Thanksgiving Advent Calendar- UPDATED

I made my Halloween and Christmas advent calendars a couple of years ago. The supply list and instructions can be used for any of the calendars.

Supplies:
large piece of felt with thick interfacing
several colors of felt
several coordinating fabrics
coordinating thread
coordinating ribbon including one thick to hang it up
coordinating seasonal decorations
thick interfacing for pockets and backing felt
Wonder Under
coordinating thread
iron
ironing board
rotary cutter and mat
scissors
1/2" thick wooden dowel and 2 wooden balls to fit the endsThis is the fabric for the letters and numbers.This is the rough sketch I made of what I want my calendar to look like when completed.After making the rough sketch I cut out paper versions so I could use them as a cutting guide for the felt. I cut one feather to see if I liked the size of it in relation to the body. I'm planning to use 5 colors for the feathers.

1. Iron the felt onto the thick interfacing.
2.Trace your shape (feather in this case) onto the interfacing and cut out.When you're done you'll have a stack of feathers. These will be your pockets.

3. Lay out your pockets with the turkey body. Make any changes necessary before you sew things on. I'm not entirely thrilled with the way this looks. I haven't figured out what to do yet. Any suggestions?
4. Iron the material so it's flat and then iron onto the Wonder Under.
5. Trace and cut out the words and letters from the material.
6. Iron them onto the pockets. If desired stitch around them to make sure they'll stick well.
7. Sew your pockets and the turkey body onto the large piece of felt.
8. Decorate with ribbons (I do top and bottom) and/or other decorative pieces.

** I am too busy to finish it before Thanksgiving this year so I am adding what I have done since I last posted this. Please email me with any questions!
I had to make the turkey smaller and turn the beak and wattle so they faced forward so that everything would fit correctly. The picture above shows how it looks currently. I still need to iron on the numbers, add stitching around them and then sew them to the brown felt. I also need to sew on the Happy Thanksgiving to the top, add the eyes and the ribbon. If I can find it I think I might add rick rack to the bottom. We'll see. I hope to have this done soon, but I have several upcoming activities that I am in charge of in the next 2 weeks so it might not be done before Christmas.

Fabric Headbands

Here is the first project that I mentioned earlier.
Supplies needed:
Scissors
3 coordinating fabrics. Choose one for the flower, one for the flower base, and one for the headband.
Find two cups (circle cookie cutters also work) of different sizes, one about 1/2" smaller than the other. They should be approximately 2"-3" in diameter. Paper- Trace the circles onto paper and cut out. Cut one of the larger circles from the fabric for the flower base. Then cut out 4 from the fabric for the flower. Cut the headband from the width of the fabric. I taper them on the ends. Button Needle and coordinating thread After cutting your fabric fold the smaller circles in half and then in half again. Place them in the center of the larger flower and stitch them on. I found that it was easier for me to stitch in a circular motion, close to the center. After you're done stitch your coordinating button in the center.Get your headband. You have a couple of options that I've used. The first one is to iron interfacing to the underside. The second is to layer it with a second piece of material with the wrong sides facing each other. That way when you tie your headband it has bright colors showing. It's just a matter of personal preference. The stitch around the headband, leaving about 1/4" raw seam on the entire thing. This prevents excessive fraying. (If you prefer a more tailored look you can sew under and then sew the pieces together.)After you've completed get your headband get the flower and stitch it on. I put it off-center. You're done and ready to wear it.I ran out of buttons for these last two, but it shows how I sewed the flowers on a bit better.

Retro Fabric Headbands

For my daughter's birthday party everyone got a custom-fit headband.

Supplies:

22" x 4" cotton fabric

2" of 3/8" elastic

thread

sewing machine

scissors

large safety pin

iron and ironing board

Directions:

Cut your fabric. (I tapered it a bit on the end so it would fit under the head a little better.)

Fold material in half, wrong side out and iron flat.

Open up the material and sew 1/4" seam at the ends. Fold material back in half and sew (wrong side out) all the way down one side, back stitching on both ends. Make sure you don't sew the ends shut! (TIP- If you don't want to sew the ends shut you can use fray stop to prevent fraying.)

Put the safety pin on the end of one side. Push that down through the hole.

Sew the material flat again.

Get your elastic. Stick the elastic in one end and straight stitch in place, going over it several times to make sure it holds. Measure your head and sew the elastic in place. It should be snug, but not too tight. You may need to cut your material a bit shorter if your head is smaller or if you're making the headband for a child.

Homemade Pillowcases

A few years ago for Christmas my mother made all of the grand kids pillowcases. My youngest son loved his so much that he carried it around everywhere. I mended it several times, but it was literally falling apart because it was threadbare from overuse. I got 3 coordinating fabrics and got started. The finished size of a standard size pillowcase is 20" x 30". Cut the first material to 20.5" x 24.5". I cut the second material, which is the small strip in the middle, to 20.5" x 4". I cut the third material to 20.5" x 8.5". (This allows about 1/2" extra for the seams.)

Items needed:

1. 3 pieces of coordinating material: Piece A: 20.5" x 30.5", Piece B: 20.5" x 4", Piece C: 20.5" x 8.5"
2. Coordinating thread
3. Iron and ironing board
4. Scissors, cutting mat, ruler, rotating cutting blade

Directions:

1. Cut your material to size. Iron everything flat.
2. Fold Pieces 2 and 3 in half lengthwise and iron them flat. Iron a 1/4" seam on Piece A on the top piece.
3. Sew a seam along the ironed seam of Piece A.
4. Place Pieces 2 and 3 together and sew them together.
5. Sew that piece to the ironed seam on Piece A. Reinforce the corners with back stitching.
6. Iron everything flat then sew the pieces together.
7. Wash and dry and you're good to go!

Pumpkin Table Runner

Supplies:

Several pieces of orange, black and green felt (Yellow felt if you'd rather use that for the faces.)

Scissors

Sewing machine

Orange, black and green thread (or you can just use one- your preference)

Patterns (Either printed from the computer or cut out with a Cricut machine. You need two sizes so you can back it.)

Temporary (repositionable) fabric glue

Directions:

Cut out the pumpkin either from a computer printout or on your Cricut. Also make one that's 1/2" larger for the backing.

Cut out the pumpkin, stem/leaves and the backing. Cut out the pumpkin faces with either the black or yellow. When you're done with the faces then use a temporary fabric glue to secure them.

When the glue is dry stitch the faces to the pumpkins. The first picture is the backside, and the second picture is the front view.After you've stitched the faces on there arrange them until you like the way they look. When you have them the way you like them stitch them together using black thread. You can have them face the same direction or twist and turn them to add visual interest.

I opted to keep them all facing the same way. This is how my table runner looked when completed.Here's how it looks on my table. I spray painted the sticks black, found black roses and have a couple of luminaries. Fun stuff!

Candy Corn Decorations

I saw a picture of some felt candy corn that a friend had made so I decided to do the same. This is a really simple craft to make if you have a sewing machine and basic sewing skills. (Mine are not much better than basic so if I can do it so can you!) The hardest part for me is always cutting the pieces out. And that's not even hard, just a little time consuming.

Supplies Needed:
Orange felt sheets
Yellow felt sheets
White felt sheets
Orange thread
Batting
Marking pen or marker
Scissors
Sewing machine
Pattern for candy corn (printed to desired size from computer)

Directions:

1. Cut out candy corn printed from your computer. Then cut along each color.
2. Trace each shape onto desired color of felt and then cut them out. Remember that these are double sided so you'll need to double the number you cut out. (If you want 5 total, then you'll cut out 10 total of each piece.)
3. Sew the three pieces together. I used the zigzag stitch so they would easily stay together.
4. After you finish sewing the 3 pieces together then get two complete candy corns and put them back to back. Using a straight stitch sew beginning at the widest portion on the end. When you're about 3" from your starting point start filling with batting. Finish sewing shut, making sure there is no gap.
5. After I finished sewing I used my scissors to trim around the edges to make sure they were even. Mine ended up being about 6" tall. If I made them a little bigger I would have gone around the edges with pinking shears.
6. Decorate as you will. I put mine in a jar. If you want to you could always sew coordinating ribbon on in loops and hang as garland. *Another option is to use the dark brown instead of the yellow for a twist on the candy corn. Use your imagination and have fun!

Completed Baby Blankets with Scalloped Crochet Edge

Here is how the baby boy blanket looked after I finished crocheting the scalloped edge. I am including photos of the process with a thicker thread (for my girl blanket) so that you can see it well enough to replicate the edges yourself.This is how the blanket looked after I single crocheted once around.This is how to start the second row.This is how the second row looks when completed.To start the third row single crochet in one hole, skip a hole, then double crochet 5 times into a single hole. Skip a hole and repeat until you're done.This shows how it looks when you have completed 5 double crochets into the single hole and you skip a hole and go to the second hole.This is just showing the above explanation.

This is how it looks going around a corner.

Now if I can do this almost anyone can do this. I just learned to crochet a few weeks ago. I started by making wash rags, and this was the second project I learned. It's really a simple process of repetition. Once you do it once you should be able to repeat with more speed and accuracy each time. The hardest part for me was learning to hold the thread around my hand and finger with the correct tension. I have been shown 3 different ways by 3 different women, so really it's a matter of personal preference. Also, the first blanket (shown at top and in a previous post) used a really thin thread. It was a good thread to learn with. However, I prefer the look of the thicker thread that I used on the girl blanket. I think it holds its shape a lot better, and stands out a lot more. But, again, it's just a matter of personal preference.

* Quick note- I haven't found a machine that will poke large holes for me. I have heard that there are people who will punch the holes with a machine for $1 a side. However, I found out that my new sewing machine ($119.97 at WalMart) had a hem stitch option. I got a wing needle, and stitched without thread about 3/16" in around the entire blanket. It made it much easier to keep things even. I poked through every other hole. When necessary I used the ice pick to enlarge the holes. Also, the second blanket (girl) was a lot thicker felt than the blue blanket. It seemed to be a lot easier to work with.

** You can also add a back to the blanket if you want to have a print and solid color or a print on both sides. I haven't added any to mine, but I was told that you can sew two materials together, then poke the holes and do the same process I used. I was also told that you can single crochet around both of them, then use the second row to put them together, then continue onto the third row. I think I would opt for the first of these two options because it would be difficult to make the stitches line up exactly.

*** The lady at the fabric store asked what I was making, and I told her that the only complaint I have about the felt (especially the thinner felt) is that I can't get it to iron flat. She suggested that I go to the dollar store and buy a product called Magic Sizing. She said it's a lot lighter than starch, but that it adds enough to the material that it will iron flat and keep its shape better.

Valentine's Crafts Heart Table Runner

I will be upfront and admit that I shamelessly stole these ideas from Chantal, Charmaine's sister. (Charmaine is a contributor on this blog.) Chantal did several crafts for Halloween, that I decided to convert to Valentine's ideas because I have very few Valentine's decorations.

This first project is the heart table runner. I have stopped here because I can't decide how to embellish these without making them look overdone. So for this year this is how they will look. If you have any ideas on how to make them cuter please comment!

First cut out a template. I used my Cricut and cut out a large and a medium heart. I traced the large heart on the red felt, and the medium heart on the pink felt.I cut out a total of 10 red and 10 pink hearts.Next I sewed them together using a zig zag stitch with about a 1/4" border.Lastly I sewed the hearts together, alternating right-side-up and upside down hearts.

This is the finished runner. It looks okay, but I'd like to make it pop. Any suggestions?

My Hawaiian Quilt

I posted these pictures on my personal blog so you may have already seen it before. I bought this material while I was in Hawaii on the Big Island. I made it a few weeks after we got home. It's unlike any blanket I've ever seen stateside. I had to hand tie it in one evening because my two youngest kept trying to get it, and they were knocking the frame all around. My kids all want to have it.
This is the front of the blanket. I really like the hand tied look and feel... probably because it always reminds me of my "woobie" that my mother took from my room while I was at school one day and burned. This is the back side. My kids all love the texture of it and kept rubbing it.