Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post. I am bowled over by all the love! Thanks especially to everyone who is praying for us. Again, it's a great comfort to know we can rely on all that grace being sent our way!
(To those of you who wondered, it's scheduled as a seven-month deployment, though of course that's approximate and could always change!)
And now, I'm going to follow my mom's lead and show you some of the handmade gifts I gave and received over Christmas, starting with this fabric memory game I made for my sweet niece/goddaughter Ann, who is almost two.
She is a very busy little girl, and I thought she would enjoy looking at the different pretty designs, organizing them, and (eventually) actually playing a little Memory with them!
I got the idea from a link someone I was following posted on Pinterest, which sent me to this post on the Purl Bee website. What a great idea! They used felt as the backing, which I didn't have, but I did have some plain muslin.
The colorful squares came from my stash; I used iron-on interfacing on both them and the muslin to make sure they'd hold up, and then cut the patterned ones (two of each, of course) with pinking shears.
It was fun to choose the fabric, making sure I had lots of different colors and patterns. There are 15 pairs, so 30 squares in all. I got to use some that I love, but only have a little bit left of — one of my favorite parts of projects that use little pieces from my stash!
I was afraid that if I just used the white on the back and the color on the front, I wouldn't be able to turn them inside-out precisely enough, and would end up with bits of the colored fabric peeking around to the other side. Which would, of course, defeat the purpose!
(I remember when we were little, we had this wonderful wooden memory game that we played with all the time. At some point, one of the younger kids took a marker to some of the pieces, and it wasn't long before we had memorized the markings on the backs. We knew exactly where one of the frogs and one of the horses was as soon as we started, and it was always a race to snatch up those pairs first.)
So instead I used the muslin to make little square tiles and sewed the colorful squares on top. It was a little more time-consuming, and I think next time I'll see if I can figure out a more efficient way of doing it (I do think the felt would be nice). But it was a fun little project and I love the way they turned out.
And, of course, she needs a little bag to keep them all in! (Among other things, I wouldn't want to sabotage my relationship with her mother by giving her a gift with thirty pieces and no container!)
I failed to take photos of the other gifts I made, which included a little quilt made from thrifted fabric for Sukie and John, and the owl potholder for my mom, which you already saw.
Luckily my mom took photos. |
Several of you asked for a tutorial, which is very sweet of you! However, I think I might need to make a few more myself before I attempt such a thing, otherwise the tutorial would go something like this: “Sew this part together wrong. Take it apart again. Sew it together wrong again. Tear it apart again. Think about it really, really hard before sewing it together only a little bit wrong….”
I did really enjoy making it, despite my struggles, so maybe I'll have to try again and let you know how it goes!
momco3 says
Rosie, it's lovely! Especially in a bag. You've inspired me…
Caren says
I love the memory game idea! My daughters would love something like that. I think I may try to make it 🙂
priest's wife says
I love the idea of using tiny scraps for a memory game…now, I just have to copy you!
Owl potholder = love
Mary says
This is a wonderful idea. Now I know what to make for my nephews birthday…I may even try felt animals instead of the fabric squares…my mind is swirling with ideas…can't wait to get started…
_Rosie says
Mary, felt animals would be awesome!!
Sharon says
Wow, just lovely; I love the bag too. Are you taking orders? lol
freckled hen says
I love this idea, I just might have enough fabric (ha-ha). I just read your post below- hugs to you! It's hard no matter which way you look at it. Your family will be in my prayers….your little one is so sweet!
Anne says
Ann does love the game, but right now the bag is the favorite part of that gift. That fascination that Pippo has with putting things in other things, well both my kids are still there too, so that bag has been used for any number of things already. My favorite so far was Jack filling it with bean bags and using it as a wrecking ball for his cardboard jumbo block tower. 🙂 Isn't that incongruous? You make this adorable little game with a sweet little storage bag and it gets used for mayhem and destruction!
_Rosie says
I love it! Let me know if you need more bags! 🙂
Lori says
Both you and your mom have an eye for lovely pattern. The fabrics in your game make me want to just handle each piece!
Maggie says
beautifully done. I was given one of these when our wee man was born and I had no idea what it was!
kelley chavez says
beautiful! ….and what a great idea for scraps!
justamouse says
The owl directions are cracking me up.
BethanneB says
I really appreciate that you sew it incorrectly, have to tear it out, sew it again only partially correct, etc. I can't seem to get my mind, my eyes, and my hands all on the same page at the same time to SEE and really UNDERSTAND what I have to do before I do it. It always takes me several times to get it right. Does this just come with practice? I envy your square squares, too. I can never seem to get things perfectly square–and I think the pinking shears make it perfect and interesting. Thanks for sharing.
_Leila says
Bethanne, I too think Rosie's squares are amazingly square. I saw them in person. They are square, with points. Not sure whose genes those are…
Emily says
Love the memory game, it's adorable. I will have to try that out. That is one of those sweet little handmade gifts that will be treasured, I'm sure.
Natasha says
Agreed! You could definitely sell that memory game–it's so cute and clever. And the Owl is adorable!!
Lindsey says
The fabric squares are such a cool idea! I think I could handle a project like that. Nice work 🙂
Mary says
What a cute idea! I pray this first week without the Lieutenant has been going well for you.
amy says
I will make that memory game. Very cute. Thanks. Everything else is lovely too!!
Kathy says
I think I need to spend like a month just cutting my scrap fabric up into little squares for things like this!
_Leila says
Actually, Kathy, it's not a bad idea to have a stash of squares and triangles! I wouldn't cut it ALL up, but it can be handy to have some!
Elena says
The fabric memory game is just darling! I can see my granddaughters (especially the 9 year old who wants to be a fabric designer) playing with this every day! Though, I think I would have made an extra trip to the store for felt. You must be a very patient woman!