Fail

I forgot to blog about another cat toy that I made the same day as the Tube o'Nip lol. The problems I went thru trying to make it was only part of the fail. Continue reading to get the Epic Fail.

I wanted to make a little cat toy that they could bat around and toss into the air and do whatever with. So I got the idea to make a little cat head toy. I went to my computer and started to draw it up. Unfortunately on my laptop, the only "graphics" program I have is Paintshop or whatever the hell its called. I have a degree in graphic design, so I'm use to nicer graphics programs. It took me awhile to figure out the rudimentary tools. I finally got my cat head to look how I wanted. I went to print it out and low and behold.... the print screen couldn't find my printer. Long story short, I had to uninstall and the reinstall my printer. Thank god I had only installed it the other day so I still had the disk handy.

So I got it printed out, and of course it was too big. I reduced it. Too small. Tried 2 more times until I got the size I wanted. *WHEW* Printed it and cut it out.

I traced it onto my fabric and cut it out. Sewed it up. Had trouble at the ears when I turned it right side out, but I used the back end of my marking pen so it wasn't too bad. Poured some cat nip into it and stuffed it with stuffing.I even did a decent job of whip stitching the top :)

 

I liked it so much I made another. This time I didn't fill it with as much stuffing.

 

Yes, those are the fabrics I used on a sleep mask and my hubby's Kindle. Gotta reuse those scraps!!

 

Mojo really liked it. He's behind my ironing board pouncing on it lol.

Now comes the Epic Fail. I went to work for a few hours on Saturday. When I got back home, this is what I saw.

 

Yep, the toy was ripped open at the seam and all the stuffing was pulled out!! I almost cried lol. So now I have to figure out a way to make it stronger. That's where mom comes in. Thankfully she has a lot of knowledge in sewing and is a really great sewer herself. She made a lot of clothes for me when I was little. 

So remember kids, not everything you do will work out the way you want. For me, life has always been about trial and error. I guess that goes to crafting too. I will let you know if this Epic Fail gets resolved.

Until then, happy crafting!

Cat Toys!!!

Made the boys and girls some cat toys today! My hubby and I went to Chicago a few years ago and stopped into this lovely shop called the Happy Dog Barkery (or something close to that) They made fresh baked treats for your pooches. They also and a lot of items for sale. I bought the cats a toy and it turned out to be their favorite. Now the thing is so nasty, I don't even want to take a pic of it lol. So, out of things to make, I decided to replicate the toy.

 

Basically, I cut a piece of fabric (fleece in this case) about the size of 2 pieces of paper layed end to end. I then sewed a seam down the side and across the bottom.  I filled it with stuffing and their favorite cat nip. Then I did a basic running stitch with the machine across the top. I sewed the top this way so that I could refill it with nip-nip (that's what it's called at our house) if it seemed to loose it's appeal.

Now on to the funny pics of the cats playing lol

 

Misty, Poo and Mojo

 

Poo

 

Milo

Milo had so much fun!! I would post more but I don't want to bore you lol

Happy crafting!

Nothing New

Nothing new atm. That's because I have to get over to my mom's house to embroider more sleep masks. I am thinking about top stitching around the mask because I don't like the way the whip stitching looks. (That was my mom's idea) I also have to pick up a cutting thingy she bought for me. Not sure what to call it but it is made of cardboard and has lines on it so you can use it as a cutting guide. I bought her a $6 sweater at the outlet mall as a thank you. :)

Pig-Pig

I made a new critter today. It's a pig lol. Not too many issues sewing it. The biggest issue is I cut the ears wrong and then I had trouble sewing the corrected ears on. Let's get to the pics!

I used a cream colored sock for the nose and a pinkish sock with a purple cuff for the body.

 

I have a book for making these animals and the instructions aren't always clear. But I worked my way thru it. Had to take an hour break because of frustration with the ears. But after that everything went pretty smoothly.

Happy Crafting!!

Tank Top

I am going to attempt the Cut Sew & Go tank top today (I think). It's a really cold and snowy day here in Ohio so making something meant for summer seems a little ridiculous to me lol. If not, I will make another critter, this one for my niece.

New Craft!!

I started making what I've been calling Critters. They are stuffed animals made out of socks. I love making their cute little faces. That's when they COME TO LIFE!! lol

They start off with a sock. I really like the socks with the color block heels and toes. The heels (depending on the size of the sock) can become either the face (child's sock) or in this case, the belly.

This is the adult sized sock I started with.  I have a book on making sock creatures so I followed the instructions on cutting out my sock.

I will save you the boring details. I noticed some of my blogs have gotten quite long winded. I sewed the critter by hand and added stuffing. Then came the fun part... making the face!! I had a little trouble of course. After I drew the face on with a watercolor marker, I threaded my needle with thick thread. In order to hide the knots, you are suppose to come up thru the area where you stuffed the critter. (I've been calling it the butt lol) My needle wasn't long enough to reach all the way up to the head. I had to squish the little guy down pretty flat and grab the needle with my teeth and pull it out that way. 

I started on the nose and got all the way down to the bottom. The instructions said to make a french knot at the end. Having never made a french knot, I didn't realize that I was too far away from the bottom of the nose. The hubby said it looked like Critter had snot running down his face lol.

I ended up using my seam ripper and starting over. Didn't like my second nose either. Third time I got a good, snot free nose lol. Then I stitched in the mouth and eyes. Here is the completed critter.

And a close up of the face. Sorry it's blurry but I don't think I did half bad.

And Scat has found a new friend.

Happy Crafting!!

New Project

I have a new project to attempt. It's a Cut... Sew... & Go! Cost $14.99 and I got mine at Joann Fabrics. It's a cute little tank. Can't wait to try it!!

And I thought I would show you a cute pics of my boys. I hope you aren't sick of seeing them lol.

 

Until later... Toodles!!

6 Crafty Cats

Kindle Sleeve

I finally figured out what I want to call my newest project. It's a Kindle Sleeve. lol. The hubby wanted one to protect the Kindle that I bought him for Christmas. He said he felt bad putting it into his messenger bag without any protection since it could slide around in the pocket with his pens and wallet and papers. I really had fun with this project, it was the first one that I didn't use some sort of pattern or instructions on, I just used my brain :)

First I measured the dimensions of the Kindle. Then I doubled the length, and added 4 inches for the flap.

Looks high-tec doesn't it lol.

So I cut the fabric and batting to my measurements.

Only problem was that I didn't cut my lines straight. Everything sort of leaned to the left (sings that Beyonce song) When I put my fabrics together, the edges didn't meet up. So I hunted down a metal ruler and squared off my fabric from the edge.

The black line is my new squared off rectangle. You can see how far off I was.  With that done, I got off to work!

 

Sewing went really well. No really big problems there. The problem came when I layed the Kindle on the sleeve to see how much room it had. Remember when I said I had to square it up? Well that took valuable space off my measurements. It was a really tight fit.

Not much room to sew the sides together. So now what? Do I scrap all my hard work and start over? Or do I soldier on? I talked to the hubby and he said I should keep going. And that's what I did (thank you babe for having faith in me) I conjured up my inner Tim Gun and "Made It Work"

I wasn't sure if I could even get the sleeve under my pressure foot. Once I doubled the fabric to create the pocket it was so thick, I had to wiggle it under the foot. But I got it to work. I slowly sewed up the sides (sorry no pic showing how close to the edge I was) The sewing machine did freak out on me twice, stopping dead in its tracks and cursing at me in its beeping language. I just manually raised the needle and continued on.

I finally finished it!! It is extremely snug, I must admit. Took quite a bit of work to wiggle the Kindle down.

After I took the Kindle out, I added a velcro closure that I hand sewed on. I only went thru the top layer of fabric so you wouldn't see the stitches when the flap was closed. And the second time we wiggled the Kindle into the sleeve, it wasn't as snug as the first. So hopefully with use it will get easier and easier.

The husband loves it and can't wait to show his friends at work. lol. I guess that's all that really matters :)

I am considering making some and trying to sell them on Etsy.com. I am TheGoddessEnyo if you want to look for me once I get things to sell. I'm also going to put my sleep masks up.

Thanks and happy crafting!!

6 Crafty Cats

Next Project

I have a new project to attempt! My husband wants a.... uuummm... holder(???) for the Kindle I bought him for Christmas. (OMG I have no idea what to call it. I must still have my sleepy brain on) So today I am off to the fabric store with my Mom and SIL. I think it's suppose to be a really big store so hopefully I can find something manly and not too girly fro my manly man!

Finally Finished

I finally finished the sleep masks that my Mom embroidered the other day! A few kinks along the way, but that's just par for the course for me lol. Ok lets get to it!!

First things first. This is why I call the blog 6 Crafty Cats. I can't do anything without a few of them wanting to know what I'm doing. See the following pics:

This is Scat. He's 15 and probably the friendliest little guy you'll ever meet. Here he is laying on my sewing machine cover. The second I pulled out my chair, he jumped on it and ran his fat butt over and plopped himself down lol. Here is another shot from my vantage point:

As I'm getting ready to work, another cat Poo came up to me. He likes to sit there and meow at me. If he doesn't get to see what I'm doing, he will pester me until he does. Here he is sniffing my scissors:

It's never boring here lol.

I started out by making marks on my pattern to line up the elastic and to keep future projects consistent.

I then sewed my first mask, the zebra print. Everything went surprisingly well, at first... When I was finished and was turning the mask inside out, I discovered I made the opening a little too small, making turning right side out difficult. No biggie, I managed to get it turned.

Sorry for the blurry pic. I hope you can see it ok. My camera sucks at closeups.

I was smoothing the seams and feeling quite proud of myself. And that's when I noticed... a slight puckering (for lack of a better word) in the nose area. The fabric wasn't laying flat and was folded over. Like this:

Kind of hard to see it but if you look really close into the curve I think you can make it out. As I got up, voicing my opinion with a lot of 4 letter words, another cat showed up in my chair:

This is Mojo. He's about 3 now. He came in from outside as a little stray that showed up with another stray that I had been feeding. He's a shy little guy and does not like kisses lol.

I took a break, went out, had dinner with the hubby and thought about the puckered mask. I remembered seeing somewhere a diagram about cutting seams on a curve. You cut little triangle points up to the seams. So I thought I would try it. Couldn't hurt right? Well..... IT WORKED!!! *Happy Dance*

I got up, ran to my husband and showed him. (and did the happy dance again) Upon returning to my work area I saw this:

Here are the 2 masks completed. The zebra print is for a friend's 9 year old daughter. Her room is hot pink and zebra print. The pink leopard print is fro my 6 year old niece. It says "Big Sister". She was so excited to become a big sister in April of 2009. It's hard to read, but since she can't read cursive yet, I wanted a nice pretty font.

Well that was my adventure for the day!!

From Scat and the gang, take care!!

6 Crafty Cats

*sigh*

Didn't get to the masks last night. I got home, sat down to watch a little tv... and fell asleep lol. Probably won't do much tonight either since I work until 8.

Take care!
6 Crafty Cats

MOAR sleep masks!!

Just came home from M&Ps. Mom embroidered 2 more sleep masks that I will be finishing tonight. Can't wait!!

So Its Been Awhile...

Its been a few months since I posted.Typical. So yeah, I'm sorry and blah blah blah. I never claimed to be perfect :P

Last night I made a sleep mask. It turned out really cute. Had a few issues...

It all started when I decided I wanted a sleep mask. There is a street light about 2 houses down and across the street and on some nights when I am having my issues sleeping, it's one of the many things that get on my nerves. So I thought a sleep mask would be perfect. I went onto my fave site, Etsy, and did a search on sleep masks. There were some totally beautiful masks on there (and some not so great ones.)  Of course the ones I like were $16.00. Um yeah.... I figured I could make one cheaper. So I decided to do a google search on sleep mask patterns. I found one I liked, printed it out, quickly skimmed over the instructions and with the hubby in tow, went out to get the supplies I needed, plus some lol

I gotta give it to the husband. He was willing to trek out in the rain and cold so that I could satisfy my whims.  Anyway... tried to go to Joann Fabrics in a neighboring area, only to find out it was closed. Like, closed down, no more, thats it, bye-bye gone.So decided to go to the local Walmart. Yeah.... sorry but I hate Walmart (atleast our local one) But I'm not going to get into that here lol.

I found some fabric that I liked in fleece and flannel, a new measuring tape, new pins and white elastic. Great!! I was ready to go! Sunday night is dinner @ Mom and Dad's, so with everything in tow, we went there. Turns out this was perfect because I needed Mom to embroider "sleep" on the fabric I was going to use. When I got there, Mom and my niece were modifying a "snuggie" to fit my 6 year old niece. Apparently, my Pops had won one while he was at the gambling boats. It was a pretty seafoam green and was really soft. There were scraps of the sleeves laying around and I asked if I could have them. So I took the snuggie remains and looked thru Mom's fabrics to see if she had anything to match. (Of course nothing I bought matched) So I found fabric I liked, and found thread for the embroidery.

LOOOOOOONG story short, I cut out the pieces and got ready to sew after we got back home (dinner btw was de-lish of course, lasagna yummy!!) I had to hunt a little for my sewing machine. Its probably been 8+ years since I've used it, wasn't even sure if it would work. Took the cheap little cover off, wiped the dust off, and powered it up. Everything looked fine, so I sewed a test facric. So far so good!!

Now here is where the trouble started...

I put the mask under the foot, batting side down, and started sewing, slowly at first, because its been awhile. I did a few forward, a few back, and then started forward again. I noticed that it wasn't moving!! Cripes!! I quickly stopped, lifted the foot, and discovered a birds nest underneath!! (wish I had taken a pic) I carefully tried to cut my project out of the mess. I don't know if it was my cutting or the birds nest but my fabric got a little ripped (again wish I had a pic)

So I took the few stitches out of my project and started again. This time I thought I would sew with the batting up. Great idea huh? Nope! When I had cut out my pieces of fabric, I must have flipped the pattern on the batting so the pieces didnt quite match up. No problem when I was sewing with the batting down... BIG problem when I was sewing with the batting up. Sewed the whole darn thing. I was feeling really excited!! Turned it over to see the pretty fabric side... and parts of the stitches weren't even on the fabric!! UGH!! (again I wish I had a pic) Do I even need to tell you all the 4 letter words that were coming out of my mouth? I think I made the cats blush. So I found what I thought was my trusty seam-ripped and started taking the stitches out. Unfortunately, it was a cheap ripper that wasnt actually sharp, so no ripping went down. I had to pull each stitch out by hand. Can you say headache?lol

So I got all the stitches out and started again. "Third time's a charm" I said to my husband (even tho I was about to throw the mask out the window) I decided to sew it batting down again. I very slowly started. A few stitches forward, a few back, and then forward again. I did a few stitches and stopped. Did a few more, stopped. Did this all the way around the mask, feeling my confidence grow. The stps got fewer and fewer as I got more confident. Finally I was done!! I took my work off the machine, and trimmed my threads. Inspected it and even tho the sewing wasnt perfect, I finally made it!! I turned it inside and and it looked perfect (atleast to me after all I went thru lol)

There's the final result! Is it perfect? No... but I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Here is a close up of my hand stitching to close it up. Sorry its blurry but I guess I need a new camera. The weird little bit is where the hole was and I tried to sew it up the best I could.  All in all, I'm happy with it and it feels good to be sewing again :)

Love to all,
6 Crafty Cats

P.S. I used the mask last night and had a really good night's sleep, my first in about a week :)