flower headbands

Yesterday was a funny day. After I finished the baby's top and headband, I showed them to Clara.

(this one is Ruthie's headband)

Clara got all weepy--"But I want a cute headband, too!" Wah wah wah.

Guess what? I like making them, so I put another together. Not too matchy, but close.

She already almost lost it at the park. Maybe I should make a backup.

adorableness

Hi there. How are you?

I made a cute baby outfit. Ruthie is going to have a lovely photo shoot next week. Here is the tutorial I used for the top. It came together yesterday - I cut it in the morning and sewed it in the evening.

*sigh of happiness*

I also had a good idea. Flowers around the edge of my ugly dress. Fabric flowers are all the rage, and I think I have gotten on the wagon.

moss stitch moebius cowl

My first attempt. I need it to be looser. Kinda cute though, right? This is an awesome tutorial for casting on in Moebius style knitting (which basically means it has a twist that you can never untwist).

I am making my second attempt right now in a teal blue. Purty.

Also, I feel shame for posting that ugly dress down there. Yuck. I must redeem it so the shame goes away. :)

Also, have you ever tried to sew while a crawling baby finds every disgusting thing in the basement and tries to eat them all?? It is hard. Today I barricaded her in with an ironing board, a few chairs and a blanket, and an ottoman. Poor baby. But really, when she doesn't nap, what does she expect!

A Dress: in which I get intimate with my seam ripper

Oh boy. Making blankets is fun. Making kids clothes is all right. Making myself clothes...sucks. This dress had a few things I never made before. Pockets. Attached cuffs. Attached collar. I was really bad at all those things. I may have even skipped two out of the three. Let's just call it a learning experience and move on, shall we? (Maybe she needs a belt. She's pretty boring on her own. Maybe a ruffled pink something...somewhere. And that collar has GOT to change. It just plain sucks.)

After THAT, I switched to a faster, more satisfying project. A key fob.

This came in the mail. Well, the apple did. The mushrooms were already living on my shelf.

Oh, I love you, Little Apple Fabric and Little Mushroom Fabric and Little Mushroom Matching Ribbon. You will become Ruthie's first birthday dress. (Apple orchard theme! October baby.)

And the very next project: Look! What I found in my stash, just waiting for me to find it and squeal with delight. A perfect match!

Clara's Quilt

It's finally done. I'm not sure why it took me so long, other than that first it was too summery out, then it was WAY too summery out, so I didn't want to do much of anything. I used her old curtain as the binding. I like it. More importantly, she likes it.

On to the next (for ME!):

In a couple weeks, Ruthie will be getting her pictures taken, and I am doing a crafty swap for pictures with my friend Ali. (I love doing this and I definitely get the better end of the deal!)

Anyway, I found these cute sandals on clearance at Target for $3.00...kind of silly since shoes on babies are pointless...but I think I will have to make her an outfit to match for the sake of cute pictures. I am thinking something along the lines of this, but in pinks (or rainbow--different colored ruffles??) and with bloomers or shorts, possibly attached? Time will tell.

a little late...elephant set...and the importance of blocking

This was from the start of the summer. I made it for a friend's benefit raffle. It turned out pretty cute! The hot pink ruffle is what 'makes' it, don't you think? I wish I knew the person who won it, so I could see photos of it in action. Maybe I will have to make another one.

The photo below is of the sweater before I blocked it. See how the elephants are all lumpy??

I cannot ever emphasize to other knitters enough--blocking will make your project look better! It is ALWAYS worth the time and effort, especially with lace or intarsia. BLOCK IT! It is really not difficult. You simply get the knit piece damp, and lay it flat on a towel to dry in the shape you want. So for this piece, I stretched the damp elephants a little before it dried so they didn't bunch. Easy peasy. And much better. (sideways picture...)

rainy day

Perler Beads + Pipe Cleaners = Bracelets

I had a naughty thought today...what if I were to go buy a freehand quilting machine and then return it after every quilt...morally wrong, right? ...Right? 'Cuz it is a pain in the rear to yank all my quilt through the tiny gap in the machine.

I may or may not have done something similar with a deep fryer and a dinner club...we will never know for sure.

And this picture just makes me laugh.

Happy Friday!

a day in the life

This post is dedicated to my friend Gilda, who jokingly told me to document my day so she could copy me. Well, the joke's on you, because here is my day!

Woke up. Drank coffee while the kids still slept. Kids woke up. Ate toast.

Played play kitchen.

Painted rocks while the baby napped.

Went to Starbucks.

Went to Trader Joe's.

Ate lunch.

Watched Toy Story 3 for quiet time.

Baked and decorated cookies.

Made my new favorite salad.

Went outside and picked raspberries.

Swung.

Raced.

Went inside for snack.

Clara circled things in a catalog. Oliver played playdough. Ruthie crawled around.

Made dinner--bean burgers--but used butter beans and other herbs/veggies.

Went for a bike ride to Little Tel Aviv for "knitting group" while my amazing, handsome, STRONG husband stayed home and bathed the children and put them to bed. (Husband may or may not be sitting, reading over my shoulder.)

There you have it. A day in the life of me!

cookies

Hello, dearest ten followers and possible handful(!!) of lurkers! Taking the internet by storm...

Remember when I was going to try to decorate cookies all fancy? Well that failed. I dubbed them The Uglies, but they did taste good.

I decided practice on a more basic level was needed.

A little better. I think I might be lacking in the main ingredient, Patience.

The Perfect Day

One of my beliefs is that Thursday is the most perfect day of the week. It is a round day, a pleasant day, a nothing-can-go-wrong day. Tomorrow is Friday! Wednesday is over! (I hate Wednesdays.) Hooray for Thursday, the Perfect Day!

Once upon a time, I bought new dining room chair cushions. Trying to find a way to prevent my kids from immediately destroying them was hard. I tried an oilcloth cover over them, but it just didn't work. The kids were always tearing them off. Eventually, I resigned myself to stained cushions and took away the oilcloth. I made a bib instead. I also plan on making a cute bunting for the dining room. I know, buntings are SO last year. I am a little slow.

Banana muffins ('cuz it's Thursday!). Betty Crocker Cookbook, represent!

Attempt at "fancy" cookies, after finding this cute cookie on the Sweet Sugar Belle blog. Daisies in the middle of the circles. I have yet to do the hard part of adding frosting. I think I'll wait until the kids are asleep. Question: is meringue powder the same as powdered egg whites?

I have also been enjoying my bike this week. Every day I get out for a ride by myself. I love the Greenway and all the bike trails in my little town. Love. My bike is old--like from the 1970s. It has fenders and it squeaks. I am sure the professional bikers love seeing me coming. Ha. Wait! Did I say that my bike was old because it is from the 1970s? I retract that. Anything or person from the '70s is young. Young, I say!

(this is not my picture, but it is my bike!)