A Rainbow of Fabric

Finishing a quilt, even a small one, is a magical thing.



My daughter enjoyed the work in progress as well.



And nothing sets off color better than sunlight!



The little gnome fellow soaked up some sun too.

I think I've had a very productive week. I finished a quilt! Something that at one time would take months or even years....yet in a matter of days I managed to start and finish a 36"x36" quilt for a baby. As much as I hate to admit it, machine piecing and quilting can be a wonderful thing!



I was also able to send a homemade gift to a friend and her newborn son.



And also make a playmat for my own child!

Massive Post Christmas Craft Dump

The holidays are OVER! Rejoice! Sadly I've let the crafting photos pile up...so I figure it's about time I just post them all and get it over with.


Before the holiday I had a commission to make some knitted dolls for a friend's daughter. Two mermaids, two girls, a dog, and a cat. I was particularly happy with the mermaids!


I got a bit carried away with the knitting and decided to try my hand at designing a pattern for knitted ponies. Still a work in progress...but they didn't turn out bad by any means.


Next I came up with some knitted cars with wooden wheels. They do actually roll, which I was very happy about...I made 3 for Bear for Christmas and 2 more for her friend.



Not a great photo, but I knitted a cabled tam for my aunt. Bear is modeling it here.



Two Black Apple Dolls for Bear and E.



One for my niece.





A purse, sweats, and necklace set for my niece, Ash.




An art-roll and a memory game for my nephews.



And finally, I recovered a foam chair for Bear. :)

The Holidays Cometh

I have been doing massive amount of crafting, particularly knitting, in recent history. Sadly, my camera is currently at my mother's house so I can't take photos of anything. Bah! I left it there over Thanksgiving...but I should be getting it from her sometime this week.

ANYWAY....I have done a lot since the Halloween extravaganza. I set up a nature table by the door which I decorated for fall. I will be changing it over to winter/Christmas very soon. Knitting is my top hobby right now. I've made several hats, toys, and am now experimenting with Mobius baskets and bags. By the way, I have no idea why I haven't joined Ravelry till now! What was wrong with me?!? Obviously a site like that is practically made for me...so I seriously don't get why I put it off.

Oh, I have also taken up spinning wool with a drop spindle. It's rather addictive, by the way.

I recently purchased a Waldorf craft book published in 1986 (the year after I was born, by the way) that I'm absolutely in love with. Particularly the gnome hat knitting pattern which is why I bought it in the first place. I highly recommend The Children's Year...and it's a steal if you purchase it used. My copy cost under $3! I already finished Bear a gnome hat which has been a huge hit.

With the holidays coming up I, of course, have massive amounts of things to do. This evening I started work on a foam chair cover for Bear (to replace the original Spiderman motif)...I need to start work on some dolls. I purchased a few odds and ends this afternoon for that.

Beyond the crafting...this has just been a rough time of year for me. We're still waiting for news about our move. It's been a very slow and frustrating process. I'm trying to be patient and not go completely nuts while I'm trying to get work done in a very small space...

More pics coming soon!

Craft Sloth - Not So Much

My lack of posting, thankfully, is no indication of my lack of crafting. I have done quite a bit, actually.
I had originally planned to make The Bear a bear costume for Halloween...however, I really didn't have the time or materials for it. Instead, I put together a quick witch's cloak and wand for her. I had a small witch hat from a previous Halloween that was just the right size for a little one and completed the costume nicely.

At the same time I was trying to finish some knitted Fairies for a friend before Samhain.

My knitted toys have been a big hit. I've have several requests for them.


Finally, I knitted up a couple gnome hats. I only have a photo of one of them, however.

Necessity - The Mother Of Invention

I find that some of the most rewarding projects I take on are often the smallest...and also fill some need in day-to-day life. Have a problem? Craft something to solve it. It makes me feel very accomplished when I can fill a need with my ability to craft. This week as provided several such occasions.

First, a "half belt". I like to dress my daughter in jeans. They look good on her, them fit the glimmer of personality I am starting to see, and the have the added benefit of knee-protection. For Bear's recent birthday she was gifted some great jeans from her grandmother, however, one of the pairs was rather big. I try to purchase things big because I want her clothes to last. It's easy enough to roll up the cuffs on a pair of pants, but sagging in the back remains a problem. This particular pair kept falling down to the point of coming complete off the child! So, enter the crafty-mama-mentality.


I had 3/4 inch elastic, poly resin snaps, and plenty of fabric so I decided to make a short elasticized "belt" to attach to the rear belt loops on her pants. Instant elastic waste without defacing the jeans! Plus, I can use it for other pairs if need be. If I did it again I think it would benefit from wider elastic, but it still does the job.


Next came the need for some leggings. The weather here in Virginia is starting to cool off a bit, though it's definitely not cold by any means. It's nice fall weather, the sort that makes you throw on a hoodie and wear socks. I, like a lot of mamas out there, love Babylegs. Not only are the absolutely adorable, but they extend the life of Bear's dresses beyond the summer. The downside being that name brand Babylegs are $12 a pair! Target has their own version of baby leg warmers for a much more reasonable $3...but the color and pattern choices are limited. Plus, from what I've seen, they only carry them in "girl colors". Not really my cup o' tea. So, I made my own.


These have to be one of the simplist DIY projects a thrifty mama can take on. Check out the tutorial here. I looked through my sock drawer and found a black and white striped pair I rarely wear and also purchased 3 other pair at Target for $2 a pair. A great deal! Plus the added bonus of having way more color choices! They sewed up in a flash, so now Bear has plenty of warm legs to wear throughout the fall.



I also finished some diapers. Finally. Seriously, I started them while my mother-in-law of visiting and I'm just now getting them serged and snapped! Ugh, terrible! They do make a pretty picture though.

Birthday Sewing - Over And Done

My little girl's 1st birthday was on Saturday! Yay! I'm very happy and proud of my sweetie, and also happy and proud of myself that I accomplished everything I set out to in preparation for her party. It's very rare for me to get that much done at one time, so I feel really good about it. The biggest accomplishment by far being the baby quilt I started for Bear when I was around 5 months pregnant. I intended for it to be finished in time for her birth, but as usual, things didn't work out quite as I planned. Better late than never, I suppose. My hope is that she'll get attached to it despite the delay. I've been putting her down for naps/for bed with it everyday since her birthday. It's a bit different than the previous baby quilts I've done in the past. This is the first time I've used Minky in the solid blocks (for those who aren't up on fabric types: Minky is a super soft, furry-feeling polyester fabric with a good amount of stretch) as well as the first quilt I've tied instead of quilting since the dread polyester-double-knit quilt I tied for my grandma about 10 years ago (Which was a nightmareish quilt, by the way. There is a reason we left polyester-double-knit in the 70's!). All in all, I'm pleased with the results. My mother did contribute one block to this quilt.
After completely the quilt I set my mind towards creating the decorations for Bear's cake as well as a fabric party hat. The design for both came from an adorable flower invitation I purchased at Target for the party. I loved that they were feminine without being all fairy-princess-diva which is ridiculously prevolent when shopping for anything for a female child. The hat turned out great, I think. And the cake also looked really nice when it was all put together. I purchased a completely plain cake from my favorite bakery and then added sugar cookies that I had frosted and iced to match the invitations. I also had plain red, turquiouse, green, and yellow party assecories to do with it.


At the last minute I decided to make a small stuffed toy also. Obviously very Yo Gabba inspired! I filled the little fella with dried split-peas so it's got that nice beanbag feel. I would have liked to make something bigger (my goal is to make at least one handmade gift for her birthday each year...and by the way I'm not completely counting her quilt because it wasn't intended to be a birthday gift, I was just really really slow), but all-in-all I'm happy with what I came up with. We also gifted her a nice set of wooden ABC blocks and a ride-on-toy that we purchased.


After the birthday was over, I turned my attention back to diaper making. I'm currently making a medium-long for Bear with the Daribum's pattern. So far I'm liking it. Lots of butt-coverage and the snaps are more towards the back of the diaper which makes changing a run-away baby much easier. As soon as I order some FOE I need to make some covers...I'll most likely also need to order some poly-resin snaps in the near future.

A current snap shot of my works in progress:

A Busy Week of Crafting

My creative juices have been flowing a bit better since I moved my sewing cabinets and set up my Sewing Area. It has been very helpful to have everything together in mostly one place (with a few exceptions). I still have yet to purchase a cork board to put over my desk (and paint for it as well) and I also have to move some pictures/posters and put up a flannel board over my cutting/ironing area (which are used to lay out quilt blocks - the pieces stick to the flannel)

As mentioned in the last post: I put together a quick Babywearing Bag. My slings/wraps don't have pockets (although they can be added) so this little bag can be attached around the knots/rings so I have a place to keep my debit card, keys, phone, etc. There are poly resin snaps on the strap so I can loop it through whatever I need to. It's a very handy little thing...I got the idea after making a bag to keep clothes-pins it. Same construction for the most part. Because of the snaps you can hook it onto the line and pull it along with you as you hang stuff. Very handy for either jobs. This one was pieced together from six 5inch squares from a batik charm-pack I've had for ages.




Next, my attempt at baby shoes...sorta success. Sorta failure. I'm having a difficult time getting the right fit on my child...so while these shoes came out well, the puzzle shoes are too easy for her to get off and the striped ones are a little too tight around the ankles. Argh! I got tired of wasting fabric under pressure so I purchased her a pair of leather ones over the weekend. I will attempt shoes again...but in the mean time at least my little walker will have something to put on her feet.

My most pressing project at the moment is my daughter's baby quilt. I started it while I was pregnant...but lost momentum at the last minute...so here comes her 1st birthday in under 2 weeks. Ugh. Thankfully I'm doing this one a bit different from the other baby quilts I've done in the past. I'm not going to back it in flannel or use batting between the layers becuase Bear is hot-natured and I don't want her to boil using it. I'm also going to tie it instead of my usual hand quilting. It shouldn't take that long as a result, but it will still require opportunity as well as a run to the fabric store. Sadly my fabric stash is not so impressive that I have everything I need on hand for any project. To purchase this week: soft cotton woven for backing, flannel to act as the batting, silky blanket binding, curved needles, and thread. The photo is 2 of the 5 pieced blocks in the quilt.

Then I have a few random projects floating around. I have a lion washrag almost finished and a stack of 5inch batiks in rainbow colors that are just itching to be turned into a bag like the one I recently made for my aunt.
And then one for the road: Bear seems to dig the Sewing Area too...though I imagine the location of her toys in that corner helps.