Game Grumps Cross Stitch Ornaments

For the last week, I've been begging my husband to let me put up our Christmas tree. Not necessarily because I'm an impatient Christmas fanatic, although I have been guiltily listening to Christmas music in the car ever since KOST 103.5 started playing it nonstop. I wanted to photograph some ornaments I made so I could list them on my store before Black Friday. I think he secretly wanted to have the tree up, too; once I got started, he got into the Christmas spirit with me. We even had hot chocolate to celebrate the occasion.

Yes, that is white hot chocolate, from a homemade mix, a recipe I adapted from one my mom used to make during the holidays. Soon I will share it with the world on this blog. I did promise to wait until after Thanksgiving to put all the ornaments on the tree. The only ones that get to stay are these:

I was going to wait and give them to my husband as a surprise Christmas present; then I ended up asking his advice on color choice and so forth. Surprise ruined. But, now that I don't have to worry about him finding out, I get to share the patterns! After lots of graph paper, more graph paper, and a few hours on gimp, I bring you these Kirby Game Grumps cross-stitch patterns!

Egoraptor
JonTron

Using 7-count plastic canvas, your favorite yarn (2 strands if it's thin), and a basic cross stitch, the finished product is roughly 3 inches square. Once you have both sides completed, just cut them out (use the border in the patterns for reference). Then, stitch them together by looping the yarn around the edges. It usually takes several stitches in each edge square, and re-tracing around the corners, in order to cover all the plastic. Attach a ribbon to hang, and you're done! Easy gift for the gamer geek in your life.

United Federation of Planets Custom Project

My favorite thing about buying and selling on Etsy is the collaborative mindset of the community. You can customize just about anything, and most people are very open with ideas for improvement (or expansion) on existing product listings. My husband custom-ordered my wedding ring from an Etsy seller before we even knew much about the community. I've not been selling very long, but I've gotten many requests for customization of items I've listed. Requests are usually for a different size or more color options. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of my customers, I've been able to fine-tune some of my more successful products to meet a wider range of needs and tastes.

My favorite request so far came in a few weeks ago. I was asked if I could make a hot/cold pack with the United Federation of Planets emblem on it. As a Trekkie, of course, I jumped at the chance! How could I turn down a project like this?

My inner Starfleet cadet is trembling.

I won't go into too much detail about the process. Suffice it to say I approached the stars through a good deal of trial and error. The smaller stars were fairly easy, though I had to teach myself the French Knot.

Insert needle.

Wrap thread around needle.

Re-insert needle and (here's the tricky part) pull it tight.

I didn't get the scale perfect, but considering the number of stars I stitched, I'm pleased with the outcome.

After trying to machine-appliqué the three larger stars, I was not happy with the results. They were too small to accurately follow the edge with a zig-zag stitch. So I tried to embroider them instead, to match the other stars. My under-whelming embroidery skills resulted in too much bulk, not true to the original design at all. I ended up cutting new appliqué pieces and hand-stitching them in place.

Finally satisfied, I stitched everything to the background, covered the mess on the back with a lining, and admired my own work before shipping it off to its owner.

Here is the back, with the rice insert inside.

I think I will do another for myself, only bigger and on a pillow so I can dream about space exploration.

DIY Critter Tunnel

Meet my guinea pig, Remnar! He is about seven months old, and loves to snuggle in anything soft. Since we got him, I've been experimenting with all sorts of burrow bag designs. I'm sure my friends and family think it's excessive. In fact, I know it's excessive, but I enjoy myself. It's fun watching him explore new things. Although, his favorite still seems to be a simple fleece blanket draped over the side of his cage. So much for all my efforts, silly pig.

As a result of my experiments, I ended up with tons of fleece scraps in all different shapes and colors. So, just for fun, I decided to use up some of those scraps by making a tunnel for my piggy.

If you don't have scraps on hand, the remnants section of the fabric store is perfect for projects like this. And if you don't see anything you like there, just get 1/2 yard of whatever strikes your fancy.

Next, pick up some aquarium tubing from the local pet store. The fabric needs something to keep the tunnel from collapsing whenever your critters decide they'd rather trample it than snuggle in it. Aquarium tubing is just the right size, and provides flexible stability. It's also fairly cheap, and it comes in varying lengths and colors to suite your needs.

Before you get started, you need to make sure your sewing machine has a free arm. That means you can take off the larger workspace to expose the arm, like so:

You will need to be able to fit the tunnel around the free arm. If it's too tight, it is pretty much impossible to stitch the tubing in place in the final steps. Thus, you may want to measure around the the free arm before you begin. Yes, I learned this the hard way while making a smaller tunnel and ended up hand-stitching the cuffs closed. Lesson learned.

Now, to make the tunnel! Take your main color fleece and cut a square big enough to fit around your pet, plus an inch or so for seam allowance and wiggle room. (My piggy is fairly small, and he fits comfortably in the 15 inch tunnel I made. In fact, with some effort, he manages to turn himself around inside of it.) Cut two more squares the same size from a contrasting color. Now take one of those squares and cut it in half.

Next, cut four sections of aquarium tubing the same length as your square. Cut a small slit in one end of each section of tubing, about 1/4 inch long.

Put a little craft glue into the end with the slit. I discovered that a hot glue gun will not work for this. Fast-drying craft glue, such as Beacon 3-in-1, works much better.

Stuff the other end of the tube into the end with the slit. It takes a bit of twisting and pinching to get it in snug, but it can be done! Once it's in, set it aside to let it dry completely.

To start the tunnel, fold the exterior fleece square in half, right side facing in, and stitch down the long side to form a tube. Trim the seam. Repeat with the interior fleece.

Turn the interior fleece right-side-out and stuff the exterior  fleece inside of it.

Line up the seams and stitch it in place.

For the cuffs, fold each piece in half and stitch along the side to form a tube. Trim the seams.

One at a time, fit each cuff over the main tube.

Line up the seams and stitch it in place with a slightly larger seam allowance to hide the last line of stitching. Trim the seams.

Turn the tunnel right-side-out.

Slip two tubing rings over each end and fold the cuffs over so the rings are inside.

You want the cuff to cover the seam with about 1/2 inch overlap. Stitch the cuffs closed, as close to the original seam as you can.

Now, feel inside for each ring and line them up so that one sits in the folded edge of the cuff, and the other sits next to the inside seam. Stitch along the open edge of each one to hold them in place. It helps to use the zipper foot or move the needle position to the right or left to get the stitching closer to the tubing.

Of course, you can make your tunnel whatever size or length you want, depending on what your critters prefer. I had enough scrap material, I decided to make a skinny, longer tunnel as a gift to a friend who has rats.

I had to coax my piggy in with some treats to begin with, but now he loves it. It's perfect for play time, when all he wants to do is sprint in and out of small spaces. I would imagine that other little critters who like to burrow will enjoy tunnels of their own.

Quilt Restoration: How to Patch Holes in a Well-Loved Quilt

I love quilts. Each one has a story to tell, whether it was made by loving hands, or used to warm generations. Sadly, no matter how expertly-crafted a quilt is, or how meticulously one might take care of it, a well-loved quilt always seems to develop holes through years of affection. Thankfully, there is no need to retire a quilt just because of minor wear-and-tear! All it takes to restore it to it's former glory is an hour or two of time, and maybe a trip to the craft store if you're not a fabric hoarder like me.

What you need is some fusible web, like Wonder Under, and some fabric scraps that match the color scheme and/or theme of the quilt. If you don't have any on hand, just go down to the quilting section of your local fabric store and pick out a few fat quarters. Or, you might get lucky and find something you like in the remnants bin. Be sure to wash any new fabric you buy to minimize shrinkage of the finished product.

Don't worry if you can't find an exact color match for your existing quilt. Of course, this technique works especially great if your quilt is already a little eclectic. Personally, I think patches that look different from the rest of the quilt add character.

Keep in mind, you are not limited to squares. I used all squares and rectangles in this example because the original pattern was all squares. If your quilt has a more intricate pattern, think about copying some of the shapes that are already there. Or add some flare of your own! If you like astronomy, make a star-shaped patch. Does the quilt belong your child? Find a simple silhouette of your child's favorite animal online, and trace that onto your wonder under. Just make sure the shape you end up with is big enough to cover the hole you intend to patch. Quilts are very personal things, so don't be afraid to make it your own.

Now, on to the patching process! Before you get started, lay your quilt out on the floor and identify all the holes. If there are a lot, mark each hole with a brightly-colored pin so you remember where they are. Lay your fusible web on top of the quilt and draw shapes on the paper side with a permanent marker that are big enough to cover each hole with at least half an inch margin on all sides.

Iron the fusible web to the back of your scrap fabric, according to the directions on the package. Now cut out the shapes and remove the paper backing. Place each patch on top of the quilt and iron it on, taking care to smooth out any wrinkles underneath it.

Next, you'll follow the same technique I outlined in a previous tutorial on appliqué. First, thread your machine with two different color threads. The top should match your patches, and the bottom should match the underside of the quilt. As you can see, I had a little trouble with the tension on my bobbin, so the top thread was slightly visible on the bottom. Learn from my mistake, and test your stitching on a "practice quilt" (multiple layers roughly the thickness of your actual quilt) and make any adjustments to your machine's tension before you get started.

Now, set your sewing machine to a medium zig-zag stitch. Stuff your quilt under the presser foot and make sure there are no additional layers bunched up underneath it. Carefully stitch down the edges each patch. When you come to a corner, put your needle in the fabric, lift the foot, and turn the quilt until the foot is lined up with the next edge. This can be tricky if you have a large quilt. Just be patient and think about which direction would be easiest to turn the quilt before you start pushing and pulling too vigorously. We don't want to break any needles mid-patch.

If any of your patches have curves, you'll need to lift the foot and turn the fabric every other stitch or so to keep it lined up properly. Make sure you keep the needle in the fabric every time you lift the pressure foot!

Once you've stitched around the entire edge of the patch, lift the needle and the foot, and pull out a little bit of thread. Cut the top thread and carefully reach beneath the quilt to cut the bottom thread, leaving a few inches of tail to tie it off.

Now pull the quilt out and turn it over. Pull all the threads to the back of the quilt. (This is usually pretty easy if you pull on the trailing thread and use a thread ripper to coax the loop open on the other side). Now you can either tie the ends and trim the threads close to the knot, or you can try to hide them.

Hiding the knot can be tricky, so bear with me. Once you have all 4 threads on the wrong side of the fabric, tie them in a knot about a quarter of an inch away from the fabric. Don't trim the ends yet! To hide that knot, thread the ends through a needle (you'll need one with a big enough eye to fit all the threads). Insert the needle back through the last stitch, but don't push it all the way through the quilt. Lead it into the batting and bring it back out an inch or so away from the knot. Now gently pull the threads until the knot pops into the center of the quilt. It may take some coaxing, as you will have a large knot. If you prefer, only knot two threads at a time. Gently pull the trailing threads tight and trim them close to the quilt, taking care not to cut a new hole.

Next time you encounter a vintage quilt, you'll be able to restore it, and add your own personal touch. Once you have each patch stitched securely, you can wash, use, and love your quilt free of worry.

Guinea Pig Burrow Bags

My wonderful husband got me a guinea pig for Christmas! His name is Remnar (if you like outdoors-type movies with twisted humor, watch Escanaba in da Moonlight).

Since we brought Remnar home, we have tried giving him several different beds, trying to figure out what works best. We've discovered that he loves to burrow in fabric--clothing, blankets, pillows, anything soft and warm. So we ditched the plastic barn that the pet store sold us and gave him a cardboard tube that I lined with some fake fur. He loved it, but it got nasty pretty quick. It turns out rodents poop a lot. He definitely needs something that is easy to wash. So I took a trip to the fabric store, got some fleece remnants, and made him a couple new beds that we are all happy with.

The first one is just a bag. It doesn't work so well as a place for him to sleep (I think he gets too hot if he stays in it too long). It does work great for lap time. I can pick him up easily while he is in it, and he doesn't try to run away. Then, while I am holding him, he has a safe place to hide if he wants to. Plus, he has fun just poking around in the corners.

The second bed is a bit more complicated, but definitely a success. It sits in the corner of the cage and ties to the top of it. Looks like a guinea pig teepee.

Here's how I made it:

Drape a tape measure in the cage; top to bottom, let a few inches lay on the bottom, then back up to the top. Now decide how far out you want the teepee to come and measure across the corner of the cage at the point you want it to stop. Cut a rectangle using these measurements.

Cut two 3-inch strips of fabric that measure the length of the rectangle, plus 6 inches.

From the rectangle, cut a triangle out of each skinny end, with the point measuring about 1/3 of the way down the length of the fabric.

Pin and stitch the sides of the triangles closed.

Attach the 3-inch strips to the inside edges of the bag.

Then fold them over and stitch to the outside to finish the edges.

Even out the overhanging strips at the top and cut slits down the middle to create the ties.

Remnar loves sprinting in one end of his teepee and out the other. It's also big enough for him to take chew blocks and toys into it with him.

The only problem is that he still poops in it. A lot. Luckily, it's easy to clean out and wash frequently. I suggest making at least two of these so the piggy has a teepee to hide in while the other is in the wash.