the last few handmade gifts

A few days ago the most lovely piece of fabric arrived in the mail.  I have been coveting Lara Cameron’s fabric for so long now and finally managed to get to her Etsy shop in time to buy some.  And it is indeed fabulous.  I know fabric is really special when it never makes it onto the shelf – it becomes something as soon as it arrives.  Lara’s fabric became this tote bag for our good friend, Lia. 

If you’ve been reading this journal for any length of time you’ve probably noticed that there are certain things I rarely make – garments, costumes, home decor, and tote bags.  Anything that involved measuring and math and straight lines.  Bleh.  But I have had Amy’s book  on my bedside table for months now and it is so lovely and inspiring and, best of all, reassuring, that I decided to give her tote bag pattern a go.

I paired Lara’s fabric with some heavy Ikea canvas-like stuff that my sister gave me a while ago and I’m fond of the red and aqua and linen combination.  Yea!  I made a bag.  I hope Lia likes it.

And finally, the last of the gift crafting for a bit (?), some softies for new babies.

Seems like so many of my friends are pregnant with their second child now.  I think maybe six friends in the last six months!  That means lots of cuddly lambs are being sewn up. These two are made from some fulled wool from Wendy.  I so rarely sew with wool now it was a pleasure to make these. 

Okay, there really is a bird on my craft desk waiting for wings.  I have a bunch of hammering to do in the garage to make the feathers, but it is 16 degrees here.  Ugh.