Roses Are Blue...

Simple Fix Part 4 and a half...

Ok, so you've had your sock board up for about a month now, right?  And it is like a miracle, I know.  But I am guessing that, miracle of miracles not withstanding, there are several singleton socks up there still patiently awaiting their reunion with their mates.  Sadly, for an unfortunate few, there will be no reunion (seriously now, where do they go?!)  So for those poor lonely widows and widowers I have done one more Simple Fix to help put those socks to good use, Cherry's Comet Dog Throw (I just made that up.  What do you think?)  This project works great with athletic socks, especially the long soccer/baseball variety (of which we have singles in every color...)  Again, not much of tutorial here but they put directions on a soup can so who am I to judge?  Ok, so for this project you will need:

• a lonely singleton sock crew length or longer
• a soft baseball or heavy-ish rubber ball (a tennis ball will also work if your sock is not too long)
• a rubber band (optional)

First, put your ball in your sock all the way to the toe then and add a rubber band (or tie a knot).  Take it outside (with your dog), spin it like crazy and let go.  Bingo!  A fun game of catch without having to touch a slimey ball!

And look how happy your dog will be...

Ok, so if a dog toy is not your thing (maybe you have a cat and that's ok), feel free to browse through this list of other clever ideas.  Pure genius, I say...

Bean Bags (scroll down.  This same idea could work for a cat toy.  Just use catnip instead of beans.)

Sock Monkey (this one requires two socks but they don't have to match!)

Sock Puppets

Baby Sock Puppets (too cute!)

Grass Sock Pet

Sock Worm

Sock Babies (again requires two socks)

Singleton Sock Bunnies

Sock Bunny (again!)

Sock Bunnies, Chicks & Eggs (next Easter you'll be ready!)

Sock Snow Friend

Socktopus (har!)

There another list of great ideas here and here (LOVE the camping soap idea!)

And check it out, here's a whole book dedicated to sock crafts!

Now you can really cull that sock wall.  I'd love to hear any more ideas (or see pics) if anybody has them!

Let's turn this into a tutorial, shall we?

I almost forgot about the second baby shower gift I made!  This is a slip-on collar bandana for Sadie, the big sister-to-be.  Yes, Sadie is a dog.  And yes, I do understand that she is not actually the big sister (and no, I don't refer to myself as my dog's mommy) but I didn't want to leave sweet Sadie out.  I mean, she was their first baby-like commitment.  And the poor thing has no clue what's about to happen to her status in the Mino pack.  She may as well look cute as she stares longingly inside through the back door...

Anyway, after finishing Sadie's big sister bandana (and remembering how quick and easy they are) I decided to stitch up a Valentine's day version for Cherry Sue.  Then, after finishing Cherry Sue's bandana (and reaffirming my thought that these really are quick and easy) I thought this would make a great project for my first attempt at a tutorial.  There aren't too many steps and it is about as uncomplicated as a sewing project can get (which is good for me since I have some issues with...words).  Plus, the nice thing about these bandanas is that you can make one in pretty much any size and fabric combination for pretty much any and every occasion!  I mean, if you are crazy.  Like me...

So, I will give directions for a bandana for a 1" x 16" collar that looks cute on a 25 pound dog.  But y'all can add or subtract as many inches all around as you need to fit your dog and collar.  Just be sure that when you stitch up your casing that you have made it wide enough to slide the collar through (which means adding to the overall length of your rectangle for a thicker collar).  This tutorial will rely pretty heavily on the photos.  Feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any questions.  Seriously though, I think we can do this...

1.  Ok, pick your fabrics (pre-washed) and cut out a 10" x 9" rectangle of each (do as I say here, not as I do.  I know the photo clearly shows a 9" square, which is totally my bad.)  Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise and make a mark along the raw edges at 4.5" from the bottom.  Cut at an angle from your mark to the end of the fold to create the pointed shape.  Do the same to the other half.

2.  Now if you want to embellish your bandana here is your chance.  I have added a simple embroidered heart (which my dog will promptly snag with her scratching, I'm sure) but you could add a heart (or decoration of your own choosing) with paint or fabric markers or iron-on...or your bedazzler.  Whatever.

3.  Once your embellishing is done, take both pieces,  lay them right sides together and pin them around the sides and bottom (if y'all weren't watching I totally would not have pinned this).  Stitch around the edges leaving a 1/4" seam allowance and remove your pins.  Remember not to stitch the top!

4.  Carefully clip your corners and turn your bandana right-side-out.  Push the corners and the point out with a turning tool or a chopstick or whatever you like to use and press it nice and flat and sharp.

6.  To make the casing, make a 1/2" fold at the top and press.  Then make another 1 1/2" fold and press again.  This is where, if you are using different measurements, you want to make sure you are making your casing wide enough for the collar you will be sliding in.  Remember to add at least 1/2" to the collar width measurement to accommodate the hardware.  (Again, this will hopefully mean that you already added to the length of your rectangle before cutting.)

7.  Ok, ready?  Pin the casing in place, stitch across 1/4" from the bottom edge and remove your pins.   I wish I could say something like my grandmother would be very proud of my methodical pinning for this project...but I don't have that kind of grandmother.  My grandmother is proud when I remember that lay (not lie) takes an object and when I don't misuse hopefully like I just did.  Anyway, I like to stitch this seam twice so it is nice and sturdy.

8.  Now go to your dog's collar closet (I assume if you've gone this far that your dog in fact has a collar closet.  Or at least a collar shelf) and pick out the best collar for your nifty new bandana.  Or if you want to go all out, make a matching/coordinating collar while you are at it!  There are bunches of great tutorials already for those and Bend The Rules Sewing has an easy pattern as well.  Now don't worry if your bandana is a little wonky or lopsided (like mine).  I promise your dog won't notice.  And once you slide it onto the collar and snap it around her adorable neck, all of the flaws will magically disappear!  See?  What do you mean you didn't pin?

Happy sewing!

The Joy of Six...

I can't believe it but my sweet little angel puppy, Cherry Sue, is six years old!  Her birthday, of course, is a guess since she was a rescue puppy but she was dumped at the pound with 4 of her litter mates at a very young age-only about 5 weeks.  So they were reasonably sure about the date.  Due to over-crowding at the foster home she came to live with us at only 6 weeks.  And now, Cherry Sue, the sweetest dog in the whole world is six years old...

Her favorite thing to do (besides lie in a sunbeam until she's about to have a heatstroke and/or sit so close to the fire that she's hot to the touch) is to gut her plush toys.  The poor little things last about 5 minutes before she has made a hole and savagely eviscerated them.  Her toy basket is full of limp plush carcasses.  But since it is her favorite thing to do, and it's her birthday, I made her a quick patchwork plushy to tear apart using scraps from my basket and a leftover squeaker.  I know it is a little wonky (a little wonky?) but seriously it will not last the hour.  Heck, it won't even last this post...

The picture of innocence.... Yay!  A new squeaky plushy!

5 minutes later...

What?  Why are you laughing at me?  

*sigh*  Y'all probably think that last photo is staged.  But alas it is not.  So much for the cute patchwork bone...happy birthday, Cherry Sue!

Thank you, Craft Attackers!

Thank you to everyone who came by the booth this Saturday at Craft Attack!  I hope y'all had as much fun as I did.  What a cool bunch of people there were there, vendors and shoppers alike.  I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout and the feedback was great!  Sadly, I sold pretty much every single one of my favorite things.  Now don't get me wrong, I was thrilled that people loved my stuff (thrilled, I say!) but it is so hard to say goodbye to my favorites...I know, I know...my husband kept shaking his head at me too.

Independence Park is in this amazing older neighborhood in Charlotte where I had never been before.  It was a beautiful setting.  Oh, but the wind was pretty crazy so there were some casualties during the fair, mostly involving wayward tents and sudden acorn showers...  Luckily, we were in a really good spot so it wasn't too bad for us (and all of my goods are soft which definitely helped when they were blown to the ground).

This sweet little pup, Ashka, was my favorite customer of the day.  To give you an idea of how tiny she is, that is a felt bracelet she is sporting!  Have you ever seen a cuter hoodlum in your life?  And my favorite vendor of the show was a woman named Christy Wooke.  I just had to have a couple of her adorable pins (choosing was agonizing!) but I really wanted her magnets too (that goes back to mistake #513, Buying a Stainless Steel Refrigerator...)