This Busy Mommy

My Boy - the Artist

2012-01-04T23:14:00.004-05:00

Last month Ran's class studied Mexico. He had to choose a project to turn in at the end of their studies. They were given a bunch of different suggestions of what to make. Ran chose to make a sculpture of a lizard.

The lizard he chose to model is a Short Horned Lizard. These little guys have a defense mechanism to please any young boy - they can squirt blood from their eyes when threatened!

I think he did a fabulous job! We made if using air dry clay. Ran painted all on his own once it was all dry.

We glued Lizzie onto a piece of plywood covered with sand. Ran also made some pipe cleaner cactus and a snake to further decorate his model.

Flowers for Mom - A Tutorial

2012-01-04T23:00:00.000-05:00

This is LONG overdue! I'm home sick today, so I decided to spend a little time doing some blogging.

Recycled Sweater Flowers

Supplies

Wool sweaters - felted

Various buttons

Wire

Scissors

At some point I ended up with a very large box of medium floral wire. It was perfect for this project! You need on piece of wire for each flower.

You will need to start by felting your sweaters. I am not going to go into that process becuase there are a ton of tutorials out there on the net already to felt. Just do a google search and you will find what you need.

I had recently bought an Olfa Circle Rotary Cutter. I decided to give it a try, but it didn't work very well. The sweaters were just to thick to cut easily or evenly. In the end I just used scissors to cut the circles.

You will want to cut various sized circles and flower shapes using different colored sweaters.

Take a piece of wire (approximately 18-20 inches) an fold it in half.

Feed a button onto the wire and bring it all the way to the end.

Pick out 2 or 3 different flower pieces.

Carefully slide the flower pieces onto the wire one at a time, bringing them all the way up to the button. Be carefull that you don't poke your finger with the wire.

Once your are satisfied with your layers twist the wires to prevent the pieces from sliding off.

There you have it - a perfect gift for mom.

An Elvis Quilt for Roger

2012-01-04T17:57:00.000-05:00

My father-in-law, Roger, is a huge Elvis fan. When I found this quilt panel a few years ago I knew that I would have to make a quilt for Roger!

Roger loves taking afternoon naps on the couch, so a lap blanket would be perfect for him.

I added a thin white and a thick grey border around the main panel to make the quilt into a lap blanket size.

For the quilting I did some stippling around the edge. I added some free motion musical notes at each corner.

(sorry the pictures are so terrible)

In each of the Elvis blocks I free motioned around Elvis (not easy!) and then I did stitched each set of jail bars.

I was a hit!

A Dolly for Helena

2011-11-26T13:09:00.000-05:00

Like usual when Sarah over at Dolls and Daydreams announced the release of her new Little Sister Mimi doll earlier this month I immediately hit etsy to buy the pattern!

She is just so cute I couldn't resist the chance to make her! It didn't take long for me to find a reason. Good friends of ours are in town this weekend from Pennsylvania visiting with their family, which includes 2 1/2 year old Helena. I decided that I needed to make her one for an early Christmas present.

I LOVE THIS DOLL! I must admit that she turned out so cute it was a little hard to give her away.

This time I decided to paint her facial features instead of embroider them. I love how it turned out.

It was really nice to be there when the present was opened. So often the toys that I make are mailed to their recipient. She immediately named her Cookie.

I also made a her older sister Caitlin a soft basketball.

A Mermaid for the Birthday Girl

2011-10-25T12:35:00.002-04:00

As mentioned in my last post - I LOVE THESE PATTERNS!!!

So far I think I have bought 16 of Sarah's patterns.

My most recent purchase was this beauty

So, when our dear friends daughter turned 6 this summer I just knew that I needed to make one of Sarah's cute softies for Madeline.

I decided to make Maddie a Mermaid Doll.

If you haven't already done so, please head over and check out Sarah's blog or Etsy store.

Halloween Cuties

2011-10-25T12:17:00.000-04:00

I think I have said this before, but I love Dolls & Daydreams softie patterns!

When Sarah released her new Skeleton Softie

And her new Witch Softie

(Complete with broom directions!)

I just knew I had to make them! I showed them to my mom who immediately asked if I could make the pair to decorate her door this Halloween season.

Off to work I went creating some cuties for her.

Here is what I cam up with.

The only real changes I had to make was not stuffing them very firmly so they would fit between the doors.

I also had to add a strap the the witches broom so she could sling it over her shoulder.

By the time I finished up the pair my mom was in the hospital recovering from a double knee replacement. Before hanging them on the door, I decided to take them to visit her. She loved them (as did the nurses)!

Here they are taking a break in her bed while we headed off to physical therapy with my mom.

Now, as soon as Ran laid eyes on the skeleton he just insisted that I make one for him.

For his, I made the bones using an ivory wool blend felt. I let him draw the mouth he wanted and then I embroidered it on. He was so excited to see what he had envisioned and drawn made into reality.

CD Spinners with Ran

2011-10-24T20:08:00.000-04:00

This afternoon Ran and I sat down for a little mother and son crafty time. We decided to make some cd-spinners that we found in Family Fun.

It was a super fun and easy craft to make together.

We have a stockpile of old cds just waiting for some fun craft. We also scrounged up some spare marbles and bottle caps.

I glued the marbles to the bottom of the cd and the bottle cap to the top, with hot glue. Ran decorated the discs. There are templates on the web page that Ran colored in and we glued onto the discs with a glue stick. On two of the we simply colored the discs with sharpie.

The bottle cap makes it super easy to hold and spin the top. Ran has already told me he wants to make more tomorow!

First Halloween Party of the Season

2011-10-24T19:50:00.001-04:00

On the 8th we went with our Camp Fire group out to Camp Wathana to enjoy a wonderful Halloween party.

It was a beautiful day and the changing colors on the trees were beautiful.

They had tons of fun activities for the kids.

Roasting S'mores in the 80 degree weather!

A hayride through the woods

apples

Crafts

And a dance for the kids.

To finish of the night they had a costume contest.

AND the winner is....

Ran the Dragon!

Heat Miser and Snow Miser

2011-10-18T12:42:00.000-04:00

Last month I had a friend ask if I could make her a Heat Miser and a Snow Miser shirt, from The Year Without a Santa Claus, for her son's Halloween costumes. They were a ton of fun to make.

Here is what I came up with.

Heat Miser

Snow Miser

I can't wait to see Nick and Nate in their full costumes!

My Halloween Dragon Boy

2011-10-03T13:58:00.002-04:00

This year Ran decided that he wants to be a dragon for Halloween, again. He was a dragon last year, when I managed to make the legs a tad short on him. Well, when you factor in his growth over the last year it made it impossible for him to wear the same costume again, those pant legs are now about 6 inches short!

Because his first Halloween party is on the 8th, I really had to get moving with this costume!

Halloween 2010

Last year I used Butterick 6695 for his costume.

This year I decided I decided I didn't want to buy a new pattern, but last years just wouldn't work since it was to small. I went through my patterns to see what I could find. I decided on the hoodie and pants from McCalls 5508, with a few modifications.

I started out sketching out what I envisioned for the costume. I added spikes to the arms, the back and the hood. Ran also really really wanted wings. I designed the tail as a separate belt.

I picked up some shiny purple at the Fabric Warehouse in Warren. I found some iridescent green and blue fleece at Joanne Fabrics and set to work.

All I had to draft were the spike and wing pieces, but it me a lot longer then I expected. I had to measure Ran, measure the pattern pieces and the go back and measure Ran again to make sure that it would be the right size. I made the wings the same way I made the wings in his 2008 Batman costume except shorter.

It took me hours of sketching and drafting. It took me hours of sewing. The purple I chose for the wings was a NIGHTMARE. It is the hardest thing I have ever sewed on!
But the end result was worth it.

I am really happy with his costume. It is nice and snuggly warm fleece, so he shouldn't get to cold on Halloween night. The tail is on a separate belt so that he can take is off for car rides. Having it a two piece means it will be easier to make those bathroom breaks then in a jumpsuit.

Ran had a blast last night hamming it up for mom during out mini-photo shoot! Now I just have to keep him out of the costume until Halloween.

The only bummer is the purple and green fabrics are dry clean only!

I have a confession

2011-09-19T13:13:00.000-04:00

I realized this weekend that is had been over 7 weeks since my last post. Yikes....

It is not that I haven't been doing any sewing or crafting. There has been plenty of that going on, just not on a weekly basis. I think one of the things that has kept me from posting is how far behind I got on my weekly posts. I just knew there was no way I would ever get caught up. So it is with great sorrow that I must admit my defeat. Life has just gotten in the way of my ability to do something every single week AND have the time to post about it.

Checking in from Big Wabasis Lake

2011-07-29T10:31:00.002-04:00

This week we took a much needed vacation to my aunt and uncle's cabin on Big Wabasis Lake in western Michigan.

It has been an amazing week. My in-laws came out for a night.

Ran got to do lots and lots of frog and toad catching.

Ran figured out an easy way to fish. He stuck a worm in his bug net, swished it around in the water and just scooped out the fish. He caught about 6 fish that way.

I spent my free time reading the new Dexter novel and doing lots of English Paper piecing.

Week 29 - Tiny Monkeys

2011-07-21T10:01:00.000-04:00

Challenge - Shrinking a pattern

Project - Tiny Monkeys

Ever since I made the Dolly & Daydreams monkeys for Ran in Week 20 he has been asking for me to make baby monkeys for him.

I decided to finally humor him and set out this week to make him some baby monkeys.

It was a bit of a challenge, but I am happy with the results.

Meet baby Hunk-a-monk and Chunk-a-monk

Instead of trying to scale down the pattern I decided to print the pattern out two pages per sheet.

Once I started sewing I discovered a mistake I had made. When cutting out the pieces I forgot to add an extra seam allowance, which meant I had to sew with a very small seam .

The small arms and legs were a little harder to turn and stuff, but I used forceps with made it a bit easier.

I also used very light stuffing in the arms.

Here is Ran's new monkey family.

Now he is asking me to make him a grandma and grandma monkey...

Week 28 - Monkeys for the Birthday Monkey

2011-07-16T19:38:00.001-04:00

Last week's project has actually been done for over a week, but I had to wait to post till the package arrived in Colorado for the birthday girl.

July 15th was dear little Lily's 1st birthday!

In honor of her birthday I made her some monkey things.

Using McCall's pattern 6058 I made her a reversible dress and panties. The monkeys with cupcakes fabric from Debbie Mumm was perfect!

Side A

Side B

Using the Scrappy Sun Hat pattern from Jessica at Running With Scissors I made a matching sun hat.

With removable flower

complete with covered elastic

A last, but not least, I made her a first birthday bib. I used a pattern I bought from Gergeex on Etsy.

I found the perfect ribbon at Michael's!

Happy First Birthday Lily!

My Mom ROCKS!

2011-07-06T15:58:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell you (and show you) some of the wonderful things that my wonderful mother has made.

My and my awesome mom, Louisa

She is making all three of us matching hats for the traditional arts music festival that we attend every fall, the Wheatland Music Festival. It is a awesome festival that is full of lots of rainbows and tie-dye.

Ran's hat is the first one to be finished.

The boy is loving his hat soooo that he has worn it every day since Grandma Gigi gave it to him - even though it has been over 90 degrees every day.

Here are a few of the other fabulous she has made for Ran over the years. One of the things I think she particularly excels at is making fun and funky hats.

Ran is his first hat from Gigi - only a few days old

A few months old in a fabulously funky hat

My favorite sweater set from mom!

Ran's favorite sweater - his dragon sweater

Last year my brother and my cousin both had little girls for my mom to knit for. And WOW has she made some beautiful sweater sets.

Gigi and baby Zella

Baby Lily in the ~~watermelon~~ strawberry set from Auntie

And I almost forgot to mention that mom is a wonderful seamstress. She taught me to sew as a child and made most of my clothes as a child. She has made Ran some wonderful clothes, like the great jacket she made for Ran a few years ago.

Mom, thanks for all your wonderful talents!

But I did find time to shop for fabric...

2011-07-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

Last month Ran picked out a quilt pattern that he wants me to make for him.

It is called My Favorite Martians by Oceanlake Designs

This weekend we had a wonderful time together at Joann's picking out fabrics. Best part was the fat quarters were 50% off and yardage was 30% off.

Here are the great fat quarters he chose for the martian appliques.

I did take some the lead when it came to picking out the sashing and border fabrics.

My favorite find was the fabric Ran found for the backing. I couldn't think of a more perfect fabric for the back of a martian quilt!

The fabric is all washed and waiting to be ironed and cut.

Just a bit of a crafty block

2011-07-05T13:55:00.000-04:00

I must admit that I have been in a total crafty block for the past 2 weeks.

I returned from beautiful sunny Santa Fe, NM back on June 19th.

Since then, the only time I have sat at my machine was to do a super quick mend job on a single item of hubby's clothing - I still have a nice pile left to fix.

I do have a few finished projects to post about.

The first was my new bag that I finished before my trip - My new favorite bag!

Second, while in Santa Fe I took along a new hand sewing project to work on in the evenings. I decided to give English paper piecing a try. I am working on the very beginning of a hexagon quilt using a tutorial I found on The Sometimes Crafter.

Tutorial :: Hexagons

More details on these projects, along with other things to follow in future postings.

Week 21 - A New Purse

2011-06-04T12:03:00.000-04:00

I am always on the look out for the perfect purse. I have yet to find it. They are either to big, to small, not enough pockets, the wrong fabric or just plain UGLY.

This week I decided to try to make myself a new purse. I had picked up the Fiona Handbag pattern from Jenna Lou sewing patterns a while back and decided to give it a try

One of my purse requirements is that it zip closed at the top. I am always trowing my purses down in the car or at home and I don't need all my stuff falling out all over the place. This bag looked like it could be the answer.

The pattern was simple - only 3 pieces - and the directions pretty easy to follow.

It went together pretty easily, though I will admit I had a some trouble getting the point in the front to meet correctly. In the end I was able to make it work. Bag is lined and the zipper was easy to install with the directions provided.

I added two pockets to the inside. One side has a single pocket and on the other I sewed smaller slots so my pens don't get lost in the bottom of my bag.

I am happy with how the bag turned out. However this isn't my perfect bag

I didn't use a heavy enough interfacing on the top part of the bag, so when I carry it the whole things slouches funny.

It doesn't have a flat bottom, so when I set it down it falls over. It also isn't big enough to hold all the junk that I carry with me.

I am also working on making myself a new backpack using the Cruzer & Little Cru pattern by Mackerilla Design.

I am using some fun printed canvas that my mom had in her stash from the 70's. I hope to have it done by next weekend so I can take it with me on my trip to Santa Fe.

I Want My Washing Machine Back!!!!!

2011-06-04T11:41:00.000-04:00

Three weeks ago I made the mistake of trying to wash a rug in my washer.

At first they thought it was a simple fix of cleaning out the drain line.

I guess it was like the straw that broke the camels back, because it turns out I killed the drain motor on the poor thing. I am sure that it was already pretty gunked up from all the fabric I have washed, all the sweaters I have felted and 7 years of family laundry.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this washer. My mom bought it for me when back when we found out I was pregnant with Ran (almost 7 years ago) and it has served us well since then.

Unfortunately, after three weeks with no washer the dirty laundry is REALLY starting to pile up. I have made a few trips to my parents house to use there washer, but that hasn't helped much with the build up. Once we get the thing fixed, I will probably have to spend a week solid doing laundry to get caught up.

Week 20 - Monkeys for my Monkey

2011-06-04T11:24:00.001-04:00

DAY 1
Ran: Mommy, can you make me a monkey?

Mom: I sure can!
DAY 2

Ran: Mommy, can you make me another monkey?

Mom: I can.
DAY 3

Ran: Mommy, can you make me clothes for my monkeys - a tutu for the girl please?

Mom: Yeah.

Once again, thanks to the fabulous patterns from Dolls and Daydreams I was able to make my sons requests come true.

I originally bought her Monkey Softie Pattern to make for my cousin Lily for her first birthday (don't worry Heather - she will still get one!). When Ran asked for a stuffed monkey I figured I would give the pattern a try. It was just as wonderful to make as the Russian Nesting Dolls. Just like with the other dolls, the face is hand sewn onto felt and then appliqued onto the head.

I made his first monkey using some cotton and felt from my stash. Once she was all done I discovered the mistake that I made. The cotton I chose for the body is not a tight enough weave, so the stuffing pokes through here and there (like when the feathers poke out of a down jacket!). Thankfully Ran either doesn't notice or doesn't mind

The second monkey I made (the boy) I used flannel. It worked perfect and is nice a cuddle to.

These guys have gotten tons and tons of loving from Ran. For the first week he didn't go anywhere without them, even took the girl to the park the first day. As you may be able to tell from the photo above the felt has gotten a bit funky. I used the cheap poly felt that I had in my collection. I think for the next round of critters I will get some better quality felt that won't get all pilly. Ran said he doesn't mind, so I will try not to fret over it. I guess it just gives them a well loved look!

Next he asked for some clothes for his monkeys (Chunk-a-monk & Hunk-a-monk). In particular he asked for a tutu for the girl monkey (Chunk). Hubby found the tutu request a little funny, but I love that he wants to dress his girl doll in girls clothes!

Thankfully there are already clothing patterns at Dolls and Daydreams that fit all her stuffed creations perfectly.

For the tutu I attached two layers of tulle to the bottom edge of the top, instead of making a separate skirt. Ran loves that the boys top has real pockets! The dress and the top both have a Velcro closure.

So, there here is the result of my monkey making week!

Ran is now asking that I make him a baby monkey for these two - I think I might try to scale down the pattern and see how it goes.

Week 19 - A Birthday Present

2011-06-04T10:50:00.001-04:00

First, I must confess that this 52 week challenge seems to have turned from me trying something new each week, so simply me making a necessary item each week. This week was no exception.

On May 24th my amazing, fabulous and beautiful niece Marczella (and my namesake) turned 1!!!

They all live down in Miami and since traveling from Detroit simply wasn't an option for us this year, I wanted to make her something wonderful.

I decided to use this adorable pattern I found by Sarah of Dolls and Daydreams

When I first saw her Babushka Matryoshka Russian Nesting Doll Pattern I knew that was the perfect gift! I remember playing with my Russian Nesting dolls when I was a child.

The pattern is in pdf form, so you can start working as soon as you buy it over her Etsy shop. The pattern was super super easy to follow, with wonderful photos and great descriptions of each step.

It is also a wonderful way to use of some of the fabric scraps you have building up.

The mama doll has two pockets for the daughter dolls to nest into. Their faces are felt with the features hand sewn and then appliqued onto the body.

The smaller dolls have little aprons and ribbon extras. There are plenty of ways to accessorize these beauties with bows, flowers or buttons. I chose not to, since they are a gift for a 1 year old (choking hazard).

So, if you get a chance you must pop over to Dolls and Daydreams and check out all her patterns and her wonderful blog!

While I was making these girls Ran asked if I could make a monkey. I also bought a adorable monkey pattern from Sarah, so I was all set to go, which leads us to the next post - A Monkey for my Monkey.

Week 18 - Sewing While Traveling

2011-05-17T19:36:00.000-04:00

Week 18 - Sewing While Traveling

Project - Inch Worms

Question - What do you do when you are out of town overnight by yourself and you completely forgot to bring any project to work on?

Answer - Find the nearest Joann's or craft store.

Last week when I hit the road for Northern Michigan I completely forgot to bring anything to work on. I was did remember reading material, but after 7 hours of driving I wanted nothing to do with reading. I also knew if I didn't get something to do with my hands I would be asleep by about 4 in the afternoon.

A few days before I left I got a new craft book in the mail.

Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Love and Sew by Hillary Lang

I am totally smitten with this book! One of the project that Ran picked out for me to make him was the Inchworm. I realized as I was sitting in my hotel room struggling to stay awake that this little guy would be perfect

As luck would have it there was a Joanne's just a few miles from my hotel! With the address plugged in my trusty GPS, off to the store I go.

The hardest part of buying supplies was remembering everything that I would need. When you craft at home all your supplies are right there. Since I didn't bring anything with me but the book I would need to buy everything. The other hard part is knowing that every single thing that you are buying, you already own.

Project Supplies:

Felt - one piece per inchworm

As if I don't have enough of this already at home!

Cotton Floss - in colors to match the fleece

Buttons for the eyes

I think I already have enough buttons to line the road to Petoskey and back!

Stuffing

I have bags & bags of this because few years ago I bought two 20 pound boxes (no lie) of the stuff for a big project that I had severely overestimated. So I bought the smallest bag I could find.

Hand Sewing Needles

Sure I have plenty of these at home, but one can never have to many needles, so I didn't feel to bad about buying these.

Scissors

This one was tough. I almost forgot to buy them. I have soooooo many different pairs of scissors at home, so I bought the least expensive pair that looked like they would still cut fabric.

Once back at the hotel I used the back of a piece of paper I had tucked in my bag to trace the pattern out of the book. No light box, so the hotel room window would have to do.

I didn't realize till I was back at my room that the one thing I did forget to buy were straight pins. Since I had bought one of those bundle packs of needles I substituted those in their place. Worked just fine!

In the end I made 3 different colored inchworms for Ran.

Ready for the final product?

I didn't make the glasses or the head scarf for them. I also gave each of them a different mouth expression. Ran loved them - so much that within just a few days of my being home the boy lost the green one! I think he may have left it at school.

Ran is also seen wearing the fabulous hat the my cousin Heather (and best friend), from over at How Do You Do This Again?, made him for his 6th Birthday. Little Lily Bear modeled it for her blog.

Week 17 - Hand Sewing

2011-05-16T20:00:00.000-04:00

Week 17 - Hand Sewing

Project - Toys for Randall

Last summer I bought a ton of super fun patterns felt toy patterns from Gulf Coast Cottage.

This was the perfect time for me to make up one of them. There are so many wonderful patterns in their Etsy shop that you really must check out. For this project I chose to make up the Felt Dinosaur Play Mat Tote.

The set includes a play mat with handles & pockets to store everything in. Volcano with lava, palm trees, a T-Rex, a Stegosaurus, a Pterodactyl, a Brontosaurus and a Triceratops (my personal favorite)

With a little help from Ran we chose some really fun felt colors for the dinos. Nothing to realistic for us!

They are pretty small, the mat measures 11" x 17", but since they are hand sewn they were still pretty easy to make.

They are sewn together using a simple whip stitch. I also added small seed beads for the eyes instead of french knots.

Because you are stuffing some really small pieces, forceps came in really handy during the stuffing process.

I also haven't finished the play mat completely yet. I need to sew on the pockets and handles. Then the whole set can be stored in the mat/bag.

I also must confess that there was a little machine sewing involved. I used my machine to sew the leaves together, the lake and mud pit to the mat and the sides of the volcano & the tree trunk. It saved a lot of time!

Ran has already asked me to make some of the other patterns that I bought from Gulf Coast Cottage like...

One heck of a week

2011-05-14T19:13:00.001-04:00

I really have been making things every week. I even have all the pictures taken for the flower tutorial. I just can't seem to find any time to post.

This week has been a doozy for us.

First, I was out of town for work for 2 days. I had a site visits on Monday in Arcadia, Michigan

And on Tuesday a visit just outside Petoskey, Michigan

Total round trip drive time - 11 hours.

Total time on the two sites - 1 hour.

Round about Thursday allergy season hit me with a vengeance and crippled me with a nightmare of a sinus headache. The kind where the entire side of you head hurts, from you hair to your teeth.

Then on Thursday my car decided to start acting funky again - she was just in the shop two weeks ago.

Found out on Friday that one of the front bearings is shot and since it is one with a sensor the part alone is $200. PLUS they still can't figure out what is causing the engine misfire.

This afternoon I apparently made the mistake of trying to wash one of our throw rugs in my Whirlpool Duet front loader. This apparently foolish action cased the death of my machine.
I think a belt is broken or something. It makes all the right noises, but the drum doesn't move. The repair man from our appliance protection plan can't get here till Tuesday to work on it. Since this is the first time in the 6 years, and tens of thousands of loads, that it has broken, I guess we are lucky.

And then, to cap off the week, my dear pooch got sick last night.

Our sweet Fly Girl (short for Butterfly Girl) is almost 9 now.

She has been suffering from Discoid Lupus Erythematosus for the past 6 years. Typically this only causes minor rashes on her nose and ears. However the spring in very hard on her. The weather is nice enough that she wants to spend lots of time outside but the leaves aren't out on the trees yet to protect her from the sun and the sun makes the lupus worse. We had to add prednisone back into her daily multi-pill regimen. This time around her system doesn't seam to be tolerating it and she can't even keep water down.

Poor baby. She may be a handful, but we still love her.

Oh, and my head still hurts like heck!

Week 16 - Something for Mom - tutorial coming soon.

2011-05-03T12:18:00.000-04:00

Challenge - Something for Mom

Project - Sweater Felt Flowers

Last Saturday was my bi-weekly Camp Fire meeting and this was the meeting this month that I was scheduled to lead. After a little thought I came up with these fun flowers for the kids to make for their mothers.

The flowers are made with a few simple ingredients - floral wire, buttons and felted sweaters.

The vases are made from foam sheets hot glued together and weighed with dried beans.

The project seemed to be a big success with the kids. They all had fun and nobody hurt themselves with the wires!

When I am not down and out with my seasonal allergies I will be putting together a tutorial for the flowers.

Week 15 - Something for Ran

2011-04-29T16:43:00.001-04:00

Challenge: Make Something for Ran

Project: Angry Birds for his 6th Birthday

Last week on the 19th my beautiful baby turned 6!

Like usual I decided I had to make him something for his present. In years past I have made everything from stuffed footballs & basketballs to Finding Nemo inspired blankets.

A few months ago I got a new Droid cell phone and Ran quickly developed a nice little obsession with playing Angry Birds

I knew there was no way I was going pay what they are asking to BUY these cute little Angry Birds.

Then I remember a series of posts I read back in December on the blog Obsessively Stitching.

She created adorable plush Angry Birds of her own - including patterns - for her boys of Christmas.

I just knew these were going to be a hit!

They were surprisingly easy to make. The white one was the hardest. I also haven't done the green or black birds yet. Ran reminds me of this EVERY DAY.
He has even devised a game with them that he plays with daddy, where they throw them back and forth trying to knock the pig out of the others hand.

My Mother-in-Law has become an enabler

2011-04-26T18:45:00.000-04:00

I love my Mother-in-Law. She is a wonderful women that has put up with my quirks and differences over the past 15 years. She accepted me into her family with open arms.

She even accepts my goofy gifts with a smile!

Now she has begun to enable my fabric addiction!

This weekend she presented me with some beautiful fabrics.

First she gave 3 yards of a beautiful floral rayon.

I took one look at it and knew exactly what I was going to make out of it!

I just got the new Summer 2011 Ottobre (my favorite sewing magazine EVER) and it has the perfect little girls dress!

I think the fabric will be perfect to make the dress on the right - using a white for the under fabric.

Plus with 3 yards - I have enough to make one outfit for my niece Zella and my cousin Lily!

Then she presented me with these beauties.

They are antique crazy quilt pillow shams. She saw them at a estate sale and thought of me immediately.

I don't know yet what I will make out of them.

Maybe take them apart and use the pieces like patches to make a cool demin jacket?

Something like this?

Week 14 - Sewing for Charity

2011-04-23T17:46:00.000-04:00

Challenge: Sew Something for Charity

Project: Stuffed Animals for Children's Hospital

This week I took on the challenge to make something for Royal Oak Beaumont's Children's Hospital.

It has always been my personal mission to make and donate as much as I can to Children's Hospitals, including the Children's Hospital as Royal Oak Beaumont. As a small child I spent a week over the Christmas holidays at a children's hospital in Miami. I still have very vivid memories of that stay.

I also still have the gift that a very kind man gave me during that stay over 30 years ago.

While I was attempting to organize my ever growing fabric stash I came across these fabric panels - three bunnies and one lamb.

I decided that these would be perfect for a Spring donation, so I set to sewing. Let me tell you that they ended up being a lot more work then I had anticipated. It took me a solid two days of sewing. I made them while I was home with Ran over the Spring break, so I had plenty of time to sew while he got his daily Spongebob fix.

I also took a dozen tag blankets and a few dozen fleece scarves.

Ran also helped contribute by making about a dozen necklaces using pony beads and elastic thread. I wish I had taken some pictures.

We took everything to the hospital together as a family and got to meet the children's activities director. Ran got to see the different play rooms that the kids get to use and their giant fish tank. Ran told me that next time I need to make some stuffed dragons and monster for the boys.

While I truly hope that Ran never needs an extended stay at the hospital, it is nice to know that there is such a wonderful children's hospital within 3 miles of our house.

Week #13 - Custom Order from Mom

2011-04-22T17:45:00.001-04:00

Midway through week 13 I got a call from my mother. She asked if I could make her something for a baby shower she was going to the coming Saturday. And since I have sooooo much free time I decided to humor her and whip up some baby cuties for her.

Luckily I always seem to have a backup stash of tag blankets laying around. I started making these for Ran when he was a wee one and now every baby I know gets them!

The next call I got from mom was to ask if I may have a cloth tote that she could give as a gift bag. Totes are something else that I always seem to have made up also. It is a great way to use up those heavier weight fabrics that you don't quite know what else to do with.

Earlier that week I had purchased a new tote pattern from Noodlehead

The 241 Tote Pattern

I just knew that this was the perfect time to try out the very cute pattern.

Friday morning (luckily it was my regular day off work) Ran and I hit Joanne Fabrics to find the perfect fabric for the tote for a baby boy. I let Ran pick out these adorable fabrics.

The tote went together perfectly. The directions were wonderful and very easy to follow. It ended up using half yards of three different fabrics and about a yard and a half of interfacing. It also has a magnetic snap closure inside.

Once it was all done it was very hard to give away. I did pick up some really cute clearance fabrics that I will be making into a bag of my own soon. I turned out the be a wonderful gift bag and was a real hit at the baby shower.

I really am still around

2011-04-15T07:20:00.000-04:00

Wow have I been busy. You would think with taking last week off work to spend Spring Break home with Ran that I could have found some time to post. I don't even think I turned my computer on the whole time I was home. I have done lots and lots of sewing over the past 3 weeks and will try to get some updates for you this weekend.

I was finally able to finish Ran's fleece quilt! You may remember it from week 8.

This was a mighty big quilt in the end. I haven't measured it, but it is big enough to fit his full-size bed with extra hanging over. It is made completely out of fleece. The top is pieced squares and the back is three different fleece yardages pieced to fit - I forgot to take a picture of the back - no batting involved.

He loves it!

When I was piecing the top last year I had a lot of squares left over so at that time I made him a small lap quilt. It also gave me a chance to figure out how I was going to do the quilting. He was so excited to get a big quilt to match his little quilt.

For the quilting I did a simple corner to corner grid. I say simple, but it was a serious challenge to get the entire full/queen size fleece quilt into my machine.

To bind the whole thing together I simply ran the edge through the serger. Finished, just in time for the warmer weather...

A Weekend with Bananas

2011-03-29T11:15:00.000-04:00

Ran's weekend school project turned itself into my project for the week.

Ran's Kindergarten class has a class mascott - Bananans the monkey.

Each of the kids gets to take him home for the weekend and keep a journal of their activities with Bananas. This was our weekend with Bananans.

First we took a trip to the Dairy Queen after school on Friday. Ran really wanted to sit outside to eat, until he realized it was way to cold - I doubt it was even 30 degrees.

On Saturday Bananas joined us for our biweekly Camp Fire meeting and he hitched a ride inside Ran's jacket and helped us pick up trash at a local park.

On Sunday we took Bananas with us to visit a friends property where he was introduced to Rupert the turkey and some chickens.

Throughout the weekend Bananas was forgotten a few times at the grandparents house. I decided to use a pattern that I found in Leisl Gibson's, of Oliver + S, fabulous new book - Little Things to Sew

It was fun and easy to make and went together in a little over an hour using some scraps, 4 buttons and some Velcro. It straps on the front like a Baby Bjorn, with the straps crossing in the back and they Velcro in the front to the body of the carrier. The stuffed animal or doll is held into the carrier with buttons. It can be made adjustable by adding buttons to the straps at two different locations. I also added a nice long strip of Velcro to the straps so that it will fit different sized kids. I think I am going to make some more of these for my nieces dolls and stuffed animals.

Sorry the pictures aren't very good. I finished up the carrier just before bedtime and I could barely get the boy to stand still long enough for me to take a picture.

Week 11 - Sew a Custom Request

2011-03-20T15:16:00.002-04:00

Week 11

Challenge: Sew a Custom Request

Project: Pajamas for Ran

I will be the first one to admit that I have a tall child. He has always been tall. He has been off the growth chart since the day he emerged from my womb almost 6 years ago at 9.5 pounds and over 23 inches long.

He has continued to grow like a weed ever since! Currently he is approximately 50 inches tall.

He seems to be constantly outgrowing his clothes. Pants are the hardest thing for him to fit into. He is tall, but very thin.

His latest thing to outgrow is his pajamas A few weeks ago he asked me to make him some new one piece pajamas. He even picked out the fleece & the zipper color at Joann's last weekend.

Last night I set about making those PJs that he loves so much. I really tried to get a picture of him wearing them, but last night was one of those times when he didn't want me to take any pictures.

Since I was making one pair I decided to go all out. I made two pair of one piece pajamas, one shirt out of some of that super duper soft and cuddly fleece and 4 pairs of pants.

These pants are short on purpose. I didn't have enough to make full length pants, so I decided to go with a cropped style. I figure it is going to be warming up sometime soon around here!

Week #10 - Something for the Kids

2011-03-20T14:51:00.001-04:00

Week #10

Challenge: Something for the Kids

Project: Camp Fire Group Vests

Back when I was Ran's age my awesome mom started a Camp Fire group for me and my friends. We had so much fun together over the years.

This year I joined together with an old friend, Dana, to start a Camp Fire group for our kids. We were friends back in the day when we were in Camp Fire.

We have 7 kids in our group. We meet every other weekend and have fun doing a variety of different things. So far we have made slime & goop, gone sledding, made a Christmas craft & sold candy to raise money.

Their uniform for the next few years includes a red vest to sew their patches onto. Instead of buying the vests I decided to sew them for the kids. I made freezer paper stencils of their group name, the Camp Fire logo and their names so that they could help personalize their vests.

We also painted plain t-shirts. The kids really got into the painting fun. So did Marcus. He wore a plain t-shirt to the meeting, so he let the kids paint him!

My Brother's Big News

2011-03-14T14:48:00.001-04:00

I am the oldest of the three children in my family. When I was a child, every year on my birthday I would wish for a little sister. After my mother presented me with the second of my two brothers, I stopped wishing.

I still wanted that sister, but I was afraid I would keep getting brothers instead.

When I married my sweetie I still didn't get a sister, since hubby's only sibling is a brother.

Since my brother has updated his Facebook status, the news is out there and I am not spilling a big secret.

Yesterday he proposed to his girlfriend, Gennis, when they were down at their favorite park on Key Biscayne (they live outside Miami).

I am so excited that I will finally have someone I can call sister!

They have a beautiful daughter together - Marczella - who will be turning one in May.

Zella is the most wonderful little niece that I couldn't ever have wished for.

Blue Plate Special Coming Right Up

2011-03-14T14:08:00.001-04:00

Jessica has annonced the release of the Blue Plate Special sewing pattern on her blog Sweetie Pie Bakery

so I am now free to share what I have been working on with you guys. I just love working with felt! So much fun. I also love how much my little man loves playing with all the things I make him. We have already had a dinner party with his new play food.

First up is a burger with all the fixings - cheese, lettuce, pickles & a tomato.

I made the burger with a textured felt that gave it a cool grilled look. For the bun top, I added seed beads instead of french knots.

Then we have piping hot tomato soup with a few fishey crackers. Ran chose purple for his soup bowl.

A couple of grilled cheese sandwiche and some yummy steak fries

and finally spagetti with meatballs and garlic bread.

Sorry I have been missing

2011-03-10T18:47:00.000-05:00

I have been out of touch for a while. Sorry.

I have finished with my cool food pattern testing. I will post pictures when the pattern has officially been released. I have been reminded how much I love hand sewing with felt.

In my blog travels this morning I found a book that I really HAVE to get!

Big Little Felt Universe: Sew It, Stuff It, Squeeze It, Fun!

I want I want I want!!!

St. Patty's day here we come

2011-03-05T18:34:00.001-05:00

Now that's a lot of meat.

Every year dear friends of ours have a huge St. Patrick's Day party. They are borrowing some space in our feazer this week. They just didn't have room for the 30+ pounds.

Week #9 - Use up Some Scraps

2011-03-01T14:32:00.000-05:00

Week#9

Challenge: Sew Something Using Scraps

Project: Play Food

Fabric scraps abound in my house. Particularly felt scraps. I just can't seem to throw anything fabric away.

This week I am going to be pattern testing for Sweetie Pie Bakery. Felt play food is a wonderful way to use up all those felt scraps! I have tested a pattern for her in the past and had a wonderful time.

Jessica Peck has designed some of the most wonderful play foods ever! I am linking the photos to her Etsy site where you can buy these awesome patterns.

Last year I made her birthday cake project for Ran's birthday.

Last year I tested her cookbook baking set pattern.

When the final pattern that I am now testing is released I will post pictures.

Week 8 - Changing it up

2011-02-28T07:13:00.000-05:00

I was originally supposed to be making something for the car. That didn't happen.

I really think I have been burned out with all the sewing I did over the last 2 weeks, so I decided to ease my way back into sewing for this weeks project.

About 8 months ago I started a fleece quilt for Ran. I let him go through my fleece remnant stash and pick out all the patterns that he liked. I cut them into squares and pieced them together to make what turned into a very large quilt top. The whole thing has been finished for months. Both the top and the back have been pieced and ready to go since the early fall, but I had yet to take that next step to baste them together.

This is a big quilt. Ran has a full size bed and I wanted this sucker to take the place of his cruddy old comforter. I spread them out in my living room wrong sides together and set out to pinning. I wasn't to precise about smoothing out the top. Fleece is pretty forgiving and I know Ran won't mind if it isn't perfect.

Next step has to get this giant sucker into my machine.

I decided to do an easy grid pattern. Sewing from corner to corner across each block.

I think I am about half way done with the quilting. When all the quilting is done I will do a quick serging around the edge.

Now I would like to share some pictures of my favorite two little girls in the world.

My beautiful niece Marczella after her first time playing in the dirt.

My beautiful cousin Lily modeling the new hat my mom knit for her.

100 Days of School

2011-02-22T10:51:00.000-05:00

~~Thursday the 24th~~ marks 100 days of school - due to a snow day today that day is now Friday the 25th - for my Kindergartner. The kids have been tasked to create a project for school to practice counting to 100.

Ran decided that he wanted to count buttons and string them.

The assignment seemed to go crazy from there. He kept coming up with more and more things that he had 100 or more of.

Wooden Spools

Foreign Coins

Snakes & Lizards

He didn't have 100 of each, so there are 50 of each in a face off.

Frogs

Magnetics

Marbles

Cars

100 piece Bionicle

Oh so busy

2011-02-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

Last week my busy life got the best of me. By the end of the week I was so worn out from sewing and everything else that I decided to take a break from the 52-project this week. I was supposed to be making something for the car.

I did finish a few other projects.

First up, the finished princess dresses for Maddie and Josie.

The dresses were delivered to the happy (surprised and delighted) girls on Friday just before the made their way to the airport for their Disney World trip.

Second I finally finished a set of soft baby stacking rings that I was commissioned to make for a lucky baby. I used Heather Bailey's Happy Stacker Ring pattern. I also made one for a baby shower present on Saturday.

I finished a long overdue hat using Izzy and Ivy's Jack and Jill Hat Pattern

I also finished two sets of big sister little sister shirts - sorry no pictures - for the baby shower I attended on Saturday.

Plus Friday morning was spent visiting with some very cool bats at Cranbrook Science Center

By the time Sunday rolled around, I had NO desire to do any sewing. I did make a feeble attempt at trying to organize this mess...

But I was completely unsuccessful.

I just can't stop...

2011-02-14T19:50:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Mirja and I am a resale shop addict.

I am completely unable to drive past a resale shop without stopping in.

I am completely unable to go into a resale shop without buying at least one t-shirt (usually it is at least 5).

I am completely obsessed with making kids clothes from recycled t-shirts.

My beautiful niece, Marczella, with just a few of her dresses

The problem is that I now have more shirts now then I know what to do with!

These are shirts (over 100) that I came home with on one shopping trip alone!

I see a shirt and I just can't wait to make a funky dress for some totally rockin' little girl!

Some of my favorites are the ones that I have made for the sci-fi loving girls!

I sear I will stop buying shirts, some day...

I went in to buy some old prom dresses and came out with another huge pile of shirts.

One princess dress coming right up...

2011-02-13T13:52:00.000-05:00

I am so happy with the results of this weeks challenge. I hope Maddie loves it as much as I do!

I was able to successfully turn these...

Into this...

With the addition of some purple organza and sparkly satin from my stash and some beaded trim at neckline and waist.

Next up is another princess dress for Maddie's little sister.

We will be surprising them with their dresses for their Disney trip next weekend.

Week #7 - A Princess Dress

2011-02-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

Challenge: Make a Princess Dress

This week Heather and I are taking on different challenges. Heather is testing a pattern for Whimsy Couture this week. While I have done some pattern testing in the past - for Sweetie Pie Bakery - I don't have anything to test this week. Instead I was asked by a dear friend if I could make a princess dresses for both of her daughters for a Disney trip coming up on the 18th.

So my personal challenge this week is to turn these thrift store finds...

Into two of these dresses...

I let Ran pick out the two dresses that I will be making. He chose dresses B & D.

Now I just have to deconstruct the old dresses and get to sewing.

Completed Project: The Butterfly Potholder

2011-02-07T07:40:00.000-05:00

I really was done with this project before the end of the week. In fact, I finished it on Thursday. I spent the next 4 days hoping for a nice sunny day to take the perfect picture outside in the natural light. It just so happens this weekend was one of those gloomy Michigan winter weekends, with snow every day!

On Saturday I took my Camp Fire group to Camp Wathana for a fun day of sledding.

I was able to take a few pictures yesterday afternoon that turned out okay. I never got a chance to post, because we were gearing up around the house to watch the Super Bowl.

So, without further ado here she is...

I had so much fun making this potholder. It gave me a great chance to use some scraps from my scrap bin. The wings and the top of the body are all pieced with various scraps.

For the wings I started with muslin foundations with the wing shapes. I then went to town with lots of fun fabric strips.

I used a fun variegated thread to free motion stitch the spirals on the completed wing pieces

My cousin Heather made this absolutely wonderful selvage potholder. I really want to try to make something with my selvage edges.

On a lighter note, you have to check out the absolutely best commercial from the Super Bowl XLV last night! We all loved it so much I think we watched it at least 5 times. Yeah for the DVR!!!

Week #5 - Create for a Contest

2011-02-03T20:59:00.000-05:00

Challenge: Create an item for a contest

Project: Pretty Pot Holder

This week we are creating pot holders to enter the Sewing Machine Double Down Contest that Prudent Baby is having.

The prizes?

How cool would that be to win a new sewing machine?

I haven't entered a sewing contest since I made these babies some time in the early 80's for a Camp Fire USA art competition. So, this should be fun.

Yesterday was a snow day here in Detroit (like 2/3rds of the country).

I decided that it was the perfect time to bring out my portable machine and hang in the living room with the family and do some piecing.

Contest entries have to be in by February 10th and I am hoping to have a lovely butterfly potholder to share with you in a few days...

Making Boxer Briefs for the Man - a Tutorial

2011-01-30T11:54:00.006-05:00

My dear hubby has some very sad undies. For our Week #4 challenge I decided to deconstruct an existing pair and create some new boxer briefs for him. Please bear with me, since this is my first tutorial.

Supplies:

An old pair of undies to use as a pattern

Jersey knit - this is a great time to upcycle old jersey sheets or even a t-shirt

Wide Elastic

Paper for pattern tracing

The usual sewing supplies

Start with a pair of underwear that you are willing to sacrifice to the sewing gods. Make sure they are a pair that fit well. I used a pair of boxers that are a very simple construction - only two pieces plus elastic.

Grab your scissors and cut those suckers up! Cut the pieces apart at the seam lines and cut off the elastic at the top.

Take your pieces over to your ironing board and press them so they are nice and flat. Now lay them on top of your paper. I like to use Freezer Paper. It is nice and thick and comes on a nice big roll.

I made the cod piece a solid piece instead of having an opening. The body piece is folded in half, so make sure to mark that edge as a fold line for future reference.

Trace around both pieces, also make sure to mark the top on the cod piece

Now you have to add a seam allowance. How much you add is really a personal preference. I like use about a 1/2 inch allowance.

At the bottom of the body piece add a little extra if you are planning on hemming them. The nice thing about jersey is that you don't actually need to hem it because the fabric won't unravel.

At the top of both the body and the cod piece you need to add extra length to allow for the elastic. I was using some really wide elastic that I rescued from some other boxers (not the stretched out wonky elastic) so I laid the elastic on top of the patterns to make sure I was adding enough.

Time to cut your pieces out! You need to cut one of each piece, with the body being cut on the fold. Make sure the maximum stretch of the fabric is across the body.

I used an old jersey sheet that had shrunk funny and didn't fit our bed anymore. I place a pin in the top of the cod piece so I know which side it up.

Here are what you should have once your pieces are cut out.

Match one side of the cod piece together at the top of one curved side of the body piece, right side together. I only pin the at the top and then align as I sew. Sorry this is so hard to see in the photo. I really should have used a contrasting color for the cod piece.

Serge (or sew) the pieces together. If you are going to sew on a regular machine, I would suggest using a stretch stitch. Repeat for the other side.

Here is what you should end up with. Press the seams away from the cod piece toward the body.

Turn them right side out and stitch the serged seams down using a long stitch or a stretch stitch. This will help the seams lay flat to prevent them from irritating the skin. It will also reinforce the stitching.

Turn wrong side out again and align the curved bottom front and back together. Serge or stitch together.

Time for the waistband.

I measured the elastic on a pair of boxers that were not all stretched out. You could also measure our man's waist. Sew the elastic into a loop. Fold the elastic in half and mark with pins, then fold in half the other way so you can mark the elastic into 4ths. Do the same for the fabric and pin together with the elastic on the wrong side.

Sew together, stretching the elastic as you go.

Fold the elastic over again to the inside and stitch it down. Once again stretching as you go. I ran a second stitching line at the top of the elastic.

At this point you could hem them. I chose not to. Hubby wore his new purple undies last night and said the fit great and he is ready for more!

Good luck on your foray into underear making!

Week #4 - Make Something For Hubby

2011-01-26T18:24:00.000-05:00

Challenge: Make Something for My Husband

Project: Underwear (boxer brief style)

Over the years I have made a few things for hubby.

Some have been hits. Like his favorite winter hat that I made many years ago.

Or the rockin' Jim Morrison shirt I made last year for his Halloween costume.

And the softie I made him a few years back when he really wanted a pug, but we already had 3 dogs.

There have a few misses though. The most recent was when I tried to make him long johns for Christmas. They ended up so darned big you could have fit two of us in them. I was able to easily fix the top by adding ribbing and cutting down the sleeves. However, I have yet to tackle the pants.

Hubby is always complaining about not having enough underwear. We haven't bought any new ones for him in a while and the existing ones area starting to wear thin and get a bit holey. My goal is to cut apart a pair of his well fit store bought undies to draft a pattern from and make him some new boxer briefs.

If he pisses me before I get done with the project he might just end up with a few pair of pink ones!

The Dog Food Bag Bag

2011-01-22T20:56:00.002-05:00

Better known as the project from hell.

First off, I will admit they turned out pretty cute, but it really wasn't easy getting to the end of this one!

In the beginning I was planning on doing an actual tutorial for this project. In the end I realized that this was such a pain in the bum to sew I scrapped the tutorial idea.

I started out with a Boots and Barkley 20 pound dry dog food bag that was made out of a very heavy Tyvek - this is what made the project hard. The tyvek was very hard to manipulate.

I cut the bag open at the bottom and one side making a long rectangle and tried to wash the inside as best I could. (It still stinks a bit like dog food). Then I cut the bag down to a slightly more manageable size and stitched it right sides together (using a denim needle) on two sides leaving the top open.

I decided at the last minute to line the bag and since I had the perfect dog fabric in my stash that was the exact size I needed I decided to go for it. I wanted a nice flat bottom on the bag, so I boxed the corners on both - the tyvek is stiff enough that the bags stand up on their own.

I decided to take the easy route and just stuffed the lining, wrong side out, into the bag that was right side out. I stitched across the top edge to join the two together. The tyvek was horribly hard to maneuver and I was so frustrated with it by this point I decided I didn't really care how the bag was sewn to the lining.

For the handles I used the old seat belt straps that I had cut off one of our car seats when we converted it to a booster seat. To cover up the edge of the bag (and in an attempt to make it look a little nicer) I added a strip of belt around the top edge of the bag. What a pain! Half way through I realized I really needed to turn the bag inside out to sew the strap on because I simply could not maneuver the bag under the needle any other way! I am glad I added the strip. It helped to cover up some of my messy stitching from attaching the lining and straps.

As you can see in the picture above I tried to serge the top edge. BIG MISTAKE! I think I killed the cutting blades on the machine and I am positive I need to change the needles now! I am so sorry you poor innocent serger... I also added some strips of double fold bias to the top edge in an attempt to cover the top edge. I really should have added it before I attached the handles.

In the end I got a big thumbs up from Ran. I think the bag took me over 2 hours to make. And since I really am a glutton for punishment I decided to make a second bag.

The second one was a TON easier. I cut out the heart shape from the front of the bag, a matching piece for back and a strip for bottom/sides of the bag. I sewed this one wrong sides together. I then covered the seams and top edge with some bias tape. I used a single strip of webbing for the handle and no lining on this smaller one.

This project was definitely a challenge! It was not easy to do, but I do like the end result. We now have two very one of a kind bags! I think what has been the hardest for me is admitting that the stitching on the bags is far from perfect. The lines are very wonky and they big one is kind of Frankensteined together. I really underestimated how hard this material was going to be to sew. But it truly is a Trash to Treasure!

Now, how long do you think it will take till my hands stop smelling like dog food?

Priceless Treasures from Nagymama

2011-01-21T12:07:00.001-05:00

We always called my Great Grandmother, Marczella Szabo, Nagymama. She was quite a women! She was a very accomplished crocheter. She would make doilies, tablecloths, and the most amazing lace you have ever seen. She actually crocheted borders for the edges of all her kitchen shelves. We were lucky to find those and they are still in excellent condition. I brought them home to incorporate them into some dresses.

When I was a child I had a quilt that she made me. My brother found two quilts that she made in the 40's tucked away in a closet.

This is one that she made for my Aunt Norma in 1948. Thankfully she signed it! The applique is absolutely perfect and all the quilting was done by hand and is amazing!

The second quilt is even more amazing! They are appliqued ~~magnolias~~ dogwood flowers and the center of each flower is done with French knots. It is a very large quilt. I didn't measure it yet, but I think it must be at least a queen size. This one was made in 1946.

As you can see from the photos there is quite a bit of yellowing on this one. Before I can even think about cleaning it I have to repair it. The entire binding needs to be replaced. At some point my grandmother was able to find fabric that was an exact match and stored it with the quilt. I will be putting my new bias tape maker to good use to repair the binding. I am a bit nervous about working on such an old and important quilt. I think I will have to do some more binding before I tackle this job.

Both of these quilts are so amazing I wish I could take better pictures of them. When the weather warms up a bit around here and all the mud and snow are gone I will try to get them outside for better photographs.

Treasures from Grandma Gizella

2011-01-21T08:04:00.000-05:00

Over the Christmas vacation we hit the road for sunny and warm southern Florida. We stayed with my brother in my Grandmother's old house in Dania Beach, that Great-Grandpa actually built. It was a houseful! Me, Marcus, & Ran, plus my parents and my youngest brother. Not to mention his dog Duke. All in the 2 bedroom house!

It was a vacation, but we did a bit of cleaning while we were there.

One of the things we cleared out for my brother was the linen closet. It was a treasure trove of wonders! He told us we could take any of grandma's things that we wanted. I think he was afraid to have all the vintage things, afraid they would get ruined by bugs or mice.

Here is a selection of what we found.

Poppy sheet set - I think Lily will get a pillowcase dress from these!

A beautiful cross-stitched linen hanky

Pillowcases with the most incredible cut work.

None of these photos do any justice to these lovely vintage linens. I have yet to learn the finer points of photographing linens.

Check back later to see the most incredible find of the trip!

He can sew too!

2011-01-20T21:23:00.002-05:00

I love sewing for Ran. He loves almost everything that I have made for him - the flannel overalls were not a very big hit last year. When ever he goes to the fabric store with me he loves picking out fabric and deciding on what he would like me to make.

Over the past year I have slowly let him join in my sewing. Usually it is for the more simple straight lines. I usually guide the fabric while he does the pedal.

Well, back in October he had to do a project for his Kindergarten class that involved learning about a spooky animal and making something to share with the class. He chose to learn about bats. When I asked him what he wanted to make - a poster, a collage, a drawing - his quick response was that he wanted to make a stuffed animal!

So I found some felt and drew out the shapes on it for him. He did all the cutting himself and all the sewing & stuffing himself. We glued the fangs & eyes on.

I am so proud of my little man.

He did such a good job and had so much fun making his new buddy Fang.

Week #3 Trash to Treasure. . .

2011-01-20T13:13:00.002-05:00

Challenge: Make something out of something you would normally throw away

My Project: Tote from a dog food bag

Heather is making a fabric salvage bag

While I have always wanted to try a salvage project, when she told me the challenge this week I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Last year when we still had two big dogs I would buy our dog food in 20 pound bags from Target. The bags were made out of a heavy tyvec like material. While my hubby thought I was a bit nuts, I immediately knew I had to save them to make something. I think Ran will love having a library tote with a cute doggie on it.

Here are my two old bags, all ready to be turned into usefull bags.

My Sewing Room

2011-01-16T12:12:00.000-05:00

I thought I should take few minutes to introduce you to my sewing space. I call it a sewing room, but it really is just a corner of our basement. Pre-Child I had an actual sewing ROOM - but we figured that Ran deserved a room of his own, so my basement sewing space was born.

As I mentioned in my last post. My main sewing machine is a Bernina Record 930 Electronic.

While I inherited it from my grandmother, it was actually the machine that I grew up sewing on. My mother had the exact same machine - she actually bought it for my grandmother at the same time she bought hers. It is an amazing machine. The thing weighs a ton - approximately 50 pounds!

Luckily I have another machine that is more portable - an Alnita Graffiti, that my mom got me when I was in high school

I also have a Singer 4 thread serger. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

I have slowly been taking over more and more of the basement. That is partly caused by an ever expanding fabric stash. I got a text yesterday from a friends asking if I wanted to make a trip to the Fabric Warehouse. As much as I really wanted to, I had to pass. I have enough fabric in my stash that I really shouldn't need to buy any for YEARS!

I also have two full size filing cabinets that are almost completely full of various sewing, quilting and cross stitch patterns.

I also have a nice size bookshelf in another part of the basement full of all my craft books. I have sewing, quilting, soap making, jewelry and candle making books. I have developed a bit of an addiction to quilting book and softie making books. In fact I made a new years resolution this year that I wasn't allowed to buy any new sewing books until I made at least one thing from each of my existing sewing books. Well, I have already broken that resolution and it is only January 16th. Earlier this week I picked up a copy of Sandi Henderson's Sewing Bits & Pieces. I think I will try to do some reviews on some of my books at a later date.

Some of my other sewing treasures include: a folding cutting table, a new Simplicity bias tape maker, an antique dress form and two Ott Lights.

2 Birds - 1 Stone

2011-01-16T11:25:00.002-05:00

Or, how to accomplish two challenges with one project.

Week 1s challenge we were supposed to be sewing Lil Blue Boo's Sienna Dress. I never was able to actually get off my bum and do any sewing.

Week 2s challenge - Sewing with fleece and using a decorative stitch. Heather is making fleece hats for her munchkin. My son however has hats galore - probably enough to wear a different one every day for a month.

Hmmm, now how do I combine my first two challenges into one?

AHHH!! Make a fleece Sienna Dress!

Now for the decorative stitching. My wonderful machine, circa 1984, is a Bernina Record 930 Electronic that I inherited from my dear grandmother Gizella Nagelvoort. It has 26 different stitches to choose from.

I decided to use this one on the hem & sleeves.

I hope my dear little Lily Bean loves it!

Easy come, easy go

2011-01-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

Ah, my dear Christmas money. Where oh where have you gone?

Every year my wonderful in-laws give us each some wonderful Christmas cash. I had so many wonderful ideas of how to spend it. After much thought and deliberation I had decided that I would renew my subscription to my favorite sewing magazine ever - Ottobre Design Magazine.

It is an amazing magazine from Finland that is published 6 times a year - 4 children's issues and 2 woman's issues - for a total of about 188 different sewing patterns a year!!!

Instead this happened...

Which then caused this...

Okay, it actually wasn't quite that bad. But the damage was bad enough that when dear hubby hit the curb he caused over $325 worth of damage to his wheel.

I guess we still need to be thankful that:

No other vehicles were involved
No one got hurt
Ran wasn't with him at the time
It happened very close to home, so he was able to drive home to wait for AAA
And finally... It could have cost a whole lot more if he had cracked the frame!!!

Oh well, I guess my Ottobre subscription will have to wait till next month.

Still no Sienna Dress from me...

2011-01-12T20:10:00.001-05:00

My dearest Heather has let me off the hook on the first of our 52 projects. We figured that since I have already made over 30 Sienna Dresses - at least one in every available size - that I could take a pass this week. That is awesome, since I have been so busy prepping for a craft we have to do in Ran's kindergarten class that I haven't even started cutting out the dresses for Lily Bean. I have a nice 4 day weekend this week, so I promise I will get it done then!

Tomorrow we are the guest reader in Ran's class. With our nice long vacation in Florida we decided that it would be perfect to read a story about the ocean. We chose Seashells by the Seashore by Marianne Berkes.

Along with reading a story we have to provide a craft for the kids to do. While sitting on the beach I came up with the idea of shell necklaces. We spent lots of time collecting shells, which is one of my favorite things to do at the beach! Yesterday I spent hours drilling holes in those shells and today was spent putting them on o-rings. Resulting in a nice pile of....

To make things go a little smoother tomorrow we put a little bag together for each of the kids, containing the elastic, a shell and a bunch of pony beads (half of which glow in the dark!)

I can't wait to do the craft with the kids. We ended up with enough supplies left over that I think I will do the same craft with my Camp Fire USA group. Here is the end result.

My little recycler

2011-01-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

Okay, to start with I have yet to do the first of my 52 projects. This week we are making Lil Blue Boo's Sienna Dress. It is an absolutely wonderful pattern for a adorable dress using recycled t-shirts. I have made a number of these dresses already for friends and family. Here is a small selection of the ones I have made already.

This week I am going to tackle some for dear little cousin Lily Bean. I have the perfect t-shirts for her, I just have to get in gear and start working on them. The pattern is a wonderful pattern that you can download in pdf form and comes in sizes from 6 month up to 6 years.

On to my real story of the day...

I am proud of my little man - the recycler. He is great about recycling everything and anything. He is also learning the art of sewing and its benefits. Recently he made his first sewing project for school.

Yesterday at school his backpack got broken. I assured him on the walk home that I could, and would, fix it. His response to that was, could I please make him a new backpack instead - one with Spiderman on it. I told him I could, but that I didn't have any Spiderman fabric right now. He looked up at me and simply said "well, you can take some of my Spiderman shirts and use those." When we got home he even brought me his beloved shirts that I could use. Well, I didn't make a new backpack yet - fixing the old one took me about 5 minutes to replace the broken piece. I guess a backpack project is in the future!

The 52 Project

2011-01-07T07:19:00.001-05:00

So, apparently I am the cause of my cousin's new adventures in sewing. I guess that isn't such a bad thing, since sewing is one of my great loves. My amazing mother taught me how to sew back when I was a very young child.

Dolls I made back in the early 80s

Over the years I have worked at honing my skills and made everything from dolls to toys to clothing to quilts. Some years I have made almost nothing, however since the birth of my son 5 years ago I have become completely addicted to my sewing machines (I own 3). My pattern collection has grown. My fabric stash is bursting at the seams - which probably comes from my complete inability to throw anything fabric away.

My cousin (and bestest friend in the world) has decided to commit herself to a year of crafting/sewing and I have decided to try to join her:

The 52 Project

Every week we will be tackling (and trying to complete) a new sewing or crafting project.

How do you do this again?

Celebrate with Chronicle Books – Haul Away $500 worth of Books!!!

2010-12-06T09:18:00.001-05:00

Chronicle Books is hosting an amazing contest for the holidays - they're giving away $500 worth of books to one lucky blogger and one lucky commenter. How absolutely wonderful!

The rules are simple:

If you have a blog, post a list of Chronicle Books valued at up to $500 that you'd like to haul in, and you'll be automatically entered into a drawing to WIN your list of books! And, one of

your readers who comments on the post will win the list too!

So....COMMENT on my wish list! And let's both cross our fingers!

Some Books for the Boy...

Out of Sight By Pittau & Gervais

Eric Carle Animal Lacing Cards: Ten Cards and Laces

Alphabeasties Amazing Activities: Blue Apple Books

Just One Bite

Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar!

What Do You See Under the Sea?: An Underwater Sticker Adventure

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder

The Truth about Dangerous Sea Creatures

Some Books for ME!

Amy Butler's Style Stitches: 12 Easy Ways to 26 Wonderful Bags!

Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones: 20 Keepsake Sewing Projects for Baby and More

Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby: 24 Easy Projects for Newborns to Toddlers

Whip Up Mini Quilts: Patterns and How-to for More Than 20 Contemporary Small Quilts

Every Day's a Holiday: Year-Round Crafting with Kids

The Sock Monkey & Friends Kit: 9 Different Fun-to-Make Sock Creature Projects

Embroidered Effects: Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching

Amy Butler's In Stitches: More Than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects

DIY Fashion: Customize and Personalize

Witch Craft: Wicked Accessories, Spellbinding Jewelry, Creepy-Cute Toys, and More!

Appliqué Your Way: 35 Pretty Projects and Patterns

Dorm Decor: Remake Your Space with More Than 35 Projects

Subversive Cross Stitch: 33 Designs for Your Surly Side

Denyse Schmidt Quilts: 30 Colorful Quilt and Patchwork Projects

The baby has gone home

2010-10-07T15:30:00.001-04:00

I am totally bummed that my niece and her parents have gone home to Miami. We had the most wonderful visit with them this last week. Zella is just an amazingly beautiful little girl. Her smiles are just intoxicating.

I am now trying to figure out how to get them to move back here so I can see them all the time. My only saving grace is that we will be headed down to their neck of the woods in a few months for Christmas.

Ran had so much fun with her. He was amazing. Every morning the first thing he would ask is if he was going to get to see Zella again after school. I think feeding her was his favorite. It was so wonderful to see how gentle he was with her. To every ones amazement though he has NOT asked us about having a baby brother or sister - which is a good thing since he is going to be our one and only!

Ted, Gennis & Marczella - if you are listening - Please come home! I promise you will never need to hire a babysitter!

This busy mommy has been busy!

2010-10-04T13:24:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I have been out of touch for a while.

I have been super busy this summer. Aren't summers always busy? I spent a week helping out my cousin in Greeley, Co with her new daughter. While there I got lots and lots of quilt blocks done. One of these days I will actually get photos taken of them.

My baby started Kindergarten last month and totally loves it!

I spent most of my summer making loads of fun baby stuff for my cousin's baby and my new niece.

I finished a wonderful quilt last week for my niece Marczella. I used the Frolicing Baby Quilt Tutorial from Piece N Quilt with a few minor changes. It was so much fun to do the free-motion on it!

I was able to get the quilt done in time for their visit this week! My son has been having a wonderful time with his new baby cousin!

Great giveaway at Little Birdie Secrets!

2010-07-08T07:01:00.000-04:00

Little Birdie Secrets is giving away a awesome Silhouette Digital Cutting tool. How cool is that!

Silhouette Digital Cutting Tool Review and Giveaway

I would sooo love to win this thing. It would be so much fun!

Thanks for the chance to win!

Some finished blocks

2010-06-27T14:23:00.000-04:00

This is one of the two large blocks - they are equal to the size of 4 for the regular square blocks

finishing touches

2010-06-25T20:26:00.002-04:00

I am putting the finishing touches on 4 of my quilt blocks tonight. Tomorrow I should have some pictures to post.

OMG I am a winner!

2010-06-24T21:02:00.001-04:00

I am totally excited. I actually won a blog giveaway today at Sparkle Power! How exciting is that?! Now I just have to decide what pattern I want from needle craft patterns. Decisions, decisions.....

Annapolis Rocks!

2010-06-24T20:57:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted in a bit 'cause we were off to Annapolis for 10 days. I had a Fundamentals of Wetlands class there and hubby and son tagged along. what a beautiful town!

While I was in class all day the guys got to go off exploring and having a great time.

They went to the Zoo & the children's museum

I really did enjoy my class. We got to see some really wonderful restored wetlands. In the evenings I got lots of appliqueing done. I haven't done the last few embroidery details yet, so no pictures. I have 3 blocks done and another 3 that just need the final details. At this rate I may actually be done before fall.

After class was over on Friday we hit the road for the National Zoo in Baltimore. It was absolutely wonderful.

On the two weekends we spent time in Pennsylvania with close friends and their family. The kids had a blast together. Expecially when we took them to Chocolate World in Hersey. Ran really enjoyed playing with little Helena. And when he and Kenny weren't screaming at each other they were great friends!

It was a wonderful trip - lots of driving but well worth it. We were home for 3 1/2 days and then we hit the road again. We went to our families cabin on the west side of Michigan for a 4 day mini-vacation to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary.

A fun time in the city

2010-05-17T14:13:00.001-04:00

This weekend was a blast!

We spent Saturday with work friends and their kids. We went to Belle Isle, rode the People Mover and took in a puppet show at PuppetART Dertoit.

Another block done

2010-05-17T14:05:00.001-04:00

This is my first block that I finished. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, since this was my first ever attempt at hand applique.

Here is my second block. This one has a few wonky parts - but hey, I am still learning.

The part that gave me the most trouble were the circles. I just couldn't seem to get them round. In the end I stitched them to interfacing and turned them right side out. They still aren't very round, but that is probably my fault since I don't think I took enough time when sewing the circles on my machine.

Not to mention I caught my thumb in my machine when I was finishing up the sewing, so I did all the hand stitching with a bunch of bandaids on my thumb. I got it caught between the machine and the needle screw - I have a few nice gashes and a very large blister and MAN does it hurt! I have got to learn to take my time!

1 down 20 to go

2010-05-11T21:18:00.000-04:00

I am so excited that I have finished the first of my quilt blocks. This is my first time ever doing applique quilting and I am officially done with my first block and on to my second! Tomorrow I hope to take a picture of it!

I think I found a picture today of the quilt finished at Quilter's Muse Virtual Journal, made by an anonymous quilter. This is the closest I have come so far to finding a photo of the finished quilt. The pattern does not have a picture or even a sketch of the pieces together - only the individual block diagrams.

There has to be a first

2010-05-10T11:26:00.002-04:00

Well, it was only matter of time before I started my own blog. I spend so much time reading other people's blogs, so it was only natural. I guess I also needed a place to vent.

I have been doing my fair share of sewing and quilting lately. Yesterday I was told by my hubby that it was rude of me to bring my hand work with me. I am not sure about that.

I started my first applique quilt this weekend. It is a pattern that my mother bought from Better Homes and Gardens back in 1976. They are appliqued butterfly blocks. This is a first for me, so I guess I am learning as I go. I am almost done with the first block.