Crafting with the Kiddo

Yesterday afternoon my husband had another Santa gig, so my daughter and I were left to our own devices.  We got her a haircut, went to the wholesale club for some of her favorite snacks (no lie, the kid loves dates, mangoes, and pecans!), and then stopped at JoAnn Fabric to get some supplies for a project I had in mind....

...inspired by Holly's post!  My daughter was a little disappointed that we didn't have "fancy" beads like the ones Holly found - a quick Google seems to indicate that Michaels carries the brand she used, and that would have meant running across town at 4 pm on a Sunday.  Not happening!  Plus I had coupons for JoAnn.  LOL  So we got one tube of jewel-toned beads plus some larger red ones that we found in the clearance bins.  We cut our pipe cleaners in half, which resulted in lovely shards of silver flying all over the kitchen....  And the ornament we attached them to was a 60%-off find.  I swear these stores put ridiculous mark-ups on everything, just so we feel like we're getting "deals."  Ah well.  We had a lovely time stringing beads and twisting the pipe cleaners together, and she was quite pleased with her door decoration (and yes, I know my front door needs to be re-finished.  Argh, that pic really shows the sun damage...)!

After that was finished, we cooked dinner together - my mother found a copy of Peter Rabbit's Natural Foods Cookbook and brought it out at Thanksgiving, and my daughter has been itching to try some of the recipes.  So we made "Samuel Whisker's Roly-Poly Pancakes," which are not exactly traditional pancakes, but were tasty and filling all the same!  (They use a blend of white flour, wheat flour, and corn meal.  My husband said the texture and weight reminded him of a doughnut.)  And of course, scrambled eggs....and mango for dessert.

I barely stitched at all this weekend, and the house is a bit of a wreck....but it was a good weekend.  I hope you all had the same.

Quick, Depressing Life Update

Thanks for all the kind comments about Crafty Brain.  And while I'd love to indulge her more often....life so often intervenes.

So, as some of you know, Crafty Brain has her own Crafty Cave - the previous owner of our 1950s-ranch house turned part of the basement into a hair salon.  While I have all the hair styling skills of a one-legged chicken, I DO appreciate a room with vinyl flooring, fluorescent lighting, and built-in cupboards and counters!  (This may or may not have been a BIG motivator in our purchase of this house - we really confused our realtor, who couldn't figure out WHY we'd want a house with a hair salon.)  In my perfect world, we'd have the time and money to do some updating, but for now, it works.
Until last Thursday night...
....when I went downstairs to do a load of laundry, and almost slipped and fell in a giant puddle of water.

I turned on the lights....and followed the trail of moisture....

.....through the Craft Cave, under a wall....

....and back to one of the main water lines, which was quietly hissing and dispersing a continuous fine mist of water all over the back corner of the basement.

And because we are not the brightest homeowners, the first thing we did was call the plumber.  (A smarter couple might have simply turned off the main and waited until the morning to call.)  After about an hour's worth of work - at the overtime emergency rate, of course, and some loud sawing that our child amazingly slept through, the leak was fixed.  My bank account was significantly lighter, and inspection of the Craft Cave revealed that some of my supplies were ruined.  Most of my fabrics and patterns were okay, because they were in cabinets or boxes up off the floor, but many of the doo-dads and doohickeys that Crafty Brain acquires were destroyed (mostly because they'd been left carelessly about, and had no permanent "home").

Time to re-evaluate, re-arrange, and force Crafty Brain to work with the materials at hand before purchasing more.  There are still plenty of materials to use!  That might be part of the problem...

Confession Time

I went to Michael's last weekend....I may have gone a little nuts.

It all started when I saw this posted in a Facebook group (not mine, and I don't know anything about the pattern) -

The little house is from Michael's, and I actually knew exactly where to find them, because I had looked at them a couple times wondering what I might do with one!  So I made a beeline for Michael's.  I ended up with not just that little house, but another one that looks a bit different, plus a black metal shadow box with a scalloped edge that I think will be a perfect fit for the zombie girl when she's finished.  

(If you're keeping track, that's 3 items.)

Then I saw one of those little matboard fake books that said "Spells" on the cover - oooo, put a little witchy design inside it, Crafty Brain sez!  Then I came across the wooden cut-outs that looked like tombstones and such...plus all the Tim Holtz ghoul-y 3-D scrapbooking stuff.  And at least 50% off?  Oh dear.

(Book, a few wooden cut-outs, scrappy things.....now we're close to 10 items.)

Some creepy black moss stuff, also on clearance, some little bat charms from the jewelry aisle....Crafty Brain has now taken over and is running wild.....

...and I couldn't persuade her to put anything back, either.  At least I stopped C.B. from grabbing the giant red lantern from the Christmas aisle (NOT on sale!) to do some sort of stitchy ornament arrangement....

I like big...books

Some time ago, Honeybee shared the books she created using Blog2Print.  The librarian and historian in me was immediately intrigued, and I signed up to create a few myself.  But I was never entirely pleased with the result - my pictures are often not the best (apologies, readers) and I just didn't like the way it "read" as a story.  Maybe going forward, if I were to blog with the intent of publishing, I might change things....but maybe not.

So I put that idea away, but still thought from time to time how I might best collect and preserve some of the things I've made.  Then I got a free photo book code from Shutterfly....last week, this arrived.

It is not comprehensive, and in all honesty, doesn't have all of my "favorites"...more like "those projects of which I had good digital pictures."  LOL  There is a page spread for framed things, one for ornaments, another for exchanges, and other such groupings, plus 3 pages of my amateur quilting projects.

I'm pretty pleased with the finished product!

Minding my needles

I admit it, I've jumped on the needleminder band wagon.  :D

I don't have TOO many (yet!), but I can see that changing, as I've found a use for the one thing my husband gets in his Lootcrates that he doesn't usually want....lapel pins!!

I was pretty pleased.  I removed the big stick pin from the back with pliers, then sanded it down smooth with my Dremel.  I got my magnets at Hobby Lobby - I think they were the 1/2" diameter size craft magnets (silver, not the black ceramic ones) - and attached one using E6000 clear adhesive.  Easy peasy!  And suitably nerdy.  Since he gets both the general Lootcrate the Firefly-themed one, I was thinking about making more and possibly selling them on eBay or Etsy.

Wherein I ponder what I like

Having done a bit of stash acquisition recently (nothing major, just a chart from an online friend and a brief romp through the magazine bins at the public library's annual sale), I find myself thinking about my evolving taste in craft patterns.
When I started stitching in the late '90s/early 2000s, I was allll about the complex.  The more shades, blends, and special flosses, the better it MUST be.  I hoarded Teresa Wentzler patterns - but I never stitched any.  Same went for most of the Miras and other such designs.  I loved them, but I just didn't have the time or patience to start large projects (and I still don't, very often!).  I've since weeded out some of those patterns, although I've kept some because they're just so pretty.
I also used to look derisively down my nose at anything that might be considered "primitive."  Reproduction samplers?  No thanks.  Strange little faceless women standing in front of blocky houses, surrounded by giant flowers and animals of indeterminate species?  I don't think so.  And if it could be described as "cute," there was very little chance I'd stitch it.  Lizzie Kate, Bent Creek, Little House Needleworks...all in the "meh" pile.
But now, as I look at both the patterns I like and the things I've finished (145, according to the post tags!), I'm seeing that small, simple - and possibly "cute" - things do hold some appeal.  It is really more about colors than complexity, I think.  I love colors!  And the right combinations, either as designed or as a product of my own substitutions, make my needle fly.  I'm realizing more and more that the designs I choose to stitch are different from those that seem to be popular in the stitching world, and that's okay.  My heart is happy.

What I've been up to

First of all, last weekend was the village-wide yard sale in our town, and I scored these -

- for $5!  I think there is at least half a yard of each.  They've been added to bin of potential fabrics for ornamentifying.

Also, 2 weeks ago Small One and I spent a few days at my parents' house.  My mom has been having some back problems, so while my husband was away for some work training, we went to help out and make Mom smile before her back surgery (it was last week, and she is feeling much better already).  I like to take small pieces to work on when I'm at their place, so I pulled The Drawn Thread's "Forget Me Not Sampler" out of my stash.  I was also crazy enough to stitch it over-one!

When I was at Mom and Dad's, I also saw a small frame with a mirror below it - kind of like some of the Olde Colonial products - that I think this would fit in perfectly!  (It was one of my dad's auction finds.)
Finally, I think I hate satin stitches.  >:(

Swearing at my Sewing Machine

While I haven't done much stitching - it has been too hot to sit in the living room lately! - I have been browsing sewing blogs.  I've grown particularly fond of the "refashioning" trend, finding unappealing items at thrift stores and turning them into something more wearable.  So Friday, after being inspired by Jillian over at Refashionista, I did a quick run through the local Goodwill.  I came home with this:

It was hanging on the dress racks.  Well, even in my youth this style would NEVER have worked as a dress for me...and now I'm too old and saggy in certain places to even try this on for a "before" picture.  LOL  I'd say "use your imagination," but then again, I don't want to be blamed for the ensuing nightmares.

First I deconstructed the piece, removing the zipper and taking off the "bodice."

See what I mean?!?  Look how tiny that top piece is!!

I had to line the skirt, which is what became my undoing.  I had an old navy blue tee that I thought would be perfect for that purpose...however, it was rayon and very slippery.  Also, the dress fabric was cheap and frayed terribly once it was disassembled.  But I soldiered on, and changed the waist to an elastic drawstring (I made a casing of sorts using the skirt fabric and creasing it above where the lining was attached).  And...ta-da!

It is a crummy workplace bathroom pic...but you get the idea.  The top was another thrift store find from some time ago - it was slated to go back because it is a bit of an odd color (compared to the colors I usually wear), but it coordinates almost perfectly with the skirt.  And thankfully, it covers up my moderately wonky waistband!  The finished skirt hangs in such a way as to hide a multitude of fabric puckers and other sins, as well.

So there you go, my first attempt at "refashioning."  It was frustrating at times, but fun, and I'll be on the lookout for other potential candidates!

A non-stitchy finish

Thanks to a lovely Amish woman, my first (and probably last and only) quilt is complete!  This will be a gift for my daughter, who will be 3 in March.  She hand-quilted it on the seams and added a lovely floral design in each of the 4 large squares, and she did the binding for me, too.  I have one 9-patch block made with the fairy fabric left over, and I'm going to use that plus some of the burgundy border fabric to make a matching pillow.  I really love how this turned out, but at the same time, piecing that top together gave me fits.  I get much too frustrated when things don't turn out the way I imagine them!  I think I'll stick to stitching, where everything is done on a sensible grid....

Kicking things off with a finish!

Woo-hoo!

Glorious Wings "Tiffany"
Just Nan
stitched with kit materials

 

She's just so sparkly....  I tried to catch some of the sparkle and beads in the second picture, but I still wasn't too successful.  Hmph.  I did make one (small) omission -- I left off her bead halo and the sprinkling of beads/butterfly charm over her head.  We're not really into angels, so this way she is a FAIRY.  LOL  And I don't have a charm for "Gypsy Rose," and since I want to display them as a set, this way they'll match a bit better.

I also got out the sewing machine on Sunday and put together a tiny coverlet to protect the top of my little stitching cabinet.  This was my first attempt at piecing, done back before the Wee One's quilt, using the charm pack I won from Anna.  I think Kathy will be familiar with the technique I attempted...a 9-patch assembled, cut apart, turned, and re-assembled.  But 1) I didn't "square up" anything as I went, and 2) I didn't measure - I just folded to find the half-way points.  So it is a bit wonky!  But (IMHO) lovable and cute.  I used a piece of blue floral fabric for the back, so it could be reversible if the mood strikes....

Holiday (non)Happenings and a Final WIPocalypse Update

Christmas with a toddler is exciting...and exhausting!  Gift-opening on Christmas morning literally took hours.  The Wee One had to play with everything as it was opened...and she kept going back to a certain gift over and over.  :)

This is the handmade castle I got for her from a wonderful Etsy seller.  The little princesses I painted myself!  My husband asked why there were no princes...well, mostly it was because I couldn't find the peg blanks without the "skirt" shape (they do make them, but none of the local craft stores had any in stock).  But as I told him, who needs boys, anyway?!?!?  LOL

In keeping with the "making little people" theme (NO, I'm not pregnant), here is another creation of mine - an angel made of an old wooden spool, a bead, and assorted craft scraps from my stash.  A friend and I did an ornament exchange, and this is what I sent.

And as for stitching, there has been a bit of progress made.  I've had the last 3 days of this week to myself, since daycare is open and the Wee One has been getting a bit cabin-crazy.  Plus, this is kind of my Christmas gift to MYSELF - there aren't many days during the year where I am not either at my 9-5 job or caring for my child.  So I won't feel guilty about having 3 days or so out of 365 to sit on my butt and relax (or sleep in and then do laundry, as the case may be)!
Anyway, here is my last WIPocalypse update, featuring "Labyrinth."  Still not finished.

 Of all the projects I listed in my ambitious focus list at the beginning of 2012, only 2 are completed - the tea towel for my mother and the Cross-Eyed Cricket "Melville" piece.  But I do think I've done pretty well making progress, and while I did start - and finish! - several small pieces, I managed to avoid starting any more large projects.  You can see all my progress/accomplishments on the "WIPocalypse" page tab.

Finally, my latest small - Just Nan's "Tiffany" Glorious Wings kit.  It is stitching up more quickly than I anticipated!  As I mentioned previously, I also have "Gypsy Rose" in my stash (the pattern only, but it is charted for DMC, Kreinik, and Mill Hill, so with the exception of the wee butterfly charm, I think I can do a proper recreation).  I think I might consider sending these to Jill Rensel to be framed as a set for Wee One when they are finished...

Yep, I'm obsessed.

Maybe not with quilting on the whole, but with this project.... (apologies if I'm boring any of my readers with constant pics of this)

Here is the top row and the divider strip with the 2 little squares of the rose fabric.  I would have attached the middle row of blocks, but I need to cut more strips of the burgundy fabric and I'm not in the mood tonight.  LOL

I could not be more in love with the way this is turning out.  It is far from perfect, but I think it will make a certain Wee One VERY happy....and hey, as the years pass it will be a reminder that 1) her mama loves her, and 2) her mama isn't perfect either!

"Quick and easy" sewing projects rarely are...

...but this one turned out pretty cute, anyway (after much procrastination and a bit of swearing).

(With a full-size pillow for a bit of scale.)  The center is one of Little Bit's old t-shirts, and it is framed with an old sundress.  The bias trim and backing are fabric from my stash, and the ruffle came off the bottom of the sundress!  I'd hoped it would fit a purchased travel pillow, but the one I found at Target was just a wee bit too big - it fit, but with no squishing room.  It was like a sausage!  So I whipped together a little muslin pillow insert for it.

Here she is, posing with her new "piddie piddow."  :)  She was quite pleased, and took it straight to bed with her last night!

WIPocalypse (with pictures!)

Although I said I wanted to do something for my daughter's daycare provider, I can't seem to start anything...and I keep plugging away at "Melville's Return."

(Hmmm, looks like it is on the Q-snaps a bit wonky...I swear that lighthouse stands nice and straight.)
I think I should have this one DONE soon - I can't believe I'm saying that!

Here is the box of assorted old flosses.  I have more to wrap, too, plus many skeins/partial skeins without manufacturer or color numbers that I'm not sure what to do with.  I guess I could put them in my old DMC cabinet to use for cording and such.

The woman who owned these sure loved her variegateds!  Especially in blue, it would seem.

And finally, my "quick and easy" sewing project that turned out not to be so quick and easy.  Grrr.  The center piece of this is a shirt I found at the thrift store, and the edging is one of Maura's old sundresses.  I was hoping to make her a pillow that would fit a 12"x12" pillow form, but as you can see, this is NOT a square.

It is about 15 inches wide and 10-ish inches high.  Now I'm thinking that I'll finish it like a "grown-up" pillowcase, and make my own little rectangular pillow to put inside.  Then she can use it in her crib just like a big kid!  Plus I have the ruffle from the bottom of the skirt, and I'm plotting a way to use it as trim around the open end.

Happy weekend, all!!

Mr. Bunnypants?

I haven't been stitching much this week...just not in the mood, I guess. But I HAVE been crafting, nonetheless!
I am going to a baby shower for my sister tomorrow. Now, my sister and her husband are currently leaving in a truly tiny apartment (on-campus grad student housing), and don't have much room for a lot of the stuff many of us would consider necessary - or at least terribly nice to have - for a babies. They are also dyed-in-the-wool tree-hugging vegan save-the-earth type people. So I decided something 1) small, 2) hand-made, and 3) recycled would be a lovely gift. After searching the web for a while, I found this: mooshy belly bunny. So cute! So I pawed through my bins of Wee Bit's outgrown clothing until I found something suitable. Since Sis doesn't know the baby's gender, the overly girly stuff - like pink flowered onesies - was out. And here is the result, made from a pair of old pants and complete with a homemade "hang tag" that explains his recycled past.He is about 6 or 7 inches tall and just the cutest, smooshiest little thing! He isn't perfect, but I think that is part of his chaarm....

De-Melvilled, more progress, and thrift store finds

After staring at "Melville's Return" for a few more days, I decided I couldn't deal with the incorrect quote issue. I briefly considered recharting the CORRECT quote, but that would have meant making several adjustments and designing a few letters....more ambitious than I'm feeling right now. Besides, I bought the chart because I liked the quote as it is, even if Herman Melville didn't say it quite that way (confirmed by an email from Vicki, BTW). So last night I frogged out Melville's name and continued the waves across from the ship. The waves originally ended at the little "white cap" closest to the ship. I'm going to continue them across to the left-hand edge, and then maybe add a jumping fish or 2 between the waves and the bottom of the verse.

While I was pondering the Melville dilemma, I fished this out of my WIP bin - Victoria Sampler's "Hearts of America - Pennsylvania" heart. I finished Iowa for DH last year, and Pennsylvania is where I was living when we met. Hmmm, maybe I need to track down the New York heart for Wee One, since she was born here...

And last night I dropped in at the local Salvation Army (or "S.A. Boutique," as my good friend T used to call it!). I didn't have a lot of time to shop for clothes, but I DID have a minute to paw through the books and picture frames and look for neat casserole dishes. No luck with frames or dishes, but I did find a pile of old Cross Stitch & Country Craft and Just Cross Stitch magazines! I bought 4 or 5 of them for .25 each, and found an early Shepherd's Bush sampler ("Flock of Briar-root," I think?), The City Stitcher's "Sweet Briar Sampler," and another one of the Cottage Garden series that I like. I love happy little finds like that!

The immortality of craft supplies

After making the little lighthouse ornament for Kathy (see post below), I started thinking about my craft stash. Not just the patterns, fabrics, and flosses, but the assorted bits and bobs I've purchased over the years. And I started to wonder.....will they ever be truly GONE???

Let's consider a little pack of seashells. I bought them when I was looking for a replacement for a beach ball button, part of my "By the Sea" exchange project. I bought a ridiculously large bag - because that was all the craft store had, and dadgummit, they were cheap! - and used exactly ONE on my stitched piece. Then I thought, "hmmm, I will make a scissor fob, too!" Of course, I had to go out and buy a few more beads for that endeavor. And again, there were more beads than I could use in the package I purchased. So, at this point I've purchased a bag of shells, a bag of beads, and used exactly 2 shells and a handful of the beads.

When I made Kathy's ornament, I was rooting about in my bead box and found the shells. "Ah-ha!" I said. "I can use these to make some fun trim!" And again I used.....one shell. A few beads. And the stash lives on.

I'm sure in the years ahead, I'll find more uses for tiny seashells and blue/green bead findings. But if I don't? Will some other crafter buy my leftovers at a yard sale/thrift shop/estate auction, and consider themselves quite lucky to have found such wonderful doo-dads? Will THEY be able to use all of it? Or will they, too, end up passing a few seashells on??

(I also have a "giant" tub of white crystal bugle beads. A tube of black seed beads. Random Mill Hill beads of which I didn't use the entire pack.)

Little bird, little bird...do you sing for me...

(well, no, because this one sings for Carol!!) Having arrived safely in its new New Hampshire nest, I can now share my For the Birds exchange.
This is from SamSarah Design Studio's "Sing to Me" booklet. I stitched the sweet little bluebird on a piece of 28-ct. mint green lugana....of course I swapped out ALL the flosses for colors I had at hand. And I finished it as a little pillow with some twisted cording I made last year and some cute fabric I found at JoAnn's. The fob was a product of my obsession with beads during my pregnancy! The beads are from DH's grandmother's broken jewelry, given to me by DH's aunts when we went to Grandmom's funeral. Grandma was a happy, wacky lady, and it makes me happy to know that bits of her are living on and still making others smile.

Not much more stitching going on here....I'm still plugging away on the piratey piece. Work and baby and daily living is a rather large plateful most days!!

More stitching A.D.D.

I really couldn't settle on a project this weekend....I started off Friday night working on Judith's RR, then on Saturday I pulled out a freebie design that I quickly abandoned, by Saturday night I'd moved - briefly - on to the Mermaids, and tonight I worked on finishing up my square on my own RR (yes, it is home!! I'll post a pic when my square is done -- although there is still one empty space).

But here is part of why I was so distracted....a package arrived Saturday!! And in it was my new floor stand, courtesy of eBay. After putting it together, I'm pretty sure it is NOT a Hearthside frame (as I originally thought), but it is still gorgeous. I'll even overlook the fact that I have to baste my fabric to the scroll rods, that's how much I like it!!I think my favorite feature is how it flips the piece so you can reach the back....even DH was impressed. And yes, that is the infamous Mermaids up there right now. Hopefully since they are now basted to the rods, I'll get motivated to finish them! Now, if only my little craft nook wasn't so near the door.....brrrrr!

Oh, and I caught the pets like this Saturday morning. Teehee.
The look in the dog's eyes says it all.... "Mo-o-o-o-o-m......make her move!!" (My dog is so darned passive, it is almost sad.)

We crafters are an odd lot

Since I'll be starting my new job (wheee!) August 4th, we've already started packing. I fully expect this next month to be a blur, and to that I end I'll apologize now if you don't see much posting going on here. But since we're still kind of in that "stuff we don't need and/or use everyday" stage of packing, I thought I'd take a moment to share some things I found.

Now, as a crafter, I fully admit to an embarrassing inability to walk past a sale bin or a store closing sign. I've pawed through bins of ribbon, buttons, and doo-dads, crowing with glee when I find an unexpected treasure at the bottom. And sometimes....well, sometimes I don't find a treasure, but I take something home anyway. Which means I end up with stuff like this.

The chair I can blame on the Dollar Store and an article I read on how to decoupage cheap miniature furniture with bits of party napkins to look "high-end." Ummm, no. I tried it, it didn't really work very well, and most of my experiment ended up in the trash.
The babies -- I *think* they were going to sit in the miniature cradles I used to make for my friends when they had babies. Thank goodness that idea went splat. Because who DOESN'T want a creepy, expressionless naked baby in a cradle to hang on their Christmas tree? I'm sure my friends are thrilled I've gone back to cross-stitching baby gifts.
The fish were a clearance bin find. They're not buttons or charms, and there is no way (other than glue, I guess) to attach them to anything. Weirdness.
And the troll-bunny....I think I found him on the floor when I was working at the bookstore years ago. He seemed like something I might be able to use....sometime......

All of these remarkable items can be found in a trash bag outside my house this week, if anyone is interested.