A new idea for fidgets

Hello, everyone.

As anyone who has searched the internet for "fidget mat" or "dementia fidget" has seen, a lot of people know someone who would profit from having one of these things.

The trend of fidget devices visible online seems to be going for more and more complexity--almost more of a manual dexterity exercise device. (These are fabric ones, mostly, but you can see images of "hard goods" made of wood and having mechanical things on the surface. Those probably are more for manual dexterity than simple fidgeting IMHO.) The many things being put onto the face of the fabric fidget often seems to obscure the ground fabric altogether. 

I was talking to someone about fidgets a little while back and we agreed that some of the really popular additions (zippers) don't seem to be as desired by actual Alzheimers patients or other dementia patients we have known. As she said, "Mom just wanted to rub her fingers over the surface." I suspect that while some people really like opening and closing a zipper, many are more interested in rubbing their fingers over the texture of the ground fabric.

Also having a very large and busy fidget means taking a lot more time with choosing objects and attachments. If one wishes to make a bunch of fidgets, and doesn't actually know the peoples' interests and hobbies at the time of making, it becomes more difficult.

Thus a new, simpler model that can be made fairly quickly and has lots of finger-rubbing space:

The front: fur, with a small ring that can be turned if the person wants to. It doesn't require a lot of space to use, and can be held in the lap with ease.

The back. I was playing with scraps in the sewing room here. It's more of a colorful bonus than the star of the show.

The fur in the front was quilted to the patched back before the ring was sewn down on its ribbon.

It goes together easily, and it's small enough that a visitor can pick it up and bring it over to their friend without having to fold it for transport. 

Revisiting fleecy embroidered toys

Hello, everyone.

Yesterday I tried a new approach to the stuffed toy made in the hoop: making an opening to begin with in the back side.

How? you wonder. By piecing the back from two pieces of fleece with an opening in the seam for stuffing later.

The final back side of the kitty. (The seam line can be brushed out if one wants, the minky style fleece has a definite, though short, pile.)

While trimming I accidentally cut the seam allowance off on one of the paws, but that was easily repaired.

The only tricky thing about this pieced back was the sudden discovery that it is really important to tack down the seam allowances of the center back seam. (The seam allowance got eaten up by the foot, and it was a bit tricky to cut it free. Plus there was a small hole in the fabric at the end.) With that adjustment, the trick worked. And an opening that is hand stitched closed with seam allowance at the opening is sturdier than one that is just pulled together with stitches across a slit, and a better looking result than cobbling together seam allowances at the slit that will work like an unplanned dart. IMHO.

This is one of the Minkee Pals toys. It's about hand-sized, and you use the small (not miniature) hoop to make it.

Obviously, since the fleece I have is white, the colors were changed. I think they work out okay. And even though I bought the white remnant expressly to make these critters, I am going to use up the rest of the white: it's officially from stash now. (Found the remnant at Hobby Lobby.)

The kitty can be a toy for a baby, as everything is securely stitched down. It can be a small Christmas gift. It can be a package tie-on. It's a little bit small for a fidget, I think, but the back side is uninterrupted pile so it could even be that. Maybe it could be tucked into a pocket on a fidget, with a little tethering ribbon so it doesn't get lost. A flock of them could be party favors for a children's party.

A new fidget

Hello, everyone.

I have made a new fidget--this time butterfly themed.

The zipper opens and closes, of course. A backing rectangle keeps the fur from tangling in the zipper coil.

The blue fur is pleasant to touch.

The pink ring turned out a little too heavy to have a long run of motion, so buttons were added to the ladybug ribbon to control the ring. (It kept trying to flip over to the outside of the fidget. I could see that becoming a problem in use.)

The yellow circle is able to turn because there is an eyelet hole under the button.

There are multiple cords with pony beads and the gray ribbon has both a narrow black tube and a larger blue one. (Not to say, a repurposed curler from a perm set.)

And on the black reverse side (fake suede fabric, so not slick) a rectangle in ivory fabric allows the owner's name to be added. This is the first time I've done this, and it seems like a good idea. It's pretty much impossible to write on the black fabric, and not everyone has printed name tapes on hand to stitch in place. Also this fabric would not take kindly to having the laundry heat-glue a tape with their hot irons.

I'm thinking of doing a collection of fidgets and seeking a place to donate them. DF had a very hard time with fidgeting with his hands and something like this lets a person wiggle their fingers without tearing up their nails and skin, or the bedclothes, or other things that come in reach.

There is still a good amount of furry fabric to work with in the stash, in various colors. And made-in-USA pony beads are suddenly in great supply in the sewing studio.

Heart fidget, final look

Hello, everyone.

The heart fidget is finished. Before I took it to the recipient of the gift, a last couple of photos:

 The front, slightly upside-down. The rows of filling covered all of the corduroy front of the heart.

One small advantage of using a sewn, turned-and-topstitched shape for the base of the heart was that the edges are stable. I was able to bead right up to the edge of the fabric without worries over raveling and general disintegration.

The back was cut from vinyl faux-leather that was lying around. It may be hard to see--using crystal Fireline does give somewhat of an invisible stitch--but every edge bead was included in the attachment stitches securing the back to the front.

It doesn't show in the pictures, but there is a little bit of polyester fiberfill stuffing inside the hear to encourage it to be an attractive shape for holding in the hand.

Heart fidget, 3rd progress report

Hello, everyone.

This is a progress update on the heart fidget. More elements have been placed and the filling of the background has commenced.

The white circles are mother of pearl beads. Their framing rows are 15 count rocaille beads. The background on the left side is mostly the 11 count transparent red seed beads. The contrast in color between the left and right background is because the rocaille beads have an iridescent finish on them. The beads are overall pleasant to touch and run fingertips over--which is really the whole point of a fidget in my opinion.

A book that the Christmas angels brought me, which is very helpful with thinking about these things, is Bead Embroidery Jewelry Products by Jamie Cloud Eakin. (The link goes to Amazon, but it may be available in your local bead or craft store. Along with the goodies beads to make the projects!)

Heart fidget, 2nd progress report

Hello, everyone.

As I'm trying to keep posts short enough that busy people can read them, there will be several smaller reports on the heart fidget.

Also, after the first photo, I switched from the phone to an actual separate camera.

Moving along with stitching, and many of the beads pose for a picture in their boxes and bags.

The back side.

If there had been plans to bead embroider this heart to begin with, there would have been a different stabilizer used I think. (I do have some Lacy's Stiff Stuff and also some similar feeling stabilizer that is used for hats and such. But didn't think of it until later!) One learns as one goes, they say.

Block Play, and Layout Play

Hello, everyone.

I was looking at Pinterest and saw an interesting block, one that is new to me. It was called Greek Key. The link led to Marcia Hohn’sQuilters’ Cache. In following it, I learned some new things about an old standard block: Log Cabin.

 I knew that Ms. Hohn had a Log Cabin pattern on her site, but I'd never looked at it in any detail. That was a mistake.

I have in the past used Log Cabin blocks to form larger patterns, treating the squares as a form of half-square triangle optically speaking. It gives the look of many triangles, but all the seams are either straight of grain or straight cross-grain, and while the pressing can become a mass of little things, everything does eventually. Also, and for my personality this is key, you can freely get scrappy! All you need to do is to sort your scraps by the key value that you are varying: Blues-dark, blues, medium, Blues-light, whites was one set of groupings I used.

There were the diagonal lines marching down the quilt face. There was the Christmas tree wall hanging. 

Wall hanging for Christmas season.
Center of the tree was plain blocks. Shape was created by Log Cabin blocks.
Also an applique of a pieced star for the top!

A Project Completed

Hello, everyone.

The newest Stash Fidget Mat is done.

This should take washing okay--that is, the ribbons might get a little rumpled, but the bird is fleece and should be fine. The 1-decade rosary hanging from the hanger strip is removable (has a catch) as it was originally made to be a bracelet type of rosary. The beads are golden-toned wood with brown decorations, and a pressed glass cross at the end.

The bird is stuffed by the method shown at Needle n Thread by Ms. Corbet. It should be completely resistant to shifting, as the lift is provided by pieces of fleece under the outer bird. (The bead eye is held by three stitches for security.)