Mend it Better

I am so excited to announce that I am in a book! Mend it Better by Kristin Roach came out in February, and I was thrilled to be a contributor.




I have been a long time reader of Kristin's blog, Craft Leftovers, so when she put out a call for submissions for her book I was very excited.




I originally blogged about this sweater project on my old blog here, but the short version is that I found a gorgeous cashmere sweater at a thrift store for a couple of bucks. When I got home, I realized that there were a few small holes. Luckily they were in inconspicuous places and I decided to do buttonhole stitch around the holes, so they wouldn't get any bigger. Then I sewed beads around the holes to look like flowers and stems.

There are a number of great projects and step-by-step techniques included in this book. I love that there are both specific projects and great inspiration for mending anything. As someone who shops at thrift stores a lot I think this book is indispensable.

Thanks to Kristin and the staff at Storey for including my sweater! To read more about the book, visit the Mend It Better website, and be sure to visit the Storey Publishing Facebook page as well. Storey is even offering a giveaway here and on the other sites of the blog tour--leave a comment by 8:00 pm Eastern on March 18th and you could win a free copy of Mend It Better!

Thanks to all who entered the contest! The random number generator came up with number 3, NL Clark! Congratulations!

Tooth Fairy Pillow

This was one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants crafting experiences that turned out really well. I made the entire project, from cutting out fabric to embroidering to stuffing and sewing it up (not to mention designing it as I went), in less than half an hour, using only materials I had in my craft room. My five-year-old cousin had his first loose tooth and clearly he need someplace to put the tooth for the Tooth Fairy to exchange it for money.




I drew a tooth shape freehand onto a piece of felt folded in half (so I would have two identical pieces), and cut it out. I also cut out a blue square for the pocket, and wrote his name on it with a disappearing marker. I chain-stitched his name with embroidery thread (this part may take you a little longer if it's a long name), then blanket-stitched three sides of the pocket to the front of the tooth. I turned the two right sides together and stitched around most of the edge, leaving an opening for stuffing. I turned it right side out, using a knitting needle to poke out the points, then stuffed it, folded the edges of the opening in, and stitched the opening closed. Quick, fun and easy, and my cousin was thrilled!