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

Craft Hope for Haiti

For those of you who don't know about Etsy.com, it's a marvelous website dedicated to handmade crafters! Very similar to Ebay and other online retailers, it exclusively lists handmade arts and crafts. So you should check it out and support crafters worldwide!

What's even better about Etsy is when compassionate and caring folks sell their handmade items in support of great nonprofits. This is one example. Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop recently opened. The shop supports Doctors Without Borders, with 100% of the proceeds going to them. The Doctors Without Borders existing facilities are so badly damaged, they are no longer functional. Post-earthquake medical care will be from tents. So far they have treated 1,500 people – 500 of them need immediate major surgery. There are no facilities to do this in Haiti currently. An inflatable hospital should be arriving in Haiti today.
So how can you help? You can either donate handmade items to be sold in the online shop or simply shop the Etsy store itself.

We have added a direct link to the shop with the button to the right or below on this post.

R's Rocket, Holiday Sewing and More

Kate
As you previously posted, you made this awesome rocket pillow for R for his baptism. It's wonderful!

Here it is:

By the way, I absolutely love the book she got the idea from - One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins. Every project in the book requires only one yard of fabric. There are a handful of items for the kids that are already on my to do list! I got the book from the library, I have some fabric, now it's time to get started. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have some progress!

So what else have I worked on since last posting, which was way too long ago. Here is a little peak at some of the items I did over the holidays....

Kate's Christmas Gift. I got this idea from the Sewing Calendar which has sewing projects to work on throughout the year. The calendar is a great gift idea for crafters, coming in all varieties, knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking and more. These are little holiday house ornaments.

V's Christmas/Holiday PJs. These were super easy. I just made a pattern from a pair of her current pjs. And sewed. So easy!!!! Definately going to do more in the future.

I promise I'll have more to post soon, when I pull out the sewing machine again and start back on some "one-yard wonders".

Laura

New Year, New Crafts

Hi Everyone!

Instead of post blogging about all of my Christmas crafts, I have decided to start the new year with news of my new craft- sewing! I have done a little sewing, mostly straight lines; but this is my greatest accomplishment since 6th grade!

R's Rocket!!!!

The timeline was tight. I bought the fabric on Friday with Laura and then I sewed yesterday afternoon with help from my mom! It was then given this the baptism this afternoon. I forgot my camera, so I will have to ask Laura to take one and post it for me :)

More projects soon! Its going to be a crafty year! I can feel it!!!!

Kate