A New Flag To Fly

Prayer flags have been a tradition in Tibet and India for thousands of years.  I decided to put a little Ticklish Moose spin on convention and make a few of my own. 

 Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, a common misconception; rather, the Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.

Given the recent events in Aurora, CO I thought this idea I have had floating around in my head was apropos, but these can be used in so many ways- as a banner in a sick friends room, for good wishes to be written at weddings or birthdays, a project for kids to decorate at VBS.....the possibilities are endless.

 I did my project with simple machine sewing, but this could be a hand sewn or no-sew project just as easily. For no-sew just use steam-a-seam type products in place of the sewn areas. 

You will need:
Basic sewing supplies
 2 sheets plain cardstock 
Temporary adhesive spray like Easy-Tack
Laser or inkjet printer
Iron to heat set images
11 feet or longer rope, twine etc.
Fabric as detailed below 

 Woodcut Printables Freebie (click on links)

Prayer Flags Page 1  

Prayer Flags Page 2 

 This could also be old sheeting, broadcloth, lightweight cotton

 I upcycled mens shirts for this because the oxford cloth is pretty on both sides. 

Use whatever lightweight cotton fabric you have on hand. Also- I threw my shirting pieces into the washer and dryer after cutting to get a 'softer' frayed edge look- totally not necessary.

Spray the cardstock with adhesive spray and smooth your muslin onto the tacky side of the cardstock. Trim off the excess with scissors or rotary cutter.

 Print the Prayer Flag images onto your muslin, remove from the cardstock and heat set (press from back side!) and use a press cloth so the ink doesn't transfer to your iron and ironing board cover.  I use a teflon sheet for this purpose.....LOVE it!


Cut each image sheet into 4 equal individual images.

While your iron is hot, fold over 1 long side of the flag pieces by 1", press and pin.

I used a decorative zig-zag stitch to make the pocket for the rope/twine- here is where you can also hand sew or use a thin strip of steam-a-seam to create the pocket for the twine if you choose.

Select one of your images and center (mostly) on the face of the flag. Sew or use steam-a-seam to keep it in place.

Now the fun part- hand them out to family members or guests and have them add their prayers/wishes/hopes and dreams to the Prayer Flag with a Sharpie or other permanent marker.  String them onto your rope/twine and let them fly!

 

And help us, this and every day, to live more nearly as we pray.  ~John Keble 

If you make this craft, please let me know- I would love to post a picture of your project!  

Linking Here:

  An Original Belle
Serendipity and Spice 
Mad In Crafts 

Owlies- A Free Owl Pattern and Tutorial!

I am one of those people blessed with great family members.  Not to say we don't have our issues, fight now and then like families do or have a weirdo or two (which I am convinced is NOT me).  But all in all, through thick and thin we love each other to pieces.

So imagine my delight at finding out that one of my nieces was expecting a baby.....and a girl at that!  You know, I do love all things girly.  And who can resist a sweet little baby?  Unfortunately, my niece is full-term and has been in the path of Irene, but baby stayed put (whew!) and the power is back on in their area.  You know how the end of your pregnancy is.  And you can imagine she was thinking "Seriously?!? A freakin' HURRICANE?"

Well, enough of that.....back to me.

I wanted to make something special for baby, and much to my delight the 'theme' was owls, and the color of the nursery was to be green and brown.  I had seen a cool mobile some time back and had been wanting to try one- I just knew it was the project for me!  Originally I was going to attach the owlies by ribbons to a wooden embroidery hoop, but soon became obsessed with making it musical as well.  I scoured all of the local thrifts for gently used baby mobiles to no avail.  I was running out of time when I stopped into a Kid to Kid store to see what they had.  And wouldn't you know it- amongst  the pink Care Bears  and blue Cars mobiles I found this:

The perfect base for my newest creation!  
Couldn't wait to cut those sports figures off!!


I could not find an owl pattern anywhere that was exactly what I needed, so I made my own.  Feel free to download and use it, but please give a link back or shout out-K?  

 


Download Full Size Pattern Here


Suitable materials for this project are felt (wool or poly), suede or leather (I upcycled some old jackets), suit weight woolens (once again, I upcycled), quilt weight cotton for the tummy, and whatever buttons, embroidery threads, ribbons, etc. you would like to add.  I stuffed mine with a high quality poly fluff filling and sewed it on the machine, but you could easily also sew these by hand with a blanket or back stitch.


Cut out the pattern pieces from whatever fabrics you have chosen.  I used fusible web on the back of my cotton tummy piece to hold it in place while I stitched it on, and used a decorative stitch, but that is your discretion. 

Super-de-Duper Valentines Garland

 Happy Super-Bowl-Sunday!!  Here in North Texas it is all we have heard about on the news for about a month now.  They have even had a countdown clock (I kid you not) at the bottom of the TV screen just to give us a second-by-second update.  *sigh*  I do like professional football a great deal, but having the Superbowl here at Jerry World is causing me burn out.  

This past week was certainly a trying one.  Like most of the country we had winter return in a really ugly way.  My son, who thank God is a sophomore and not a kindergartener, was home a record 4 out of 5 days last week.  So at least he can occupy himself and it kept cabin fever to a minimum around here.  We baked (and ate) chocolate chip cookies, watched movies, and I was free to work on projects all day long!  Since there is no snow removal equipment here, you just sort of have to tough it out until the ice and snow melt and things get back to near normal.  I keep the house stocked with food and toilet paper anyway, so I can hole up here for a month if need be.  

With Christmas long gone, the house seems a little bare now that the decorations are packed up and put away.  And let me tell you, after the gloom, sleet and snow we had last week, I was looking for a little pick me up in decor around here!  So, I pulled out some supplies and got to work......here is the result:

If you have a few fabric scraps and a little time on your hands, you can easily make one, too!  Here is the tutorial:

You will need basic sewing supplies and/ or hot glue

Print a copy of the Pennant Template

(note: I printed it at 125%)

I upcycled an 80's Valentines vest I thrifted, and pulled together a few remnants that complimented my decor

I started with red bias tape, but ended up using black double-fold bias tape instead.  I just liked the way it looked with my accents better.  I made 16 yo-yo's using my orange Clover yo-yo maker.  If you do not have one, it is approximately a 4 inch diameter circle made into a yo-yo.  I just mixed it up with various fabrics that I thought worked together.

I wanted to give the pennants some weight, so I cut 3 layers- the face fabric, a layer of felt and a layer of flannel.  I did that for all 5 pennants, so a total of 15 pieces. 

All you need to do is just layer them together, pin to hold them somewhat in place, and sew just over 1/4" all the way around the face.  Don't worry if they are *wonky*, you will fix that in a little bit.

Still Time For a Homemade Gift.....

The weather outside is delightful these days.  But, being December it is not destined to last.  We have had a very mild and dry fall.  Most of our trees still have not turned colors.  It seems strange to have green leaves on many trees, and Christmas decorations everywhere.  I grew up in Michigan in the crook of the thumb and when I lived up there the first 20 years of my life winter meant SNOW!  Lots and lots and lots of snow.  Truck it down by the Tittabawassee and maybe by June it would be all gone. 

The extraordinary diversity of Texas includes 10 climatic regions, 14 soil regions, and 11 distinct ecological regions.  Here in North Central Texas we have 4 distinct seasons.  That means lots of clothes for everything from zero to 110 degrees!!  We are blessed with a long *flip flop* season, but we definitely also use warm coats, hats, gloves and boots.  Which brings me to this weeks tutorial.  It is a fast, fun upcycle which has a million possibilities for customization and personalization, and it is totally wearable, too!

Isn't this the cutest headband ever?? 

(Not so sure I'm giving this one away)

Here is my finished project:

Once you see how simple these are to make, and basically free, you will never spend $$ to buy one again!  I am totally working on the matching scarf!

Okay- this looks like a lot of steps, but hang in there.....once you get the pattern made it goes really fast.  

Gather some supplies:

I used an old pair of grey sweatpants that no longer fit anyone, and a scrap of red polar fleece left over from another project.  I am also considering using the wording area from a sweatshirt that no longer fits, and a felted sweater.  I hope to have some of those made to show you before Christmas, but no promises.  If you make one, I would love for you to email me the pics, so I can add it to the blog for others to see  :D

You will need basic sewing skills, basic sewing supplies, some paper to make the pattern (I used legal sized printer paper), and freezer paper for the stencil.    

I started by freehand sketching a basic headband shape on a piece of legal paper:

To make it come out even, fold in 1/2 width-wise, then fold in 1/2 length-wise, and refine the shape when you cut it out.  Use your sketch lines as a guide:

Here is the first part of the pattern cut out:

Add some ends to make it long enough:

Trim it to smooth out the shape:

Now you have your pattern!  Cut one of your top fabric (mine is the grey sweats) and one of the lining (mine is red fleece).  Be sure you cut your length with the stretch of the fabric!  I cut out a test pattern from some scraps of plaid fleece just to be sure I liked the size of the band on my head.  I have a pretty *average* sized head, so my pattern size should work for *most* everyone.  If you are the *Big Head* person in your family, (you know who you are) you may want a slightly wider band.  

 Here is the part that took me forever the most time.....picking the graphic!  Lucky you- you can copy my design if you want!

You are welcome to download a copy here:

Grapevine Leaf Stencil 

When I printed it, I used the 'landscape' paper setting, letter size paper, and I 'justified' or stretched it to the length of the paper.

I traced the design loosely onto my freezer paper.  If you want, you can print on the freezer paper.  I wanted to be able to trace it more than once.

 Carefully cut out your design, and iron it onto your fabric, using the 'wool' setting on the iron:

I used VersaCraft ink for fabric in black.  I blotted it on, using my fingers under the fabric to get the edges of the design darker.  You could also use paint for fabric, or add a textile medium to acrylic paints.  Just be sure to heat set after it has dried.  

Alabama Chanin With A Texas Twist!

I recently bought a fantastic book, Alabama Stitch Book, by celebrated and inspirational artist Natalie Chanin.  I have looked through it several times, trying to decide on a project, but since I have not hand sewn for some time, I wanted to do a 'sampler', so to speak, to try a few techniques shown in the book.  This latest pink top upcycle represents that effort.

So, lets see where it all started.

I wanted the top to go from kinda plain and boring, to something that reflected the more whimsical side of my personality.  I played around with fabric ideas, and finally came up with this combo.

I definitely needed a design inspiration, so I looked around through some wallpaper files and came up with this:

I played around with the items, and came up with this:

I kept messing with the flow of the design, and pinned it into place:

Then I used some embroidery floss I had on hand, and started working the stitches.  The book suggested working a cross stitch by doing all of one side of the X's one direction, then going back and completing the other side of the X's on the cross stitch.  It worked incredibly easily that way!  And like the book said, there was a certain peace and relaxation to the hand stitching.  It isn't something that has to be perfect, if fact, it's beauty lies in it's imperfections.     

Here is the finished top!