A Little Bit of Wishing
My birthday is coming up in a few weeks, which means that My Love and my Dad are both asking me for ideas. I love making lists, but I hate making that kind of list. It just always seems like there is so much more pressure involved. But, my last wishlist post proved to have just enough helpful hints. Christmas morning I found some of these and some of this fabric to put in my closet for a rainy day. Actually, I’ll wait for a good snowy day, they are much prettier days than the rainy ones, and they always make me want to make stuff. So, here is a little bit of wishing…
The pattern for these beautifully simple dolls from hop.skip.jump.
These great boots. I know “they” say you should buy boots in September. Whatever.
I have always loved this apron, it is just so feminine and girly.
I saw a few projects before Christmas that used scissors like these. So pretty.
This journal from RedVelvetArt. It’s not pink, I know. Orange is OK. For some things.
And finally these measuring cups. I die of cuteness every time I look at them. I lived in Russia for a year, and I think I really might shrivel up if I don’t get these one day. Of course, the whole internet is sold out of them until wh0 knows when. Of course. But aren’t they just the cutest things ever! Yes, yes they are. I saw these ones from Anthropologie first, but they sold out a while ago. If these don’t come back into stock soon, I might have to take some VERY serious action against… I don’t know, the internet-bots who are in charge. Or something. Have a happy Thursday!
Creamie’s Birthday Apron
For Creamie’s birthday I made her this apron. She loves to wear one of mine when I am cooking, but they are so long that she will trip over the strings, or the hem, even if I tie them up. I had thought about making it for a few weeks, and then just kept putting it off. But when some little farm animals I bought on Ebay hadn’t arrived by Saturday afternoon I looked at her much smaller than anticipated stack of little presents and decided that I had better get going on this apron. Only, I didn’t actually get going until 10:30 Saturday night. And her birthday was Sunday. And I made up my own pattern as I went along. And it was super fun! I finished just after two in the morning. I still have some topstitching to do in a few places to finish it up, but Creamie loves it. She will wear it all day, including during her nap. She loves the little ribbon trimmed pockets and is always trying to stash cheerios in them.
Creampuff loves to “help” me cook. If I give her a bowl and a spoon she will stir her bouncy balls or her cheerios around for a good 30 minutes. She also loves to sweep the floor, I got her a little broom a few weeks ago, and when I pull out the big broom (getting to be 3 times a day these days) she will run and get her little one and push it around the floor. She also loves the vacuum. She calls it the baboom. She is constantly asking me where it is, and she’ll go knock on the closet door until I open it. Then she’ll say Hi. My mom has a small toy vacuum that she let us borrow, and Creamie will push it around for hours. Literally. She can’t go to sleep unless she has “vacuumed” her room for a while. And some mornings the first thing out of her mouth is “baboom?”
Stopping for a little snack is a big part of stirring. Obviously.
(Polkadot is Mary Engelbright, large floral is Moda, small floral is a scrap from who knows when.)
The best part about this little apron (besides seeing her wear it) is that it is reversible. I don’t like seeing an unfinished edge, so I always line everything I make, even dresses for babies. I just can’t help it. So this apron is reversible and all those pesky edges are sewn up tight inside. When I make this again (not really a question of “if” anymore) I’ll probably make a few changes, like a button closure around the neck strap, and pockets just a little bit bigger, and probably rounded corners on the apron bib. But, for a last minute midnight project that I made up as I went along, I am pretty happy with it!
*This is an early posting for Sew&Tell. But I just couldn’t keep it to myself anymore!
Let it Snow!
I love the way a snowstorm covers up all the ugly dirty muck and leaves a fresh white landscape, beautiful and pristine. I love the sticky snow that coats every tiny twig and branch. I love the powdery snow that is as light as air. There is not a single thing about winter that I don’t like. Winter is a new white canvas, ready to be filled up with new ideas. I love the days I wake up to new snow. And I love it even more when it is still falling. I hope it snows all day.
Oh, and Scott wants to know how early is too early to start taking babies skiing? She’s ready.
Happy Birthday Creamie
Our little Creampuff, born January 24, 2009.
Happy 1st Birthday Creamie. I love you more than words can say.
She blew her own candle out all by herself. (Look close, you can see the smoke.)
Strawberry cake, with Strawberry Cream Cheese frosting. Thanks Grandma!
Of course she likes pink cake. Who doesn’t like pink cake?
The rest of us had banana splits, with ALL the toppings. And ice cream cones. And brownies. And cupcakes. And chocolate eclairs. And it was wonderful. We should have birthday’s more often around here. I kind of like them.
Giveaway Winner
Email me your address and I’ll get your book in the mail! And everyone else, seriously, beg, borrow or steal, but you HAVE to read it. (The offer still stands that if you go to prison for stealing this book, I will send you one… and some cookies.)*
*But don’t steal it,mmkay, because I’ve heard prison totally sucks.
Paper Heart Garland
Last week I saw this felt heart garland over on Made By Rae. I don’t have much felt in my stash, and it’s on the do not buy list for my craft supply resolution. But I do have a very large paper scrap box, and out it came! Some of the paper in this garland is from projects that I finished more than 15 years ago, in my first junior high days of scrapbooking. I kind of like having it in here!
Out came the scraps, and the scissors, and I cut and cut and cut. And cut. And I have the scrap pile to prove it. And the sore scissor hand.
I sorted them into smallish, mediumish and largeish and started sewing them together, not really sure how it was going to turn out.
So, now my biggest question is, where do you put 76 feet of paper heart garland?
I am adding this to the Sew&Tell over at Amy’s. I figure anything that requires 4 hours of cutting, and a whole spool of bobbin thread counts. Go look at the other projects, they are amazing. As always.
Monogrammed Baby Blanket with Mitered Corners
Last week I posted some pictures of a flannel baby blanket I made for my cousin and her new baby. I’ve made a few of these now, and decided to write my first tutorial on the subject. They are a great gift and go together pretty quickly. Happy Sewing!
Materials List-
- 1 1/4 yards (45 inches) backing fabric (the polka dot)
- 1 yard (36 inches) front fabric (argyle)
- optional 6″ square scrap for monogram
- thread
- monogram template (mine is just a plain piece of paper)
Tools Needed
- rotary cutter, ruler and self healing mat or scissors
- scissors
- pinking shears (optional)
- pins
- marking pencil
- iron and ironing board
To get started cut your fabric into two squares. Make sure to trim off any printing on the selvedge edge that would peek through your seam allowances. The backing and binding is a 45″ square and the front panel is a 35″ square. (You can make it a little smaller with 40″ and 30″ square panels.) Measure carefully and cut straight on the grain. After you have cut your pieces, fold them in half diagonally to make sure you are all square at the corners. This will help insure your blanket doesn’t get any weird puckers at the end. Being square and straight is more important than the size. Just try to keep a 10 inch difference between the two panels. A rotary cutter and ruler make this really easy, but you could also use scissors.
Adding the Monogram: On the wrong side of a scrap of fabric trace the outline of a monogram. (If your monogram has a specific direction it needs to go, like say an E, trace the mirror image, so when you flip it over to the right side it is going the right direction.) You could freehand your letter (or flower, or turtle, or whatever. There is a lot of options here) or you can use a die cut as a pattern, or print a letter in your favorite font from your computer. I just drew mine with a ruler and a pen.
Using pinking shears, cut your letter out. If you don’t have pinking shears, you could just cut it out with regular scissors. After you sew it to your fabric, you could clip the edges so it would fray like a rag quilt when it is washed.
Pin the monogram to the bottom right corner of your front panel. Mine is 3.5 inches from each side. Use lots of pins. You don’t want it to end up all wonky as you are sewing.
Starting in one corner, sew on your monogram without breaking your line of stitches. I used the inside of my presser foot as a guide from the edge. You could use matching or contrasting thread, depending on the look you are going for.
When you get to the corner and need to make a turn, stop and then manually move your needle to the down position before lifting the presser foot. Then you can make a clean pivot and keep things tidy on top.
If you have a corner like this one at the top of the M, you’ll need to mark the spot to turn, because you are going to sew past where your presser foot can guide you. I marked my sewing line in little black dots here.
Ta-da! Finished monogram. Be sure you back stitch at the beginning and end. Now it’s time to sew your two panels together. Mark the center of each side of each panel with your fabric pencil. Starting in the center of each panel, pin right sides together, matching up center points. By starting in the middle of each panel and working your way out, you’ll reduce your risk of getting weird puckers, and of the blanket squishing up in one corner. (I am not usually a pinner, especially on long straight seams, but your miters will be neater if you do. Trust me.)
You should end up with some floppy corners like this. That’s good. That is going to be the mitered corners and the binding.
Now start sewing. Start at the center of each side and sew from the middle out to 1/4″ away from the corner on the front panel, and end with a backstitch. Repeat on 3 sides. On your last side, leave a 6 inch opening in the center to turn your blanket through.
Lay the blanket out flat. The back panel is going to fold over the front piece, which is the self binding. Now, it’s time to make those mitered corner’s.
Here are where your stop points should be, 1/4 inch away from the edge. Lay your first corner so that it looks kind of like this, and then fold your side seams together, making everything as smooth as possible and matching the stop points.
Once you fold the seams together, it should like kind of like this. The smoother you make everything now, the less bunchy things will be at the end. Which means less unpicking.
Now on to those corners.
Mark a line from your stop points to the folded right edge, making a 90 degree angle. This is where we are going to stitch. After you mark your line, pin the stopping point side to keep everything together while you stitch.
Start at the stop point and sew to the folded edge of the binding. That is the miter, so sew carefully. If you want to check it, sew with a long basting stitch first (I totally did this the first few times I made this blanket), then turn it inside out and look at your handiwork. It’s much easier to do any unpicking now. Finish all four corners in this same way.
Trim off those floppy corners to make nice tidy miters. Trim all of your threads. Then lay your blanket out flat again.
Press the corner seams open, and press the front panel seams to the center. You are going to topstitch over these in a minute so they don’t get bunchy and wonky in the wash.
Turn your blanket right sides out through your 6 inch opening, and admire your pretty corners. Then press the edge of the binding to make it nice and neat.
Check your bobbin thread. Top stitch all the way around the front panel. (I set my machine to a longer stitch to do this.) If you have a pretty decorative stitch you could also use that. Use the inside of your presser foot as a guide to make sure you catch the seam allowances on the inside.
Pivot with your needle in the down position on all four corners.
When you get to your 6 inch opening, fold under the seam allowance and pin it closed. Then topstitch over it to close it up, backstitch at the beginning and the end.
You are done! Now just look at those pretty mitered corners, all square and straight!
And now you have a beautiful blanket to keep or to give away. Mine ended up being 38 inches square (starting with 43 inch and 33 inch panels.
*** You are welcome to use this tutorial to make blankets for yourself or to give as gifts, but please do not sell blankets made from this tutorial. If you post pictures of a blanket you made using this tutorial, please link back to this site. I’d love to see your pictures. But please don’t post any part of this tutorial on your blog. Thank you. ***
Tuesday’s With Morrie + a giveaway
GIVEAWAY CLOSED
Tuesday’s with Morrie by Mitch Albom is one of my very favorite books. I read it every January to help me put my life back in perspective. My mom gave it to me several years ago and inside she wrote “This book is a treasure. Read it, underline it, study it, memorize it, live it.” Every year as I reread my getting tattered copy I keep a running list of my new favorite quotes. This year there are 18. But these few are my favorites.
[click here for more info and image source]
- Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do. -pg 18
- You have to find what is good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. -pg 120
- In business, people negotiate to win. They negotiate to get what they want. … Love is different. Love is when you are as concerned about someone else’s situation as you are about your own. pg-178
This last one stuck out more than any of the others this year. I think is going to be my motto for this year… and the rest of my life.
- So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. -pg 43
I wish I had kept my lists from the last 10 times I have read this book. I know my mom said to underline it, but I really like looking at each year with fresh new eyes. I want to really see everything that is there, not look at what I thought was important last year, and the year before that. So, here is to a new year (again).
If you have never read this book, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. I was wasting time at an antiques store today and I found a nearly new hardback copy and an idea hatched. I am going to send it to you (unfortunately not all of you). Leave me a comment before Saturday (Jan 23rd) at midnight and you will be entered in my first giveaway. I will draw a winner on Sunday morning. And if you don’t win, get yourself to the nearest friend’s house/library/used book store/Barnes&Noble/Amazon and pick one up. Beg borrow or steal*. But get one. It’s that important.
*I can not be held responsible for irresponsible, irrational or illegal behavior. But if you go to jail stealing this book, I promise to send you one in prison. Promise.
First Project of the New Year
Last night I finished this cute quilt for my cousin and her sweet new baby girl, AC. She was born on Monday, and this has been a work in progress since before Thanksgiving. But, you all know how Christmas gets in the way of all of your best intentions. (In a good way of course) Anyway, here it is, it’s going in the mail today!
This flannel quilt/blanket is about 32″ square. I ended up being just a little smaller than I hoped, because this fabric (which I have had for probably 4 years) wasn’t cut on the grain. I cut the “A” out of a scrap of pink flannel and pinked the edges with my new Gingher pinking shears, a wonderful Christmas gift from my MIL.
The back of the blanket is the polka dot, and it just folds over for the binding. Easy Peasy! The mitered corners were just a teensy bit tricky (had to do some unpicking) but I think they look adorable!
Creamie loves it. As soon as I spread it out to take some pictures, she plopped right down. I think that’s a good sign! Go check out all the other Sew&Tell projects. They are amazing. I hope this group helps me stay motivated to finish some of those work in progress projects. So I can make some space in The Closet. You know, so I can buy more stuff… or something. Happy Friday!
UPDATE: Tutorial posted here
The Crafty Closet Resolution
Resolution #2.. Ahem, more than a few days late. ….
Resolution #3 Stop doing that. But back to #2.
I am a Black Friday shopper. The few years I spent working in retail in college taught me that early in the morning on Black Friday is when the crazies come out. And if you are going to be one of them, you should scope out the stores the night before and figure out their plans. Stores with any consideration to their employees have things mosty figured out and set up by Tuesday night before Thanksgiving, Wednesday afternoon at the latest. No signs are up, but you can pretty much tell what is going to happen if you have the eye for it. (And working in retail for a few years, I have that eye.) Otherwise you end up as the guy who is leapfrogging over the old lady in front of him (not kidding… saw it happen) to get to the leather office chair for $19.99. And then when you get there you realize that there are more than 100 of them, more than enough for everyone. And they are really uncomfortable. And this is why you should do some scoping. So you aren’t that idiot. But I digress.
On Black Friday morning I went shopping. To one store. I went to my local RobertsCrafts. Oh how I wish Hobby Lobby wasn’t 45 minutes away. Moving On. They had some crazy good deals, and some all day sales, and some this-sale-lasts-for-two-hours deals. I ended up spending way too much money on craft supplies. And then the next day I went back (twice) to take advantage of more awesomeness. I bought Cricut cartridges (but I only buy them on this sale, so I totally justified it) and I bought paints in 30 colors, and felt in 13 colors and a lot of scrapbook paper, and a ribbon organizer, and sheet protectors and the list goes on. But, Saturday evening as I looked over my loot, and tried to figure out how it was going to fit into my craft closet, I came to this resolution. And now that I have lived with it for almost two months already… I figure it is safe to declare in blogland.
Now, doesn't that just make your heart go pitty pat? Mine is pitty-patting!
Resolution #2: I am not buying craft supplies. I’m going to use what I have. (Take deep breath. And then another one. I can do it… Deep breath.) Alice over at Futuregirl.com did this in 2009. She had a smashing success. I am doing this from last Black Friday to the next. I am not going to buy any paint, or paper, or stickers, or felt, or new little notebooks or ribbons or stamps or scissors or beads or embroidery floss or hoops or yarn or little flowery things or anything. (Take another deep breath.) So, now the out. (Futuregirl gave herself an out, $2 a month to restock needed supplies, but only spent $5.66 for the whole year. Amazing.) I am taking my out a slightly different way. My out is that if the box is empty, I may purchase said supply as needed…. and is has to be on sale. For example, glue. I am REALLY low on glue… but I am not going to buy any adhesive of any kind until my adhesive box is empty. Totally empty. ( I have a secret project in the works that I have one supply to buy for, and I am getting it. It is due in a few weeks, and I thought of it WAY before I decided to do this. So I am not as cool as Futuregirl….. I know. But, this project is going to be so AWESOME. Ahem.)
Might I also specify that my self imposed craft supply boycott also does not include sewing supplies. In my world crafting and sewing are different. Fabric, thread and patterns are not included…. this year. But, to appease the closet gods, I can’t buy something unless it fits in this already full closet, in it’s correct spot. That means I need to start working on all those sewing projects that are flitting about my head. (And in my mind I am thinking, yeah, so I can fill up those little empty spaces with more fabric…. that is exactly the mindset that got me here in the first place. Sigh.) So to help with that, I am going to try and join in the Sew&Tell group every week that Amy is hosting. My first project of 2010 is due Friday, which is practically tomorrow…. so I better get cracking.
I realize, not exactly a clear cut one line resolution. And for me they never are. I always have to talk my way through them and hash them out. Still, it is one.
pinksuedeshoe 