needle + thread

There is nothing better than a homemade gift--as long as it fits the style of the person to whom you are gifting.

Our new neighbors are expecting their second child any day now. They are having a boy and already have a 2 year old girl, so I thought it would be a good excuse for some boyish onesies. I embroidered these with Sublime Stitching transfers. Cute? Yes!

I also thought I would show off a couple more of my "professional" pieces I have knit. These were for another awesome photographer friend I have. Check her out at www.oneswiftclick.com. Jessica's amazing!

Baby cocoons:

Baby hats:

fresh knits

I keep forgetting to snap pictures of my finished projects before I give them away. Luckily, one of the people I am giving stuff to is a photographer. I have made her a few items now and have a few more in the works for her to use as photo props. 

I am not really much of a crocheter, but I did manage this baby beanie with a flower. Lovely photography, too! Check her out at www.alisonleaphotography.com. I will post more photos of my knit items as she gets subjects to photograph in them.

My friend Casey has a new baby girl and I needed a newborn head to size these baby headbands I have started knitting. Here's the one baby Madeline is sporting for me. 

I made up the pattern and have so far made it in three sizes: 0-12 months, 2-4 years, and 6+. They are quick and satisfying little projects.

I went to North Carolina to visit a friend this past weekend and while there I made myself a new nursing cover. No picture of the finished project yet, but this is the material I used. I got it for a steal--four dollars for almost two yards! (Ignore the gray at the bottom there. Guess I was faster than my internet today.)

I also just went to IKEA and got a red twin sheet ($4.50) to use as the backing on Oliver's quilt. Hopefully I will be done with that thing soon.

star spangled

One thing I have noticed is that boys have an over abundance of red, white, and blue clothes. Girls, on the other hand...well, let's just say my girl has absolutely nothing even remotely patriotic in her enormous wardrobe. 

Today we went to a 4th of July parade and I felt the need to dress my kids in the traditional colors, but I had to get creative with hers. It is not perfect. It was sewn at 10:30 last night (why must I get these crafty urges so late at night!?). It worked and she even got some compliments from strangers--score!

Materials: plain white tank top, three largish patriotic scraps from the boy's quilt, and some red ribbon.

Finished product:

I spy with my little eye

something fast, cheap, and quiet.

start: two underwear packages (Clara chose Thomas the Train and Hello Kitty), a cup or so of rice, a piece of felt, and cheap trinkets/junk.

finish: I Spy Packets for *hopefully* quiet play times.

total time: 5 minutes.

The sewing is not superb, there is not enough room or rice, but I think my kids won't notice the difference.

summer crafting

Today is June first! Unofficially summertime here in Minnesota. I have been busy with the yard, the kids, the season finale of Chuck (awesome), and general busy life. Happily things are slowing down now and we have almost no agenda for the entire summer.

Crafty things:

Lawn swing. I wish I had a before picture so you could see how hideous it was. Rusted white, no cushions at all, a squirrel-chewed blanket thrown over the top. Disgusting. I sewed some cushions, got the husband to paint it a lovely shade of leafy green, and voila! Better than new.

Sun dress for the girl. This was my impulse craft last night. I got the lavender eyelet fabric for a steal ($3 for two yards!), so felt the need to use it immediately. The pattern is Oliver + S. Love it. I haven't been able to get it on my model yet, but hopefully I will shortly.

Here's my vegetable garden. Let me tell you, it is hard on this pregnant woman to bend over to plant seeds. Luckily my husband was around to help. (I am not sure why my kids' flag is at half-mast.)

And here is a photo of my husky little man, sporting some underwear (nope, he's not trained, but he wants to be in undies like big sister).

I am currently knitting/crocheting some hats for a photographer friend of mine. Pictures will come soon. Time to go kick back with my feet in the kiddie pool. 

new yarn!

I am so excited. My friend Leidy from Western Sky Knits custom dyed me some yarn for a project for the new baby. I am going to make something like this--a little romper for the chilly fall months (obviously I did not make the one in the photo; it is just my inspiration).

I think my yarn is gender-neutral enough and it looks pretty perfect to me! So excited to knit something for this wee one. Poor baby will have to share everything and live in hand-me-downs from birth!

progress

on big things

Oliver's quilt--all pieces are cut; now it's time to sew.

and little things

mother's day brooches

I like to think of myself as creative, but really I am just a copycat. The fabric roses were found here. Mine are a little wonky, but what that I make isn't?

Craft Corner!

I finally, officially have a "craft area" in my house. Up until now, the yarn was stored in the coat closet (four bins of yarn is no small thing to stash), the fabric in a bag on top of the yarn bins, the sewing machine thrown in there somewhere as well, and the knitting accessories were randomly on top of my bookshelf. Getting any project done was a small feat of rearranging furniture, digging through piles, and then putting it all away again when I was done before the Wild Things showed up to messify. It is a wonder I ever finished anything. 

Now, it is all nice and snug under the stairs in my basement. When we finished our basement a couple years ago we thought the under-the-stairs area would be so fun for the kids to play in, read in, hide in. Really, no one used it except the cat, when she was scared of thunderstorms. 

I have been in a major rearrange/sort/clean mood the last week. I went through all the kids' clothes and sorted them by gender and size to store until October when we find out what this baby is going to be wearing. I cleaned the linen closet (had never been done in the almost seven years we have lived here), rearranged the kids' rooms, and--most importantly--moved all crafty items into the new Craft Corner. I still need to get a big shelf type thing for the yarn and fabric, but I have a table with my sewing machine on top (finally that sweet retro table gets put to use).

I decided to christen my new space with a quick project: a couple bird friends. I found the pattern on this blog and they were made out of some of Oliver's quilt scraps. So sweet!

Also--can you believe it is already May!? We spent yesterday making and delivering May Day baskets to our neighbors. Happy May Day!

my eyes are bigger

than my energy level. 

That quilt? Yeah...not started yet. 

That shrug I am knitting? Yeah...still barely begun. My energy by the end of the day is gone, thanks to a preschooler, a toddler, and a fetus. 

(here is the yarn I am using for my shrug)

They will get done. Honest. They get thought about a lot. I am still queueing up projects I want to create. But the creating is not happening at the moment. 

I am enjoying being outside in the sunshine, though. Today the kids and I planted our early spring veggies in the garden--spinach, peas, carrots, lettuce. I eye my rhubarb every day, wondering if it is long enough to cut (hello, horrible rhubarb pie craving). I dig up dozens of dandelions. That has got to count for something, right?

the start of something beautiful

The fabric is all purchased for Oliver's quilt. I still need to find a backing material but that will come later. I'm washing and ironing tonight and the cutting will begin this weekend! I even bought a shiny new rotary cutter just for the occasion (my old one was really dull and, well, old). Hurray for the Year of the Quilt!