Becky, Melinda, Jacob and Alex. Melinda and Jacob picked their own accent fabrics from Grandma Newson's stash:
For Melinda, I made:
A fuzzy/corduroy blanket. Honestly, even with sale prices at Joann's Fabrics, the fabric for this was a splurge. But the embroidered corduroy was on sale for the same price as regular corduroy, and I made it big enough that she'll be able to enjoy through adulthood. And I hope she will. I keep wishing I had made one for myself. ;) It was also, by far, the quickest of all my sewing projects. I finished it in one night. And note of interest-- I didn't realize that the embroidered corduroy was not as wide as the pink fuzzy material. My mother-in-law Nedra happened to have a darker purple corduroy in her fabric stash that she generously let me use to supplement what I had purchased (she also did this with various other fabrics for other projects I had!). I *love* the way it turned out... it's like I did it on purpose.
I also made Melinda a matching scripture tote. We got her a new Bible and Book of Mormon, and I took the leftover corduroy and some hot-pink knit and made a tote bag to fit them snugly. It was my second time ever making a tote bag, and only the first time without someone to guide me, so the process of figuring out measurements and everything took me quite a while. It was a two-night venture. And the embroidered pocket still ended up lower than I meant it to. Oh, well.
For Jacob, I made a scripture tote as well. He loves it to pieces. The fabric I used was purchased earlier in the year when I spotted it on etsy.com. I fell in love with it (I *adore* the owls and woodland creatures, and color scheme in general!), and knew I would think of something to use it for eventually. I was leaning towards a cuddle blanket, but this works just as nicely. I very nearly finished Jacob's scripture tote in a single night, thanks to figuring out the process and measurements when I had made Melinda's tote. I only wish I had thought to reinforce the handles a bit somehow, as they're flimsy with just a single layer of cotton fabric.
One idea I had for all three kids was to make a set of bombs. Like I've mentioned before, my kids just love watching and playing video games. Jesse's made toys for them before, like foam swords and cardboard/duct-tape shields, and Metroid "guns" out of drink bottles, and they always love pretending with them so much. So one of the games they love to pretend is The Legend of Zelda. It's got a lot of fantasy elements in it, and you often need to use bombs to clear a pathway, etc. in the environment. So I found a pattern for sewing balls, and then we used braided cotton rope to make a "fuse". Nedra had some fabric pigment markers that we colored orange, yellow and red on the ends of the fuse, to make it look like they were lit. Then we also made a bag, since you can't have bombs without a bomb bag! They knew what these were the very instant they opened them up, and have enjoyed playing with them. I only made three bombs, one for each kid, but Jacob wants me to make more so he can keep more in the bag while someone else is playing with them. Also, this is the best picture I got of them, since I forgot to take a picture when I made them.
I ended up having enough time on Christmas Eve to sew a few very last-minute ideas: A Zelda hat for Jacob, and a couple keys like you would find in one of the dungeons in the game. I'm glad I got to do those, as Jacob has been running around in full Zelda gear the last few days: Hat, bomb bag, keys, sword and shield. He keeps telling me that he wants a whole costume, though... But that's more work than I can handle at the moment. I'd like to make him a harness to attach his sword on his back at some point, however.
Alex's handmade gift was quite an undertaking. I thought it would be quick...and it wasn't. I made a Mr. Potato Head completely out of felt and velcro. It's a lot of fun, and I'm glad I made it, but whew, I'm glad it's over!! (It's just one Potato Head, with multiple pieces.)
Detail of the pocket... I made just a basic pocket first, and I could barely fit my hand in it... forget about 16 stuffed pieces!! So I cut it out and added a bigger pleated section that I hand stitched on. Because there was no way I was unstuffing the thing so I could rip out the pocket and sew one on with the machine. Just my luck, the new pleated pocket fits the pieces exactly.
I was also going to make pajamas for all three of them with some fabric that Nedra and my sister-in-law Rachel picked out for me, but I simply ran out of time to even attempt it. Hopefully I'll get to it before winter is over, though. :) Binge-sewing kind of got me looking forward to more projects again. I've been designing a make-up organizer in my head, and I also need to finish up the baby blankets I promised to my sisters before their daughters have their first birthday!
