Fire Flower Project

I finally was able to get the colors of fabric that I wanted for the Fire Flower Yo Yo Project. I decided to get some patterned fabric for the flower itself, but kept the green a solid color.  And I was able to find a small enough Yo Yo Maker so that the flower will be cute, and not huge and scary like I was thinking.

Not that the XL Maker is all that big. It cuts out a 60mm circle and leaves a 30mm Yo Yo. I'm going to use the Small size which is a 30mm circle and leaves a 15mm Yo Yo.  The Fire Flower itself is going to be 162 individual pieces! @_@

If it was a cross stitch, I could knock it out of the park in an hour or less. As it is - I'm going to see how quickly I can pop these yo yos out.

If anyone plans on doing any Yo Yo projects (hopefully someone has been inspired to) I recommend using the precut chunks of fabric for quilting rather than get a yard (or metre) of fabric and only use a tiny portion of it.

Old clothes work all right - they don't have the stiffness that new fabric has which makes making the yo yos easier.


My other projects are a couple of B-Day prezzies which are keeping me occupied. Ah well, busy hands right? ^_^

Sewing in Circles

I've listed various crafts that have been used to create or re-create a pixelated look before. And I'm always looking for ways to expand my craft repertoire. Which is why I love going to the library. There are SO many treasures of knowledge just waiting to be exposed.

And I found a new one to add. They're called yo yos. Not the toy, but a similarly shaped object made of fabric. They became popular in the 1920's because women could carry the little circles of fabric to stitch and gather when they had a free moment.

They've been made into quilts, decorated clothes, leis, dolls, and recently into jewelry. Grandmothers have used them to teach daughters and granddaughters to hand sew. They're simple to make and are quick to make up. I heartily recommend a search of 'fabric yo yo' or 'quilt yo yo' or 'yo yo fabric crafts'. There are way too many stunning  examples out there.

Simple if you can sew and use a hand iron. Iron, yes, sew - not so much.

And yet the lure of the yo yo called to me. So you can imagine my joy when I stumbled upon a product by the company Clover called the "Quick" Yo-Yo Maker. It's a disc with a cover that you pop the fabric in and cut around it, then you take a needle and thread, sew in the guide holes in the cover, then take the fabric out, gather it up in a circle, and then tie a knot and hide the ends. I can make one in about 5 minutes or less. And it's not just circles in many sizes, but hearts, butterflies, shamrocks, and ovals, for anyone interested. (A bit like lucky charms, eh?)

So with the 'how to' solved, I've decided I want to make a wall decoration using yo yos. But now I have two problems.

1. What sprite should I make with yo yos?
2. Should I use plain colored fabric, patterned, or a mix?

I have a few ideas. I love Naruto the anime and I love the symbol of Konoha. I also love Ayashi no Ceres, or Ceres: Celestial Legend as it is known in the states, and the symbol of the Tennyo is beautiful.And there is the symbol of the Full Metal Alchemist that I've long wanted to do in cross stitch or something. Or a Fire Flower from Mario Bros.

I'd rather do something simple over a complicated character sprite, for a wall hanging at least. If I decide to make a blanket out of these things, I might make Articuno from Pokemon, or Samus from Metroid.

Ah the possibilities!