I'm back, but a little behind.

Hi Laura,
I am sorry its been so long since I have written. This summer was very busy with lots and lots of travel! My husband and I traveled to South Africa for the world cup in June for several weeks, so no crafting there. And then most of July and August were super busy getting ready for a BIG work event held in early September in St. Petersburg Russia. Since then I have one busy bee! I hope to have lots to share over the next fews weeks. But to keep you tied over until then, here are few picture of my work from before I dropped off the map to travel the map.

This is the Eloise Eyelet Cardi I made for V's 3rd birthday. I just had to make her something hand knit. I know she is three, but this girl loves her handmade. Great job!!!! She is girl after my own heart. I think next year we can get her started with her own needles and yarn!!!
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/eloise-eyelet-cardi


This is a dragon I made for R's 1st birthday. Its from the same Knit Picks yarn his baby blanket was knitted out of. The original pattern name was Norberta, but I like to call him Norm. It seems slightly more masculin, but only slightly so.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/norberta

Man I must your kids! They are both too cute!!!!

I have more pictures, but they are stuck on the camera. I hope to post again this week.

I know you have been a busy bee too. What are you up to?

Kate

Inspiration: I Spy Quilts

Kate,
It's me again! I'm back on a crafting role, hopefully I'll have to catch up again soon! :)

I had to post this inspiration. I remember you were going to make (I'm not sure if you ever finished them, I can't remember) "I Spy" inspired items. This blog (CraftHours) I follow features a dad (yes a DAD crafter!) who shows lots of options for I Spy quilts. I'm thinking I'm inspired to try this with a bunch of the scrap fabrics I have and I'm sure to collect more scraps.

Hope to see you soon!
Laura

I am alive...and crafting!

Kate,
WOW! It's been a long time since a post. Believe it or not, I have been up to some crafting this summer. I feel like you and I both have valid excuses for slacking off on the blog this summer. With you traveling to South Africa (so jealous!) and my hubby being away for most of the summer, there is little time or energy to keep up with the posting. But I promise, I am back! I need crafting to keep my sanity!

So what have I been up to this summer? Here's a few little things...

More snack bags and sandwich wraps for member of the MOMS Club. Just a little something I've been doing for the moms. Ecofriendly and super easy to whip up.

Yoga mat bag. This was my sister's birthday gift, including a new yoga mat.

A beach/sand toy bag. I whipped this up so cheap - less than $5 and in less than an hour. Thanks for Martha Stewart Crafts for the idea. This will be great for when we head on our beach vacation. Surprisingly I didn't already have one. I think a mesh bag is critical when having little kids.

Can't wait to see what you've been up to. And I will be posting again in the next two weeks with some more projects in the works.

Laura

Destruction of a sleeping bag

Kate,

Remember that tedious princess and the pea sleeping bag I made? I (and V) loved it and it's gotten so much use every day. Unfortunately it has been destroyed by my washing machine. Completely my fault, now I'm sick to my stomach. V had peed on it during naptime and just like I have two previous times, I threw it in the washing machine. I dont know what was different this time, but when it came out of the dryer, I noticed it had lots of tears. I dont know if it's fixable or not at this point. It has tears along at least 8 seams of the "mattresses".

Do you have any advice? I guess I could always resew it and downsize it a bit since some fabric will inevitably be missing now.

Here are some pics of the damage:

I have some more projects to post about that I've been working on, but I'm too depressed right now, maybe later this weekend.

- Laura

More Snack Bags from Scrap Fabric

Kate,
Wow! It's been a really long time since I've posted and a while since I've spent some quality time with my sewing machine. But I'm back, for a little while. As you know, I gave up the fabric store to save some money. Well, it didn't last too long, but I am still avoiding it for the most part. My weekly trips just to browse have stopped, I only go for necessities. For example, I only went to buy some thread, velcro and a yard of nylon for a few projects.

I've been working on more snack bags. Part of the eco-friendly transition. I'm trying to rid my house of ziploc bags and wasted plastic. I have already been using a sandwich wrap for Victoria, but still needing bags for snacks and such. (We are really into picnics with the warm weather, at least twice a week!) So I made some snack bags. All using scrap fabrics I had, all I needed was some nylon. They're cute, practical and I'm already putting them to use.

Here they are. And if you want to make some of your own....here's the tutorial I followed....http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/photos/reusable_snack_bag_tutori/index.html. They are super easy and quick, I made all of these in like 2 hours time (and that's with the kids awake and R attacking the sewing machine pedal all the time). I made them in all sorts of sizes, basically whatever sized fabric I had left.

I do have a few more to make. And I have some other projects reusing my scraps in the works. Like heming up too short pants into capris and shorts for the summer and adding some fabric to too short shirts to refurbish them. We'll see how they turn out. I'm a little nervous, but I figure I'm donating the clothes anyway, so I might as well try to get use out of them.

By the way, love the knitted bunny. Too cute!!! I dont have the patience for the finishing of those sort of things. You are an inspiration.

Hopefully I'll see you soon! Laura

Finally Finshed

Hi babe!

Well I have finally finished a project that I started a year ago FEBRUARY! What a slacker! Well, I hate seaming. And toys are all seaming. So at least she is done. She is mighty cute. Right?

I also finished this bear for the Mother Bear Project. I dropped him off at Lovely Yarn in Hamden, MD. My sister Emily and I spent the day there. Cute shop, lovely staff. Obviously, I need to work on my embroidery skills.

I was going to post more, but the sun just came out. Off to my porch with a book.

Miss you tons!

Kate

PS. Have you noticed that my pics are looking better? Thank Brian, thats all him :)

For Spring!

Hi Laura!

I was doing a little SPRING cleaning at my parents a few weekends ago and I came across a latch hook kit I brought maybe seven or eight years ago. I bought it with the intention of making for a friends wife who was pregnant. Well, I guess I never finished it. When I found buried in my old room about a third was complete. I thought about just pitching it. What would I do with a Winnie the Pooh wall hanging besides "gift" it to you? :) Ha! You would of hung me from my toes!

I felt a little eco-guilt about trashing it. It's all plastic!!!! So I finished it. It took most of a long rainy weekend on the floor in my living room watching a That 70's Show marathon, but I finally finished it a few days later.

As I was packing it up, my husband asked what my plans were for the yarn monstrosity which had been consuming the living room floor for the better part of week. And in the way he asked I could tell that he had become attached to it (he hooked 4 times). So here it stays, at my new house, until I find a reason to use it (not any time soon) or my sister has kids. Its cute right?

My friend Amy and I made these Easter/SPRING baskets from Moda

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/03/fabric-easter-basket.html

It was fun to do something besides knitting. Although I have to admit that my hand sewing is not what it use to be, so I cheated and used hot glue. Well, my hot glue skills are not what they use to be either and the baskets kinda suck. I am pretty sure it was me and not the pattern ;)

I have done plenty more, a lot of clean up and few simple things are on tap for Mothers Day and someones 1st birthday. I wonder who?

More later, craft'in sister!

Kate

PS. The sock saga still rages on and on and on.

Princess and the Pea Napping/Sleeping Bag

Kate,

A few weeks back I blogged about the Princess and the Pea sleeping bag I wanted to make here. Well I did it! It took a few long hours at night and a few mishaps along the way, but it's completed. And I personally love it. V hasn't woken up yet to see the fabulous work, but I know she'll be excited since she's been talking about it all week.

Just for a refresher, this was the inspiration for the Princess and the Pea theme http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/05/princess-pea-blanket.html and I was inspired to make it look similar to the Pottery Barn Kids sleeping bags. And this was sort of the tutorial I followed, except I made mine much larger, following the dimensions of the Pottery Barn Kids bags http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2009/08/sleeping-bag-tutorial-so-fun.html.

The project started with the purchase of a honey bun, which is a just a roll of 40 - 1.5" fabric pieces. 40 is the perfect number to represent the 20 mattresses and 20 quilts from the Princess and the Pea story. I got a great deal buying it off ebay. I used the Moda Me & My Sister Clementine honey bun fabric. I wanted bright, fun colors for my little girl. My favorite part was having a girls day out last weekend with just V. We went to the fabric store and she helped pick up the purple polka dot outside fabric and the purple and white gingham flannel fabric for the inside of the sleeping bag.

So with G gone all week, I spent the evenings piecing it together. Sewing the 40 strips took FOREVER! I thought it would be quick, but with the pinning, ironing and sewing, it took almost 4 hours to just sew the strips together. I'm definately glad I opted to buy the honey bun with precut fabric, if I had to cut all that fabric, I can't imagine how long it would have been. Then I used old scraps of fabric to make the princess. It took me a few tries because in my delirious state, I ironed the face applique on TWICE (yes, twice!) with the wonder-under sticking up. So rather than adhering to the fabric, it adhered to my iron. And then it took another night just to get the applique sewed on. I had to keep switching thread colors, rethreading bobbins and readjusting the settings on the sewing machine.

But in last night I completed it. I made the sandwich of the front, back and batting and added a strap. The 2 layers of high-loft batting and the fabric made for a hard sew, but my machine made it! It's time to rest my poor machine for a bit.

So here it is.....

Princess and the Pea sleeping bag/nap sack.

The princess applique!

The pea button!

Now, here's to hoping she uses it for quiet/nap time. And maybe even take a little nap!

I'm inspired to keep making blankets or projects from storytime. They're just so darn adorable.

Laura

Cabinet Upgrades & Craft Storage Space

Kate,

With the kids sick last week, I was trapped inside all week, so I decided spring cleaning was here! I tackled the laundry room/mud room off our kitchen. A space that needs much love. Unfortunately it will be impossible to paint the walls since one and a half of the walls are unreachable due to the pipes, water filter, heater and water pump that are located against the back wall. So I decided to try and spruce it up in other ways. It's been a dump where we've been piling things up to sort later. No more later, now it's time to sort, trash, store and renovate!

Remember these kitchen cabinets and the hideous countertop (you can't see it great with the picture but it was cream with swirls of gold and silver) that we replaced a few months ago?

Well, after we replaced them I asked Greg to keep a few for my laundry room. He was a little hesitant, as always, but he let me be. Finally, I got around to redoing them. I painted them and used fabric to brighten them up. Best part, all FREE! The paint was a leftover sample I had bought for our bedroom (which didn't end up working out for the bedroom) and the fabric was from a yard I bought a while ago to make a skirt and never got around to making it. I think it worked out nicely. I'm still going back and forth on the top cabinets. I may end up painting them all cream or all blue. And yes, I did paint the countertop! It was super easy. Just a few layers of paint and then a finishing coat of spray laquer.

It may not look like much, because it's still a white beat up wall and still a storage area to an extent. But in person it's a huge improvement. Much friendlier and useful!

Here are a few more things I did (that's the most impressive part, I did it all myself! No handyman Greg helping out this time.) And it was practically free. The only cost was for extra shelves ($8) and the spray laquer ($3) and a coat rack shelf for sale from JoAnn Fabrics ($9).

Added more canning storage. Just added some more shelves so I can store the abundance of canning I still have and I know more are to come this summer. I also moved the dresser from our bedroom into the laundry room and filled it with all my fabric and sewing supplies. And moved the drawers from our hall closet, next to the dresser, full of craft items. So now all my crafting supplies are in one location. And accessible even when the kids are sleeping in my bedroom.

Now that I atleast feel like the house is a little cleaner, I can concentrate on some projects this week. Greg is away for business, which means I have a lot of free time in the evenings to be creative. I've already started on a few things, so I'll be posting more soon!

Laura

The Quilt

Laura,

I L-O-V-E it! Congrats and well done!!!!!

Kate

so you think youre crafty

Laura,

I KNOW you are crafty and I hope I am a little too. But this blog http://soyouthinkyourecrafty.blogspot.com/2010/03/kids-can-do-week-6.html
is pretty awesome. I do really like the tents, but it's the Mod Podge Hand Trees which really took me for a ride. I think this might make a nice gift for someone in the future, when her kids have longer arms.Ummmm......

I don't really have much to show, because I have been working on cross stitch. That's how I knew Spring had Sprung. For me the desire to do cross stitch is just as much a sign that spring is here as flowers are. Just think how crafty the world would be if I was mother nature. Just an idea to chew on :) So, no pic's because its really slow going on the cross stitch.

I did want to let you know that Springtime on the Bay (that's what I call it) is this month. Its a crafting event put on by the Bay Country Crafters at Baldwin Hall in Millersville, MD from March 24th to March 28th. http://www.baycountrycrafters.typepad.com/. Its pretty awesome and I love to support our local crafters. I also KNOW that these ladies are crafty too.

More soon!

Kate

Fabric Play Tents

Kate,

Remember those adorable fabric play tents you originally showed me from this blog? Well, I saw this version from So You Think Your Crafty. I love it too! I love the apple tree and how the veggies and fruits can be moved. Very interactive. Sort of makes me want to buy a bunk bed for the kids. There are so many cute ideas out there for making play tents for you kids. They do look like alot of fabric and a lot of work though. Maybe I'll add it to my dream list.

Photo from So You Think You're Crafty

Here are some other cute ones for inspiration:

Perfect for that fairy party!

Photo from http://tentsforkids.com/haba-blossom-sky-room-tent/

Photo from ikat bag

For others interested in making them, there are lots of tutorials out there, including some of the links listed here and you can also buy kits from Etsy or already made tents from Etsy as well. This is just one designer of them - http://www.etsy.com/shop/missprettypretty.

Can you tell the kiddos are sick and I'm trying to keep myself occupied while they rest and veg out? There are just so many cute ideas out there, and just not enough time (and money) to complete them all!

Laura

Seuss Quilt Complete

Kate,

Thanks to our very productive (even though short) craft session on Saturday, I made huge strides in the piecing together of R's first birthday quilt. I was super excited and motivated, so I spent a couple hours Sunday and today during the ever so rare naptime to complete it. I think it's awesome! I know R will love all the textures with the soft, bumpy fabrics, cotton and corduroy. Thank you so much for your advice, help and patience as I complete these sorts of projects. It is amazing how improved I am from the first quilt I did for V two years ago.

Here is the finished photograph. The picture doesn't capture the cuteness. I can't wait to give it to him in May!

Side note: I learrned a wonderful lesson working with this soft, bumpy fabric. Don't iron it, the bumps go away! Luckily I caught on before too much was hurt.

Now on to birthday planning,
Laura

I Spy Projects

Kate,

I'm really starting to love the idea of these "I Spy" projects you have been talking about at our crafting sessions. One of the blogs I follow posted this cute featuring the same "I Spy" theme. Very cute! And great way to use up those old scraps of fabric filling up our bins.

http://crafterhours.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-spy-completed-quilt.html

Happy crafting,
Laura

Another Quilting Project in the Works

Kate,

This is probably a bit ambitious for me. But I'm on the brink of crazy because of a toddler who refuses to nap. And right now I'm tired of her waking her brother (since they share a room) and I'm tired of her in my bed, so I had a brillant idea. How about a sleeping bag all her own. V loves the one at Gamas.

This bright idea led me to spend precious naptime searching the internet for great ideas and tutorials. I found a tutorial no problem. Now here's the tricky part, I fell absolutely in LOVE with this quilt from Moda Bake Shop (one of the many blogs I stalk). I'm thinking it would be awesome to incorporate this quilt into a sleeping bag for V. It would be even better (and probably a little insane) to complete it for Easter. It's perfect, we read Princess and the Pea everyday. It's one of her favorites. And this is too adorable for words.

So the question is, am I absolutely insane to think about another quilting project while I'm still needing to complete R's first birthday quilt?

I can't wait to see you Saturday so we can start sewing R's quilt. The cutting of fabric is complete. Now it's time to work our magic!

Laura

Parenthood

Hi Laura,

Just a quick post about the new show Parenthood. I loved it! It reminds me of the movie The Family Stone- which I love. I also love Lauren Graham (from Gilmore Girls) and evidently I have a thing for Craig T Nelson. Who knew? Not me....

Check out the houses too. They are wonderful, I can only hope that one day I will have a house like that filled with a family that disfunctional.

I love it. Watch it and let me know what you think!

http://www.nbc.com/parenthood/
Kate

Busy Bee

Hi Laura!

Wow what a great post! I have to tell you that I really like the pillow sham you were planning to use as the center of R's quilt. To be honest I really liked the texture of it, nothing else screamed out at me. So if you think its the wrong choice, then we can design something new.

I have to warn you this one could be long. I have a lot to talk about.

First, I have a confession.

I craft with other people! I know, I know. It's just that you live so far away and sometimes I have needs. You know the crafting kind. So I craft with other people sometimes. Please don't hate me. Just so you know, these other crafter's are very talented and have helped me improve my technique. So I would like to show off some of their efforts, all of which are gifts I happen to be very grateful for.

These were made by friend Amy, they are for my hope chest. Just in case we ever have kids. But I like yours and hers for that matter, so for the time being I will just plan on babysitting.

Get this, the carrot is a rattle! So cute right?

Amy also made me this pot holder set, just cause she could. What a great crafting friend. The patterns for the pot holders, bibs and carrots can all be found on the Lion Brand website.

http://www.lionbrand.com/content-crochetPatternIndex.html

Laura, this is the cutest thing ever! It's a measuring tape of all things. My dear friend Laverne made this for everyone in our knitting group. She's got talent. She also happens to be my sock therapist. Here is the best part, the pattern is free so you can make it too. They have a lot of other great free patterns. http://www.spudandchloe.com/blog/

Speaking of the SOCK! We did have a bit of therapy and as you can see we made a bit of progress. I have to give most of the credit to the sock therapist. She really knows her stuff!
Secondly, I am working on some sewing of my own. One is a gift, so I can't show you until its been given and other is still in it's early stages. But here is a pic, just to wet your whistle.

And finally, I have been doing a bit of knitting.

I made this bib and burp cloth for a co-worker who is expecting this summer. I know how impressed you are that the gift is done in advance. The burp cloth is from the Mason-Dixon knitting book. Its an amazing book, every knitter should own a copy. The bib is from http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/bevs-washcloth-bib.html

Your prior post guilted me a little, so I whipped up the knitted version of the kitchen scrubber you made. Here is the website with the pattern and a tutorial. Sweet, right!

http://1870pearl.typepad.com/myweblog/gratis-knitting-patterns.html

I love how much time we are spending together.Its awesome!

See you soon...Kate

P.S. I told you the pillow case would be awesome! And in 20 minutes no less!!! I bet I know what everyone is getting for Christmas ;)

Birthday Projects and More

Kate,
Wow! I'm embarassed at my lack of contributions this month. It's been almost a whole month since I've posted. But I promise I have been busy with crafts. Thanks to your help these past two weekends, I've actually boosted my productivity. The craft day at your moms helped me jump start and almost complete the fabric dollhouse (almost 6 months after starting it!) and meeting up at JoAnns in Columbia this past Friday made me fall in love with R's first birthday quilt idea all over again. Thank you!

So here's what I've been up to....

Scrapbooking
No pretty bragging pictures or anything. But I promise, I set up shop right next to our large living room window and watched the blizzards come through and hubby shoveling the snow, while I organized pictures and got cracking on R's pregnancy journal, baby book and completing journaling V's baby book. Very productive, I am very proud of myself. I still have alot more to work on, but here's to hoping it might actually be completed before R's first birthday party!

Valentines
V and I actually worked on V day cards. You wouldn't believe it since they were never completed and only 2 went out (one to each set of grandparents). I still have them set away in a drawer, hoping I'll completing them so more family members can have some, but I'm having doubts since we're almost hitting easter! I thought it would be a quick and easy craft to do while snowed in, but instead V was easily distracted and only wanted to do a handprint or two at a time. We spent time setting up paper, paint and paper, covering our clothes to prevent stains, just to stamp two handprints, then have to clean it all up again (all while R was napping, because I knew it would be a disaster if he got a hold of any of the paint). So needless to say, we were not productive.

Fabric Dollhouse
The fabric dollhouse inspired by this blog posting http://uklassinus.blogspot.com/2008/08/fabric-dollhouse-tutorial.html is finally in it's last stages. I had put this thing together before Christmas (it was supposed to be V's christmas gift), but realized it wasn't working correctly, so ripped it all apart to start over. Thanks to the craft day at your mom's two weekends ago, I was able to concentrate on it again without kids as a distraction and got pretty far. It's in it's final stages, only needing the handle and button closure. So next time we meet up in a coffee shop (hopefully next weekend), I can quickly hand sew it together and be done. Looks like it's going to be V's 3rd birthday present :)

R's First Birthday
I can't believe we're already starting the planning for R's first birthday. It seems like not that long ago we were doing this for V. I'm super excited about the Dr. Seuss theme. Thank you so much helping pick out coordinating fabrics. I've been playing around with the fabric and the layout possibilities while V is at church and R is napping. I'm thinking about not using the pillow sham I originally was going to use as the center, and instead use the cat in the hat from the fabric. I just wasn't liking the blue color of the sham. I can return the sham to Pottery Barn. What do you think?

I'm hoping to start cutting the squares soon (once I make a decision on the layout). And then I can start sewing this thing together!

V's Pillowcase

Of course, my little girl has grown fairly found of the fabric store, since we visit it a little too often. So when we were picking out R's seuss fabrics, she decided to pick out some of her own. She fell in love with this cute ice cream print. And of course, Kate, you persuaded me to get it and make something. I was hesitant about the pillowcase idea. But it really was SUPER EASY! I was shocked. I'm tempted to make more now. I used this tutorial http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2008/07/novelty-pillowcase-tutorial.html . I completed it in 20 minutes tops and that's while juggling two kids who were eating breakfast. I even added a third fabric for the trim, it's leftover from V's first birthday strawberry quilt, it's the pink satin. It's adorable and goes really well in her polka dot bed.

Dinosaur Print

I am still smitten with that dinosaur print we found at JoAnns. I'm still on the lookout for something to make with it. I did see this cute reversible pant (http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/2010/02/guest-post-fold-up-cuff-pants-tutorial.html), but that might be too big of a project for me right now. So any ideas, please shoot them my way. I am dying to use it!

I promise more crafting and pictures soon.

Laura

Snow, horses and someone elses crafts

Dear Laura,

I realized the other day that you would think with all this snow I would have lots to show off. Well I don't. Its sad and embarrassing really. The thing is I got so busy doing snow things, that I was (get this) to tired to craft! I know its crazy, but what can a girl do?

Let me tell you what a girl can do, she can provide pictures of her friends crafts.

I am sorry the pics are poor, my camera and I are working on our relationship. As you can tell we might need professional help.

These items are for charity. I sent a box of machine made sweaters (and a handmade cowl) to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Their group on Ravelry is currently doing a collection for babies, toddles, children and adults. So pretty much everyone. I sent another package with the hats and bibs went to their OB ward for the babies. I am working on another package with toddler items- see this is me trying to redeem myself.

Here are Amy's projects: a cute white sweater and matching bib.

And a few cute hats. The tiny one will be sent to JHU for their NICU hat drive via Ravelry in March and April.

The Adult Cowl, I made from some left over Lion Brand Woolease. In grey. You can find the pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knit-cowl

I also sent along the little blue hat from my last post and the brown bib.


I do have pictures from my parents house after the second snow. The horse is my aunts. He is very pretty from rolling in the snow. Oh, there is nothing better than horses in the snow. My sister, E, wanted to knit them all legging so they would be warm. I told her to go right ahead. Lets see what she comes up with ;-)


I have lots more to post, once I get some decent pictures. If you (or anyone) has any questions or would like to participate in one of charity efforts, please let me know.
Kate

P.S. The sock and I need professional therapy. This I know for sure. We are going tomorrow. I am sure we will experience progess.

A little respect

Hi Laura,

I can totally respect your commitment to use your stash (and green your home). Its a fantastic mission, which I completely support.

Immediately after I read your post, I found this free pattern for using your scraps to make an awesome pillowcase. Below is the link , they also have cookie recipes! http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/ec27af6b#/ec27af6b/87

I love your scrubbers. I have made the knit version before as gifts, I actually never thought to use them in my own house! I have little yarn they use and how quick they knit up.

I am in the middle of a few things. I hope to make a lot of progress this weekend- assuming the snow starts again. Pictures then.

Keep warm!

Kate

Eco-friendly Craft Mission

Kate,
I don't truly make new years resolutions, since I don't want to disappoint myself mid way through the year, but I did tell myself that this year I would continue my mission to green my home with more eco-friendly projects and healthier foods. I also decided that I would limit my craft spending and focus on creating projects from my bins full of fabric and other crafting accessories.

I've started to follow through with these goals with a few projects completed. I already feel a little better inside :)

Crochet Dish Scrubber/Tawashi
The motivation behind the crochet dish scrubber actually came while I was in Florida. One day, we hit up the pool and there were a couple of women knitting. I noticed one was knitting dish scrubbers and chatted a little with her. I thought, awesome, this will be a perfect quick project to use up some of the Sugar n Cream cotton yarn I've had sitting around. I came home and searched the internet and found this one for crocheting - http://www.craftstylish.com/item/43848/how-to-crochet-a-tawashi. It looked simple enough and I was right. I completed 2 in the time it took us to watch Snow White (our quiet time for the day since we had windows being installed in the nursery).

So I've used up some of my scrap yarn and now all I have to do is wash and toss in the laundry. No more yucky sponges for me!

Hairbows Holder

I've been making hairbows with a fellow MOMS Club member during nightly craft nights we have every once in a while. I love making hairbows, however, my lovely daughter does not enjoy wearing them as much as I'd like. So I have stopped making them for now, but I saw an adorable way to display them - http://theidearoom.blogspot.com/2009/07/girls-barettes-and-hair-bow-holder.html.

I used an old picture frame I had, painted it white, hot glued some scrap ribbons I had vertically across the frame and all I had to do was clip the hairbows on. (Mine isn't as cute as the sample, but it works!) It's cute, it's easy and it's done.

Cloth Wipes

When I was pregnant with my first, you know I was eager to be the perfect mom, and provide only the best for my kids. I thought cloth diapering would be the answer. Unfortunately for me, it became overwhelming and more of a problem. I still vow that I will return to cloth diapers, one day. (For now I'm focusing on getting one kid out of diapers and using the potty!) So instead of dwelling on my cloth diaper failures, I've picked up a new goal - using cloth wipes. I thought this might be an easier way to step into the cloth diapering world. And it's a great way to use up scraps of fabric. I happen to have scraps of flannel from a blanket I made R and from pajama pants I just cut off to become shorts/capris.

I love this idea - http://www.thetranquilparent.com/detail/make-your-own-cloth-baby-wipes-and-wipes-solution/ or http://myhappycrazylife.com/make-your-own-cloth-wipes/.

 It's as simple as cutting squares and sewing up the edges. And they are supposed to fit perfectly into a wipe container! All I need next is to make up a homemade liquid or just use water. My goal is to complete these during our snow in!

So look at me, I've completed a few projects, without spending any extra money at the fabric store! And hopefully they'll help me green my home just a little bit! :)

More to come,

Laura

Just a little knitting from the past two weekends

Hi Laura!

I am a little behind in my postings from last weekend. I finished up a bib and a few hats. The hat with the folded brim is for a 4 month old little boy, who is going to be baptized next weekend. The other hat is for a charity called the Children of Pine Ridge Reservation (SD). This particular reservation faces 80%+ unemployment and bitter cold temps. As a member of the Children of Pine Ridge Reservation Ravelry group we are currently working on items for infants (3mo+), toddlers, kids and teens.

I think I will send this bib along as well. I know the picture is bad, but this bib has a little monkey on it. In person it's really cute.

Here is the link for the pattern. She has a lot of really other cute patterns: http://downcloverlaine.blogspot.com/2009/09/imp-bib_19.html

This weekend I am working on my first pair of hand knit socks. It could be my last, as I suffer from second mitten syndrome and I am not sure how socks would be any different :)

Hope to hear from you soon!

Kate

Inspiration. What else are friends for?

Laura,

Your post last week provided a lot of sewing motivation. You are an endless source of inspiration. So much so that, I made a version of V's red and green skirt for a little girl who is turning 3 this week. I think she will love it. You were right, it was super easy. My only regret was not adding the ribbon at the bottom. I had this wonderful purple ribbon to match, what I did not have was purple thread. Maybe I should buy one of those large assortments of thread which includes every color under the sun for situations like this? I will think about it again when I get the next Joanne's coupon......ummm shopping.

Check this out... if you look at the top of the skirt you will see a lable with my name on it. My other wonderfully crafty friend, Amy, gave me these for Christmas. They are so cute! Thanks again Amy!

Last weekend we celebrated my Grandmother's 95th birthday. My sister E and I made a coconut cake from SCRATCH! I grated an entire coconut by hand. Impressive right?

I also whipped up this little gift made from Cascade 220 chunky baby alpaca. Just CO 65 stitches, join and knit and until you run out of yarn or it fits over your head and neck so that the snow can't get in. I thought she would like something to cover her hair and neck without all of the fuss of a hat and scarf. I think she really liked it. It took a while to think of something for a 95 year old who has everything.

Hope you are busy crafting too!

Kate

Weekend of Little Girl Sewing

Kate,
I'm LOVING the One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins. Besides the awesome rocket you made for R's baptism gift, I have successfully completed three adorable outfits for V! Thanks so much for helping me pick out fabric at JoAnns. It motivated me to get sewing! Greg had a long weekend off work for the holiday, so I didn't feel guilty leaving him with the little ones while I had some one-on-one time with my beloved sewing machine.

First on the list was the "Pleated Girly Skirt" with the adorable ladybug fabric. It was the easiest and quickest to make. But I do think the pleats do some wierd things when she's walking around in it.

Next up, the "Ballet-Neck Toddler Dress". I just love this style of dress. This one took the longest and was the strangest instructions. I'm still not sure I completed it correctly, but hey, it's still adorable. I love love love the polka dots with little hearts and the mis-matched trims. V already favors it over the other outfits. :)

Finally the "All-Ages Classic Jumper". This one I must have miss measured at first because it could have fit around me! But that was easy to fix, you can always make something smaller. I love this jumper because you can wear it for years, first as a dress, then as a cute shirt when it gets too short.

Overall, a successful weekend with not too many redos. I think I have increased my confidence on the sewing machine. I have the One-Yard Wonders book for another 2 weeks from the library so I'm thinking I might try one of the adult tops. We shall see if any fabric inspires me!

Laura