Itsy Bitsy Spider

I was playing around with some new dishtowels I bought and wanted to try out this idea for a spider. I cut out the legs and just sewed them up the middle of the strip, I wanted them to fray. The body is three graduated circles all sewn one on top of the other, again leaving the edges to fray. I sewed on beads for the eyes- and Done! A new halloween dishtowel.

I'm not sure how well this will wash up. The legs are pretty thin and I think after a few washings, there might not be much left except for the sewn stitch lines. But, for now, he's going to hang out in my kitchen. ;)

'Lil girl totes

I have been making my own totes for a couple of years now, but sometimes I like to try other patterns to see if there are things I like better about how they do it.

I saw the tutorial for these 'Lil girl Springtime Totes over on Just Another Hang Up.
Suzanne's bags are beautiful and I absolutely love the pieced front and the darling flower. I have never used fusible fleece either so I thought I'd give it a go.
These little ladies are the result. The brown fabric was already cut and one side was only 10", so I just cut it down to 10" X 11" and made the front and back the same.
This one I made using two fat quarters (they were on sale at Joann's the other day for $1 each!). I didn't have the materials to make the flowers like Suzanne did, so I made some other ones instead.
This one is just a rolled fabric flower. The blue one is a ripped, and gathered three layer flower.

These are going to make some great gifts, and I will definitely be using fusible fleece again! I love how much body it gives to the bags without making it stiff.


Thanks for a wonderful tutorial Suzanne!

One Banner- Two Ways

I was asked to make a Halloween banner that said boo! (thanks, Angela!). I wanted to make sure I had all my bases covered (and hoping she'd like at least one of them ;) )- so I made two banners.

The first banner uses a zig zag stitch on the edges (I use a double layer of felt so the pennants have more body and hang better) using black thread. I strung the pennants on a simple black ribbon, but dressed it up with strips of ripped, striped Halloween fabric. It's casual and fun and very festive!

Here's the whole thing:

The next banner has medium sized ric rac sewn in between the layers of felt so that just half the trim is sticking out. I used a straight stitch and black thread. Then the pennants are tied together using three different colors of ribbon. I love how the fabric with the little looped edges mimics the look of the ric rac. This method was a little more difficult, but I think the classic, fancier look is worth it!

So, take those plain 'ol pennants and dress them up a bit! They are both cute- but completely different. Which one suits you?