You can run, but you can’t hide from me when I’m carrying the Flip. This latest ambush is with my aunt Jan. For Christmas she made some very fancy embroidered pillow cases for my parents. I can’t imagine sweating and drooling on these masterpieces so I’m guessing they’re ornamental.

I dropped the ball and forgot to get photos while I was there, but I think you can see clearly enough from the video that pillow cases have a lot of detail. Gifts like this really are special, and not just because of the significant amount of time it takes to make something like this. In this (pillow) case it was about 20 hours for the pair.

One year I tried to make every gift I gave, and it just about killed me. Props to everyone makin’ stuff.

The hits keep coming. Mary made a set of potholders from some funky 1970s style fabric for her funky (in a good way) older sister. She used some fabric meant for covering ironing boards in the middle because it’s heat resistant. Beyond that, she freely admits that she doesn’t know what she’s doing, and didn’t have directions. Freestyle sewing!

Photo after the jump.

Mary Earle-Sigler - Funky Retro Fabric Potholders

Check out Asheville Cotton Company.

This Monster Backpack for our nephew is another Christmas creation by Mary. Handmade all the way. Even the bag it’s wrapped in is handmade. She Googled “cute cartoon monsters” to find different ideas and used them as inspiration for her own thing. To make the applique possible she had to simplify the final design. Mary has advanced sewing skillz, credentials even, but she makes it sound simple.

And, she was wrapping gifts in our freezing cold house. Lots of snow this weekend. Not much electricity. Sorry to whoever was calling during the video. We stop for no one.

See some pics after the jump.

Pieces and thread for the Monster Backpack

Finished Monster Backpack

Orange lining in the Monster Backpack

The crafty lady is on a roll. This project is a tote bag made from some salvaged wool that she felted. Details include a fancy-pants interior pocket, and a functional/decorative patch. Curse you moths! No pattern was used. Freestyle sewing!

Pics after the jump.

Some detail pics of this wool tote bag at Flickr.

Felted wool tote bag by Mary Earle-Sigler

Home girl is knocking out the gifts, faster than I can blog them. But that’s not saying much because I haven’t been that active here for a while.

First Mary project I’m posting this season is a couple handsewn critters wallets. One for our daughter and another for our niece. Check out the video for more info. You can see all the pics at Flickr.

Handsewn Critter Wallet - One of Mary's recent craft projects

Mumsy is back in the doll making game after a little hiatus. A while ago she made 20 rag dolls for a charity called Rag Dolls 2 Love, Inc from a pattern they provided. This one here is a Christmas gift for the latest grandchild, Oli, and it’s made from the scraps of another project. She’s a crafty crafter! This handmade rag doll is a combination of the charity’s pattern and her memory of a two-sided doll from her childhood.

From the Rag Dolls 2 Love site:

Rag Dolls 2 Love, Inc was started to put a soft cloth doll in the hands of children who live in countries ravaged by war, are orphaned or infected by HIV/ AIDS or traumatized by natural disasters. In the summer of 2003 as I listened to a report of Palestinian children shot during a raid by the Israeli army, and the death of Israeli children in a bus bombing, my frustration and anger spilled over at the loss of so many young lives.

Find out more about Rag Dolls 2 Love, Inc.

Eleven year old (almost 12) renaissance man Mars Sigler has embraced a new medium: handmade monster toys. He is calling this product line “Monster Buddies.” The fellow pictured here is named “Marky” and he is the second original, sounds better than “number two,” in a series Master Sigler has dubbed “Locker Buddies.” Toys in the “Locker Buddy” line are small enough to fit into a school locker.

Mars learned his pattern making and sewing skills from his mother, but the creative concepts are all his. Always innovative, Mars opted with “Marky” to put the seams on display, essentially turning the toy inside out, even though the fabric isn’t. The light blue element below the simple line mouth is actually fabric drool.

In an interview today Mars revealed that he intends to produce more “Monster Buddies” and begin selling them in various outlets in the near future. Master Sigler said at this time he has no plans to sell the first two “Monster Buddy” creations.

Looking back, I get the feeling that more folks had the D-I-Y spirit in the 1970s than in any period since. Even as kids my friends and I were customizing our bikes. You know, choppers with homemade forks, swapping parts from other bikes, etc. Other than the lowrider crowd I can’t think I’ve seen a kid do that since then. Of course, the grown ups were getting down too. Mary’s mom once made a giant set of floor pillows that looked like a massive hamburger. Separate bun pillows, beef patty, lettuce, special sauce(?). Oh yeah, it’s true. I gotta find a pic of that. Anyhow, my mom is still getting down. Her most recent project is a set of baseball-themed school organizers for my son and a purse with a horse motif for my daughter. What the two sets have in common is that Mom went to the thrift store to find some old jeans to use for the fabric. Why? “Because kids like pockets.” I heard that. And that’s especially true when Mema uses pockets to make something original and handmade.

Everybody should be doing stuff like this. Go make something.

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