birthday gift

Some pictures of the project Gwyneth was working on for Nolan's birthday.

Sandwiched fabric layers with a stitching line for Gwyneth to follow...



Gwyneth stitched along the line (leaving an opening), trimmed the square, turned the fabric, and topstitched...to make coasters.

small clothes

While my mom was visiting, she helped Gwyneth make a couple of new outfits for her American Girl Doll.






My mom definitly has more patience than I do!

a knitted gift from mom

A Lotus Blossom Tank from The Best of Interweave Knits. The yarn is Cotton Bamboo from Classic Elite in Blue Heron (3648).



It drapes beautifully, fits perfectly, and I love it. Thanks Mom!

birthday socks

I finally finished the socks I promised my mom for her birthday...last May. She is here visiting, and I was able to get them done the night before she arrived.



The yarn is Madelinetosh Superwash Merino in the Chatres colorway. I used my usual, 4 stitch rib (2x2) pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. I've been thinking about getting a little more adventurous with my sock patterns, but I find the simple pattern very comforting, just like the socks!

an unexpected gift

It looked like a nice tin of tea...

...inside was a surprise - a beautiful skein of yarn.

An wonderful treat, from a sweet friend!

PJs for Gwyneth

Using fabric from my stash and, this time, paying attention to the directions here to cut out and construct the pants...






I eliminated the need to hem the pants by cutting a strip of fabric, pressing it in half, and sewing it's raw edge to the bottom of the pants (before I sewed up all the seams). It still needed something so I added the ribbon trim. Gwyneth loves them!

Wackadoodle Pants

An old shirt from the Daddy...



...into new pajama bottoms for the Son.

I've been admiring SouleMama's children's pants for a long time. Her latest batch inspired me to try a pair of my own. She recommends this tutorial, and her book, The Creative Family, has instructions for turning an adult shirt into a pair of toddler pants. I also found this tutorial for 10-Minute Trouser's at Made by Petchy (lots of other great tutorial here too!)

Despite all the great directions, I still managed to cut out the fabric backwards (with the fold on the inside of the pant leg rather than on the outside) and then had to figure out how turn my fabric pieces into pants...not a big deal really but I am spatially challenged when it comes to pants...am I the only one?

words to live by

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
- Old New England Proverb

This is one of my favorite sayings, and this year I've decided to put these words into practice for my family. So what am I planning to do?

Stop shopping...for new things and for things we don't "need".

1. I will make or get used all the things I need for my family (with the exception of food, toiletries, and things like underwear and workout clothes that I won't buy used, ha!)

2. I will work primarily from my stash and from reclaimed fabric for my sewing projects. I am allowing myself to purchase fabric to complete projects which include reclaimed or stash fabric, but I'm going to attempt to keep that to a minimum (I promise) - I already have a few of these projects underway...

3. I will not buy any new yarn this year (oh my, that hurts to write...). I already stopped my subscription to Interweave Knits, so that should help to keep my temptation down a bit.

4. I will make or buy handmade gifts.

I'm sure there are lots of other things I haven't thought of yet...but this is a good start!

this morning

After many false starts, Gwyneth was finally able to set up the domino run.

Sewing and Tea

A few days ago, Gwyneth claimed the fabric and batting scraps that she found in my goodwill pile.

Yesterday, she told me she wanted to make something for Daddy for his birthday.

This morning, I thought of the perfect thing - that she can mostly make on her own with some guidance from me. We went through her scraps and my stash, and we found a good combination.

This afternoon, we had some tea, and Gwyneth did some pinning and sewing.



Gwyneth was excited about the idea of having tea but less so about the prospect of actually drinking it...maybe I'll add more honey next time.

Living in Paradise

I'm not a big fan of tropical island living, but there are some things that I will miss when we leave.






Like...painting, barefoot, in the backyard, in January.

Thrifted Apron

My favorite find from the thrift store today.



It's reversible!




The apron is made with Amy Butler fabric. Last year, I made the Barcelona Skirt Overlay (which I am now using as a kitchen apron) out of one of the same prints (in pink). Even stranger, this apron looks almost exactly like the Emmeline Apron, which is the apron I was planning to make...someday! The apron is handmade but the skirt is made with 5 panels instead of just one like the Emmeline (I think...I don't have the pattern), other than that it looks exactly the same.

Needless to say, I am very pleased with my new treasure - it cost less than half a yard of Amy Butler Fabric! If my oven were working (it died on Saturday and won't be fixed for at least a week...), I would go bake a cake.