Christmas Shoeboxes

This is probably one of our favourite shoeboxes and for a boy 10-14

For this box I made the Dennis the Menace hand puppet, matching hat, Desparate Dan pencil case, beaded bracelet and a small lined drawstring pouch to store the marbles in.  The majority of the items in the box have been bought at reduced prices as and when we've seen them ......... the Chelsea FC bag was free with items purchased from the megastore, football stickers free with the newspaper and the small magnifying glass from a Christmas cracker!  Hidden is also a bar of soap, compass set, notebook and sheets of plain paper.

YoYo Caterpillar

Attempting to dream up fabric "toys" without stuffing or "bits", Yoyos came to mind.  It might have taken four attempts to get the right frill but I do now have something that I find acceptable!  Sorry the tail's hidden but this is the best pic of a bad bunch tonight .......... I do honestly think it looks much nicer than it does here.  No prizes for guessing the destination of this but I hope it's constructed in such a fashion in that it will be remembered and perhaps even replicated in part by somebody in years to come in the same way that I remember the YoYo clown sitting in a great aunt's spare bedroom when I was a child ........... the inspiration for my YoYo Caterpillar

I can finally post the contents of my giveaway at the end of last year now Linda has received it (my fault it was so late) ......... some of my hand coloured stuff along with a couple of other loosely co-ordinating bits.

Blogger says try the new Blogger Interface .............. I don't suppose I can go back now!!!!!

More Free Stuff .........

Fabric Paper Dolls!  I couldn't resist having a go at this free pattern substituting the fusible fleece with felt and Supermend bonding powder (it's non toxic and BSI approved).  It meant a bit more fiddling about but I really don't mind that and am rather pleased ..............

I ran out of velcro so, sadly, she won't get a change of shoes but she does have several outfits.  Mindful of her journey, I've stuck to 100% cotton fabrics but can you imagine being let loose with all manner of synthetics and frivolous bits?  The hair and clothes, excepting dress, all fit within a 5" charm square so a great use for those and she won't take up much room in a shoebox!

Thankfully no big dinner to cook tonight with enough of yesterday's vegetable stew and dumplings to keep us warm.

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Pinterest and Stuff

Pinterest, that totally compulsive, addictive, viral online pinboard ......... if you've never heard of it then don't look, it WILL take over your life!  My husband often moaned that he couldn't find his few bookmarks amongst my hundreds (I do sort them out but it soon gets out of hand again) so I started transferring them onto Pinterest.  It's wonderful to be able to see a pic to remind oneself rather than having to click on every link to find just the thing one's looking for and to be able to organise things via boards - heaven!  One of my boards is ideas for Christmas Shoeboxes so I started seeking things out.  A fabric alphabet I've just finished ...........

I used the template here.  I'd make them a little bigger or do them a little differently another time to allow for easier cutting of the internal apertures but I do like the way they've turned out.  All different fabrics with plenty of colours, spots, stripes, checks, flowers etc. for added play value, cut on the bias as much as possible to minimise fraying and a great way of using up all those little scraps - they're probably a little less than 2" high.


This week it's been just the weather for some warming winter soups ......... very cheap too!  Root Vegetable soup = potato, carrot and onion (or leek or both) sweated down in a little butter for a few minutes.  Add some stock, a few herbs and seasoning plus a teaspoon of sugar.   Sometimes I'll omit the herbs and add spices instead (ground coriander/cumin/curry) or add some chopped fresh coriander at the end.

 Simmer in a lidded pan until the vegetables are soft ...............

then blend with a stick blender whilst still hot .................

A head of celery had been in the fridge drawer since Christmas so that got used up too, sweated down with some potato, onion, an apple and a clove of garlic.  I used half stock, half milk, salt and pepper. 

The milk curdled it but it didn't look too bad blended and tasted wonderful.  It was only me that ate it anyway ....... over a few days!
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Puppet Parade

At last, my version of the panda and zebra puppets by Itty Bitty Toys

I saw how Mary at Ravlery had used the pattern for a pig and soon realised how easy it was to knit a whole array of puppets to portray all manner of characters ..............

Before each one is finished there are already ideas for many more ..............

Oh yes, there's more too but I won't bore anybody with numerous photos of similar stuff all of which will eventually find their way into a Christmas shoebox .......... and can't promise when I'll be posting anything different as, even though I'm no great knitter, these things are somewhat addictive!!!!!
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Glove Puppet Knitting Patterns and Tutorials

Knitted items are very welcome in the shoeboxes sent abroad with Operation Christmas Child each November but they must be unstuffed.  Hand puppets are ideal so long as any bits of filling are left out where applicable and they can make lovely "friends" for often traumatised and lonley children.  I've listed some of my favourites from the free puppet knitting patterns online.

Susan B Anderson's panda and zebra puppets from Itty Bitty Toys
 

Mary at Ravelry has combined the panda and zebra patterns to make a pig puppet

Turtle from Mavis at Sheep and Shepherd with the pattern at Ravelry
Knitting in the round and quite complex but beautiful!

Clown, elephant and teddy at the OCC website

Janet from Musings of the Puppet Lady has been knitting 100 puppets a year for the Christmas Shoebox scheme for several years now and has shared patterns for her variation on the OCC clown and Mickey Mouse.  Do have a look around her blog at ideas for other variations ie. snowman, duck, Father Christmas, Penguin etc..  Photos on Flicker too.

Twins at Melodiesplus

Girl at Creni (pdf)
Girl, fairy, prince and rabbit at Knitting and Crochet
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See also this post for more links to free patterns for puppets to knit, sew or crochet.
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More Christmas Shoeboxes

The last of our shoeboxes for OCC this year all packed and ready to go:

Boy 2-4

 Girl 2-4

Girl 5-9
 

 

 

 Girl 10-14

Sometimes when ...........

 ......... I don't know what to do I end up doing nothing much at all.  However, we have been busy filling our Christmas boxes.  We're doing 6 this year, one for each of the groups and this is our shoebox for a 5-9 year old boy:

The bottom lined with plain paper, stickers and a puzzle removed from the box to maximise space (I've made a little drawstring bag to keep the pieces in).

Adding stuff - there's a small colouring book hidden in here too:

Hat and mittens to help keep warm, an inflatable and tennis ball for outdoor play, playdoh and school supplies and a small cuddly toy to love:

A pencil case fashioned from friendly faced scraps and a strong corded bag cajoled from the Chelsea Megastore!

Amongst other bits hidden in there is a football soap on a rope, packet of toothbrushes, toothpaste and a toy car - over 30 different things in, hopefully, a box of fun ready to be wrapped with just enough space for a few sweets.
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A bit more ......

........ progress on one of the seascapes.  Layers of chiffon, a bit of machine stitching, wisps of fibre,a couple more scraps and some more embellishing .................

I find the 12 needle Baby Lock embellisher can be a bit overpowering for finer work so removed most of the needles to embellish down some yarns and fibres.  Replacing the needles a couple of days later, 3 of them won't go fully in and protrude up to a quarter of an inch.  It's not the needles as we've tried different ones so Baby Lock suggest I return the unit for investigation as the needle holder may be out of alignment inside the unit - don't seem to be having much luck with machinery these days!

Some pretty hair scrunchies for the Christmas shoeboxes ......................

 

 

Now just to decide which ones to put in each box.
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Boy 10-14 Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

It all fits with some little gaps to fill with sweeties nearer the time.  This category usually gets the least number of boxes so we're quite pleased with this one.  There's a bit of a football theme with a mini ball (and pump), soap on a rope, stickers and pencil case lined with a football fabric which I've just finished this morning ..........

A friend in my knitted glove puppet ............
 

 
The boxed Meccano type set was way too big so I've repackaged it with the instructions and the knitted rainbow beanie hat squashes in nicely .................
 

 
Still hidden under a tin of drawing and colouring media is some plasticine and a small colouring book ................

I'm now going to cover the box, place an assortment of papers cut to fit the bottom of the box inside and then repackage everything all ready to add the sweets and drop off in November.
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Daisy Shirt Done

With one model asleep and lack of co-operation from the other here's the coathanger version (not without a little fault or two but I have spent more than enough time on this now)
 

Never did I imagine that a shirt would cause so many problems.  It's not the pattern, nor the making up but the fabric ............. at least I hope it's the fabric and not the machine.  I have the machine back .......... the repair guys in the dealers say it's fine but I'm not sure ......... there's something that just doesn't feel right.  The local man who serviced it first, said it probably needed a new shuttle hook (mine was plastic and they're replacing them with metal now) as it had a few nicks in it so he tried filing it down.  As far as I know, those nicks had been there for ages without problem and you can't file down plastic successfully hence I could actually hear the thread catching when I got it back.  At the dealers, it has had a service, overhaul and resetting of the timing plus a new shuttle hook yet took me three and a half hours plus microtex needles to try and get a decent stitch on this simple printed cotton fabric.  It's ok on the white and yellow print but on the dark colours it's dreadful still without 5 or 6 layers ........... such resistance to the needle? 

There isn't a machine in the Argos catalogue (not that I would buy one from Argos) that costs as much as I have just spent on mine ........... no wonder I've been in tears and beginning to think that some of them might stitch better than mine is at the moment!  I need to play around with some more fabric.

I found Jan Messent's new book in the library on Saturday ................ it is absolutely wonderful - a must have for the Christmas list (not that I'll be doing one this year) and confirms this is where my heart really lies ........ finding a happy medium between the eyes and the heart is the problem!

Another Christmas shoebox filled - just one more to go now.  The patchwork pencil case is a lovely idea Anne - our daughter was almost obsessed with pens & crayons of all sorts throughout her school years - I might give a little more time and thought to making some a bit more imaginative for next year if I remember (and find the time)!

I am now going to do something normal to destress over the shirt ........... put some washing on and make some fresh crab cakes for dinner .............. then start thinking more about mum's up and coming birthday!
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Deconstructing a shoebox

Having managed to cram everything in, well not quite everything, a couple of little things have had to be foresaken but nothing important, I've photographed the deconstructing in order to be able to put it all back quite happily once the box is nicely wrapped.

The bottom lined with sheets of plain paper to fit the box, exercise books, colouring book and other goodies.  I've made a simple drawstring bag (to the right) from some curtain fabric samples to either keep bits in or carry stuff to school if that is the case.

Hurray for tall husbands who spot things on top shelves in supermarkets - we just couldn't resist the little baby born doll reduced from £10 to £3!  Of course, a girl has to have a spare pair of knickers ...... a pinafore and jumper ......... a hooded coat ............ socks, shoes, mittens and a bag.  Oh dear, this knitting is quite bulky but there's still room for the purple mittens.

I am delighted to say that I can now make hair scrunchies!  That might not sound a huge achievement but when you've had four goes before finding a little tutorial believe me it is!

Just enough room for a few sweets ............ the first of three boxes of joy from things mainly bought on special offer/sale at the supermarket over the year probably averaging out at about 50p a week ........... we are happy!!
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