turtle power!

people are having babies right now.
it must be that time of year or something. i had two good friends pop them out right in the same time period, so i had to get on my craft game.

luckily, my pinterest obsession provides me with plenty of project inspiration. i found this "peekaboo plush turtle" pattern on etsy from wewilsons and fell in love.

i made three turtles, the first in a more sophisticated denim, and the other two turtle bodies i made out of t-shirt jersey, so they are nice and plump and squishy.
the patterns use so little fabric that i was able to use some of my favorite scraps from previous projects for the shells.

the pattern calls for stuffing the top and bottom shells with batting (like a quilt), but i found that the top shell wasn't firm enough to hold its shape that way. serendipitously, i was cleaning out my closet mid-sewing project and found some foam cups that i took out of a bathing suit top when i bought it once upon a time (good thing i save everything). and they happened to be the perfect size and shape to reinforce a turtle shell. so i popped those in there and the shells came out crisp.

i was tempted to add googly eyes to the turtles (everything is better with googly eyes), but since they are for babies i had to settle with embroidered eyeballs, which actually turned out quite nice as well. a few embroidery stitches across followed by a few french knots.

 i love that these turtles come out of their shells.
much love to some wonderful parents - i am so grateful you are nurturing new life in this world.
congratulations maile + kaliko - your little hapuna is beautiful!

congratulations hannah + win - i can't wait to meet oona!

congratulations sierra + tom

my friends sierra and tom got hitched last month.

for their wedding present i made them some cloth napkins and beer steins based on the theme of their wedding invitation.

the cloth napkins started out as a quilt project, but it quickly became clear that i wasn't going to get a quilt done in time for the wedding (sorry sierra & tom!) so it morphed into napkins and beer steins. more practical, anyway. the napkins i did in shades of yellow, brown and white using this method of sewing curved lines in a quilt.

 

i used a pretty stitch to finish the edges, and each napkin has a hand embroidered S <3 T in the corner.

the beer steins were pretty fun to make as well. i had made etched wine glasses for my dad's wedding when i was in high school, so i tried that technique again.

 

using some of the left over black vinyl from the wall decal project, i cut out the image from their wedding invitation, centered it on the stein, and painted etching cream on the glass. it's a quick and easy process, one that i'm definitely going to do again - they came out so lovely!

congratulations, sierra and tom - sending you blessings for a lifetime of joy, good times, beer and happy messes.