#SewToShare - Personal Progress: May 2015

Been doing a lot of sewing around here and finally taking the time to sit down and do a little progress post. All of this incredible fluff is finished, tagged and loaded into my van for delivery next week.....we can't wait!!! Delivery days are always so much fun for our family! A great way to kick of the summer for sure! 

These little friends were made using the Little Love Bunny pattern from Jennifer Jangles. I was thrilled to win this pattern during an Instagram giveaway! And the best part.....when Jennifer found out that I would be using the pattern to sew for our FLUFF Project, she sent a box of stuffed friends she had made to be included with our next delivery!! Awesome, I know!!! You can find the Little Love Bunny pattern HERE, and be sure to check out the other creative inspiration on Jennifer's site as well....including FREE sewing patterns! 

This is the "Starla Starfish" pattern that I created and offer for FREE! I've added ric rac loops to the ends of each "arm", along with sewn felt eyes, so these friends can be perfect for even our youngest recipients! It also allows a way to connect this soft friend to a stroller or carrier to help keep close by. You can find the FREE Starfish Pattern HERE!

These playful pups are some of my favorites to sew! Simple and quick and absolutely LOVABLE in every way! They are made using the George the Puppy pattern in the book Girl's Word by Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom. You can find this pattern FREE here! I have truly lost count of how many of these pups I have sewn over the years!

This is another simple and sweet pattern to sew! This is the Henry & Helga elephant pattern offered as a FREE pattern & tutorial at Birch Fabrics. Find this pattern HERE.

I love sewing these sweet dolls and they are always well received! The potential for making each individual and personal is endless! These were made using the Matroyshka Doll pattern by Whimsy Couture. You can find this darling pattern HERE. I think this pattern has even been updated to include multiple sizes since I first bought it years ago, allowing for the opportunity to make these sweet friends in a variety of huggable sizes! 

And last to share are my beautiful ballerinas that I posted in detail about yesterday! LOVE THEM!!! This pattern is by Blue Whimsy and is a ton of fun to sew with! These little sweethearts radiate cheer and personality!!! You can find this pattern HERE. 

So there you have it! A peek into my sewing accomplishments over the past couple of months!
Learn more about the FLUFF Project and how you can be a part by clicking the image below!

Now.....where to start next!!! ;)

Beautiful Ballerina Dolls! Pattern by Blue Whimsy

 These lovely girls have been in the works for quite a while!

I tend to sew in "batches" when I'm working on items to donate, and sometimes....well, sometimes, I end up on a roll while I'm cutting and lose count on how much I'm going to have to sew. That kinda happened with these girls, so it has taken a bit of time to finish them, but I am tickled with how they've turned out!  

Each one has it's very own style and personality!

This is the Nora Ballerina pattern from Blue Whimsy.

I entered a giveaway that she had going on, knowing that these sweet girls would be perfect for our FLUFF Project. Before the giveaway was even over, she contacted me and told me that after reading about the FLUFF Project, she would like to offer me any pattern of my choice from her shop! Her kindness and generosity really touched me and I was so excited to get to sew this sweet pattern!

These are the ones that will be donated....

 And these I will be offering for sale to help off set the cost of time & materials...

You can find the ones available for purchase HERE!

The pattern also includes sweet little felt ballet slippers, but I chose not to add those due to the likelihood of them getting lost while in the donation shuffle.

The tutus are absolutely my favorite part!!!! They fluff up so darling!

This was a really fun pattern to sew! I loved watching them come to life through the process.

I made a simple change to the final assembly of the doll to make turning easier for me. The original opening for turning is on the dolls back, as you'll be able to see in one of the below pictures. However, I think I made my openings too small, and I struggled to get my first doll turned. And since I sew each step in an assembly line fashion when batch sewing, that meant they were all like this. So, here's what I did as an alternate way to finish....in case you find yourself in the same predicament! ;)

Adjusting the needle to the side, stitch 01 in the image, allows for an easier and more precise stitch along the edge. I used this stitch for much of my dolls assembly.

I attached the arms, and then sandwiched them inside the 2 body pieces, sewing from one bottom edge to the other, leaving the bottom open and legs unattached. 

 After trimming and turning the body, I turned under and ironed the bottom edge and pinned the legs in place. 

After sewing in place, I was then able to stuff the doll from the original opening in the back.  

This is a lovely pattern, one I definitely will sew again! The dolls are already drawing quite a bit of attention from all my friends and family who have seen them! 

You can find Blue Whimsy in all your favorite places....

Blue Whimsy website/blog

Blue Whimsy facebook page

Blue Whimsy on Instagram

Blue Whimsy Etsy shop

Oh....and if you'd like to try one of her patterns for FREE, she has a darling little mermaid pattern HERE so you can! :)

Be sure to tell her you saw her sweet pattern here when you drop by to check out all her other sewing sweetness, so she knows just how much I appreciate her generosity! 

Hooty Hoot! Super cute FLUFF for the FLUFF Drive!

 "Aren't We Cute???"

I had so much fun making these sweet owls! With each step, they seemed to get cuter and cuter! I started with the FREE pattern/tutorial found at Two More Minutes HERE. I used a variety of flannel prints, felt for their eyes and beaks and an assortment of coordinating ribbons.

While I'm not sure owls travel in flocks, mine apparently do! I got a little carried away when I started cutting and well....

I ended up with 16 total. 9 of which have been added to the pile for our 2nd Quarter Project/FLUFF Drive and the other 7 I'm using for gifts and the local gift shop where I sell some of my handmade items to help fund projects here. 

These were very fun to make, and with the free pattern, what have you got to loose?

Give 'em a try, I bet you love making them as much as I did! 

There's still time to be a part of our FLUFF Drive to provide stuffed friends for children in foster care. If you'd like to join in, we'd love to have you and you can find all the information to do so HERE!

FLUFF DRIVE! - Current Count & Invitation :)

This is my latest FLUFF sewing for this quarter's project....

 I love sewing these pups! This pattern is from the book Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli/Sis Boom, BUT.....lucky for you, you can get it FREE at this link HERE! :) Enjoy!

 These sweet Teddies were made using the newest pattern from My Funny Buddy. You can find it HERE along with a collection of some of the most adorable and fun to sew plushie patterns out there! :)

 These Bunnies were also made using a My Funny Buddy pattern. My Funny Buddy generously donates a copy of each of her plushie patterns to me to support my sewing for the FLUFF Project, providing stuffed friends for children in foster care. 

 This primitive cat family was made using a panel donated by Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs and her mother. Thanks Ladies! 

With these friends added to the growing collection in our Donation Album, our current count is......

146!!!!!!

BUT....that's still a good bit away from our GOAL!

Please join us and help us reach our goal of 500 fluffy friends for children in foster care!

You can get all of the details HERE. 

Happy, happy sewing!

Pencil Pouch Progress!!!

Just over 1 week of sewing for our August Project!

There is still plenty of time to sew up a Pencil Pouch or 2 in support of our efforts to help the kiddos of the Pine Ridge Reservation be ready for back-to-school. The pouches above were sewn using THIS FREE TUTORIAL. Additionally, you can find all kinds of easy to follow and FREE tutorials on my "Pouches" Pinterest board here. All styles are welcome!

Be Inspired by all the fabulous pouches that have already been sewn and added to our donation album here....AND....be sure to add pics of yours when done as well! :) We hope to easily exceed 100 pouches donated this month....I know we can do it!

Thanks for sewing along! 

EVERY. STITCH. MATTERS.

Fat Quarter Shop - GIVEAWAY in support of our August Project!

Let's kick off this August Project sewing with a fun FABRIC GIVEAWAY what do say???

Fat Quarter Shop is giving 1 lucky seamstress a Bear Country School Layer Cake! And this is PERFECT to use with this free Pencil Pouch tutorial that uses 10" squares. Quick & Easy and OH SO CUTE!!!

Look at all those fun  prints!

Who doesn't love the Berenstain Bears anyway!?!?!?

The purpose of this giveaway is to support the August sewing project, so with that in mind, you can follow the Rafflecopter prompts below to enter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner selected, announced & emailed 8/9/13 and provided 48 hours to respond and claim prize before an alternate winner is selected.

And GUESS WHAT!?!?!?!!
If you can't wait to get your hands on some of these adorable, scholarly prints, the WHOLE Bear Country School collection is 50% OFF in the Fat Quarter Shop!!!!!
Find all the cuteness and savings here!

Thank you so very much for your support Fat Quarter Shop!
Good Luck to all!

Pet Plush!

Just a few more days of our May Project pet sewing left!

I recently finished up these little stuffed bones to add to our box.

I used THIS free tutorial and they were super fast and easy to make. 

I didn't have the squeakers, and added a pre-made cotton tassel instead of the knotted strips. I think they turned out cute! 

There's still a bit more time to contribute to our May Project, and we'd love to have you join in!

Get all the details here.

Bibs in ALL Sizes...did you get the FREE pattern?

Just wanted to make sure that you all saw that Bonnie over at Fishsticks Designs modified the pattern from last month's project to include infant and toddler sizes as a gift to all of us for sewing so many beautiful bibs! :) You can get it on her blog here. Thanks Bonnie!

The pattern now includes sizes Infant, Toddler, Big Kid & Adult, covering all possible needs.

I was thrilled to see this! 

My Lil' Man needed some new bibs and he really doesn't like that scratchy velcro on most of the store bought bibs....soooooo.....this weekend I used this fabulous pattern in the Infant size to whip him up a soft & squishy stack of new bibs. They were quick to make and turned out absolutely adorable I think!

 I layered mine with a print flannel, a hidden layer of Killington Flannel (my absolute FAVORITE flannel!) and each was backed with a soft blue fleece. In addition to making them even more soft and squishy, the fleece also acts as a leak-resistant barrier which is GREAT for my lil' spitter! ;) 

I really like that the snap is on the side too. This makes it easier to put on and also keeps him from having anything hard to potentially lay on and be uncomfortable.

I think I've found my GO-TO bib pattern for all ages and occasions!

Thanks again Bonnie!