Confessions of a Sewciopath

preparing for knitting class

2012-01-03T21:18:00.000-06:00

Honestly, one of my favorite parts of teaching knitting? Assembling supplies for my students! I'm getting ready to teach a class at our homeschool co-op this semester, and I thought I'd share a little of my process with you.

First, I make knitting needles. I would never send a student out ahead of time to try to find the right knitting needles and yarn, but at the same time I can't afford to buy needles for all of them. Making the needles saves them (and me) money, until they see if they want to stick with it. Plus, the wooden needles are not quite as slippery, and that means less dropped stitches. Besides all that, I just enjoy making them. I start with dowels, sharpen one end in a pencil sharpener, sand until they're just right, and glue a bead on the other end. I also rub them down with paraffin to make them smoother. I'm making them a little shorter this time around, for ease of stuffing into backpacks and such.

I then make up a little pack of accessories - these little printable rulers can be found at MathaTube. I print them on card stock. We like to save the in-between strips to use as bookmarks - Lydia loves to decorate them.

I also include a yarn needle and a couple of safety pins. This time around, I got the bright idea to make little matchbook-style needle books. It's just a 8 1/2" x 2 1/4" strip of card stock with one end folded under 3/4". Then I inserted a 4" x 2" piece of card stock in the fold, stapled, and folded the long end up to the staple. These would look great in printed scrapbook paper for grownups, but I thought the kids would like to decorate their own. Sorry they're so hard to see in these photos - if you need more information, let me know in the comments and I'll do a tutorial!

I also include a little pair of scissors, and pack it into a ziplock bag so they can keep it all together. All ready for assembly!

I also give them a 1 oz ball of yarn, and I cast on 15 stitches and work 3 rows in garter stitch with each one in advance. I want them to be able to go straight to knitting, without the discouraging finger gymnastics of casting on. It's fine with me if they learn that later. I like to use variegated yarn, because it makes it easier to distinguish between rows. (Plus, the colors are fun.) It helps me use up those leftovers I have lying around, plus I often find it at the thrift store or yard sales. I try to make up extra, so they have plenty to choose from.

Last semester, I gave each student a little tote bag to carry their knitting and supplies. I noticed that at the end of class, they took the tote bags and stuffed them into their school bags. Then, of course, all the knitting things would fall out into their school bags, yarn in a big tangle, you get the picture. This time around, I'm giving them gallon-size ziplock bags for their knitting, and they can stuff it to their heart's content. Cheaper for me, more practical for them. :)

I also print out some basic knitting instructions, knowing that as soon as they leave class, they will need a reminder how it's done. And I wrote up a first "pattern" of sorts, things they can do with that first garter stitch rectangle. There are three choices and sizes of things to make, so that even the slowest of knitters can make something. Since I couldn't find it when I needed it, I offer it here, so that if you need it to hand out to a class, you may use it.

the candy holidays

2011-10-24T20:36:00.002-05:00

Well, here we are - it's nearly halloween, then Christmas, then Valentine's Day, then Easter. I call them the "candy holidays," because the celebration of them has evolved into a sickening candy-fest. There is a special reason I dread them so much: we have followed a strictly all natural diet, as closely as possible, for 8 years now. My girls are very sensitive to artificial colors, flavors and certain preservatives. Their reactions range from ADHD-type behavior to depression. Sometimes both - think of some bizarre combination of Tigger and Eeyore.

I am very fortunate that they know what they can and can't eat, and stick to the diet on their own, even when I'm not around. Over the years, they have learned to simply say "No thank you, I can't eat that" when they are offered ordinary candy. The reactions they get tend to fall into two categories.

One category is pity. Poor pitiful little deprived things, they can't have M&M's, or a sucker from the bank. Sometimes people will feel so bad for them, they will try to convince them to go ahead and eat it, Mom won't know the difference. (ha!) What these people don't realize is that my daughters are not accustomed to artificial ingredients; that Red 40- and vanillin-laden excuse for candy will taste like a bunch of chemicals to them. There are real, natural candies out there, and they beat the taste of artificially flavored candy by a mile. But even if there were not alternatives to artificially flavored candy, I've never heard of a child dying of a candy deficiency!

Another category, believe it or not, is indignation. As if by politely refusing candy, they are passing judgement on the eating habits of the rest of the world. Lizi once stood in a buffet line, and asked the server if she knew the ingredients of a certain item. When she found out the reason, the woman sharply answered "It's not possible to eat all natural all the time! Everything has artificial ingredients in it!" I admire my girls for their grace in dealing with such comments; but it is incomprehensible to me that they have had to develop such a skill! Do you ever wish that grownups would just act like grownups?

Now more than ever, there are children all around us with various dietary allergies and sensitivities. They don't need your pity, and they certainly don't need your wrath. So how should you answer a child who can't eat what you would like to give them? Just say "Oh, I see." And smile. Maybe give them a pat on the back and compliment their responsibility. Or give them a quarter instead of that piece of candy. Or why hand out candy at all? Maybe stickers or little toys? It's not good for ANY of us to make the "candy holidays" all about candy anyway, right?

the perils of pretty food

2011-07-09T14:44:00.001-05:00

I am very fortunate in that my girls love raw fruits and vegetables with no sugar or sauces whatsoever. So it's a normal occurrence that I peel a carrot to go along with Lydia's lunch. But on this day, I noticed the pretty ruffly lettuce for our salads - it looked like a fancy dress to me... I grabbed some toothpicks from the drawer and a bit of broccoli for hair, and voila - a "Veggie Lady!"

Lydia was delighted. Photos and video had to be taken of Veggie Lady. Then I said "Okay, now you can eat it!" "NOOO! I can't eat Veggie Lady!!!" Never mind that she's made of healthy, delicious food that Lydia normally loves - now she's too PRETTY to eat.

sigh - should have learned my lesson when they wouldn't eat the heart-shaped sandwiches...

new socks and birthday gifts

2011-06-05T17:47:00.003-05:00

Just popping in to show you a couple of projects. The first is a birthday gift for one of Lydia's friends. She asked for a "unicorn pillowcase"; I embroidered a white pillowcase with her name, a unicorn and a rainbow. I also made her this throw pillow. She loves hearts and rainbow colors, so the heart print fabric and rainbow trim were perfect. Seems she really liked it! The embroidery design may be found here.

And now I get to make an identical set for Lydia. ;)

I've also started a new pair of socks. When dear Maya started dyeing commercially spun yarn, she sent one of her first skeins to me. Since then I've puzzled over just the right project for such a special gift. I finally settled on this sock pattern. It is "Sock Hop" by Patsy Leatherbury, published in Creative Knitting magazine July 2006. It was the first sock pattern I tried to knit, and I loved those socks. Then we moved into our new house, and for some reason the floors ate holes in all our socks for a while. Including my very first hand-knit socks, sadly. I guess maybe it took a while to remove all the fine grit lingering on the floors from the construction? Who knows. But there were my beloved socks, with gaping holes in the soles.

I've wanted to knit another pair by this pattern for some time, and it finally occurred to me to use the yarn that Maya sent! It's from her "Muscadine Sock" line. This is the "Inked" colorway, one of her first. I love the color, but also the yarn itself. I am surprised at how stretchy it has turned out to be; but it springs back into shape, too. Perfect for socks. And I'll make sure the floors don't eat them this time. :)

alive and well

2011-04-29T09:28:00.001-05:00

Just reporting in - you may know that some of the tornadoes on Wednesday passed near our home. Far too close for comfort. But our house is okay, just some twigs and leaves all over the yard and chairs blown around. Some of our church members and friends have damage and injuries, but nothing too major. The only real imposition to us personally is that "our" Hobby Lobby and Big Lots were destroyed, and we will have to drive to another until they are rebuilt.

Our hearts go out to the people who have lost family and friends and property. At this point, I can't even wrap my brain around the level of devastation. I keep looking at these photos and videos, and in some cases the destruction is such that it's hard to identify what it even used to be. I guess I will have to see it in person to believe that places I see all the time will never look the same again.

the reason for the season

2011-04-23T23:24:00.000-05:00

Wishing a blessed and happy Easter to my blog friends.

infestation

2011-04-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

It would appear that my lamp is developing a case of the Zoobles. Anybody know if there's a pesticide or something for that?

Papyri shawl

2011-03-31T09:51:00.001-05:00

Recently I had the opportunity to join my first Knit-a-Long. Our purpose was to knit the Papyri Shawl (ravelry link). In the beginning, I feared that I would not be able to keep up the pace of the other knitters. But as it turned out, I kept up just fine, and I am very pleased with the result!

It is knit in SpringtreeRoad's Muscadine Sock yarn, which is a new favorite of mine. It is soft, but also durable and easy to knit. Project bags for the knit-a-long are from Madbird. It's perfectly sized for most of my projects, so I foresee using it a lot.

Best of all, it's done, and in time for Easter!

water jar cozy

2011-02-21T15:29:00.003-06:00

We've recently stopped buying bottled water, and bought a pitcher to filter our water instead. I have reusable bottles for water, but honestly? When I'm just hanging around the house, I prefer a pint jar. The water seems to taste cleaner out of the glass, to me.

Then we were at Starbucks the other day, and I saw a glass water bottle sheathed in some sort of plastic or silicone, to be less breakable. So I thought, why can I not make a cover for my humble canning jar, so it can go places with me? And the idea for a water jar cozy was born.

So I'm putting the (very simple) pattern here in case anyone else would like to make one. You will need about an ounce of worsted weight cotton yarn, a size F crochet hook, and a hair elastic.

Gauge is 15 stitches / 8 rows to 4 inches, in double crochet.

Abbreviations in this pattern:
sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet

Round 1: Sl st into hair elastic, ch 3, then dc 35 into hair elastic. Sl st into top of ch-3. You should have 36 stitches if you count the ch-3 as a dc. (This is the top of your cozy.) Do not turn your work at the ends of the rounds.

Rounds 2-8 - Ch 3, dc in each dc, sl st into top of ch-3. Again, you should have 36 stitches counting the ch-3.

Round 9: Now we begin decreases for the bottom. Ch 3, dc 1, dc 2 tog; *dc 2, dc 2 tog* to end of round. Sl st into top of ch-3. (26 stitches, counting ch-3.)

Round 10: Ch 3, dc 2 tog; *dc 1, dc 2 tog* to end of round. Sl st into top of ch-3. (18 stitches, counting ch-3.)

Round 11: Ch 3, dc 2 tog; *dc 3 tog* to end of round. Sl st into top of ch-3. ( 7 stitches, counting ch-3) Fasten off. Use yarn tail to sew up the hole as you weave it in. Weave in top tail also.

I like a handle on my water container. If you would like one as shown, make a chain about 2" longer than you want your handle to be. (Mine is about 15".) Now you're going to sc on both sides of your foundation chain: Sc in the back loop of the second ch from hook, and in back loop of each remaining ch. Sc 5 in end ch. Turn and sc in the remaining loops of your foundation chain. Sc 4 in the end loop, and sl st into first sc. Fasten off. Stitch the ends very securely to sides of your cozy - if you made your yarn tails long enough, you can just use those for the sewing.

I like this one so much, I think I'm going to make several of them. I think next I'll make one in a solid color, with an applique of some sort.

If you make one of these, then you are a pattern tester. :) Let me know if you find any mistakes, or if you think of a way to make this clearer.

Edited 2-22-11 to clarify abbreviations.

Update: here's the second, in ecru, with a leaf applique. The leaf pattern is from Crochet with Raymond, and can be found here. Here's the ravelry link, if you prefer.

just a bit of fun

2011-02-08T13:18:00.001-06:00

As you know, I'm not making anything new to sell right now. But I had a few Pi Guys on hand, so I thought, why not list them? After all, Pi Day is coming up March 14! (3/14, get it?)

~~So if you'd like to see them,~~ ~~click here~~! Sold out - thank you!

finally finished!

2011-01-26T12:36:00.000-06:00

Remember these socks? It's taken a while because I had to take a break for Christmas gift making, but they are finally done! They are soft and squishy and wonderful. I love them from their ribbed cuff down to their little star toes.

Not sure why that one stripe on the left toe came out so wide - ah, the mysteries of self-striping yarn.

The pattern is Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt, from the Favorite Socks book.

The yarn is Serenity Sock Weight by Premier Yarns, in the Amethyst colorway.

Check out those puddled jeans - too bad I don't know anybody who does alterations, huh?

nope.

2011-01-10T12:20:00.000-06:00

I love you, but I'm not going down there to make photos for you. All photos today will be from the porch.

While our friends and neighbors a little north of us were getting lots and lots of lovely snow, we got this: ice pellets, with a little frozen rain and snow mixed in. I said it looks like a big slippery sheet of uh-oh, to me. Including my driveway.

But the ice on the trees is sort of pretty, though this photo doesn't do it justice. And I'm just happy we have power, and heat, and water. We feared that we would not, given the weather forecast. So I shall stay inside and enjoy them all today.

new student

2011-01-03T13:48:00.002-06:00

We are back to homeschool today, after our vacation for the holidays. We were fortunate to have a new student in class today - Milli from Team UmiZoomi! The napkin holder made a nice desk. She already has mighty math powers, but apparently she needs to brush up on her alphabet.

The snack she brought, though, was a can of "boo-boo cream" from Lydia's animal hospital play set - perhaps I should share some of my snack instead? ;)

Update: I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls. Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time. My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us. I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas. Hope that helps!

backpack tutorial

2010-12-31T12:03:00.000-06:00

Wow, this post has been a long time coming! I've actually been working on this post for a while, and nearly gave up because it's taken so long. But I did want to share a more complete tutorial for the blue jean backpack. This is another backpack I made for charity, and I took photos of the steps this time! Disclaimer: I've worked on this post in such fits and starts, please let me know if I've left out a step or if something is unclear!

To make this backpack, you will need an adult sized pair of jeans, a little fabric, a zipper, and something to use for straps. The exact measurements will depend on the size jeans you use, so read through the tutorial to see how much you will need. Theoretically, you could get two backpacks out of one pair of jeans.

Here you see the jeans, with one leg marked for cutting. I cut off one hem and laid the leg out flat, with the fold at the side seam. I measured over from the fold to cut the straightest, largest rectangle possible. If your jeans are smaller and you really need the room, you can take out the hem stitching and press it flat for a little more fabric (instead of cutting off the hem). My finished rectangle of fabric, once laid flat, was 17" x 30". The rectangle will be folded in half, and the fold will form the bottom of the backpack.
Then, cut off one of the back pockets. Instead of taking out the stitching, it's much easier just to cut around it. Leave a little extra fabric for fraying, if you like that look.
Then cut your other pieces from fabric: one piece for the big front pocket, this one was 17" x 12"; and 2 casings, these were 17" x 6". Note that your pocket and casings should be the same width as your rectangle. You'll also need a zipper. Here are all the pieces, laid out as they will be assembled. (You will notice that my zipper is too long - that's okay. It will be cut off.)
First, stitch one side of the zipper to the top of the pocket, then flip up and topstitch. If your zipper is too long, line up one end with the edge of the fabric, and we'll cut off the other end later. You'll notice that my zipper is a separating jacket zipper, so I had to cut off the bottom end. Just using what I have on hand, here!
Pin jeans pocket in center of large fabric pocket and stitch around the sides and bottom, following the original stitching lines.

Place pocket assembly on one end of your denim rectangle. Pin in place at top and bottom.
Turn under the bottom edge of the pocket and make a couple of rows of topstitching, so it will be nice and sturdy. The sides of your pocket will be sewn into the side seams of the backpack, so don't worry about them right now.
Now stitch the top edge of the zipper to the top edge of the backpack. If your zipper is too long, like mine, carefully stitch over the end of the zipper within the side seam allowance. Cut even with the edge of the fabric.

Now, prepare your casings for the drawstring at the top of the bag. Make a small hem on each short side of your rectangles. Fold the casing in half, and line up the raw edges with one of the top edges of your backpack. Be sure to center it - you should have the seam allowance of the backpack extending past the hemmed edge of the casing on both sides. Sew the seam and finish the raw edges. Flip up the casing and topstitch. Repeat for the other casing, at the other top edge of the backpack.

Measure your strap/drawstring. I am using ribbon here; you may use any kind of sturdy ribbon or trim, or make straps out of fabric. You will need one piece for each side, and each piece needs to be twice as long as the measurement across the top of the backpack and down the side. Add just a smidge for a seam allowance. In my case, each piece is about 66" long.

Run your ribbons through the casings for the drawstring, with the ends of one coming out on the left side, and the other coming out the right side. Take the ends and baste near the bottom corners, so that they will be attached in your side seam.

Now sew your side seams, stitching a couple of extra times over those drawstring/strap ends. Finish the raw edges.

Turn right side out, fill with your stuff, and go!

If you make a backpack, please send me a photo or leave a link to a photo of your backpack in the comments!

just so you know...

2010-12-27T14:44:00.000-06:00

If you intend to turn on the stove eye with the pot of green beans, but accidentally turn on the eye that has your PLASTIC FLOUR CANISTER sitting on it, this is what happens.

Just thought I'd clear that up.

As I said in my first post, if I can't be a shining example, I guess I'll just have to be a horrible warning. ;)

pure joy

2010-12-25T18:50:00.001-06:00

Yes, Lydia liked her Team Umizoomi dolls. :) (Please excuse the Christmas morning unbrushed hair.) It's been a good Christmas - it even snowed today, which is unheard of in Alabama.

I hope you had a merry Christmas as well!

Update: I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls. Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time. My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us. I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas. Hope that helps!

and here's Geo!

2010-12-22T08:51:00.002-06:00

Whew! The Team Umizoomi dolls are complete, and with two days to spare! I am pretty pleased with how Geo turned out. His suit on the show has a lot of variations in color, but dear reader, I just didn't have the time for that. Instead, I used a mottled blue fabric and hope it has about the same effect. And his belt is not a square, as on the show, but again, time. I don't think Lydia will mind.

And here's the whole "tiny team." Lydia is going to be ecstatic!

If you'd like to see the other posts about making the Team Umizoomi dolls, with pattern ideas, etc:

Update: I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls. Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time. My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us. I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas. Hope that helps!

and finally, Bot!

2010-12-20T15:02:00.002-06:00

Bot has been slow going - a lot of little details to figure out, and not much time to sneak around and work without Lydia seeing what I'm doing. Thankfully, Chad kept her occupied for a while yesterday so I could make some headway. I'm not as thrilled with this one as I was with Milli. He's too flat - I should have made him more cylindrical. But it's 5 days till Christmas, and I still have Geo to finish, so he'll have to do.

For more on the Team Umizoomi Dolls project for Lydia's Christmas: See the finished Milli here. See the first post and second post with pattern ideas.

See finished Geo here.

Update: I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls. Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time. My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us. I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas. Hope that helps!

here's Milli!

2010-12-13T08:21:00.003-06:00

If you've read the blog over the last couple of weeks, you have seen a little of my quest to make Team UmiZoomi dolls for Lydia for Christmas. While she was out yesterday, I had some prime sewing time to finish Milli! I'm most critical of my own work, so I could point out a number of flaws. But none are likely to be noticed by a 5 year old on Christmas morning as she is flipping out over it!

See the original post here and progress here.

See finished Geo and Bot.

team umizoomi dolls - progress!

2010-12-12T11:41:00.004-06:00

I'm home with a cold this morning. But since Lydia is gone with the rest of the family, it was too perfect an opportunity to work on her Team UmiZoomi dolls for Christmas! So I bravely soldiered on and made a pattern, then started painting faces.

What I finally decided to do about a pattern was to print out Nickelodeon's Milli paper doll, enlarge it a bit, and use it as a guide to make the pattern pieces. Geo is basically just like Milli, only with no dress, so I'm going to use the same pattern for both.

I intended to use fine point Sharpies for the face, but those bled too badly on my fabric. So I fished through my fabric paints and found close enough matches for the colors I needed. The features are so tiny, I painted them with the tip of a toothpick. I used my handy dandy light box to copy the face onto the fabric. Again, Geo's face is nearly like Milli's; the few differences I could spot were that his eyes don't extend quite so far on the sides, he normally has one eyebrow raised, and I chose to do a sideways grin to make his a little different.

If you're making your own Team Umizoomi dolls this Christmas and are posting your own progress, feel free to leave a comment with a link so we can all see! And you may also see the previous post for other pattern ideas.

See the finished Milli doll here!

Also see Bot and Geo.

Update: I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls. Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time. My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us. I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas. Hope that helps!

finished off

2010-12-10T11:42:00.000-06:00

Some have asked for more information about the handstitching project a couple of posts ago, so I thought I'd show the finished product. It's a moleskine cover, pretty much as the one in the Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin. Since it's from a book, I can't give much detail as far as how-to, but you can see that it's not really that complicated. A kit can be ordered from Alabama Chanin, or it can be made from purchased fabric (as this one), or it could be made from pieces of a t-shirt. I used the stencil provided in the book for the leaf design.

My changes are:
a heart inside the front cover;

signed and dated inside the back cover;

and a bookmark, which I think is essential. One of the properties of knit jersey is that it curls when you pull it. That can be annoying, but can also be used to your advantage. I just cut a strip of jersey with a leaf shape on the end, then cut another leaf to match, and stitched around the two leaf shapes together. (This keeps the leaf itself from curling so much.) Then I pulled the strip, and there's a sort of a vine-looking thing.

To attach it, I just tucked the top end between the two layers, and stitched it in place while stitching the folded-in ends to enclose the book cover.

a herd of unicorns

2010-12-08T14:55:00.000-06:00

These unicorns are actually lip balm cozies! I made them for Lydia to give to her little friends for Christmas (with all natural lip balm inside, of course). The pattern is by Funky Orange, and you can find it here.

Did I mention that Lydia loves unicorns these days? She also arranged the unicorns for the photo for me. ;)

the gentle art of hand sewing

2010-12-06T14:51:00.000-06:00

One of the tales I've not told from my Incredibly Busy Summer is of the workshop I was fortunate to attend in August. For some time, I've admired Natalie Chanin's work. She hails from my hometown of Florence, Alabama. She left to work internationally in the fashion industry, but a few years ago came back to Florence to start a new kind of company. The emphasis is on hand sewing, using sustainable and even recycled materials, and helping bring jobs to the community. Another aspect of her work is teaching these techniques so that sewing does not become a dead art. She has written two books - Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style. They are not your run-of-the-mill craft books; in addition to the simple instructions for projects, they contain wonderful recipes and stories. I have enjoyed reading them because the stories are all about places and people I know!

So, back to the workshop: it was a dream come true to be able to go. The money to attend was a very generous gift. I was nervous at the prospect of sitting in a room full of people who'd been able to pay their own way, because I thought I would feel out of place. But in truth, I met some delightful ladies that day, besides Ms. Chanin herself. And the lunch was just amazing. Good Southern fare, but over-the-top delicious.

I didn't really expect to learn anything new as far as stitches or techniques, but the application was new to me. I really had to get over my professional-seamstress OCD to try something new - *gasp!* Exposed knots?? Unfinished edges?? But it's really freeing to not have to worry about the finishing and just concentrate on the decoration. And seeing some of the garments in person - even without finished hems and seams and all that, they are exquisite. And I might add, they take more time than you'd think. But the work is pleasant and mindless; no counting or fretting, just tie knots and follow the lines.

It was a good day, and I'm glad to have something new to add to my repertoire. The photo is of a project I've started for a Christmas gift - wish me luck!

Jewelry gift card

2010-12-03T12:37:00.001-06:00

So our homeschool group's Christmas banquet is this evening. I made these tatted pendant and earring sets for the other moms, and I've been puzzled as to the best way to wrap them. I didn't want them completely enclosed, because I wanted everyone to be able to choose a color they like. And attaching them to a plain card seemed too unceremonious.

So here's my solution. I made tri-fold cards, two to a page, with "Merry Christmas" printed on the front. I punched appropriate holes for the jewelry inside, and there ya go. The card can be opened so that the colors can be seen, but the earring hooks are not hanging out the back to get bent or caught on anything.

Just in case someone else needs it, here's the page. You'll need to set your page orientation to landscape, and perhaps tell your printer not to print the headers and footers, if it wants to put extra writing on there. Print it, cut the paper in half, and fold the cards in thirds. If you glue or tape the ends, it could also be an envelope for a gift card or folded check.

Happy Gift-Giving!

(Oh, and see my freshly painted porch railing in the background? Isn't it great? It used to look like this!)

Advent time again!

2010-11-30T20:59:00.002-06:00

Wow - it seems like just a few days ago I was cutting out all those little doors! It's a good thing there are printable Advent calendars for people like me who are characteristically late.

Lizi's Advent calendar this year is a free printable sent to us by Classical Academic Press - a Latin word a day to translate! How fun is that?

Lydia's is this calendar, from the Etsy shop Calobee. And it's on sale!

The Toymaker also has a cute one on her Christmas page, if you're looking for a free one.

There's still time - fire up that printer and get a sharp knife and a glue stick! (watch your fingers!!)

you can have the mall...

2010-11-26T11:28:00.003-06:00

...because there's not a Black Friday deal out there big enough to make me roll out of my nice, warm bed in the wee hours of the morning to go fist-fight some other shopper for it.

I am still doing some Christmas gift prep today, but mine looks more like this:

Much more pleasant, to my way of thinking.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. :)

And hey, if you need some Christmas gift crafting ideas, I have a few free patterns/tutorials over here on the right... maybe scroll down a bit... ------->

Christmas gift quandry

2010-11-22T23:03:00.008-06:00

Lydia loves the television show Team UmiZoomi. It is adorable, and she's learned a lot of math from watching it.

The problem? She wants a set of dolls that look like Team UmiZoomi for Christmas, and there are none to be found. I've not been able to find a single toy with that theme.

So I guess I'll have to make them myself. Just in case someone else is in a similar pickle, I thought I'd share what I've found. (Note: I am not suggesting that anyone make Team UmiZoomi toys to sell, lest the wrath of Nickelodeon fall upon you! I am talking about making dolls for your own child or other family member, here.)

For Milli and Geo, there are several options. Bit of Whimsy's Doodle Girl and Buddy Boy could be adapted. A couple of the free patterns on Runo's website could also be adapted, especially the mini doll. (Don't let the clothes fool you - look at the pattern!)

If you crochet, you might try this pattern by K and J dolls, leaving off the petals, wings, etc and just using the basic doll body. Or Owlishly has several patterns that could work, like this one - just leave off the ears? (While you're in their shops, look around at all the other cuteness too!)

As for Bot, I guess we're on our own...

See the finished Milli doll here!

And finished Geo and Bot!

Here's a thought about a Bot pattern - Bit of Whimsy's B-movie monster has the basic shape, just move the eyes, add a belly screen, and change the hands and feet.

Update: I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls. Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time. My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us. I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas. Hope that helps!

tasty science

2010-11-18T13:46:00.002-06:00

We've been doing some simple science experiments with Lydia this school year - just enough to pique her interest in the subject, since she's only in kindergarten. Today we went outside to focus the power of the sun with a magnifying glass and zap some stuff.

You can't see the smoke in the photo, but the leaf burned pretty well.
Then we moved on to melting chocolate chips. We also discussed the possibility of making s'mores with the sun and a magnifying glass.
Then the sun went behind a cloud, so we just ate the rest. :)

eyes on the east

2010-11-17T19:56:00.002-06:00

I'm home tonight with a kidlet who's under the weather. But on the upside, she's not feeling like bouncing around a whole lot, which is perfect for watching for meteors. She's too sick to go out in the cold, but we went to big sister's room for the perfect east-facing window. We didn't see much - even a sick 5-year-old can only pay attention so long, and it's a bit early; clouds will roll in later and keep us from seeing the best of it. But it was a nice diversion anyway.

If you feel like skywatching tonight, here's some more information on the Leonid meteor shower.

outcome

2010-11-16T19:58:00.003-06:00

It's been hard to know how to categorize Lizi's craft show experience over the weekend. The best I've been able to express it is that the craft show did not do well; but within those circumstances, Lizi did very well. She didn't make a lot of money, but there were other vendors there who made nothing at all. The experience was good, and she did a fine job; hopefully the next time she tries something like this, her efforts will be better rewarded.

And being more of a bystander this time allowed me some time to think about this whole handcrafting movement, if we can call it that.

I was reminded that just because a thing can be made, it does not necessarily follow that it should be made. I saw so many examples, but here's one: You can make a potholder out of cheap acrylic yarn, if you want it to melt the first time you pick up a hot pan with it.
Don't even try to compete with Wal-Mart. Make something they don't have, or make it so over-the-top better that there's no question of its value.
And I think I saw more clearly than ever that one mistake I've made is thinking that my customers were people like me. The problem with that is that personally, I go around and look at other booths thinking "I could make that, if I wanted or needed one." Trying to sell to someone like myself has led me to underprice my items, almost apologetically. I'm not sure exactly who I should try to sell to, but now I know that it's not me. ;)

So what can we glean from these random thoughts? Crafters, if you're going to try to sell at all, have enough love for your craft to use the very best of your talents; have enough respect for your talent to use good materials; and believe in your product enough to price it for what it's worth.

fledgling

2010-11-09T19:08:00.003-06:00

One of the things that has kept us busy the last couple of months is getting ready for a craft show. "But I thought you weren't selling right now, Kim?" you say. And you would be right. It's not MY craft show. It's Lizi's. She's getting ready for her very first, on-her-own craft show booth. Today we set up a table in the basement, sort of a practice run, to see how it all looked and what sort of display pieces we would need.

See these bracelets? Early this year she learned how to make one, then another, and another, and she was hooked. See that striped one in the middle? I don't even know how to do that. It's called a candy stripe, it's all knots, and you wouldn't believe how much time it takes. See the braided ones on either side? That's a box braid. I don't know how to do that either. The green and white spiral one on the right, there? I think she made that one up, or at least seriously adapted it. Same with the green and pink, second from the left. Cool, huh?
I really have been impressed with the way she's learned how to do this all on her own, through the internet and books. I'm fairly adept at many crafts, but she's learned to follow charts and graphs that I would have no idea of where to even start. And she's proud and happy that she's found her "thing," too. She's really worked hard, not only learning the craft but getting ready for this event. She counted 222 bracelets today.

Nice looking table. There's never a guarantee when it comes to craft shows, but I hope she does well.

long winter's nap

2010-11-05T23:59:00.005-05:00

Tonight will be this fall's first frost, so I've been busy making preparations in the garden today. It seems that we went straight from hot summer to cold winter this year, with only about a week of nice fall weather in between. It was sleeting not far from here today, which is unusual in November.

So the strawberry patch got a nice blanket of hay:

Of course, Bilbo thinks it's his bed. "Thanks, this is nice" he says. That's okay, he can stay there a while. Sadly, our little kitten Frodo died a few days ago, and we all miss him terribly. So we've tried to be extra nice to Bilbo so he won't seem so lonely. (But when he starts asking me to deliver his canned food to his hay-bed in the garden, we'll have to have a talk.)

Here's the last of the vegetables. My peppers always start doing well right when it's time for a frost. I covered the pepper and tomato plants that still had tiny fruit, but I don't look for them to do much at this point.

The little patch of marigolds has been such a happy sight this year - I'll miss them.

On a happier note, though, I planted a fall crop of snow peas, and they are coming up nice and strong.

Sleep tight, little garden. Dream of lots of strawberries and tomatoes and peppers next year. :)

how about that!

2010-10-01T08:40:00.003-05:00

Check it out - SouleMama blogged about my friend Maya's yarn! Read the post here.

And to see more of Maya's lovely yarn, visit her shop! Also, there's her Etsy shop. Or you can just look over here to the right. (I love her yarn, okay??) --->

recuperating

2010-09-27T19:30:00.004-05:00

Today was our first real taste of fall, so I decided to go out on the screened porch and enjoy the pleasant weather. I even did a little knitting between sneezes and coughs. (Hope that's not TMI.)

These are the socks I started knitting a while back. The yarn is Serenity Sock Weight by Premier Yarns, in Amethyst. I'm using the Embossed Leaves Socks pattern from the book Favorite Socks. I've discovered that I really enjoy knitting lace patterns from a chart. This is a particularly delightful pattern to knit, and I am pleased with the way they are turning out. I'm past the heel turn on the first sock, see?

This is the new mug from our trip to Gatlinburg. It came from Alewine Pottery. This photo doesn't do justice to the color. And I like the leaf.

checking in

2010-09-25T11:16:00.004-05:00

So where have I been, you ask?

Well, I told you about the awful cold, and the muscadine picking. Then there was jelly making - our vines gave us enough muscadines for two batches of jelly. That's a total of 16 half-pints and one pint!

Then there was a week-long trip to Gatlinburg and points east; my normal post-trip headache which lasted 3 days this time; and more sinus/allergy issues after that.

And of course homeschool on top of all that, complete with art lessons and science experiments and field trips and such.

So while there have been stories to tell, I've had no time and energy to write and/or photograph them. My apologies.

I hesitate to say it, but I hope things will get back to normal soon. (The reason I hesitate is that whenever I say that, something else pops up!) But really, this time, things must get back to normal. Or as normal as they get around here. ;)

for the love of muscadines

2010-08-31T13:48:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, dear readers. It's been a crazy busy summer, capped off by two weeks of out-of-my-comfort-zone events, and a dreadful cold on the heels of that.

But nonetheless, the muscadines are ripening and had to be either picked or lost. So we've set about doing that the last couple of days; picking the ones from the vines we can reach, and the ones we can't, we have to pick up when they fall on the ground. (Understand that our muscadines are wild, and grow all through the tops of the trees.)

There was one particularly tempting cluster just out of reach, and I've pondered and schemed to try and find a way to get to them. But in the process of that, I looked up, and over my head was the motherlode; a vine had grown probably 35 feet tall in a tree, and hung thick with clusters of muscadines. They were so ripe and ready that they would fall to the ground with every breeze, hitting the leaves of the underbrush as they fell as if to taunt me. I could not get to them - the growth was too thick. They'd just have to lie there and rot.

Then I got angry. Those were my muscadines, growing on my vines, in my trees, on my land. So I did what any (crazy) person recovering from a dreadful cold would have done: I went inside and got the sling blade weed cutter thing and hacked away enough of the brush to get to the muscadines as they fell.

It made me feel like my great-grandmothers, grandmothers and mother a little bit; strong, resourceful, stubborn women who saw something that needed to be done and did it. I hope I resemble them, anyway.

Was it worth it? I'll let you know when I taste the jelly. And when I see how much poison oak I have from this little adventure. ;)

can i just say?

2010-08-11T23:04:00.002-05:00

It's been a good year for food preservation around my house. I was working on these canned peaches today, and started figuring it all up:

I've made 40 half-pints of jelly, and 11 pints of peaches;

I tried to figure up how many quarts of blueberries, blackberries, corn and peas in the freezer, but I lost count;

I did not pay a dime for any of that food - I either grew it myself or it was given to us (mostly given to us);

Every single batch of canning I've done has resulted in more jars than expected - I think it's miraculously multiplying, because I'm following the recipes, but there's just MORE;

And every single jar I've canned has sealed. Every. one.

And summer is not even over yet. Could we chalk it all up to good neighbors and family, and coincidence? Maybe. But I'd rather give God the credit for it all. That's just too much coincidence for me, and who gave me my family and my neighbors, anyway?

4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and compassionate.

5 He provides food for those who fear him;

he remembers his covenant forever.

Psalm 111:4-5

frodo speaks

2010-08-07T18:35:00.002-05:00

*snif* mommy gave me a baff. *snif* sed i had fleas or somethin'. i hate baffs.

i'm just gonna take a nap wiff my mowsie from Papa. 'cuz Papa loves me and doesn't give me baffs. Just mowsies.

little guys for the little guys

2010-08-04T15:25:00.004-05:00

As part of the final preparations for the pool party, I've made these little guys. We have invited a few baby cousins and friends who will be too young for the regular goody bags, so I made these more baby-friendly toys for them. They were so fun to make! The bear, puppy and frog patterns are from K and J Dolls on Etsy, where they have so many other cute patterns too! And believe it or not, K and J Dolls offers the Hello Kitty pattern for free on Ravelry (but you'll need to be a Ravelry member to view it).

When things slow down, I may have to order the pattern for baby dolls with animal caps… or the Pucca and Garu dolls… or the Little Girls… wow, I'm going to be busy.

Note: Here's another place where the "Tiny Kitty" pattern is offered, and you don't have to join anything for this one. Also, Sayjai was so sweet to link to this post from the K and J Dolls blog! Many thanks!

cute backpack alert!!

2010-07-29T13:29:00.006-05:00

Update: See a more complete tutorial here.

Our annual pool party is coming up, the one where the girls ask for school supplies for needy kids rather than gifts for themselves. This year, I've seen several blogs with tutorials for school bags, and I was inspired to make some myself, to go with our donation! This is the first, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

I modeled it after a couple of backpacks we have around here, where the drawstring from the top is attached to the bottom corners, forming the straps. They are very comfortable to wear and easy to deal with.

I had some old jeans lying around, and thought they would make a good, sturdy backpack. This one is made from one jeans leg cut open and laid flat, and one back pocket. Therefore, you could get two backpacks from one pair of jeans. I added wide casings at the top, made from a cotton dot print. The floral across the front is actually a big pocket, with a zipper at the top. The pocket is as wide as the whole front, so it can be sewn into the side seams for the edges. Then the pocket from the back of the jeans on top of that.
Below you can see the strap/drawstring; I took 3 lengths of nylon cord and braided the middle section for the drawstring. Then I tied a knot and braided the now 6 strands together for the remainder of the strap. Then I stitched it tightly into the side seam. You'll need one of these for each side, of course.
This one only has the front pockets, but you could easily add more on the inside. It could also be lined if you wish.

Here's what you'll need, if you'd like to make one:

A rectangle of denim, cut from a jeans leg, large enough for the front and back of your backpack. (It will be folded in half, and the fold line is the bottom of the backpack.)

One rectangle of fabric for the front pocket, as wide as the front portion of your backpack, and almost as long as the front portion only.

A back pocket from the jeans.

Two rectangles of fabric for the casings, about 6" x the width of the backpack.

Zipper, at least as long as the width of the backpack.

Nylon cord or other material for the drawstring/straps.

Order of assembly: (Be warned - this assumes some knowledge of sewing! Sorry these are so sketchy!!)

Turn under ends of casing pieces and hem.

Turn under top edge of large front pocket. Stitch to one side of zipper.

Stitch back pocket from jeans in the center of the large front pocket.

Turn under bottom edge of front pocket. Place the pocket on the end of your large denim rectangle that will be the front of the backpack, lining up the unstitched side of the zipper with the top edge of the denim. Stitch the lower edge of the pocket in place. Baste the unstitched side of the zipper to the denim.

Fold casing pieces in half and stitch to tops of backpack front and back. (Remember, since you hemmed the ends, it won't go all the way to the edge) Finish seam, flip up the casing and topstitch.

Braid the middle sections of the cords and run through the casings; tie a knot and continue braiding to the ends.

Stitch the side seams, securely catching the ends of the cords at the lower corners. Finish seams and turn.

a tale of two squash vines

2010-07-24T11:50:00.004-05:00

I've not said much about the garden this year, because really, there's not much to tell. I set everything out late, so it's taking a while to catch up. One thing I did do differently this year is to plant squash. Yes, I said I'd never do it again, but this year I discovered row cover. I thought this would work for the vine borer problem, but hand pollination was not working, and I was not consistent enough in going out and removing the covers for pollination by insects. So off the row covers went.

Naturally, now I have a few signs of vine borers, and I want to document it here just in case it might help someone. Above, you see a good, healthy squash vine - nice dark green vine and strong leaves. The one below, however, has vine borers. You can see the differences; wilted leaves, pale color, weak vine, and gold-colored stuff (called frass) coming out of holes in the vine. There's even a tiny squash that has rotted.
I've tried many methods to deal with these things, and I'm going to tell you the one that has been most effective, least invasive, and least disgusting for me. If you'll look carefully at the vine, you'll see a pin; take a nice, long pin and poke all the way through the vine, at and above the frass. Go farther than you think you really need to, because they do travel upward. Also get the places where the leaves and fruit branch off, because they crawl up into there too. This can be therapy for you, too - really take out your frustrations with that pin.

Once you've stabbed everywhere you think necessary, dig a trench under the vine and bury it. Tuck it in tight, give it a night-night kiss, and say a little prayer that it roots above the borer damage. If you'll check regularly for signs of borers and do this before the vines are too far gone, they have a better chance of survival.

while we're on the subject...

2010-07-21T14:19:00.005-05:00

While we're on the subject of knitting, I just wanted to show you these adorable sets!! They are a collaborative effort between my friend Maya of Springtree Road, and Alecia of Madbird. Alecia makes the handy little bags, and Maya spins yarn to match. The set above is called Hedgie Love, and the one below is called Quills. I love the colors in Hedgie Love; but look at the little birds in Quills! And the little hedgehogs with scarves! So precious!

Anyway, there's only one set left in each of their shops! Find Hedgie Love here, and Quills here.

needle organizer

2010-07-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

Recently my dear mama bought some sock yarn for me, and it's been calling for me to cast on! The only trouble is… um... i hate to say this, but... FINDING THE NEEDLES.

See, this is my needle organization system:

Yeeeeaaah. Takumi bamboo needles, rosewood DPNs, knit lites, vintage Susan Bates circulars, all stuffed in an old padded mailing envelope. And, well, other parts of the house as well. Turns the stomach.

So, I thought, while I fish out the necessary needles for my socks, I might as well bring some order to my needle stash. I took the circulars and DPNs and put them together by size in Ziploc quart-size bags. Since the others were a little too long for my bags, and have the sizes marked on them anyway, I put them in the other container. I also put all my crochet hooks in a Ziploc bag of their own. And it just so happened that I had a clear tote that fit the Ziploc bags perfectly!
Yes, one day I'll get around to making the Most Awesome Needle Organizer Ever. I have a plan for it, believe me. But until That Day, this will do nicely.

what a week!

2010-07-18T12:14:00.003-05:00

Oh my. What a week it's been. A good kind of crazy, but crazy nonetheless! Then late in the week, we were blessed with a bunch of peas, corn, blueberries and watermelons from a very generous family in our church. This happens quite a bit, so I'm getting better at food preservation, thankfully.

That led to scenes that remind me of my granny's front porch in the summer, and getting purple fingers from shelling purple-hull peas. It's a good thing that my girls were there to pitch in and help. (In case you're wondering about Lydia's outfit, she wanted to dress like Shine, one of the Wubb Girls from Wow Wow Wubbzy. ;) )

And the corn was my job:
There were also about 3 gallons of blueberries, but I didn't get a photo of them. I have the blueberry-stained hands to prove it, though, along with 10 jars of jelly, and the rest in the freezer.

Then to cap it all off, Saturday was Lizi's birthday. My baby is a teenager now! Where DOES the time go?

I guess it goes to weeks like this one, full of jobs to do and busy hands.

Fair warning.

2010-07-13T16:32:00.000-05:00

fun with textbooks!

2010-07-12T15:36:00.003-05:00

Getting ready for the homeschool year is a very exciting time for us! This year, we were fortunate to find some of our homeschool curriculum used, at drastically reduced prices. The only problem with used curriculum is that sometimes it looks a little…. used. The math textbook seemed to be the worst, as the cover wasn't all that great looking even when it was new. Our solution was to make a cover, and I'll do my best to show you all the details in case you'd like to make one of your own.

We started with a pair of old jeans, a bit of clear vinyl for a pocket on the front, and one of the back jean pockets on the back. To make life easier, I just cut the whole pocket out with some of the surrounding fabric, intending for it to fray, and quickly stitched around the whole thing.
Here's our original textbook. Let's just say we hope it has a nice personality. ;)
Here's the cover, turned inside out. The outside cover is one piece of denim cut from the leg of the jeans, big enough to cover the whole book plus seam allowance. The inside covers are the green fabric - make sort of pockets the size of the inside covers of your book, plus seam allowance. The denim was too thick to try and tuck into the ends of the spine, so we just trimmed it and zigzagged across the top and bottom.
Here's the cover, turned right side out. Lizi will be able to put whatever she wants to display in the clear vinyl pocket on the front, and maybe a pencil in the back pocket.
And here's the inside of the cover, turned right side out.
Here's the process of putting the book into the cover.
Hope that makes sense! Looks much better now, we think. :)

a new kind of shop!

2010-07-08T08:29:00.005-05:00

My friend Maya recently opened a new shop using Big Cartel. I have to admit, I had heard the name, but was not very familiar with Big Cartel at all. Yesterday she posted a video showing how easy it is to buy from a Big Cartel shop; I am impressed. I'd just stick the video on here, but I don't know how to do that. So just go to her blog and see for yourself! ;)

my man

2010-07-06T10:28:00.006-05:00

Today is our nineteenth wedding anniversary, so I wanted to show you a good photo of my man.

I searched through my photos, and in all the photos I have of him, he's doing… stuff… you know, holding chainsaws, putting up Christmas trees…

…backing me up on all my crazy adventures...

…but, maybe that's really the best representation of all.

You'll just have to take my word for it: he looks even better to me today than he did 19 years ago. :)
Happy Anniversary, darling! I love you!!!!!!!!

so sad

2010-07-01T20:39:00.002-05:00

We as a family very much enjoyed watching the Avatar series. We greatly anticipated the movie, The Last Airbender, which opened today. Despite the reviews, I really, truly wanted to like this movie. But… I didn't. It was agonizing. The action wasn't bad; if they had just stuck with that and not tried any dialogue, it would have been okay.

If you are a fan of the series and want to see the movie nonetheless:

1. Wait for DVD. Rent, don't buy.

2. If you absolutely must watch it at the theater, watch it in 2D. The 3D on this one made my eyes bother me all through the movie and hours after.

Sorry, that's the only advice I have to make it more bearable. Now I'm going to go find the entire series and watch it so maybe I can flush the memory of the movie out of my head.

first batches of jelly

2010-06-30T10:21:00.002-05:00

8 half pints of wild plum, from Mama and Daddy's trees;

6 half pints of blackberry, from my own back yard;

14 jars, 14 seals - life is good!

fun day

2010-06-28T11:19:00.003-05:00

Last Friday*, we met with family at Natural Bridge Park. It's a beautiful place. It was a hot day, and not much of a breeze, but a whole lot of shade. We had a picnic, and there was much playing in the creek:

Lots of moss, ferns, huge rocks and pretty roots:

Varieties of mushrooms I've never seen before (and you know how I love mushrooms):

And of course, the "natural bridge." It's so huge, the photos can't do it justice. If you have the chance to come and see it for yourself, it's well worth the $2.50 to get in.
And be sure to bring a picnic lunch and swimsuits. :)

*Oops! I have my days mixed up - it was Saturday!!

jelly making ahead!

2010-06-25T11:56:00.002-05:00

Last year, my poor muscadine vines hardly produced anything. But this year, they seem to be making up for it - the vines hang thick with little clusters like these! Even the vines I feared I lost when we removed some trees from the front yard seem to have survived by spreading elsewhere. They must know how much I love muscadine jelly. :)

Since they grow wild out in the trees, briars and poison oak, I'll have to don the boots, long sleeves and jeans to hunt them down (and try to get to them before the birds). But it's worth it.

puppies and kittens and birthdays, oh my!

2010-06-23T15:20:00.003-05:00

One nice thing about this little break is that I have more time to make birthday gifts for our little friends! This one is made by Bit of Whimsy's Peter Puppy pattern (say THAT five times fast!) And every 6 months or so I run across a fabric and wish I had a magical unending bolt; that retro floral with the green background is my favorite of the moment. It came as a 2-yard cut from Wal-Mart - only 2 yards, I tell you!!

And remember our new kitten, Frodo? He's coming along nicely. At first, he would pounce upon and pick fights with Bilbo, but he seems to be easing off of that just a little bit. And yesterday we were noticing how he's grown in just two weeks' time. The cutest thing to me, though, is that he is becoming a "sewing cat." It's annoying when he wants to play with the fabric I'm working with, but adorable when he curls up on my perpetual piles of fabric and patterns and takes a nap.

sometimes things turn on a dime

2010-06-21T13:17:00.003-05:00

If you've looked at my blog lately, you may have noticed the lack of an Etsy widget on my sidebar. You may have even suspected the reason for that. Yes, I'm taking another break from selling; but this time, it will be far longer than the one last year.

I've thought about making a change for some time. The products I have offered of late, while enjoyable to make, are not all that profitable. They are also not much of a challenge, which makes me feel I am not putting my skills to their best use. I've thought of changing to more unique, time consuming, and inspired (read: more expensive) products. That would require a big push for marketing.

As I braced for that big push, though, I thought for a minute: My baby is about to start kindergarten, and schooling a younger student takes much more time from the teacher than one Lizi's age. I live in a 2 1/2 year old house that has never had any "real" decorating done to it, just finishing out the basement. And we want to get it reappraised soon, so that we can maybe get some better financing options; we need to do some work before that can happen. I also thought of several other things coming up, piddling little things, but that need to be done and do take a certain amount of time. And besides that, it's hard enough to keep up with the normal chores and responsibilities, without any extra stuff.

It was at that moment that I realized I had to take a break. It was not possible for me to do what I really wanted to do with my business, and take care of my family as well. I would be lying if I said I don't already hear that siren song trying to lure me back; it's enough to make me question whether I'm doing the right thing. But I trust that if I err on the side of taking care of my family, then God will bless it when I do go back to it in a couple of years.

I'm glad I've done the selling thing for as long as I have. I know a lot more about how to proceed now, because I tend to learn only by doing. And I know from experience why my house, literally and figuratively, needs to be in order before I go on; I've felt the stress of it not being in order. So here I go. Stay tuned - some of the upcoming projects could be interesting!

unexpected

2010-06-14T16:36:00.003-05:00

When I woke up last Thursday, I commenced with all the usual preparations for a homeschool play day: get everyone up and ready so we won't be late, scramble to come up with something to bring for the potluck lunch, make sure the girls have the right clothes to wear and toys and games to bring. I can tell you one thing, it never entered my mind that I might come home with a kitten.

On the way to the play day, our homeschool group coordinator spotted a kitten in the parking lot at Dollar General. He had apparently been dumped there a few days before. She was unwilling to let the poor thing perish there, so she went to great effort to get him from behind the ice machine outside the store. She took him home and bathed him, and brought him back to the play day. The whole group loves animals, but no one could take on another pet.
I don't really know how it happened; he was just so tiny and scared and utterly alone… and before I knew it, he was in the car on the way to our house. I guess I thought, "Well, what's one more??"

Bilbo really didn't expect us to be coming home with a kitten, either. But he has been fairly gracious, and has taken on the task of teaching this young upstart some manners. Maybe someday he'll forgive us.

Since we already have a Bilbo, it was obvious that this one's name should be Frodo. But he's not ready to be 'Bearer of the Ring of Power' anytime soon. He's more like 'Biter of Fingers and Toes' or 'Chaser of Strings' or 'Pouncer of… Everything that Moves.' But he is a sweet one, and is adjusting to life here well, as we are adjusting to him.

tailoring

2010-06-12T10:53:00.003-05:00

After Chad's weight loss, many of his suits were too big. Besides that, he just doesn't wear suits as often these days. But this weekend, he is doing a wedding, and needed to buy a good black suit. Since that's what I do, I normally do his alterations myself. It's been a while, so I take longer to do it than when I did this sort of thing every day. But I enjoy it.

While working on his suit, I thought back to jobs I've held and people I've worked with, and for. One of the first was Ruby, the head of the alterations department when I first went to work for Rogers Department Store. That was twenty-plus years ago, and often a customer would question my sewing ability based merely on my age. Mrs. Ruby would come to my defense like a mother hen. And among the highest compliments I've ever received were the times when I would show Mrs. Ruby a particularly challenging completed project, and she would say "You did a bang-up job on that!" (For those of you not from the South, allow me to translate: "You did a great job!")

I also thought of Melanie; she was one of the first people I met when we moved to Florida. We waited patiently, planned, plotted, and maybe even schemed a little, until the day came that I could come to work at her bridal shop. She was always so helpful, not just as an employer but as a friend. That was the last full time job I held, before Lizi was born.

And so many others; from some, I learned what to do, from some I learned what not to do.

I suppose my age has caught up to my ability, as I rarely get a sideways glance anymore when people learn I do sewing and alterations. And I don't miss having to dress up and punch a clock every day. But even though full-time mothering has its own rewards, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, sometimes an actual paycheck that I earned myself would be nice.

the red pencil rests

2010-06-09T16:06:00.002-05:00

Lizi and I got behind on our homeschool work this year. Very, very behind. Drastically, catastrophically behind. (Too many field trips and fun extracurricular stuff, and not enough actual school time.) But with a lot of hard work, we are finished, one day before the deadline for grades! And all A's, as usual. Let the summer begin!

And by the way, it's totally freaking me out that when I pick up that red pencil for grading papers again, I will have TWO students! Yes, my baby starts kindergarten this fall. :)

blackberries love rain (and other news)

2010-06-06T15:38:00.002-05:00

If only the internet could convey taste and smell! These guys are HUGE. I've had a little trouble with birds getting after the berry bushes and vines, but I very hastily put a wind chime out there the other day and that seems to be doing the trick.

Blackberries love rain, but unfortunately outdoor craft sales do not. We set up under Trowbridge's graciously loaned awning Friday night. I sold a little, but there wasn't much of a crowd because of the weather. Oh well.

But congratulations to Amy, whose baby boy was born Wednesday evening! Feel free to hop over and visit her blog - I'd bet she will have some photos up as soon as she's able!

SALE!!

2010-06-03T21:13:00.003-05:00

After much deliberation (okay, not really, I was just packing for First Friday and thought of it) I have decided to make my hats, dolls, and bunnies $5 off tomorrow night. I've never discounted any of my stuff before, so we'll see how this goes!

So come on down to First Friday tomorrow night from 5-9 and pick up a discounted hat and doll! Get 'em while they're hot! (This is Alabama; it will most likely be hot.)

opinions?

2010-06-02T15:09:00.002-05:00

So for my First Fridays booth, I've had these white styrofoam heads to display a few hats. Daddy made stands for them. I've felt, though, that they were unfinished. So on a whim the other day, I decoupaged them with some bright-colored tissue paper. I thought it would be interesting, the way the color gets deeper where it overlaps or wrinkles.

I did the green one first, and after a few pieces of paper, it started to look like bandages. Poor girl. Then Chad came by, and said it looked like some sort of mutant, and we had a good laugh at the poor girl's expense.

So what do you think? Bright, attention-getting display item? Or mutant… accident victim… heads… on pikes?

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T23:47:00.004-05:00

I'm never sure whether I should say 'Happy' Memorial Day. For some, the remembering is full of grief and pain. But that's not to say we should not look back and appreciate the sacrifices made so we can live free.

My aunt Wanda writes a lovely blog that I enjoy reading. Her post today was a "Memorial Day Tribute to Roy Robertson." That's my grandfather, and though I knew of his military service, she gives many details of which I was not aware, and am glad to know. Thank you, Wanda, for such a fitting post to honor him.

Both my grandfathers, at least one great-grandfather, and my dear father-in-law all served our country in the military, to name a few. I am very proud of each and every one of them.

caution: mommy at work

2010-05-30T15:42:00.005-05:00

First Friday is coming up, so I took advantage of a little time alone this afternoon to do some sewing. My big seller last time was headbands, so I decided to restock those.

First off - tunes. I have to listen to Mortal while Lydia is gone, or she says snide things like "Is it… music??" Pfft. What do 4 year olds know about music? Might switch to watching Lord of the Rings in a bit, though, because this blog post got me to thinking of it….

I am often amused by the incongruous conglomeration of items that finds its way to my sewing table. There's the usual pins, scissors, measuring implements… and of course coffee… and glue… and a lantern, because it's storming outside and if the power goes out it's black as pitch in the basement… yeah, I need to tidy up a bit.

Tubes that will soon be headbands - I slide my wooden yardstick through them to press the seams… because I walk on the wild side.

And a pile of headbands ready to be pressed and put in the basket.

Okay, that's enough of a break. Back at it!

crazy night

2010-05-27T00:16:00.002-05:00

I've taught the Rainbows (preschool) class at our church off and on (mostly on) for 8 years now. But this week, I quit. (Just like I quit after every Wednesday night that happens to be on or near a full moon.)

As the kids arrived, they started playing dress-up. At one point, I had Moses, a fireman, and two princesses beating each other with cheerleader pompoms.

On second thought, I think I'll stick around. Good entertainment is hard to find. ;)

friends in low places

2010-05-25T08:53:00.002-05:00

One morning a few days ago, I was out on the steps attempting to remove the dried garden mud from my tennis shoes. (Happens a lot.) Lydia came out and joined me, gown, bed-head and all.

Our front yard is shady and cool, so snails like to hang out there. Lydia found a couple to watch, and named them Billy and Silly. She wanted to hold one - I believe this one is Silly.
Leave it to this one to find a friend first thing in the morning. :)

the difference a day makes

2010-05-21T21:07:00.002-05:00

Every year, I do a post on the date of my uncle Ron's death. It's my way to mark the day, to remember and honor him. He died three years ago tomorrow.

But this year, I think I'll do it a little differently. Instead of posting on the day of his death, I'm posting on his birthday, which is today. Since he is my daddy's twin, it's daddy's birthday too; so I'm eating a piece of cake for Ron as well. It just seems more appropriate to me right now not to mark the day we lost him, but rather celebrate that the world was able to hold on to such an extraordinary person for nearly 60 years.

I miss you, Ronnie. And I'm glad you were born.

when you give...

2010-05-18T09:25:00.002-05:00

The Bible says that when we give, we should not make a big deal of it; in fact, we should be so secretive that our right hand doesn't know what our left hand is doing. But how could I not call attention to such a sweet blog post?? Thanks, Amy! Amy has a baby boy on the way; since her first two were girls, I wanted to be sure she had lots of blue!

And the hat pattern can be found here, if you're interested.

I also wanted to apologize for the spotty posting of late; we're very busy wrapping up the school year right now. Hopefully soon I'll be able to visit more often - I haven't even shown you the garden yet!

tatting practice

2010-05-07T20:04:00.004-05:00

As much as I love to sew, and knit, and crochet, and embroider, sometimes I like to do something a little different. Lately I've had a yen to tat again, so I've been stocking up on interesting threads when they cross my path. Today I had need of a small embellishment, so I decided to drag out all my threads, books and such, and give it a go.

I learned to shuttle tat years ago, but decided it was just not worth the trouble. But a couple of years ago I read an article by Pamela Quevedo regarding needle tatting, and decided to try it. I find it much simpler than shuttle tatting, and quite enjoyable. Though my skills are far inferior to hers, I have at least reached the point where I can decipher vintage patterns, change the stitch counts for the larger threads I prefer, and even write my own patterns just a little.

Today, the piece I made started as a pattern from a vintage tatting book. I tweaked it for the size thread I wanted to use, and I was pleased that it turned out to be exactly the dimensions I needed for my project! Experienced tatters would find glaring errors, of course, but I think it will suit my purposes just fine. (And yes, I know I need to weave in my ends. I'll get to that.)

If you are interesting in trying needle tatting, I would highly recommend the book Learn Needle Tatting Step by Step by Barbara Foster. If you order the kit, it comes with needles so you can get started right away.

yet another thrift store find

2010-05-04T16:29:00.004-05:00

In case you hadn't noticed, I've had opportunity to go to the thrift store a few times lately. This time, I found some yarn! About 3 2/3 skeins of Reynolds Courant, which I had never heard of, for 99 cents. It's 73% viscose, 27% linen. Interesting, right? I can find lots of appropriate patterns for bags and such, but what I'm really hoping is that there's enough to make a small shawl.

The needles will need to be circular, because the number of stitches increases exponentially when knitting a shawl. And the needle size will need to be a bit bigger than the size 8 the label calls for, if I have any hope of making a shawl from what I have here. So I pull out my three largest all-time favorite vintage Susan Bates Circlon needles. My aunt Karina, who taught me to knit, gave me a few pair; I also snap them up if I see them on Ebay or Etsy. They are not too smooth, not too "grabby," not too pointy, not too blunt. The biggest one here may be a bit large; the smallest one, a bit small; I think the medium one will be juuuuust right.
Boy, I hope this works. I'm liking this steely blue-gray color with denim - you think?

What do you think, helper kitty? Helper kitty?

I had an idea in my head for the pattern, and was about to try and write it out. Luckily, I found this one, and it saved me the trouble. Honestly, I think the stitch pattern will show up better in this yarn. So let's give it a try, shall we? It's a nice day here on the back porch, so I think I'll sit and knit a while.
Hello! Coffee and chocolate - how did that get there? ;)
Ah, yes. I like how this is turning out. Very much. But I'm getting annoyed flipping from one page to the other to keep up with the pattern, so I think I'll scribble the main repeat on a card.
Aaaand my helper kitty has completely passed out under my bench. Hard to find good help these days.

vintage finds #2

2010-04-18T17:41:00.005-05:00

As promised, here's the second installment of my good vintage fortune over the past week. During a visit to the thrift store the other day, I rescued this bag from the bottom of the craft bin. $1.98.

Inside were all these wonderful trims! The standard rickrack, of course, but some unusual color patterns and some labels I've never seen before. (You know how I love the labels.) And the tapes and ribbons with patterns woven in - what a find! Some look to be really old, but in good condition.
I love this one, but look what it's wrapped around - a great old needle card!
I've often wondered what would happen if I wrote away for one of these offers, and included my ten cents postage. I mean, there's no ending date, right??
There were, of course, lots of bias tape and hem tape. In the days before sergers, these were necessary to keep seam allowances from fraying. This was a new one on me, though: bias tape, packaged in a little box, with 2 tiny wooden spools of matching thread!
A few laces and ribbons, too. This lace was one of my main reasons for buying the bag. It's been removed from something, and has buttons, either from the same garment or planned for a new one, attached. Waste not, want not! It's nice, strong, heavy lace and in great shape.

This was also new to me: some of the ribbons were bound with a metallic label, and the layers were separated with cellophane. Hm.

If you've read this far, you must have some interest in vintage trims. Here's the sad part of the story - some of the trims have rust spots from pins. So I beg of you: go to your great grandmother, or great aunt, or whomever you stand to inherit vintage trims from someday. Ask if you can help them "organize" their stash, and as you do, replace the cheap pins with the kind that won't rust!!!
(Or, if you're still reading, you may have no interest in trims at all. You might just be my friend, for which I am thankful!!)

vintage finds #1

2010-04-16T10:46:00.002-05:00

We had the cause and opportunity to visit the library a few days ago. And a trip to the library often means a trip to the library's used book store. They have a sewing and craft section that supports my vintage needlework book habit.

On this particular visit, I only had $6 in my pocket, so we had to make some tough choices. This one almost didn't make the cut, but I'm so glad it did! My first thought was that it could replace my other, larger, more delicate stitch reference books. It would easily fit in my knitting bag. Seemed like a good use of $1.

Later, as I had the opportunity to examine it more closely, I saw what an amazing reference it is! I wanted to find another copy for my friend Maya, so I started checking around on the internet. I was amazed - all the copies I could find were $42-100!

Observations:

1. This one will be going on the shelf, not in the knitting bag;

2. Maya, I love you, but you're getting photocopies of interesting pages; and

3. I totally ripped off the Friends of the Library bookstore. Sorry!

(Did you notice the #1 in the title? hee hee - there's more later!)

snail habitat

2010-04-14T15:15:00.002-05:00

As I expected, the snail needed a house. So here's the house in the book, and the house we made. Not a bad replica, if I say so myself. Lydia has since added artwork on the walls. Thankfully she was content with bubble wrap in place of an actual bubble bath… it's the little things in life that I appreciate. ;)

Here's Lydia dressed as Angel Cat Sugar, complete with the pink purse to use to carry the snail home.
One modification to the pattern: The snail didn't want to sit up well, so I added that ruffle thing around the bottom like a real snail. Now we know why real snails have that thing, I guess. I would not hazard to tell you in detail how I did it; I just did a row of single crochet where I wanted it to go, then did 2 sc in the back loop of each sc around.
Oh, and the snail needed a purple bow, too. So rather than a boy snail named Cinnamon, as in the book, we have a girl snail named Pretty.

little snail

2010-04-13T09:35:00.002-05:00

On a recent visit to Barnes and Noble, Lydia bought the Angel Cat Sugar book A New Friend. In the book, Sugar rescues a snail whose home was destroyed in a thunderstorm. (Heavy stuff.) Before we even left the store, she was looking around for a snail, in order to act out the story. I could see snail making in my immediate future, so after she went to bed that night, I found a cute snail pattern.

The next day, I whipped up a little snail to match the one in the book. There's a lot going on around here, as always; even though it only took a short time, I didn't really have the time to spare. But Lydia will only be four once. And look at that face! (I may have opened a can of worms, though - in the book, Sugar also makes a house for the snail…)

five observations regarding poison ivy

2010-04-10T21:03:00.003-05:00

Now, if you know me, you know that I am a firm believer in finding low-cost, all-natural (typically labor intensive) solutions to your lawn and garden problems. So when I saw the poison ivy just beginning to leaf out this spring, I suggested that I don long sleeves and gloves and dig it all up, from the roots, and be done with it. But my loving husband, who knows how acutely allergic I am to poison ivy, talked me out of it. Instead, we bought poison ivy poison last night, and today I emptied a 1.33 gallon jug of the stuff on our property. I have no delusions that I got it all - after a while it all starts to look alike, so I'm sure there's some I got twice, and some not at all. And I only covered the area right around the yard. But maybe it was enough to make a dent.

Some observations:

Why does poison ivy love the same living conditions as wild muscadines, blueberries, blackberries and other somewhat useful wild plants? No matter how selective I was as I sprayed, I kept hitting other plants. Oh well - I also discovered as I worked today that we have a truckload of baby muscadine plants!!
If you have dreams of buying a wooded lot and clearing an area in the middle to build your house, I can tell you from experience: Don't expect to have a great lawn right away. The forest wants your lawn back, and will creep back in if you let it.
Poisoning poison ivy seems ironic.
If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we come up with a varmint that eats only poison ivy and fire ants? Maybe I should just buy a goat. They don't eat fire ants, but pretty much anything else.
You can't drown a cow ant in poison ivy poison. Cow ants are like the Chuck Norris of bugs.

Oh well. That's done, and also the garden is nearly ready to plant. I think we've probably had our last frost, so the planting will probably take place next week!

it's alive!!

2010-04-07T15:16:00.002-05:00

So far it's just a green haze over the top of the hay, but it's little baby GRASS! Remember the yard work last fall? Well, a very wet, cold winter set in before it could be finished. Just last week it finally dried out enough for our very talented and generous guy with a tractor to come and smooth it out. We spread grass seed and hay, and prayed it would take root before too much more rain. Lo and behold, it did!

Here's the front yard:
And the back (no pile!!):
Here's the beginning of the garden, in its new home. It's hard to tell, but there are little baby strawberry plants in this square.
The sugar snap peas have not done well - old seed. Only about half of them sprouted. Oh well, better luck next year, and we'll enjoy what we have.

the critters go on a field trip

2010-04-05T15:08:00.002-05:00

A late Happy Easter to you all - I hope that yours was as full of faith, family, friends and CHOCOLATE as ours!

Just thought I'd take a moment to share some photos from the April 2 First Fridays in Florence, AL. Even though it's 3 hours away, we make the drive to visit with family, get out on lovely evenings downtown with the other vendors, and maybe sell a few things.

I've not been there long enough or consistently enough to be assigned the same location every time, but I really liked this spot. I think I'll ask for it again. The owner of the shop we set up in front of was very hospitable.

But my favorite perk about this spot? Its proximity to this landmark:

Yeeeessss, people, we were one booth down from Trowbridge's. And it was warm enough out, there was a constant stream of people headed in for ice cream cones. Incidentally, right next to Trowbridge's is the relatively new Rosie's Cantina, which smelled heavenly. You know what they say - location, location, location!

sigh of relief

2010-04-01T12:16:00.002-05:00

The blouse and scarf are finished, the hoodie hem is no longer "floopy," and Lizi's Easter ensemble is finally complete!
We were uncertain what to do to decorate the scarf - the Putumayo shirt has screen printing there. But my girl found the awesome monogram iron-on at Hobby Lobby. Good eye! It's even velvet-y.

Here's the front view:
And the back:

Egad, that's a lot of ruffles. And I hope she doesn't burn up in it. The one Easter that I make a long-sleeve dress, it's supposed to be sunny and 81 degrees! (And this is not our final answer on hairstyle, by the way.)

mini coloring pages

2010-03-30T11:18:00.004-05:00

I've searched far and wide on the internet trying to find small coloring pages. I thought it would be handy to have some in the computer, ready to print, cut apart, and take with us whenever Lydia needs a quiet activity while we're out. But I have not been able to find such a thing anywhere.

So, even though I do not claim to be an artist, I decided to make my own. I'll share them with you, in case you have need of them. The first ones here are an Easter theme, and also basic shapes. They are sized to fit the middle pocket in these crayon wallets like the ones I made at Christmas. But, of course, they would also fit in a small bag or purse. If the pages are printed on cardstock, they might be easier to color in a variety of situations. Just click on the image, print, cut apart, and bring some crayons along!

**Note: When I printed mine to check and make sure they work, the image didn't take up the full page. You may have to change the size a bit when you print. I'm working to fix it.**

Many thanks to Lizi for scanning and cleaning them up for me! I will be making more from time to time if you'd like to check back. Opinions and suggestions are also welcome, but keep it nice - I SAID I wasn't an artist! ;)

undoing

2010-03-29T11:52:00.008-05:00

Have you ever not liked how something turned out, and know it's gonna bug you if you don't go back and fix it? Yeah, I'm there right now. Here's Lizi's hoodie to go with her Easter outfit. It's all finished, but the ribbon at the hem didn't turn out right. The knit stretched as I was sewing it on, and now it's all, you know, "floopy" (is that a word?) In other words, it sticks out and looks too big. It even stretched so much that it mostly pulled the gathers out of the ruffle. So I'm going to take it off and try to get it to go on without stretching this time.

In the plus column, though, other than that we think it turned out cute. This shouldn't take long to fix, and the blouse is nearly done. And it's still six days before Easter!

Hello and welcome!

2010-03-27T09:19:00.003-05:00

Over the past few days, I've had several visitors to my blog from a new site called Seamingly.com. It lists blogs having to do with sewing, and I've really enjoyed it! Some kind soul nominated my blog, and I in turn have nominated and referred others.

So to celebrate your arrival, Seamingly visitors, I have started a list of links to free patterns and tutorials on this blog. (Scroll down, it's there on the right.) Of course, regulars, you may avail yourselves of it as well. I'll add more to the list as I have time - and find them - heh...

The blogs on Seamingly are listed by popularity, and viewers click to vote for them. If you'd like to vote for my blog, there's also a new button here on the right for that. ;)

one down, one to go

2010-03-26T12:22:00.003-05:00

I decided to take a short break from Lizi's Easter ensemble to make Lydia's dress. I thought it would be a load off my mind to have one done, and here it is - pressed, now hanging in the closet, ready to go!

Lydia picked the purple Kona cotton at the store. Then we looked at ribbon for a hair bow, and found one the same purple color with a tiny trim on the edges in a BRIGHT green. Of course, then we had to find a trim in the same color green to go on the dress.

I hand embroidered the flowers and little circles on the front. The neck, sleeves and hem are trimmed in white Kona cotton, along with the bright green trim. I feel a little guilty that I'm spending so much more time on Lizi's dress, but a) Lydia loves her dress, and that's what counts; and b) I wanted Lizi to have a very un-lame dress for her thirteenth Easter.
And here's the requisite ginormous hairbow - we do live in the South, after all - in the ribbon that inspired the color combination.

would you like some dangly baubles with your ruffles?

2010-03-23T17:45:00.003-05:00

Actually, I didn't really ask - Putumayo puts chain belts with charms on their outfits, so obviously Lizi needed one with our Putumayo-inspired outfit.

I've never really attempted jewelry making to this degree before - jewelry sellers, now I understand! It was fascinating to try, and quite addictive. My wire wrapping is still pretty rudimentary, but I was getting more comfortable with the process of using the head pins and eye pins by the time it was done. I'm a long way from making anything that's salable, though.

At least it's good enough to get a thumbs-up from the one who'll be wearing it. ;)

ruffles, ruffles, ruffles!

2010-03-22T19:08:00.003-05:00

And Amy is the winner - in the new banner are, indeed, the materials for, and beginnings of, Easter dresses! (Not a moment too soon.) Here you see the skirt for Lizi's outfit. For months, we've planned on making a Putumayo-inspired outfit - we both love the brand, but even if you have the money (or yen) it's very difficult to get in the US. It's based on this skirt, minus the screen printing. I was going to try to learn to do the screen printing, truly; but Lizi was content without it, and given the time we have left, I didn't press.

A word of advice: If you are planning to make a skirt for your 12 year old daughter that has a ton of ruffled ribbons on it, and you are planning to use your handy dandy ruffler attachment to gather said ruffles, make sure the handy dandy ruffler attachment fits your current sewing machine, not the one you had ten years ago. Nevertheless, I've gotten along all right, and I think the results are pretty true to the original.
And now, onward to the blouse, hoodie, and crinoline. Oh yeah, and the 4 year old daughter's dress.

And if you'd like to gaze upon the adorableness that is Putumayo, please go visit their site. It helps if you can read Japanese. (Which I can't.)

you know the old saying...

2010-03-20T23:29:00.004-05:00

…I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.

Sorry for the unexpected blog break. I'll be back in a few, and hopefully I'll have something to say besides "AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!"

In the meantime, here's a dandelion:

And once again, thanks to Lizi for a new banner! I'll leave you guessing about the materials… but here's a hint: it's what's keeping me busy.

Happy Pi Day!

2010-03-14T19:25:00.002-05:00

my littlest seamstress

2010-03-10T22:16:00.002-06:00

We have an old, castoff foam mat that the cats like to sleep on. Every now and then, I'll throw it in the washing machine. This time, however, the foam was hopelessly bunched and I had to take out the stitching on one end to straighten it out.

I was about to sew it back up, and Lydia came over to help - she normally likes to pull the needle for me once I've made a stitch. She pulled the thread nice and taut the first time, then wanted to make the next stitch herself. I told her to go for it - after all, I didn't think the cats would care how it looks.

I held the edges for her, and she stitched and stitched until she got all the way across!
She was very pleased with herself, and rightly so. (Never mind the spaghetti sauce on the face.) And mama was pretty proud, too. ;)

And Bilbo seems to approve, as well.

a sweet feature, and a word of advice

2010-03-09T09:13:00.003-06:00

Recall the Hide and Seek Etsy game recently? Well, the winner, Lona of ShadySideFarm, has very generously offered to feature each shop on her blog! She did a post on my shop this morning - hop over there and take a look!

And I leave you with this word of advice from yesterday: Never look away. Because when you look away, things like this happen:

But on a beautiful day, the warmest we've seen since November, who can blame her!

And yes, we still don't have grass. It's been too rainy to get the tractor back out to smooth the ground so we can plant it. Oh well, the "pile" is gone, anyway!

late to the party

2010-03-08T08:59:00.004-06:00

To all of you who have nagged, poked, prodded, and cajoled:

I have been assimilated.

I have conformed.

I am part of the flock. Baaa.

I am on facebook. Kim Payne, if you can find me. Happy?

** Update** - never mind. The last thing I need is one more thing to keep up with on the computer, so I deactivated the facebook account.

In other news, the First Fridays event was very cold, but turnout was actually better than I expected. Hoping for some good things to happen there this year. But now that this one's over, I've got to get busy sewing Easter dresses for my girls!!

on the road again

2010-03-04T12:42:00.002-06:00

Why the pile of stuff on the hearth, you ask? Well, I'm off to First Fridays again! Coming along on the trip are my dolls, critters, hats, cuffs and assorted other stuff. And a few more critters to be stuffed during the day tomorrow, hopefully. It would be great to sell some things, but if not it will be a nice visit with family there. So it's a win-win.

If you're in or around Florence, come downtown and see me tomorrow night! And if you've had your eye on something in the Etsy or Artfire shop, you might want to snatch it now, just in case it sells. I'll be putting my shops on vacation mode tomorrow afternoon.

All the critters

2010-03-02T09:49:00.003-06:00

One of the commenters in the giveaway, knit1kids4, asked what the frogs look like. It occurred to me that many of my current readers might not know what all the critters look like - after all, it's been a year since I made any! So here's an old photo so everyone can see. Just to be clear, these are not current ones I'm about to list; these are long gone. But I am making more this week, so keep an eye out for them!

Help me out here - which is your favorite? I had not planned to make any elephants, because they didn't sell well before, but what do you think? I'm working on toning down the patterns a little bit - sometimes they get a little wild. I'd love your input on colors, styles you like best, any observations you'd like to share!

Speedy's new home

2010-03-02T09:29:00.003-06:00

Thank you all for participating in my little giveaway! Now comes the hard part for me - choosing ONLY ONE!

The random number generator chose 11, which is…

Amanda's comment!

Amanda is one of our great SHEteam members, and I'm happy she stopped by to comment. So how about YOU stop by and visit her shop?

and we have toys!

2010-02-26T16:26:00.006-06:00

So once again, I get to add little stuffed critters to my Etsy shop! I am still in the process, but we have some owls, and will have the turtles, whales and frogs like before.

This is a "Pi Guy" - I came up with him for Pi Day, which is right around the corner - March 14! This one sold this morning, actually, but as I write there are two more there in other colors.
I am also offering a few Mae dolls by the Bit of Whimsy pattern this time around:
And Harriet Hares, also by Bit of Whimsy:
And I believe I promised a bit of fun here on the blog, to celebrate the return to toy making! So, how about a giveaway? Leave a comment here, and I'll enter you in a drawing. Tweet, blog, or mention on Facebook, then comment here what you did, and I'll enter you again for each of those. (And make sure I know how to contact you if you win!) We'll be drawing for this guy:
He's a turtle, and his name is Speedy. See his fleet feet?
Just look at that face. This is more fun than I ought to have. :)
**Ha! Just realized I didn't give you a date for the drawing. How about Tuesday, March 2?**

Comments are closed for this giveaway.

truth be told

2010-02-23T23:40:00.004-06:00

Recent events have brought to light the fact that I have a spiteful streak. I have a tendency to burn my bridges, paint myself into a corner, cut off my nose to spite my face (and likely throw it at the offending party).

Take the past year's CPSIA events, for example. I stopped making toys because the testing requirements made it completely unfeasible to sell one-of-a-kind toys. Over the course of the year, though, some other things happened; stays were granted, fabric and a very few other materials were exempted from testing, etc. It's still an infuriating situation, but many of the road blocks in my way, personally, were removed.

It came to the point that the only thing standing in the way of making toys again was… you guessed it… spite. Fury at a government who would make things so complicated for so little good to show for it. But in the end, was the government hurt by my pity party? Certainly not. The only one hurt by it was me.

Don't get me wrong, the labeling is still a hassle. But labeling has to be done, CPSIA or not. And I've reached the decision that I can give it a try. Because it's hard to be spiteful and infuriated when you're making a toy. It's like therapy. (Was the new design enough of a clue? Lizi did the banner all by herself, by the way!)

So over the next few days, I will once again be listing toys in my Etsy shop, and maybe ArtFire as well. There will be the old standbys, but also some new things. And just in time to ship for Easter! There will also be some fun going on here at the blog, so you may want to keep an eye here too.

I figured you were wondering about the basket of arms and legs. ;)

storm

2010-02-22T09:08:00.002-06:00

A storm rolled through last night. I suppose it was the first thunderstorm of the season. The sound of the thunder almost seemed awkward; as if during the long, cold winter the air had forgotten how to make the sound of thunder. It's probably just that it sounds different with the leaves off the trees.

Sometimes when thunderstorms pass by, I think of when my girls were very small and scared of the lightning and thunder.

My first, always so serious and cautious, was petrified of storms. I told her that the sound of the thunder was just those BIIIIGGG, clumsy clouds bumping together, and acted out a funny big clumsy cloud to illustrate. She was never so scared after that, but sometimes would laugh about the "big clumsy clouds."

My second, so alike and so different from the first, is not afraid of much. But storms still make her afraid. I tried the "big clumsy cloud" act with her. Didn't work.

Oh well. I guess sometimes I feel so brilliant, I need to be taken down a notch. ;)

how much does it cost?

2010-02-18T11:09:00.000-06:00

An arm and a leg? No problem!

HA! I crack myself up.

chemo caps

2010-02-14T19:20:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Megan of Late Night Design asked where I donate the chemo caps I make. It made me realize I've never covered that here, so I thought I would.

My mother-in-law works with an organization called Look Good Feel Better. They work with cancer patients, helping them cope with the special challenges of treatment. They do makeovers, teach them how to wear wigs, hats, scarves, how to deal with skin changes and hair loss, and I'm sure lots of other things. It is a fine organization, and I am happy to make hats for them to give to the women they serve. You may check the program finder on their website to see if there's one near you that may need hats or other items.

Also, on the Head Huggers website, there are many patterns as well as instructions for submitting hats.

Cancer and its various treatments are painful enough; it adds insult to injury when cancer patients have a cold head from hair loss. Hats are quick enough to knit, crochet or sew that I think each and every cancer patient should have a handmade hat. And from good yarn too, not that scratchy stuff. And that's all I have to say about that. :)

And back to Megan - be sure to check out her Etsy shop, too!

the game is afoot...

2010-02-07T18:50:00.002-06:00

...again! Yes, our Hide and Seek game had a few wrinkles to iron out, but it is on once again. Please visit OrganicMamas blog to read the rules, directions, featured shops and clues, and join the fun!

A bit of fun, and prizes too!

2010-02-01T08:00:00.002-06:00

Our little game is on hold until we can work out a few wrinkles - sorry! I'll let you know when it's on again. Thank you for understanding!

The wonderful and awesome SHEteam (Schooling at Home Etsian) has a February promotion, led by the lovely OrganicMamas! There is a cash prize, as well as an assortment of items from participating shops. For more details, watch her shop and her blog. To find participating shops, search Etsy for "hidenseekEtsy."

thistle

2010-01-30T14:16:00.004-06:00

I've always adored thistles. Doesn't it look like a big green snowflake? Most people consider them weeds, I suppose; they are rather like dandelion's older, more dramatic sister. But then, I don't consider dandelions weeds, either.

artwork

2010-01-28T16:20:00.001-06:00

Here's a recent drawing from my 4yo artist. It's a mommy puppy dog, a baby puppy dog, a kid puppy dog, a caterpillar, a ladybug, and Lightning McQueen. (Of course.)

a little gardening

2010-01-23T17:21:00.002-06:00

I'm a little late, compared to last year, but the sugar snap pea seeds are planted. Due to the yard work we've done recently, the permanent garden is being moved and isn't ready yet. I needed a little space to plant the peas right away, though, so here's our solution.

If there's anything we have in abundance here, for free, it's logs. We have found many uses for them. The look is a bit more rustic than I'd like, but, did I mention they were free? So, here's two logs laid side by side, with a couple of bricks at each end. Fill with potting soil, and there's a nice row for peas! They will need some supports to grow up on, but we'll get to that later.
Peas need a fence, to keep out hungry bunnies and mischievous kitties. Here's a trick I figured out last year for supports. I took some PVC pipe we had lying around, cut it to the length I needed, and drilled two holes all the way through the end of each piece.
Put a nail through each hole (all the way through) and hammer it into the log.
Then wrap the whole thing with chicken wire and staple to the logs. Tie it at the top of the PVC posts as needed.
This little fence will be sufficient to keep the bunnies out. But will it be enough to keep out the most voracious sugar snap pea eater of all? ;)
(And just so you know, we put some seeds out in another place so the bunnies could have some too.)