Hot Teddy

I currently have two creatures who are under the weather.  So today they are watching movies snuggled up in blankets and asking very politely for Mommy to do their bidding.  For me this means Popsicles, and heating packs, more tea, nice warm muffins (with butter and honey mommy) and changing the disc so they don't have to get up.  This also means navigating the delicate balance that exists when you are 2 or 4 and as my daughter puts it "feeling crummy".  This morning I failed miserably in my son's eyes because I heated up the bed bug for his sister but didn't have one for him too.

The bed bug

This sorrow producing object was given to my daughter years ago and has never before caused and issue.  Well I thought to myself I can solve this.  I tried the water bottle with the nice knitted cover.  No go.  He wanted one like his sister's.  Okay, now what? I pass said crying child off to my husband and escaped to my craft room to see if I had the material to make one.  I few minutes of rumaging and yes! I could do it.  Now to explain this to the crying toddler so that maybe he would stop.  Bingo! Like magic. 

A Hot Teddy

So here's what I did. Cut out 2, 7 inch circles of heavy cotton fabric. (I used my husbands old jeans.)  Then I just serged all the way around leaving an opening to turn the circle right side out.  Filled it with pot barley and then sewed the opening shut. Basically I made a large round bean bag.  It's not perfect but that doesn't matter because it's going to be covered.

The barley bag

Now for the cover. It took some brown fleece and cut one 9 inch circle. Then I folded that in half and used it as a template to cut two halves with an extra inch of fabric on the flat side of the half circles.  I then turned half an inch of that over and made a rough seam. I attached a small square of velcro on each.  One on the right side of the flat edge, and the other on the wrong side of the 2nd half circle's flat side. Place the two halves together to make a circle, you will have the flat edges over lapping. Sorry I didn't take a picture as I was constructing. 

Here's what the back looks like 

Next I cut a small circle in the brown (about 2.5 inches) and then cut that in half.  These will be the ears. Two half circles in white for the eyes. Two dark blue smaller circles for the eyes and one larger circle in tan for the muzzle.  Don't forget to cut a small rounded triangle for the nose.  I sewed all of these onto the front circle and placed the ears right sidedown with the flat sides on the big circles rim.  Then I placed the back circle on top right side down pinned in place and sewed.  Turn it right side out and you have your cover.  Slip the bean bag into the cover and your done.

  Now we have two

It's not as detailed as I would have liked and there is some embroidery I would still like to do for the mouth, but it's stopped the crying.  So for now it's perfect.  To heat them up just take the bean bag out of the cover and put it in the microwave for about two minutes.

A New Year A New Apron

My Mom is a New Year's Baby. Which makes hers the easiest birthday to remember, but one of the hardest to buy for.  Try as I might I could not come up with something for her birthday.  Thankfully she lives a day trip away so I didn't have to have it ready until her next trip down.

The problem is she already has way too much stuff.  We gave her silhouettes (see previous post) for Christmas so pictures are not an option.  What to do.  I could paint something... tried that, and it didn't work out the way I wanted.  Started to crochet her a blanket realized I would never get it done in time.  (One more unfinished project in the box)  Well, down she came for her visit and off she went for vacation and still I had no present.  How horrible is that?  A week went by and I was still racking my brain for an idea.  Well it finally came to me while the kids and I were making pancakes this morning.  Each of them wanted to help, and that meant..... Aprons.

Mom has an apron, an old apron that she made herself when I was in grade school.  It's at least 20 years old and has not worn well with time.  It's not that she has worn it out, it's more like it has worn out it's welcome.

This fact was reinforced to me when Mom came over to help with Christmas Dinner this year.  I am sorry to say that I do not have a picture of this apron.  However if I were to go through the family albums, I am sure I would find one, as it comes out every year at Christmas.  Please picture the bright red cotton with ruffle shoulder straps, red satin ribbons on the pockets, ruffles on the skirt and a polyester print of Christmas pudding; that has been sewn and stuffed ( I think the technique is called trapunto).  It's more cumbersome than ugly and it's the only one she has.  So for my sake possibly more than hers I decided to make her a new apron.

Problem one: Mom came home last night.  Problem two: she will stop by to visit me (scratch that ... my children today).  Problem three and four: I don't know what I want it to look like and I don't know when she's coming.  So the hunt was on first for an idea of what the apron should look like.  I found inspiration here and took a real liking to Pretty Ditty's apron.  Pretty with out being too frilly.  This is important because my mother loves frills and ruffles and anything with flowers on it.  Her house is an homage to the very popular an now defunct Victorian Magazine from the 80's and 90's.  I couldn't find the magazine that she read, but this is a very close second. 
 

Fabric was not a problem. I have tons of that in the craft room that needs to be used.  I just had to figure out how to make it.  So I guessed a lot because buying the pattern was not in the cards this month.  It's close, which will work until I can get the pattern.  So I took out my girly floral fabrics and tried to get the best matches.  I think it turned out quite well.  What do you think?

Now to give it to her.  I'm sure she has some idea,  she stopped by earlier today to visit and I was working on it then.  Ooops! Well she'll be back tomorrow and the kids can give it to her then.  The little man seems pleased with it so I hope she'll like it too.