The crafting is done!

You'd think with all the coverage this doll is getting she's the only thing I've crafted this season. I got the boys pj's done on Saturday and I love how they turned out. Last week I had walking pneumonia which really slowed me down (it's karma for all my complaining about the chicken pox - which Rowan still hasn't shown any spots). It did force me into the reality of what I really could get done though. I'd like to knit one more hat, I'll cast it on today and hope I can have it done by Sunday.

My house though is a disaster, that kind of feeling that I just don't know how long I can stand it but there's just other things I need to work on first. I'll keep puttering away at the baking, the cleaning, and wrapping. Somebody remind me next September to get started on my Christmas stuff....please?

I'm hoping to share some tips from my doll making experience in January, for now I'll just say try it! It is really is simple, what a memory it creates. I hope Rowan just loves her up. By the way do you see the sewing basket she's sitting on? It's perfect isn't it, my mom brought it out to me last weekend. It belonged to my great grandmother who passed away in September at 98. I'll cherish it for certain. It will be perfect for holding all my hand sewing supplies, I seem to be doing more and more hand sewing.

12 days of Christmas

I've been away again, as I explained in my last post there's usually just a few reasons I'm not able to blog as often as I'd like and one of them is childhood illnesses, this week it's chicken pox. Quintin (at the age of 7) finally caught them and now I'm just waiting for Rowan to show the symptoms, there's no way she'll escape it!

Though I really wish it could happen in the new year the spots will probably show up in the coming week. I'm trying to get caught up on all the Christmas baking and making that need to get done before she needs me to stop everything for at least three days. The nice thing with sick seven year olds is they can understand that soon they'll feel better and they can say my 'throat hurts' and you can do something to help them. I don't think it will be that easy with a 20 month old!

So with 12 days left till the Christmas day I've still got most of my craft list to complete. I should be doing something other than blogging right now but maybe typing it out will help me to stay on track and figure out what I can cut back...


-make a wise men or sheppard costume for the school play on Wednesday (eeepp) I can't even start this until Monday night because I don't know what he is yet!

-finish Waldorf doll (she just needs hair)

-finish knitting a hat (I'd love to get a second knit too and I've got this as a project I can work on if the pox hit Rowan before Christmas)

-sew 2 pairs of pj pants and applique 2 shirts for the boys (this is really stressing me but really it won't take long at all)

-sew gifts for my sisters (not even positive what yet....not good! at least they'll happily take a rain check on their gifts, but I do really want to get them done)

-baking (I made a triple recipe of macaroons today, I'm keeping it simple this year and only baking 4 types of sweets but in larger batches)

We still need to cut our tree and decorate it, organize and wrap gifts, and I know there's more errands to run as much as I've tried to avoid this.

phew, am I stressing you out!? I don't mean to be! I'll share some picture end on a more relaxing note...

this girl just loves to craft

This picture was take Thursday afternoon, you can hardly see the spots, but look at the next picture

See, this picture was taken Thursday night, look at those spots! Liam had the chicken pox as a toddler so he's clear.

And the Waldorf doll! I took this picture on Monday, since then I've gotten her body sewn and attached her head. She's got underwear, pants a shirt and even some bamboo velour socks. This morning I even added just a touch of blush to her cheeks. All she needs now is her hair, I just need to get some dark brown embroidery thread. I keep forgetting this or that at the fabric shop. I'm hoping to share more details and info. on her in the new year, I've so enjoyed this doll project.

Catching up...

I hadn't expected on being away for so long! When I'm gone this long you can be sure that I'm...
-exhausted
-caring for sick child(ren)
-working on custom orders
-caring for teething toddlers
-very tired (aka exhausted)
-messing up craft projects (a tunic that turned out way too big)

I've been doing all these thing the last few weeks, I even took a break from crafting. Then I had to get to work on this guy for my Q's birthday on Saturday (7 years old!?). He's going to love this alien/monster/creature. I'm glad I found a project to use up some acrylic from the yarn stash. And he's soooo soft!
These mitts I finished yesterday (cruddy pictures) I love the fit and they're wool so they'll be so warm. I made them from a recycled sweater and I'll be making more for sure. I'm even storming up ideas how to make a pair that Rowan can't get off. I need to make them fast, I'm sure we'll get a dumping of snow anytime and she doesn't have any proper snow mittens.

A funny mitten story...I started working on these and then realized I'd made two left handed mittens. My partner was there when I'd realized my mistake and he laughed at me (it's not *that* hard a mistake to make!) he said my only option would be to make two more right hand mitts, so then I'd have two pairs of mittens. So I still need to finish them right hand mittens up, this seems an awful like a project that won't ever get finished.

I've been sewing pads too, which I haven't been doing much of so it seems a little remarkable to be showing these off. These two 12.5" pads are topped with bamboo velour. They're for a trade and I'll pop them in the mail on Monday.

I was so excited to get a custom order for these minky topped pads that I sewed them up right away. They're all 11" and have hidden PUL.

Now, I've been wanting to share my Christmas craft list with you, hopefully I can squeeze this in while the little one naps :) Some gifts I just keep changing my mind on, particularly my gifts for my sisters.

One thing I really want to get made is a Waldorf style doll for Rowan. I bought this pattern and I'm hoping to get started on the doll next week. I've read through the pattern and it's very clear and helpful. I want to be able to take my time and make her as perfect as I possibly can, if I rush on this it won't be pretty and I'll be so disappointed. I discovered you can buy pre-formed Waldorf heads, how clever. Laying in bed last night I wondered if I should've gone that route, but I already have all the fabric to start from scratch so that's what I'll do (this time).

The rest of the gifts are pretty simple....

-pj's for both the boys (I already have a pair for Rowan thanks to a trade)

-oven mitts and a doll sling for Rowan

-some new holiday bunting flags (need to get these done soon, I'm tired of looking at my fall theme flags)

-gifts for my sisters (potholders, t-shirt totes, mitts, bunting flags???? I'm not positive yet!)

That list isn't as scary as I thought, I'll be more things added I suppose. I need to figure something out for the teachers but those gifts might just be bought this year.

phew, is that my longest post ever?

So happy I had to share

I've been wanting to make myself some new pj pants for a while since mine are so worn and awful fitting (too short in the leg, too big in the waist and back). I'm so glad that I made my own and I'm not sure I'll ever buy pj's for myself again! Of course I had to make a matching pair for Rowan. It was so cute to see her looking at my pants then looking down at her pants last night thinking 'we match'.

I did a yoga style fold over waist, it's so easy (and comfy) it's become by favorite way to finish off the waist of pants and skirts. The flannel was from Wazoodle and the knit fabric on the waist was from the remnant bin at Fabricland. (I luuuurve the remnant bin, it's always worth a peek).
If you wanted to make your own pjs but a little more economical/green/ethical you could use thrifted flannel sheets and t's shirts for the waist band. I'm sure I'll make some this way too, I had these fabrics on hand so I figured I'd put them to use.

We've decided to go out for dinner tonight so I'm heading off to peel a whole lot of apples and pears to make into apple-pear sauce before we go.

Challenge Met

I found some time to finish up my upcycling challenge. The projects piling up were starting to drive me batty! I've been going a little crazy making fun bath mats lately. I took the rest of my towel and cut it to size, serged the edges and appliqued these mushrooms on them.
I finished up the family cloth too, I think I did about nine of these circles. I only intended on making 4 or 5, but then I thought with the youngest being close to two years old (and hopefully getting some great ideas about using the potty) I may need some extras.

I still have some of the flannel and velour left but I put it away with my fabrics. I thought it would make adorable doll pajamas someday.

I dug out some flannel to make some pajama pants (for me!!) and I've also got a pair of my sons pj's out that need to be made bigger. I'll show you how to grow your pj's next week. Do you have any crafty ideas for the weekend?

new pants from old pants

I got one thing made from my pile, of course I'd like to have gotten more done by now but the little one is sprouting more new molars and has me exhausted. The projects are piling up on my work space.
So these little pants are what I made. I find it hard to find comfy, simple, warm pants that fit over cloth diapers so I've been making most of her pants. I made them from the red velour pants, and there's still fabric to use up.

I also made some new family cloth wipes from some of the flannel pj pants and the towel, I still need to serge most of them though so I'll get a picture later on. I'm a little stumped as to make from the remaining fabrics....a bath mat maybe?

Being Mindful

It's been a busy couple of weeks since I last posted. I remember saying that my next post would include a holiday craft to do list, but I've barely even thought about that (which isn't a good sign with all the gift crafting I'll need to do this year). What has been piling up in my bedroom and sewing area for a long time is clothing that I've been meaning to re-purpose. I decided to challenge myself this week and see what I could make from these three things (just a small dent into my pile!) In the picture are a pair of women's red velour yoga pants that I thrifted for $1, a pair of women's flannel pj pants that have always been too short for me but I love the mushrooms print, and a worn out orange towel.


Re-purposing and altering clothes has become something I've been thinking about more and more. I donate a lot of things we're not using or have outgrown but sometimes I love the print or the fabric (often because it's useful ie: velour & terry are super absorbent). Another reason I've been doing more re-purposing is economic, I just need to. It also feels like the environmental and ethical thing to do since it creates less demand on manufacturing, creating and transporting fabrics and goods. And sometimes I'd rather create what we need with things we have on hand rather than make a trip into town for something we 'need'.
I have managed to get started on creating some new goodies from these items and I'm hoping to get back this week to post them. One thing I'm still learning is to have patience when you're taking an item apart. Look at the notions I scored from the flannel pj pants...elastic, some trim, and a wooden button. There's also a sneak peek at at least one thing I'm making from these things, can you guess what they are?

October!?

October, I almost can't believe it. The photo of the tree out front of our house was taken just the other day, now it's completely orange and lost many more leaves. There's so many projects happening here, renovations, room changes, a wood stove being installed, a chicken run going in to contain our chickens who have become a little to comfortable in their yard, on the road, up the road, visiting the neighbors chickens and inviting them back to roll and dig in front of our house.

And the crafting that needs to be done. I made these bunting flags yesterday. What a fun project and a great way to use up some fabric. This set reverses to Halloween flags, love it! I started on some ornaments that I'll be adding to my shop soon. There's Thanksgiving at our house, birthdays to plan and craft for, Christmas gifts to make (many).
I think my next post will help me organize my holiday crafting.

A bit more sewing (& building!)

Here's a skirt I made for the girl of the house. It's denim, it's stretchy, versatile, dark, comfy...I love it! I think it will fit for a long time too so it's perfect! I bought a meter of stretch denim several weeks ago to sew up a pair of cloth friendly jeans for the baby and I had enough for the skirt too, the fabric was about $8 so I guess that's pretty good value especially since she'll wear them again and again. She wore the jeans in a mud puddle yesterday and they washed up perfectly-love!

Here's a sneak peek at some wetbags I'll be listing at my Etsy shop on Thursday.

Lego is the toy of the moment around here, I hope it keeps up. I much prefer playing with Lego than army guys, I find myself joining in with the Lego play :)

Some crafty bits

I just added some pads to my shop, I guess we can disregard my last post about stocking every other week. It seems just as easy to stock weekly, rather than having a bunch of listing to do all at once. Today I added some bamboo velour and some cute cotton prints, more with PUL than usual. I also finished up a little custom order of more purple.
Look at this, I've been wanting to make a few of these bowl covers for a while and I did get one made this week. I've been reaching for the plastic wrap way too often lately.


Even better than the wrapping gizmo is what's inside...homemade guacamole (my baby LOVES this stuff!) You can see the inner of the bowl cover here too, it's nylon so I can just wipe it clean or toss it in the wash. I've got to make more of these.

And knitting, after two kind of disappointing projects I took a break from knitting. The knitting bug came back though and I've started a pair of longies for the fall. It seems that after 6 years of knitting these diaper cover thingies I may actually know what I'm doing! I just bought this new pattern http://hyenacart.com/EviePants/index.php?c=0&p=34615 and I'm so impressed with it, I highly recommend it. This picture is from yesterday and I'm further ahead now, I've got the gusset done and I'm onto the first leg. I cast these on last Sunday and these are going pretty quickly for me. The yarn was a custom hand dyed by a WAHM, http://hyenacart.com/Yarnoodles/ when I was newly pregnant with my now 16 month old!

A vintage pillowcase dress

My aunts are avid thrift shoppers with a weakness for vintage linens. This pillowcase was one of their finds, and I've hung onto it knowing I'd have a use for it someday.

This project was so easy and so fast. There's lots of tutorials out there on how to sew one up here's the one I used
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55523.asp

This pattern uses elastic across the chest and bias tape to close up the raw edges around the arms and create the ties. It turned out perfectly and this will fit our little girl for a long time since it starts off as a dress and can be used as a shirt as she grows. You can put a shirt under them too for cooler weather. Versatile clothes are the best. I've got a few more vintage pillowcases I'll be making into dresses.

just a tip, this pillowcase had some little stains on it but I washed it and hung it in the sun and the stains are gone.

While I was searching for a tutorial for the little dress I re-discovered this site http://sewmamasew.com/tutorials.php#i6 it's loaded with sewing information and inspirational sewing projects. I love this idea for a patch http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=922 it's making me want to put away my knitting needles for a while and do some hand sewing.

Freshly collected (and just washed) eggs.

Smitten with Chickens

Back in September we ordered some sweet little chicks, they've grown! They've been producing eggs for several weeks now. The chickens spend most of their days foraging in the yard. Little Rowan is smitten with the chickens and often looks out the window saying 'pauck, pauck'.

My Saturday Market skirt! I was so happy to stumble across this pattern http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/portabellopixie/2010/03/sewing-bits-and-pieces-.html my brain went to thinking of all the fabrics I could use. I thought it would take forever to finish it but it wasn't too bad at all. Now I just hope it warms up a bit so I can wear it!

Wool love...

I posted a photo of the wool pants I made for my girly yesterday and I'm so happy that they actually fit her! I had to share some pictures. Yesterday I was going to drive the 30 minutes into to town to thrift around and find her some new pants but I'm happy I stayed home and made these instead.

More customs & trades

This first set was a custom with flannel & cotton prints. These have hidden PUL in them.

I sewed these up for a Croatian trade partner, they're topped with hand dyed bamboo velour.

Finally a pair of shoes to fit the baby! I made her some cozy pant from recycled wool too :) She's outgrown almost all her pants so I'm glad I got these ready. I did a yoga style waist band on these for comfort, the waistband is wool too so these will also double as diaper covers.

Last weeks crafties

Last week I made some birthday gifts for my family members, here's a few of them some were finished just. in. time. and missed the photoshoot. MIA are a charcol knit beanie, and some yummy chocolate covered caramels mmmmmm.
A little tote for nephew to tote his cars in (very important for a 2 yr old)

Rowan liked it too :)

A reusable car trash can for my brother in-law, who's been waiting for one of these for well over 2 years.

A pair of up-cycled wool slippers for my brand new baby neice.

And a grown up pair for my partner on Valentines

The kids were feeling crafty too....

Customs orders, a trade, and knitting

Here's the most recent custom orders, a size pack of 11" Strawberry Shortcake and more 12.5" minky topped pads.

Then some boxy bags for a trade, I'm awaiting some yarn & soft soled shoes in exchange :)

I made this mini shawl for me using the Far Away, So Close pattern http://www.sweetmamasmallsugar.com/ This is the second pattern I've used from SMSS and they're very user friendly.