Cat's out of the Bag- Gift Reveal

Thank goodness Chanukah is behind us and I can reveal a few of my secret projects. These first two pictures are of sweaters for my sisters. More information on this project can be found on the Merino Bouquet post.

This one is for my sister who we always tease for predictably only wearing shades of blue.

And this one is being modeled by my other sister (who shall remain nameless/faceless).

I think they both liked their happy wool cardigans. It was fun to make them, and fun to give a handmade gift.

This next project was a fun and easy one to make, and a great way to preserve a favorite t-shirt. My faceless sister from above asked me recently if I could do anything to save part of her favorite old t-shirt. I took it home and here's what happened.

1.Cut a rectangle from the shirt, preserving the center image. Using that piece as the center, work as you would for a quilt block and sew strips of fabric around your rectangle until is is desired size.
2. I bought a 12x16 pillow form at Joann Fabric and Crafts. You could certainly use batting and make the pillow any size you want. When my front piece reached a total of 12 1/2 x 16 1/2, leaving my a 1/4 inch seam allowance, I sewed front to back, right sides facing each other around 3 sides of the rectangle.
3. Flip pillow cover right side out, and poke corners out with a knitting needle or closed ballpoint pen.
4. Stuff pillow inside, and hand sew final side closed.

This gift really made my sister smile, and that made me do the same.