Thinking of Spring

With the temps in the mid 40's and the snow quickly melting my thoughts are turning to walks in the woods to find the early spring flowers.  I know it's too soon so here are some pics I took last year.

Bloodroot

(Blooms before the leaves come up)

 

 

 

Anemone

(Didn't know they grew wild in Wisconsin)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone has to love violets

 

 

 

                                                                          Trout Lily

                                                                      (I think it's an awful name for a pretty plant)

 

Prairie Smoke

(One of my favorites)

Fake Fur Vest for Adults and Kids

It seems you see fake furs just about everywhere these days so I thought I would try my hand at something a little more complicated than hand muffs so off to the fabric store.

My first attempt was a short length fake fur in a leopard print although I don't think I've ever seen a leopard with this particular pattern before.  I started with a woman's zippered vest lined with some really soft tan fabric.

What I found out is when working with fake fur you are going to have a mess so when you are cutting out your fabric have a vacuum handy because the fur will be on your cutting table, you and most likely the floor.   Other than that it's not much different than working with any other patterned fabric.  You will need to watch the design so you lay out your pattern with the design going in the same direction on all pieces. 

One thing that helped me stitch the vest is using a quilting needle in my sewing machine.  In addition to the fake fur and fuzzy lining I added a layer of fleece for added warmth and this made 3 layers of fairly thick fabrics and   these needles are designed to go through thicker layers and worked great. 

Here's how it turned out:

So you can see the lining:

And from the back:

I designed it so it could be worn outside on the not too bitter cold days or inside unzipped with a cute top and a pair of jeans or leggings.

I also made a version for kids and changed it around a little.  I used the same fake fur and lining but shortened the length and left it open in front with no zipper.

These little vests are super easy to make and I have to give credit to Bloom's Fabric Obsession for posting a tutorial on how to stitch a lined vest.  If you ever have trouble with turning a vest right side out after you have stitched it try this tutorial  http://sewblooms.blogspot.com/2010/11/lined-vest-tutorial-and-book-review.htm, it really works!!

 Well the short fake fur wasn't so bad (except for the mess) so I thought I would ramp it up a little and try something a little brighter, how about a bright pink!  And voile:

Ok the yellow hanger doesn't add anything to the pic but I used a short bright pink fake fur and lined the vest with a pink satin fabric.   I think I'm going to have to take a picture of this vest on one of my neighbors girls before I post it for sale. 

Well I guess that's it for today. 

Warm and Fuzzies

The recent snows have gotten me in the mood for warm and fuzzies.   Anything that is soft and furry and will help you keep warm.  But where to start, well as a kid I always wanted to have the old fashioned hand muff and never got one so I thought I would try making one and started with a kids version that turned out looking like this.

I used what is called "imitation mink" although I think the mink part is stretching it, but the fabric is nice and furry and soft.  I lined it with a layer of fleece for extra warmth and then the actual lining is bridal weight satin, one in white and one with a pink lining.  They did turn out nice and would keep any little kids hands warm.

Since these turned out ok I thought I would try an adult version and came up with this

It's made out of white rabbit fur and is also lined with white bridal weight satin with a white satin wrist band.  I added a layer of fleece between the satin and the rabbit for extra padding in the inside.

For anyone who wants to make one it's not hard you just need a small amount of fake fur, some fleece and a lining fabric.  The wrist strap can be made of any leftover pretty trim you might have in your stash.  

Next week I'll show what I've decided to make out of some of the new fake furs that are on the market.   Leopard and shocking pink....