handmade and pinteresting...

Though I am little reluctant to 'pack away Christmas'...

I started yesterday.

In a small way.

Indoors only.

And I took note of a few of gifts...

handmade ones...

that I am not packing away...

but will enjoy throughout the year.

Those white-washed milk bottles that sit on my wee kitchen window sill...

were a gift from Lisa.

She got the idea from pinterest...

and went with it.

So fun.

I love them!

And my sister sent me a personalized calendar.

If you happen to be related to me...

all your important dates are marked on the calendar.

It is hanging in my ensuite...

where I am bound to take note.

A soft and fleecy scarf arrived in the mail at Christmas...

handmade by a dear friend from afar.

A scarf with pockets.

How fun is that?

Way back when...

I got inspired by Vee to make boot cuffs for my girls.

And then Karen was turning out infinity scarves by the dozen...

so I thought I'd try my hand at those as well.

 

On our road trip in November I crocheted three sets of infinity scarves...

and three sets of boot cuffs.

I couldn't tell you about them at the time though...

...since they were Christmas gifts for these three girls.

 The cuffs fit. 

They look better with boots, though! :)

I sewed all the grandgirlies some nice girlie aprons...

and found a reindeer apron for Ryder...

but Micah was apronless.

So...

just before Christmas...

I quickly sewed him a gingerbread man apron...

with stuff from the scrap bag.

I saw a picture on pinterest...

copied what I saw...

and it turned out cute.

So...

I'm sharing it here now...

in case anyone needs ideas for next Christmas.

By then I will have long forgotten about it.

I packed away my nativity scene yesterday...

along with the handmade Saint Thomas Cross that was part of the display.

The wooden self-standing cross is made by carving pale wood (such as aspen) into paper thin shavings.  

It is a traditional Finnish Christmas decoration and came from our friends in Finland.  

There are not many craftsmen left who are able to make the crosses...

and so I treasure mine. 

And that is  my 'handmade and pinteresting' post for today.

 

Enjoy the first weekend of 2013!

 

sew what?

My sewing machine has not seen much action for awhile...but yesterday it got dusted off.  It all started when four girls showed up on my porch on Saturday afternoon...with scraps of fabric in their arms...wondering if I might teach them to sew.  Well, that seemed like a fine idea...but the timing was a little off, since I was baking and had company coming for dinner.  So I suggested they come back one afternoon this week...right after school.  So we went through all the days of the week...and someone had somewhere they had to be each day.  We finally settled on Wednesday...knowing Emme would have to leave early for gymnastics. 

So...yesterday was the day...and I was prepared.  I picked up some fun fabrics...and they each made a pillow case.  First they learned to sew a straight line on fabric scraps...and then they sewed the straight seams of their pillow case.  One trip down each seam with the serger...a little pressing and their projects were complete.

Emme's was done before she left for her class.

The others took their time...and walked home across the fields with their finished pillowcases.  How fun to have neighbourhood friends...to play with...and sew with.  From the sewing room...they moved to the ditch bank...where there is a fort is under construction.  These carefree days of 'summer' will end far too soon!

Enjoy your day!

quillows all around...

What exactly is a quillow? Literally, it is a pillow that unfolds into a quilt. In my case...it was pillows for the grands that unfold into fleecy blankees (sometimes called stadium blankets). Our last stop in the USA before returning home from vacation this fall was Joanne's Fabrics...just in case I might spot some fun fabric for a project or two. I found fleece in great retro prints that I couldn't resist...and came out with enough pieces to sew the grands each a quillow for Christmas. The ones for the girls had flowers and swirls (and ladybugs for Maelyn)...and for Ryder, what could be more perfect than bears and a camping theme?

And from the leftover strips...they all got scarves to match their quillows. They will always know which is their scarf!

I made the blankees 54 inches square...but they can be made in any size. I followed a tutorial I found here...the biggest job is cutting everything down to size. Once the reversible blanket is completed...it is folded and tucked into the pillow pocket.

I attempted the folding and tucking lessons on Christmas Eve...but we may have to give a refresher course one day.

Emme and Spencer got fleece blankets from my aunt (that would be their great-great Aunt Kay) for baby gifts...and they still treasure them to this day. But the fleecy softness has long since disappeared...and so now they can retire their old blankees and take quillows along for their travels.

So that was the project that was still on my sewing machine right before Christmas. Something always gets left until the last minute...and this year it was the quillows.

Have a great day...

how fitting...

Sweet and simple...the perfect style for a cherub of a girl...who happens to be my grandbabe.


Way back...last winter...while Maelyn was sleeping soundly in her carrier ...Heidi and I browsed shoppes...and found the sweetest little dress pattern. It was a bubble dress...rather a vintage style...which would be perfect come summertime. Summer was a long ways off...and pattern and fabric were soon forgotten in my sewing room cupboards.

As I made plans for the next few weeks...everything that needed doing before company arrived...and before we set off to explore in our RV...that little cherub dress came to mind.

Sewing a retro dress...with vintage-look fabric...on a retro machine...seemed somehow appropriate. If you are at all interested in the pattern...or any of the others by oliverands...they can be ordered on-line (my next project will be the birthday party dress). I also came across a blog with step-by-step instructions and hints on sewing the Oliver + S dress...as bubbly and fun as can be!

Heidi stopped by yesterday...to have a raspberry feast...

...and Maelyn stopped by for a dress fitting.

She laughed...and clapped...and played pat-a-cake with her feet...and said I should sew on the buttons so she could take the dress home. Done.

Since birthday boys were busy last night (is playing ball a good excuse?)...we will celebrate birthdays this evening.

Have a great weekend everyone!

tying one on ~ an apron tutorial

Aprons are back...for young and old...in any style you might desire! I was eyeing all the beautiful aprons out there before Christmas...with intentions of sewing up a few as gifts. It never happened then, but I have finished a number in the last few weeks...and since you asked...here's a tutorial for a simple tea towel apron.

I happened to find tea towels in packs of three...all colour co-ordinated and on sale...just begging to be made into aprons. For each apron you will need 1 large tea towel...trim fabric as desired for embellishments or pockets...and 2 1/2 yards of twill tape. The tea towels I used were approximately 18 1/2" x 28"...you can always add a little trim along bottom, if they are too short.

1. Fold your tea towel in half lengthwise.

2. Starting at the centre top of your apron, measure 4 1/2 inches and mark.

3. From the top corner measure down 10 inches and mark (this is the non-fold side).

4. Using a rotary cutter and a ruler, cut between the two marks, making a triangle.

5. Unfold your apron, and finish diagonally cut edge with a narrow hem.

6. Cut a 20" length of twill tape for neck band. Attach to the top of the apron at side edges...

...being sure to encase raw edges of twill tape. (Finished length of neckband should be 18 inches).

7. Cut two ties from from remaining twill...and attach at side edges. (Finish raw edge.)

8. Decorate apron as you please. Use coordinating fabric to sew a band along bottom edge...or add a wide band and sew two seams vertically to form three pockets...or use your imagination and sew on some wonderful embellishments! Since my tea towels were all in co-ordinating colours...I could mix and match. And that's all there's to it...easy aprons in no time!

Broni (my daughter-in-law) agreed to model an apron for me last night...and grabbed a few props for the photo shoot. I pay my models well...she took home the apron and my 37-year-old Betty Crocker cookbook.

I would suggest washing the tea towels before sewing...which I failed to do! I'm hoping that my 'one-size-fits-all' aprons don't become 'one-size-fits small' once they have been through the wash.

So keep your eye open for some great tea towels...and have some fun! I've got another tea towel project on the back burner here...and may just share that as well once it's done.

Enjoy your day...

felted wool pillow

It's January...time to de-clutter and get things in order. But first I need to clear away a few projects that I have had lying around for awhile. This pillow project took all of a few minutes...once I actually got to it.

I now have a new throw pillow...made from a re-purposed sweater.

• The first step was to 'felt' the wool. This has been known to happen by accident on occasion...but in this case was quite intentional. Felting produces a mass of matted fibres...a thick and dense fabric that we call felt.
• I washed the sweater in very hot water with a wee bit of detergent...and also dried it in the dryer. The rather large wool sweater (an Eddie Bauer original) was quite petite when this process was completed.
• The next step involved lying around in my laundry room...and then sewing room...for a few months. This step could be nicely omitted.
• Cut sweater open on side and neck seams. Cut off sleeves...discard or save to use in other projects.

• Measure pillow form and cut sweater to fit. I cut two 19" squares of felted wool for a 18" square pillow.
• Sew three sides with 1/2" seam and leave a 12" opening on the fourth side. Trim seam allowances diagonally at corners; turn pillow cover right side out. Insert pillow and hand stitch opening. Voila.
• Place on comfy chair...or throw on the floor and use when reading books to Maelyn.

I never actually had a whole lot of time to try it out just yet...since there were other things that took priority over lying around yesterday. Our son is still in the hospital...and we are taking things one day at a time on the farm. I discovered that there are still coveralls that fit me...and gloves and boots!

Have a terrific Tuesday...

'tis the season...

Although we are barely into fall, the countdown to Christmas is underway. I was reminded of this last week as we 'picked names' for the Christmas gift exchange. We started a tradition years ago where we five sisters would make each other Christmas gifts...later on Jeanne (sis-in-law) also joined in the game. Busy as our lives all are, this is one tradition we've never wanted to end...despite the miles between us. The guys always joke about our 'name-picking' ritual, and are glad they opted out years ago. But I have a lot of 'sister gifts' that I treasure....

What could I possibly make that could measure up to that?

And while I'm in the Christmas project mode, I am reminded that I have several unfinished projects from last year. I'm thinking if I start sewing pyjamas in October, the grandkids may even have them for Christmas! I had good intentions last year, but the pj project got cut from the list in the busyness of December.

I'm working on Ryder's little boy pyjamas (I actually had trouble finding a basic 3-button pj pattern) & then have three pairs left to sew for the girls. I'm making them all out of the same fabric and think they will look adorable on Christmas morning! We'll see what Emme & Spencer think, since they never like to be dressed the same (so much for being twins).

Enjoy this season...and plan for the next, 'cuz it's just around the corner!

(There'll be no time to work on projects today...I'm off to help with a funeral tea & am hosting our 'care group' tonight.)