Baby Honu Baby Blanket

My best friend of the last 25+ years is finally having her first baby! When we were little girls I went on vacation to the Black Hills and brought her back a little carved stone turtle. She has collected turtles ever since-she even dragged a 30 pound carved wooden turtle home from Ecuador! So I thought it was fitting to make the new baby a blanket with a turtle theme. The back of the blanket is green felt with turtles on it. I used the work of author and illustrator Tammy Yee as my inspiration. The front is hand-embroidered, it took me months, but it is so beautiful! I then decided I'd have to hand quilt it, so I figured out how to do that. I probably didn't do it the correct way, but no one has ever taught me how, so this worked for me. I was even proud of myself for making my own bias tape out of turtle flannel to make the binding for the edges.

Exactly What I Wanted!

I have worn glasses since I was about 9 years old, so I've never been one of those women who can go out and buy a cute pair of sunglasses whenever I feel like it. About a year ago I discovered fit-over sunglasses available at Wal-Mart. I know, it doesn't sound too stylish, but they don't make me look like a little old lady who has just had her eyes dilated, and I found a pair that works pretty well with my face. The problem is that I couldn't find a case for them that actually fit, they are bigger than a normal pair. So after a few trial and errors, I made this case from wool felt. The inner liner of the case is regular felt (thinner than the wool) and I hand stitched the purple cording seam. Before I put the whole thing together I cut a Cheshire Cat out of purple felt and hand-embroidered him onto the outside of the case. I think he turned out super cool!

I enjoyed the project so much and it worked so well to keep my lenses from getting scratched, that I had to make a case for my new MP3 player. The new player is purple and I have put my two favorite charms of Jack Skellington on it, so who else should have the place of honor on the front of the case?? I started by attaching the white felt of Jack's face and then cut the black felt into the shapes of his eyes and mouth. Then I used black embroidery floss to attach them and create his features.