Monthly Fiber Arts Thread - September, 2022

September 2, 2022 | Diana in Wisconsin

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Monthly Fiber Arts Thread is a monthly gathering of people that love yarn and fabric of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first project, to experienced fiber artists and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

It is impossible to hijack the Monthly Fiber Arts Thread. Knitting, crochet, quilting, weaving, general crafting - there is no telling where it will go, and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our Fiber Arts Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a Month Ping List. We do post to the thread during the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Fiber Arts fans are welcomed any time!

[Qiviut]

Projects that "pop up" out of nowhere drive me nuts, but they're usually very worthwhile after the rush to get them done. Here is the latest: my little 6 yo great-niece has her first loose tooth! I got to looking around and found "tooth fairy" pillows ... all different designs, most being a crocheted tooth with some sort of pocket for the tooth/money. The one 'tooth' I liked is now a paid pattern, so that won't work for me (I am super 'cheap').

What I did find was a crocheted pillow with a felt tooth on it that's pretty cute. The pillow design is 'easy' - all one piece, no sewing two halves together. It's 6" diameter so you can whip one up pretty quick.

The tooth is cut out of felt, decorated, & hot glued to the pillow. The pattern includes a tooth 'template' you can print off and use to get the shape right. I downloaded/printed and it works great.

Changes: only one. After looking at a bunch of patterns, I am putting the pocket for the tooth/money on the back of the pillow. The pattern shows money sticking out of the felt tooth on the front, but a real tooth could easily get lost. A square/rectangular pocket of felt on the back, for the tooth/money seems more practical to me. I'll decorate it up a bit, too ... should be cute.

I've already whipped up two pillows using cotton yarn scraps & I have plenty more yarn. There are two more pillows to do for 'greats' who aren't losing teeth yet, but they will. Yard sale this year in October again - could whip up a pillow or two or three & see if they'd sell - I have plenty of felt for making the tooth/pockets.

Here's the pattern link:

Tooth Fairy Pillow

Picture from link:

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Qiviut]

LOL! Back in my day, we’d get a nickel or a dime ... a quarter was like hitting the lotto!!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

No kidding! I did have to write one Tooth Fairy Note. My tooth popped out and went down the storm drain!

I’m still not over the trauma, thought ‘she’ believed me and paid up anyway. ;)

[Qiviut]

My Tooth Fairy pillows! The one at the very bottom is the one my great-niece is getting. She loves purple & green. It's a great way to use up scrap yarn - I had lots of cotton thread left over from other projects, so that worked out great.

I am now working on the little pocket for the backs ... something to hold the tooth, then whatever $$ the Tooth Fairy leaves. I bought felt sheets yesterday to match the pillow covers & embroidery floss for sewing. I may add some glue - all depends.

The remaining 6 pillows will go to the October church yard sale. No idea if there will be any interest. I have two "greats" (one 4, one 16 mos) who will need a pillow in the future, so I have pillows in mind for them. If those colors sell, I'll just make another one. It takes about 2 hours to crochet up a pillow. I have extra faces already cut out & everything on them but the eyes. The eyes are little pom poms. I weighted the faces down on the pillows after hot gluing with a book/brick. The pom poms did ok, but having a totally flat face would be better.

I did think about gluing the faces on before stuffing the pillows, but I'm afraid that putting in stuffing will pull glue loose. Anyway, what I did seems to have worked out ok.

[Qiviut]

Couple of things ...

The Tooth Fairy Pillow (TFP) project is over for my little great-niece ... her pillow is finished and packed up in a gift bag, ready for delivery.

The felt "pocket" I had planned to put on the back of the TFP did not meet my 'standards' for looking great and being functional. I had seen little bags used for weddings at Hobby Lobby. They are organza with a ribbon closure (drawstring) & in various colors. They were also "expensive" ... $5.99 for 12. I had several colors to choose from: white (meh), gray (meh meh), burgundy (nice!), pink (great for some of the TRPs), & purple ('electric' purple color - didn't match anything). So what to get? I decided on pink & burgundy.

There is another section of the store that has canvas items that you can paint on - I knew they had some little bags, just not sure how little. Well, I found some just slightly bigger than the 'wedding' bags - perfect for one of the pillows that was in brown/gold/olive - definitely a "boy" TFP. Then ... I spied some white bags ... pretty much the same as the pink & burgundy ones ...12 for $1.99. This shows you that all you have to do is put "wedding" on something & you can charge a whole lot more!!!

So now I had pink, burgundy, tan canvas & white bags ... that should do it. I'll spare you the story at the cash register (don't get behind women buying a whole shopping cart of fake flowers!); however, a clerk who was stocking came to our rescue & opened another cash register. As he rang me up, I was seeing a number that was unfamiliar ... the total was also about $7.00 less than what I expected. Would you believe the "wedding" bags were 50% off? My lucky day!!

So here's what one of the little burgundy bags looks like on the back of a TFP. I just tied it on with matching yarn - easiest thing to do & it looks ok ... certainly better than the felt pockets. I sort of like that it's see-through. You will be able to see the tooth in the bag ... and what the Tooth Fairy has left in exchange!

Last, but not least ... just found out another little "great" niece or nephew is on the way ... should arrive some time in April.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Those turned out great! You’re so inventive/resourceful. :)

[Qiviut]

The ‘favor’ bags are SO much better than what I originally planned on doing ... thank goodness!!

Last I heard, “the tooth” is still in place so she may get to use the TFP for the very first tooth! :-)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Do you think anyone would mind if I changed our monthly thread to ‘Monthly Fiber Arts & Crafts?’

I think we need to broaden our horizon here a little. I mean, I crochet and sew a little, but I do lots of other ‘crafty things’ as well, where I have no outlet for sharing. (Qiviut’s re-make of the Tooth Fairy pillow got me thinking...)

We might have FR members who paint or draw, or potters or woodworkers or photographers that would like to share their art, too. I make candles. And soap. And I love to make ‘old junk’ into ‘new junk,’ as Beau likes to say. :)

I think it might bring in more FR creative-types. And I’m always looking for new inspiration.

Any opinions?

[Persevero]

Cool with me. I enjoy it.

[Qiviut]

Love the idea! I actually thought the thread was for all crafts pretty much, but the name does sound ‘restrictive’! Oct 1 coming up soon - good time for the new name!

Looking forward to it - the more the merrier!!

[Persevero]

All that handwork was an act of love. When I see a grandkid in something I made, I feel like I am with them, even if they are far away.

[Monkey Face]

I, too, am “craftidextrous” so I would love to read about projects in other media besides crochet and knit.

Go for it!! I’ll spread the word in my own circle of FRiends to help garner interest!

(Oh, golly! Do I sound like a grammar snob? I think I watch too many British Murder Mysteries!)

‘Face

And PS: I finally learned how to post photos!

;o]

[Monkey Face]

Pinging those of you who might be interested in this new and upgraded version of the Fiber Arts thread by Diana in Wisconsin.

Check it out! I know some of you are very crafty!

[MayflowerMadam]

100% on board with that.

[FamiliarFace]

I’m a crafter, too, so I wouldn’t mind the expansion. Like you, I use other stuff to make new stuff. I haven’t done it in a while, but there was a time when I used to make “beads” from magazine pages. They can be used in jewelry or on mosaic type artwork. I hate throwing things away if it can be repurposed.

[metmom]

That would be good.

Go for it.

[NEMDF]

I think that would be great. Although I sew (and not much else), many who are artistically creative, delve into multiple areas to express themselves.

Plus, it is YOUR monthly thread, so GO FOR IT.

Thanks for asking, though!

[MayflowerMadam]

“I JUST want to sew, and not be bothered for a day or more, with all the other little daily routines. Is this normal to feel this way?”

Normal? Not really. Normal is not wanting to be bothered for A WEEK or more with daily routines.

[NEMDF]

HA! Thanks for the encouragement.