Crayon Rolls for Christmas

Crayon Rolls

Firstly, a quick hello and thank you to my followers - old and new. You've provided me with such wonderful support, inspiration and assistance in my crafting endeavors (and sometimes life, too)! I'm a bit overwhelmed again by the response to my giveaway - thanks so much, especially for all the food tips; I hope to add some dishes to my repertoire. My giveaway will be open a bit longer than the official time (I'll be sound asleep here in Australia at 6 pm PST); I'll close the comments when I get up in the morning, and draw the winners sometime during the day. I'm so excited to pick and announce the winners!

Crayons galore!

I've made three more crayon rolls, for Christmas presents, using Skip to My Lou's easy-to-follow tutorial. Every bit of it - from the size of the pocket to the length of the ribbon, works great. But what works even better is Lizzy House fabric - those peeps are just the right height for the pocket - don't you love it?

Red Letter Day Ugly Duckling

The above fabric is particularly special to me, and since my little girl loves pink, this one is for her! Lizzy House Red Letter Day Ugly Duckling on the outside; pearl bracelet on the inside; and some DS Quilts for the pocket - I thought they looked great together.

Castle Peeps - for boy

The next two are for a sister and brother - our friends' kids that we're about to meet for the first time when they visit from Holland (for Christmas). So I made coordinating Castle Peeps rolls.

Castle Peeps - for girl

I love how the peeps look like they're guarding the crayons!

On Guard!

So that's three gifts finished, about a dozen I'd like to complete before Christmas. I'll be happy if I finish four more. How many gifts do you still hope to make?

Popular Pattern Links

From over 700 comments left on my giveaway post, here are the links to the twelve most popular designers and bloggers, as recommended by you.

Please note: I've provided links to where I thought it was easiest to find the patterns or tutorials. Often they're listed as links along the sidebar of a blog. Any troubles, let me know!

Amy Butler - patterns for clothing, bags and other accessories - her bag patterns are particularly popular. The Anna Tunic is on my to-do list:

Elizabeth Green-Hartman (Oh, Fransson!) - patterns and tutorials for quilts and small projects, including the Mod Sampler Quilt-Along:

Made by Rae - tutorials and patterns for bags, quilts and baby clothes. The Buttercup Bag is a big hit.

Noodlehead - tutorials for various small and cute projects. The gathered clutch is a favourite. I have no idea how I didn't know about this blog! I've already made a couple of lil cutie pouches:

Oliver + S - clothing patterns for children and babies. Personally, I love both the finished product and the patterns - the patterns leave no questions unanswered. Here's an Ice Cream Dress that I've sewn:

Moda Bakeshop - wow! I really haven't explored this site enough. It has patterns for everything using all types of Moda precuts.
Cluck. Cluck. Sew - mostly quilt patterns and an entertaining blog.
Made (dana made it) - another site I can't believe I missed (thanks for the tip!). Full of a broad range of patterns and tutorials from clothing to accessories to home decor.
Sew Liberated - patterns for clothing and accessories, including the very popular Schoolhouse Tunic. There are also tutorials listed on the sidebar.
Ottobre - a magazine from Finland featuring patterns for kids
Anna Maria Horner - this talented woman designs patterns as well as fabric - including clothing and bag patterns, free quilt patterns, and two great books.
Pink Penguin - another blogger I somehow missed - great tutorials for really cute accessories.


Phew! That is quite the list, but I couldn't finish without mentioning some talented and popular Australian designers that I think everyone should know about:
Make It Perfect - great looking clothing patterns for women, girls and boys.
Kate Conklin - beautiful quilt patterns and tutorials, often made using great modern Australian quilt fabrics.
Red Pepper Quilts - Truly inspirational. I'm always amazed by her fabric choices, detail, accuracy and beautiful quilting. Click on patterns on her blog sidebar to view her quilt patterns.

Lastly, since it's one of my main interests, here are a few children's clothing designers introduced to me through your comments:
Heidi and Finn
Leila and Ben
Little Lizard King - and I won her Sew Mama Sew giveaway! I got to choose a pdf pattern for free - I chose the Elizabeth Claire Peasant Dress

Well, there are certainly enough links, projects, tutorials and patterns there to keep you busy for a lifetime. However, if there's interest, I'll write another post with links to more of the designers and bloggers you recommended in those giveaway comments. I can't promise that it will be as thorough as this post!

Hope you find some inspiration in these links. Happy Sewing!