Thursday, April 17, 2008

I think I'll call them...

JoJoBalls!

Remember when Joanna sent me the big bunch of strange pieced fabric pointed ellipses? I've been having loads of fun with them (Anna too). These take about 10 minutes to make and are strangely appealing. I've made 4. I have enough fabric to make 12. If you want one, comment and I'll send you one, because really, WHAT are we going to do with 12 fabric balls? They're actually pretty nice for throwing at people, soft and light and unlikely to hurt, but, unlike a nerf ball, with good throwing velocity.

I also learned how to do a new stitch. Here, in the blurry pictures, you can sort of see how I finished the first ball with a whip stitch.
I thought as I was doing it that there was surely a better way, so I took it to town and asked Mom, and she showed me how to do a blind stitch. (I'm not sure if that's what it's called) Anyway, the stitches are all hidden inside. Here is a picture of the second ball. I especially like making them because Anna helps me stuff them and sits on my lap while I'm sewing. Yesterday I heard her "sewing" She was talking herself through the process "first you line up the sides like this, just right, now don't get your fingers too close..." What fun.

15 comments:

linda jean said...

well, I want one. i don't know why, but I find them appealing.

betsyann said...

I know! It's the strangest thing.

mllr said...

well I feel bad asking for one since I got the great bookmark...I will let someone else in on the prizes...you are so clever!

betsyann said...

Um, maybe you think I have a lot more readers than I do. I'm no dooce-- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120778656388403417.html?mod=hpp_us_inside_today

Why can't we have links in comments?

Shauna said...

They're so cute! You're so crafty!

The last time I sewed anything was 8th grade, I think, but I'm going to try making Jemma a pillowcase dress this weekend. I've been browsing at Etsy again and it's really put me in the mood to sew. Take a look at this post for some cute ideas for girl clothes.

malh said...

I want a JoJoBall!

Jenny said...

I want one! Those look really neat.

Your story about Anna reminded me of my mom teaching me to sew, letting me help her pin on patterns and take out pins after the pieces were sewn, finally getting to try a few stitches on the machine... (happy sigh.) Those memories are closely linked with memories of learning to roll out pie crusts and make sugar cookies from scratch, hanging out in the hallway or bathroom watching her sort the laundry hamper and then sitting on the utility room steps watching her put in load after load of laundry, all while she explained how and why we sorted the laundry and pretreated the stains. Dreaming of when my life would be so grown-up and important... :-)

Unknown said...

umm i def think i need a jojoball..

Susan said...

I want one too!

betsyann said...

OK--Tomorrow I'll be mailing out a bunch of boxes--Katrina, Shauna, Joanna, Mary, and Jenny should get their soon. Sus and Shannon--you can have yours when I see you next. That leaves 3 more, any takers?

The ones I stuffed today are filled with bits of quilt batting from the edges of lots of projects. I couldn't throw it away, but it was building up. I love this project!

Shauna, how'd you get that link in there? Thanks! I was actually JUST thinking about making a pillowcase dress for Anna.

Susan said...

Oh- Hailey and Steven would like one too.

Anonymous said...

cute. and i enjoyed your birthday list!

Jenny said...

I just received my JoJo ball and I LOVE it! It is much bigger than I pictured, and it is just charming. I want it to be Samuel's because it is nice and soft, and I'd like to sit it decoratively on his dresser, but he wants it down to play with it. He even got down from eating early so he could grab it again. And this kid loves to eat, so that really says something.

Homemade toys are the best. I bet you could sell these on ebay or etsy or something. (Not that I know much about etsy, I just hear people talk about it.)

Shauna said...

If you type < a href="http://www.yoururl.com">Text< /a] without the spaces before the a and /a, it will make a link out of whatever you type in the Text spot.

Shauna said...

Oops. The closing bracket should be < /a>, not < /a].