Making myself useful

When I go off and make something mostly frivolous (like my floor cushion), I occasionally get flack, since that usually means I’m ignoring a big pile of unfinished projects, or a pile of useful sewing that I keep promising myself and others that I’ll do.  And usually both.

It doesn’t normally bother me.  It’s my hobby here…at least I ended up with something.  But there comes a point when enough is enough, and I seem to go on a spree.  It started with altering a pair of my husband’s work pants and ended up growing from there.

A piece of flannel floating around my stash became a few more face wipes for a certain little man who enjoys playing with his food, a Kohl’s $5 dress became a much less dowdy length, a thrift store bathrobe was also hemmed for new-baby nursing this summer, and I found a much more attractive solution to the light from our bedroom stereo (previous solution was to drape whatever item of clothing was at hand over the display).

And there may even be more to come!  I’ve been cleaning up the basement, and created a “use it or lose it box” of clothes that I don’t wear anymore, or bought with the express purpose of refashioning, and just haven’t.  So, the hard deadline for this box is our move in the fall.  Whatever doesn’t make it into a more useful form, or back into the clothing rotation will go to the thrift store at that point.

Next up?  Some successful knitting, and some not-so-successful knitting.

Rest for the weary

One of the Christmas presents I really wanted to make was one of these floor cushions from the tutorial at Living with Punks.  Ostensibly it’s for my son, though I must say that it has been getting much more use from my husband, who sits on it when he makes a fire in the fireplace.  And really, it was mostly for my own entertainment, because I think it’s just adorable (much more so than the two pillows whose stuffing I harvested).

I especially love the piping, though I must admit a shameful secret.  I was at JoAnn’s to buy the cording, but didn’t have the pattern, and I didn’t buy enough.  That’s not so bad until you realize that I’m the geeky math girl who at points in her life has had 50 digits of pi memorized (I just checked, and I now peter out at 36), and I knew what the diameter of the circle was.  Suffice it to say, I inserted flat piping for the handle.

I’m now looking forward to making Peter some green denim pants so he can be camouflaged on his cushion.

I finished some Christmas stuff!

Earlier this week I was packing up some of our Christmas decorations, and I decided before I packed them all up, I should probably actually finish the boys’ stockings.

You’ll have to forgive the picture repeat.  I thought I took better individual pictures, but I can’t find them.  At any rate, A’s stocking (the crazy plaid one), and Peter’s stocking (on the far right) were new this year.  Because the stocking my mom made me (on the left) is the Platonic ideal of all stocking-foot-shapes, I traced it to make sure my boys would be guaranteed the same ideal form.

A’s is scraps from old flannel shirts.  His arms are long, so any time we try to be economical and buy him cheap shirts, they inevitably become too short in the arms after too many washes.

Peter’s stocking features a mini version of this elf from Wee Wonderfuls, and his name in a fun font (from Da Font).  A font which I have subsequently developed a semi-obsession with (see this video).

Now, for that May baby, all we have to do is meet him or her, name him or her, and then I can get cracking!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}: Epiphany

So, it’s been a while. But I’m still here! And I have lots to say! I thought I’d begin at the end, so to speak, and show you our celebrations of Twelfth Night.

{pretty}

The Advent wreath’s last hurrah, the Three Wise Men, and arroz con pollo (my first attempt—burned, but edible).

{happy}

Thanks for the bear Aunt Cindy and Uncle Andy! Tonight marked the final present exchange in our house. It might have included presents from us, had I not spent our time at home since Christmas sick, and not feeling the crafting mojo.

{funny}

Peter has, for months, been frightened of our vacuum cleaner. Enough so that he runs away when he sees the green plastic emerge from the closet. Other peoples’ vacuums do not have to have the same effect. Today was the same story. Only, when I was done, instead of eyeing the machine suspiciously, he started wheeling it around. I have hopes that this implies a reconciliation.

{real}

Okay, this has nothing to do with Epiphany, or anything (for that, I should have a picture of the burned dinner…), but this was just so cool, that I wanted to remember it. Our dishsoap developed snowflakes or crystals or something of the sort while we were gone for vacation. It sort of looked like frost on a window, but suspended in the bright blue liquid.

See more {pretty, happy, funny, real} posts at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

Recent projects

For several days last week I actually made stuff!  And thought I was going to be starting a new trend of finishing a project a night.  And then the sickness hit…

A long-overdue wedding gift.  Which is my wont.  Inspired by Jessica of Insanely Crafty/Created Blissfully and her Family Tree.

And a drawstring bag.  Just because.  The tulip fabric is from Holland when we went to the tulip festival.  The fabric store there had every tulip fabric ever printed, I think.  Anyway, I convinced my mom to get this for me.  The ties are leftover binding from these reindeer quilts, and the green is fro my scrap bag.  I think I initially bought it intending to make some sort of landscape quilt of Weeks footbridge.  That didn’t pan out so well.  The pattern is a modification of this tutorial from In Color Order, I just moved the outer contrast from top to bottom because I thought having the tulips grow out of the green was more appropriate!

Off to minister to the sick.  Here’s my inspiration.  Just need to get some trays.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

 

This is my first year doing stockings on St. Nicholas Day.  Well, it’s my first day celebrating St. Nicholas Day at all, as far as I can remember.  We’ll be out of town for Christmas, so this seemed like a great alternative (this, and traditional presents on the feast of Epiphany—way to spread the joy as long as possible, right?).  Plus, we have this great book by a relative of a friend of my sister.  Well, we have the book, but that doesn’t mean the little one wanted to sit still to actually hear it.  So, I educated myself, and counted it good.

May your Advent season be filled with anticipation,

and joy,

and a feeling of generosity.

Why I was hoping we would have a snowy Halloween

When I found out I was having a boy I went hunting for suggestions about where all the patterns for boys’ clothes were hiding.  The consensus seemed to be:  Ottobre Magazine.  And then my parents were awesome enough to get me a subscription for Christmas.  And I’ve actually made a number of things from my magazines, I’ve just been bad about recording them (which I need to rectify).

But here’s one fresh off the machine—the Pingu snowsuit.  I wanted to make it as soon as I saw someone’s completed version on the Ottobre English Yahoo group.  And since I was planning to make my child look ridiculous all winter, I should probably make double use out of it for Halloween too, right?

The recommended fabrics are velour for the outer, knit jersey for the lining, and a layer of batting as interlining.  Since Peter is old enough to be actually exploring the snow on his own this year (rather than just looking at it from his stroller), I decided that a waterproof outer layer was in order.  I cut out just one layer of polar fleece to use for the interlining, but decided that was inadequate.  So now it’s a real thick, real heavy sucker.  All the better to force waddling, I suppose.  This is the largest size, size 80.  I lengthened the torso by one inch and shortened the sleeves and legs by one inch each.  They still have plenty of growing room (the rib cuffs are completely turned backwards in the picture above).  Kid has a long torso like his mother.

I thought I had carefully lined up the lining fabric before cutting it out.  Obviously I wasn’t successful.

It might turn out that this is a little bit too cumbersome for my just-barely walking son.  But I do recommend the pattern for those with less mobile children!