Things That Go Hoot In The Night

I thought I would change gears and dabble in some stuffed crafts this weekend. With the long weekend I figured it was time to try something new and do a little experimenting. This funny (almost creepy) owl is what came out of my experiment. The eyes, beak and inner ear pieces are cut from felt and hand stitched with matching embroidery thread. The hand stitching gives the doll a sort of vintage feel. The shirt and socks are made from regular cotton fabric and the head, wings, tail and part of the legs are made from corduroy. I thought the skirt might make it a little more girly, but I think I like the owl better without it. The fabrics are just a little too crazy to be put together. The tail is weird because it hangs between the legs if the doll is standing, but I couldn't figure out any other way to attach it -- it looks ok if it's sitting, though! I should probably stick to quilting after this not-so-successful crafting day!

Potted Christmas Tree Skirt

Mike and I decided to put a Christmas tree up this year, but just a little one. We went to La Sumida (a local nursery where I inspected some small trees for work last week) and bought a Dwarf Alberta Spruce. It's the perfect size to sit on top of one of the speakers. The container the tree is potted in is a green plastic, but it didn't look very festive, so I decided to make a skirt for it. I made a tube with elastic at the top and bottom to cover the actual pot and then a square skirt to wrap around the base. Now it's ready for gifts to be placed underneath :)

Sneak Peek

I've been working on Olivia's Christmas present, but I don't want to reveal too much. I want Tasha and Josh to be surprised since Olivia won't know the difference! But she'll love it. Here is a sneak peek at the fabrics and the applique I worked on today (hand sewing is not my strongest skill).