Mini Yoyo Tree Ornament

I am in the mood to make my mini yoyos.   And this time of year, my favorite thing to make with yoyos are little tree ornaments. 

They don’t take many yoyos – just 10 green and 1 brown one (brown yoyo is the trunk of the tree).  I like to use all different kinds of green colors and patterns but you could easily use the same green throughout the ornament.



To refresh yourself on how to make a yoyo go to my blog Fabric Yoyos: Tutorial.   For the ornament you need to have a yoyo about ¾” finished.  That size yoyo needs a fabric circle about 1 ¾” in diameter.

I start out the sewing by doing the green yoyos in rows.  And then I sew the rows together.

When you line up these yoyos, they will be off center from one row to the next.  You need to make sure you sew them together wherever they meet to the next yoyo.  When I go to sew the yoyos together, I try to find a thread that matches most of the colors or is a medium shade of the color.  You don’t want anything too light or too dark.  Your stitches will really stand out then and might take away from the yoyos (plus it will really show any wonky stitches you might have made.  After years of making yoyos, I still have some stitches that aren’t very pretty.)



Just continue to sew the rows together until all four rows form a triangle.  Then at the very bottom in the center of the row, sew the brown yoyo for the trunk of the tree.

At a thread to the top yoyo for a hanger and you have a yoyo tree Christmas ornament.



©2019 Cheryl Fillion

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

(I posted this a couple of years ago.  A friend reminded me that this is a good idea so I thought I would post it again.  Happy Holiday Gift Giving.)

Looking for a gift for someone?  Having a hard time finding the right thing?  How about giving them an activity instead?  What if you introduced them to a new craft or art form?

Giving crafts as gifts is the best way to create a lifelong memory.  My little spool knitting doll was given to me as a gift when I was a child.  I enjoyed it then and still do.  The first crewel embroidery I ever did was an embroidery kit.  The instructions, the yarn, the needle, printed fabric were all included in the kit.

Kits where everything is included (even any tools like needles) is the best way to start someone on a new creative adventure.  My love of needle felting came with a kit that included step by step picture instructions, the roving and the needle.  I don’t think I would have tried it if I had to find all the supplies separately.  Now I have gone crazy for needle felting.

If a kit isn’t available, why not sign them up for a class.  Many fabric and craft stores provide classes as well as libraries, community centers or non-profit organizations (YMCA, for example).  If there is something you can teach your gift recipient, buy them all the supplies they need to start lessons with you. This way they have their own tools and supplies.

Or give a gift card to a craft or hobby store, so they can choose their own craft.  And to add to your fun, go with them when they spend their gift.  It is another way you can share the experience.

Remember to start off small.  If they want to learn to quilt, start out with a pillow or small wall hanging.  You don’t want to buy all the supplies for a big quilt, only to find out that quilting wasn’t as enjoyable to your gift recipient and they get bored with it.

Not only is giving something crafty a great gift, it can lead to a lifetime of enjoyment. As the saying goes, it is a gift that will keep on giving. 

PS:  there is also nothing wrong with a brand new box of crayons for crafters of all ages.

 

©2016, 2019 – Cheryl Fillion

Quick Can Be Cute

I recently went to the Houston International Quilt show.  Our local Quilt Guild rents a bus and about 40 of us on a day adventure. This year our trip was on Halloween.

I like wearing holiday pins.  I have lots for Christmas  pins, a patchwork bunny for Easter, some flag related pins for patriotic holidays and in the summer I have a snowman pin that reads “Think Snow” to help with those 90 degree days.  I even have a Jack O’Lantern pin my mother gave me for Halloween.  I wanted to wear something Halloween related for the bus trip but I was afraid to wear that pin for fear I would lose it.

So the day before our tip, I decided to make a pumpkin pin. My thought was if I lost it I could always make another.  I didn’t have time to do any embroidery so I decided to use my fabric pens.

I quickly drew a free hand pumpkin on some muslin.  The pumpkin turned out to be pretty cute but the pin did not.  I was trying to cover a small slogan button pins that you find around election time.  I cut the fabric too small and it didn’t cover the pin very well. 

Ah but a new product is out that I love to use for necklaces.  It is these tiny embroidery hoops made to display embroidery pieces.  My pumpkin was perfect for it.

But now the chain to wear it as a necklace? I didn’t have a chain or rayon cording to use. What could I use?  I didn’t have time to go to a craft store.  I thought about yarn.  But then remembered a friend gave me some rickrack she no longer needed.  Rickrack, really?   And with luck there was brown rickrack which went great with the stained edges of the mini hoop. I but it with the hoop and it looked perfect.  Not how you would normally use rickrack but it worked.

So in a  ½ hour and trying some ideas I needed to do quickly, I have a finished necklace that I could wear on the trip to Houston and also every day since then.   With it just as a pumpkin, it worked for Halloween and for autumn or Thanksgiving (one holiday I did not have any jewelry for but do now).

Sometimes doing something on the spur of the moment and making it up as you go along works out just as well as a well planned idea.  Give it a try.  Quick can be cute.  

 

©2019 Cheryl Fillion