Babushkas (sorry, I mean Matryoshkas) and crocheted slippers and Xmas gifts

I've finished my fabric Babushkas
(I know, I know, not Babushkas but Matryoshka,
like I've told you before);
I think they came out really well.

They all live on my shelf at the dining room...

and they seem very happy with it... :0)

They are made of scraps from my other projects that I pieced together on a random manner.
I've then cut each doll's shape twice (front & back) on the fabric that I had pieced from scraps
and I used a muslin fabric for the lining,
so for each doll there's 4 pieces of fabric.

After sewn them together and turned it inside out, filled them with filling,
the fun part starts:
cut out the scarf and the face from felt
and hand applique them with matching floss colors.

I really like them!
Like I've told you before I just have a thing about Babushkas, sorry, Matryoshkas!

I have been working on another project related to my Xmas gifts.

The crocheted slippers made out of granny squares.
I've found this project a while back
and have already talked about it a little bit in here.
It's a very simple project and so I already made 5 or 6 pairs.

I also made some Xmas baskets
(the same project as the Halloween baskets),
bought some moisturizing cream, some socks, and put everything together, like this:



I will ad a printed card with instructions
for a homemade foot cream recipe
and also some directions how to make and enjoy a homemade foot spa

(but these I still have to write and print them out).
Anyway, these are the baskets I've already done.

I'm pretty sure some of these will make their way to Portugal this year!...:0)

Things have been a little busy around here

Things have been a little busy around here and aren't still quite alright.

We are back home since last Thursday,

after a week in the hospital with J.

We are finally home.

Unfortunately, since in a while he has to be hospitalized.

He seems to be doing a little bit better now

but it is always very rough on him to stay at the hospital.

Of course I'm always with him, I stay day and night

(thank goodness for those chairs that lay down and make a bed!)

but I also feel the effects of being away from home.

This is Lemur.I got it for J while in the hospital. It cheered us both up!

It has always been only the two of us alone but I'm okay with that.

Anyways...

I usually meet neat people (patient families) while I'm in there.

We try to support each other

and this time I met a very curious character

which caught my attention since I first saw him.

Remember Georges Moustaki?,

now think about the song Le Métèque

(juif errant, prêtre grecque, avec mes cheveux aux quatre vents...),

and that's him!

About late 50's early 60's, very tall and thin,

long long gray beard and gray hair tied in a long pony tail.

I am describing him just so you understand why I tought of Moustaki
and the surprise I felt

when he told me about his wife

(in a serious condition, she had undergone brain surgery).
He said he had told her if you see the light just go toward it, you go!

So I asked him
why did you tell her such a thing?
(I would have told her to fight and not to go) and he said:

Because we don't belong in here, we belong in heaven and this in here is hell!

Definitely not what my beloved Moustaki would have said!

But again... what do I know... I don't know why I always have grand expectations from people I really don't know.

But don't get me wrong... he was a very nice person

and I wish his wife a total recovery.

Also met a mother and a sister
whose son and brother

had brain injury (like my husband) since earlier this year.

We all knew the same institutions, the same medical staff and had the same grand questions...

It was really nice to talk to them

and I could tell they felt the same.

Mostly, we all feel outraged with the lack of structures and specific support for brain injuries (severe brain injury in both our loved ones).

In their case he has been in a institution since the accident happened
and been having some serious health problems
(lack of hygiene, pressure ulcers and so on...).

When we meet someone that has been going trough the same you have...
it really feels good just to share.

I wish them all the best!

And that would be it for hospital talk.

The cats were very happy to have us back!...

The poor things!... no dry food for all this time, but I'm pretty sure they ate...

yeah, the poor birds come for dinner in the garden... and the cats join them for sure!... :0(

Of course the one I missed the most was Baby.

He's bigger now and likes to fight me!... :0)

Before all this events I had been working on a new quilt for the wheel chair.

I got the idea for this quilt from Geta´s Quilting Studio @
http://cadouri-din-inima.blogspot.com/2009/04/quick-and-easy-quilt-tutorial.html

(thanks for the easy tutorial!)

and then I altered it a little bit.

Like I said it's a small quilt for the wheel chair and

I've applique a flower in each square.

I've also finishd two raggedy bags,

but this time I made the handles differently.

I used some eyelets and cotton cord.

I like the way they look.

They are smaller than my usual ones

(I've used 4 x 4 squares) and probably they will make some Xmas gifts!

Adding to the Xmas gifts and while at the hospital

I made a few more little pouchs,

the tunisian crochet ones.

One of the staff members told me: They look so good just like store bought!

And that was quite a compliment! :0)

Bags, Totes, Pocketbooks, Purses, Backpacks...

Like so many others

I love bags!

Purses.

Totes.

Pocketbooks.

Backpacks.

As a matter of fact one could easily state

I am a little bit obsessed with it!...

:0)

Everything started

a few years ago...

Mercy of terrible life circumstances,

I found myself staying at the hospital with my husband

for long periods at a time...

For those of you who have ever been there

you'll know what I'm talking about...

when life as we know it changes

in a matter of seconds for ever.



Anyway,
getting my thoughts back together,

a few years ago, as I was saying,

I started knitting pocketbooks

while at my hospital stays.

I really felt like I needed to be doing something

just to be able to hold myself together,
and knitting seemed to be the most practical thing

I could do while waiting at the hospital.

And that's how really it all started.

My knitting got better and better,

everybody seem to love my bags

and
people started buying them.

These type are knitted, front and back separately,

and lined with matching fabric prints.

After they are all done the fun really begins

with all the embellishments,

and really it's only a matter of letting your imagination fly:

I mainly use buttons, charms, beads, whatever I can find and think it'll look god.

The furry yarn and the bag's shape (I think)

is what attracts people the most for this style of bags.

With the Tunisian crochet

we can also make some quite pretty...

Everything depends on your mood and your imagination.

This one tote was made with regular crochet and a ripple/wave stitch...

Just added a ladybug charm... et voila!

About a couple years ago I found out about needle felting...

Useless to say

I totally felt in love with the technique...

So,

after poking myself quite a few times

and watch some very interesting

YouTube tutorials

(once again, thank you all of you who post

these wonderful things

and share it with everybody else!),

I was able to make some impressive embellishments

on my my bags...

Needle felting also works really good

on the little pouches I make and use to keep

everything

and

anything.

I think I might come back to this bag subject later on

to talk about it a little bit more!

Bye for now!

It's (almost) time to start planning...

Lately I don't know where does time go!

It's already September!...

I know we still have to go

through

Halloween and Thanksgiving,

but

Christmas will be here in no time,

so I better start planning

what am I going to make

for gifts this year.

Last year I made this lap quilt for my husband

with all the christmassy ladiesI really thought he would enjoy it!

It came out really OK,

don't you think?

For the girls,

I made some journals out of composition books

and I do believe they enjoyed it.

Anyway ...

... yesterday I finished another quilted tote.

I used the same idea and technique from my Babouskha wall hanging

(as on one of my posts in August)

thinking it would be great for a tote bag!

I had seen a cute doll pattern at http://freebiesforcrafters.blogspot.com/

so I used that same doll pattern for both boy and girl.

As in the Babouskha,

the background is made out of scraps

pieced together and then quilted.

It's lined with a

tiny pretty purple (of course!) flowers print.

Now that is finished

I don't think it will make a Christmas gift!

I'm definitely crazy about it

so I'm pretty sure I'm gonna keep it for myself!

I've also finished another

raggedy quilted tote

a couple days ago.

(I've already talked about them earlier last moth)

This one is the biggest I've made till now,

big enough to carry everything

I would need for one or two days.

Also some time ago

I made this Sleeping socks,

out of basic granny squares!

Each sock takes 1 big square and 3 smaller ones.

I might make some of these

for some of my Christmas gifts for this year.

I hope I succeeded on my intent

if you came here to look for some ideas or inspiration for making Christmas gifts.

And also in my blog's spirit of sharing,

I leave you all for now with

a pic of my latest super cute little friends...