Category Archives: Crafts

Tea Wallet .. Free Pattern at Is It Nap Time Yet?

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I have lost my tea wallet!!!   spfttt**##@fftt  smahsh splatt bang  shhhplt!!!

Yes, I’m having a tantrum..;o(

I really DO NOT like the coffee at our Golden Corral so I always take my tea wallet with me and just get a cup of hot water..

I made my tea wallet almost 3 years ago using the tutorial at Christie’s Creations.  She has since changed the name of her blog to Is it Naptime Yet?  but the wonderful tutorials she has are still there and still great.

 

I was in a bit of a panic.. Wonder if that tute is still there?  What if I can’t find it?   ( O Woe Is Me!!)  But it is still there.. ;o)  And it’s still called Tea Wallet Tutorial.  Now that I have ransomed my sewing machines from the shop where it cost $60.00 apiece to have them cleaned and oiled, this will be the first thing made.. today.. ;o)

I hope your preparations for the Christmas Holiday are going well.. This little easy project might just be great for a gift or stocking stuffer… hmmm.

Hugs… Linda    btw… these pics are of the one I made for my cousin back in 2009.. sigh

Loop Stitch Crocheted House Slippers… free pattern

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Last year Denese asked for my help finding a pattern for the looped stitch house slippers pattern.  Well… I just found it.   It’s over on Yahoo! Voices and was shared by Darlene Michaud.  Thank you so much, Darlene.   These would make wonderful Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers or just plain “warming the footsies” during the winter.  ;o)

Have fun!

Arbee Designs… Free Quilting Patterns and Tutorial

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I have so many sites in my favorites that our computer guy makes fun every time he has to do anything to our computers!  This morning I was going thru some of them and found just one of the sites I love to look back on every now and then.  Arbee Designs is a favorite site for learning applique quilting.  Here you can purchase patterns, take a quilting class or do the first quilt tutorial for a lovely quilt using 7 different patterns that are covered in the free tutorial.  You can also take a free applique class and pattern for a book cover when you register for their newsletter.   There is much more on this wonderful site to browse through and see…and use… ;o)

This small applique quilt is one that I put together for my granddaughter a couple of years ago.  The little snail and mushroom is a little ditty that I have drawn on everything from napkins to canvases for years.. ;o)  So I make it into a quilt… This is one of the things that the Arbee Designs site can help you achieve.   Design it yourself.. ;o)

Hope you enjoy the site.  I did.

Hugs and stay warm…

And The Winners Are….

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Thank you.  Most of you sent me emails and I appreciate them all.. ;o)   My sweet DH was otherwise taken today, so I finally did the drawing using an online random selector. If you will send me an email with you mailing address, I will get these directly in the mail to you.  ;o)

Please send your email to :  fabricfollies@hotmail.com   If I have an email addy, I send you an email.. And now..the winners, of course!

Blondell Lehocki of  LadyHawk of Heartland ,  Karen Prescher of Grasshopper Hill Miniature Donkeys, and zinaszanies…

Enjoy!  ;o)

 

 

Make Your Own Olive Oil Lamp… Free Tutorial

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No.. it’s not a fabric lamp…lol   And I know this is a fabric/yarn/craft blog.  But… The temperatures are beginning to drop here in North Texas.  Real winter is popping up a little more frequently.  We’ve been having electricity flickers and outages more frequently lately… have no idea what’s happening.. ;o/   We keep flashlights handy, but the bad thing about a flashlight is the need for batteries.

When I saw this video by sockermidgit on YouTube… I had to do it.

I first gathered everything I would need.  Non-galvanized clothes hanger, needle nose pliers, 1/2 pint Mason jar, pure olive oil, hand spun flax and my triple twist fringe maker.  Please make sure that whatever wire you use is NOT GALVANIZED.   GALVANIZED WIRE WILL RELEASE TOXIC FUMES DURING THE BURNING PROCESS.  

Cut the wire at least 3 times the height of your container.   Now begin.  The pictures are clickable and download by right clicking the picture, scroll down and click  “save image as”  and then download to where ever you would like to save it.  The images have each step written on it and they  are each numbered.

The first step is gathering your supplies.  This is shown in Pic #1 to the left.

Picture #2 on the right shows how the wick holder is made.

 

Picture #3 shows the sizing of the wick  holder.

Picture #4 shows how I made the wick using hand spun flax (linen) by plying 2 threads together to make a thicker wick.  You can use almost any natural fiber to make a wick.. including a strip of denim or wool.

Picture #5 shows the placement of the wick in the wick holder.  It should be as close to center as you can make it.  This may mean bending your center coil to one side or the other so the flame itself is center.

Picture #6 shows the measurement of the wick.  There is no need for more wick than is shown.

Now that the wick is in place, fill to the bottom of the center coil with pure olive oil.

This pic just shows the handle I put on my wick holder.  I found that just having the holder lay flat at the top did not give enough to grip.  This is entirely optional.

Now we can light our candle.

And there it is… a lovely warm glow.  I can see several of these lined in a row down the center of the holiday table, surrounded by greenery and holly berries.

Now here is the absolute best part of this lamp.  Olive oil stays cool to the touch.  That is not say that the wick holder will stay cool.. but the olive oil will.  If it is knocked over and spilled, there will be NO FIRE.  Olive oil will suppress the flame.  The only part of the candle that can start a fire is the flame on the wick.. and that is enclosed in the container.   Also… NO SMOKE and NO ODOR…

I love everything about this candle.   It is safe to keep around all the time.  No fear of fire.  Very good emergency lighting or maybe a wonderful warm romantic glow on that anniversary table.. ;o)

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful.  ;o)

One Million Hits.. How Can I Ever Thank You? !

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A SALUTE TO YOU!

Sometime this evening or late tonight, this blog will have its ONE MILLIONth hit.  I have to say that I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you who have visited over the nearly 5 years I have been blogging here.  You have made all of the early morning, bleary eyed typing worth every minute.. ;o)

December 16, 2006 was the very first post on Fabric Follies Two.  Make Your Own Miniature Trees … This post was the first one carried over from my original blog Fabric Follies .  That one   was also a delight for me.  At the time of the change, I was very close to the limit for pictures that WordPress allowed, hence the new Fabric Follies Two.

How to say “Thank You!”..??

I have decided to put the names of everyone who comments between now and Tuesday the 29th of November  into a hat, have my husband draw 3 names out and each will receive a Secret Surprise Gift… but just so it’s not too big a secret, I will post a picture or two in a few days.. ;o)

Thanksgiving is almost upon us.  And what a wonderful time to be thankful for the joy you have brought me.  Thank you.

From our house to your house, may your Thanksgiving be filled with warmth and comfort.

 

 

Creative Little Daisy … Boot Socks Tute

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Winter is fast approaching here in North Texas.  It’s not really cold enough for a “coat”, but there have been days when a nice, warm sweater fit the bill.  Along with all this cooler weather comes lots of outdoor walking around and ..ta da… Christmas shopping.. ;o)   It seems that even with all the shirt, pants, coat, scarf, gloves.. I can’t really stay warm.  So.. I was doing one of my frequent pop overs to see what was happening with Autum at Creative Little Daisy  and found the perfect thing.  Boot socks that I don’t have to knit!  Very cool!  ;o)   (And yes, my kids do razz me a bit over using the word “cool”.) 

I think a pair of these will be the perfect things, even without boots, to slide over the pants legs.. or even under the pants legs if you’re nearing my age.. ;o)  And what a great recycling idea!

With Christmas around the corner, you might want to take a look at some of the other wonderful ideas she’s shared lately.   There’s the Super Easy Key Chain tute,  the Basic Purse tute, and the Patchwork Belt tute… among others.

Drop over and look around.  I think you’ll enjoy these every bit as much as I did.. ;o)

Have a great day today.. ;o)

Our House is wishing Your house a warm and comforting Thanksgiving.

Sunbonnet Sue Bonanza! And a wonderful lady in the bargain.. ;o)

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I’m a Sunbonnet Sue fan even tho I’ve never made a Sunbonnet Sue quilt.  And every time I go to Healing Heart and Hands,  I make myself a new promise to do just that.. make myself one.  Not only are there over 2,500  quilt patterns here, the site belongs to a lovely lady named   Michele Bilyeu.   Michele is very active with charity quilting.. especially the The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative … but here’s the site where she can tell you herself.. ;o)

You will find hundreds of patterns and links to patterns besides Sunbonnet Sues.   And then there’s the Liberated Quilting…  If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry.  I didn’t either..lol  However, I find that I like the idea.  It’s much like Crazy Quilting in that there seem to be no rules.  Sort of.  ;o)

Grab a cup, lean back and browse through the hundreds of patterns here.  And don’t forget to leave a note and tell Michele thanks for all the kindness..

Have a wonderful day.  ;o)

Cable Needle Ring… Tute (I love mine!)

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This is another of those things that I found online several years ago. I made one and let it set in my knitting box for years.  I cannot tell you where I found because I really don’t remember.  If you have any idea who came up with this wonderful idea I would love to know and give them the credit they deserve.

I’ve used cotton yarns to knit dish cloths and face cloths for my nightly knitting to the point that I have about 30 stacked away in drawers.  I do love the plain garter stitch ones to use as face cloths.  They are so soft on my skin that I seldom use anything else.  However, there are only so many plain garter stitch ones a person really wants to do.. ;o/   I decided that these wonderful small projects would be good to try new things… hence the cables.  After losing my cable needle a of couple times down the side of my chair, I decided to dig out this little ring and see if it works.

I love it.  No more fear of cables.  Just wish I had pulled it out sooner.   The picture above shows how the ring is used.  Very practical and easy.

The picture on the left shows the finished dish cloth.  The beginning of the cloth is at the bottom.  This is the practice for  making the cables front to back.  The upper part of the cloth is practice making the cables front only.  I can’t believe how much this little ring made a difference in how I feel about knitting cables.

Making one is as easy as measuring your finger.  Mine is 2 ½ inches around.  I wanted the ring to  ½” across.  Here’s what I did.

1.  I cut a strip of fabric (I used cotton) about 2 ½” long by 1 ¾” wide.  This time I used fabric ribbon.  The selvages are tight and it’s woven closely.  The grosgrain ribbon would make a good ring, but for the purpose of this tute it didn’t work out very well.. ;o)

2 I folded the cut piece in half lengthwise and pressed it with my iron.

3. I opened it back out flat and then I folded the edges back to the fold line in the middle and pressed each side.

4.  For this ring, I used regular sewing thread to make my cord for the buttonhole.  Crochet thread, yarn or any other cord of the right size would also work for this.  I sewed the two ends of the cord together, placed them to the inside of the folded ring and sewed it very well to the end of the ring fabric.  Then I continued to sew along the end, the side and the other end to completely sew the ring together.  I did this with a needle and thread (please don’t look closely at the stitches..lol) because it seems the electric cord and foot pedal for my sewing machines decided to stay behind.. I guess they just didn’t want to leave!  This is much faster with a sewing machine.. ;o)

5.  Now I placed the ring around the finger that I wanted to use it with to decide the button placement.  I marked where I wanted the button with a pen.

6.  By sliding the needle with the thread still connected through the center of the fabric ring and coming out again at the mark I made for sizing, I continued bye sewing on the button with no cutting of my thread.  This step you may want to do differently.  You can certainly fasten your thread firmly, cut it and then come back to the mark to place your button.  Either way, the button needs to be very securely sewn on.  Voila’…

You now have a Cable Needle Ring…

If you decide to make one of these, please let me know.  It would be nice to see if anyone else finds these as useful as I do.. ;o)

Have a wonderful day.  The sun is shining here in North Texas and temps are in the low 50s.  Still not too bad for this time of year.   Thanksgiving is coming up soon and here’s wishes for everyone to have a lovely day with family and/or friends.. ;o)

Cross Stitch Fan? … Free Patterns

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I receive the email newsletter from the e-magazine  Cross-Stitching.com .   This is a great site for anyone who enjoys cross stitching and wants to keep up with what’s happening in the cross stitching community.  I’m always on the lookout for free patterns and believe me… they have some really wonderful ones.

This sampler is one I did for my son and his partner for Christmas one year.  It combines a verse from a card that I received in the mail and several small free patterns that were found in different places.

Let me say here that I am in no way associated with this e-mag.. ;o)   But I really do enjoy getting their newsletter and visiting their site.

Hope you day is filled with fun things to do..