B makes an apron

B decided he wanted to make an apron for H for Christmas. So he did.

He chose the fabric. I helped him a bit, mostly with guidance, but he did almost everything.

I found the free pattern on Sew Liberated. It was super simple and it fits H perfectly.

Photo canvases

For a friend who just lost his dog.

Scanned and sized photo.
Cut tracing paper to letter size and fed through ink jet printer.
Trimmed to 5x7 size to match blank framed canvases.
Spread thin layer of mod podge with foam brush. Adhered tracing paper , smoothed out bubbles and spread thin layer on top.
It is wet in photo - will dry clear.

Thanksgiving dress

This is the School Photo dress dress from Oliver & S. I actually made it for Thanksgiving last year, but (a) it was even bigger then, and (b) she wouldn't wear it for a photo then. This year she liked it, especially the secret pockets that she made me promise I'd keep secret. It was the most complicated dress I've made, and I'm actually pleased with how well it came out. The adorable neckline bothered her eventually, but we've had at least two evenings out of it. Well, she wore it to dinner yesterday, but no during dinner. She ate naked.

Harry Potter tie

Thrift store tie. Strips of yellow felt.

Little bird

Made from wool sweater scraps. Thought it might be fun to make a few
as Christmas ornaments. Turns out, the answer is probably no.

Invisibility Cloak

Obviously you can't see it here, but you get the idea.

B wanted an invisibility cloak, so while we were in MN we went to Hancock Fabrics and found the perfect solution: silver Liquid Foil. He can see out just perfectly, while the rest of the world can't see a thing. And it feels fantastic: it's slippery and metallic and heavy in a cool way. I cut the yardage into three rectangles, and then just sewed the pieces together with a curved seam at the top. The raw edges definitely needed to be finished, as the fabric starts to run almost immediately.

It's even big enough for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. When they were first-years, anyhow.

Princess Gown

Somebody wanted a real gown for her "princess" doll, so I tried my hand with an honest-to-goodness Barbie pattern (McCalls 8552). I won't say it was easy, but it wasn't as difficult as I feared. I'm glad I chose the sparkly gold fabric: after all that fiddling, I wouldn't have wanted it to be just so-so.

Only now do I understand all the time and energy my grandmother put into making clothes for my Barbie. If only she had done it for a girl with a bit more foresight. I can perfectly picture the garage sale thirty years ago, when I sold them all.