getting ready

This one is for mine...


...imperfect stitches from anxious hands....

Objects in motion

I decided to apply the principles of physics to my day yesterday. You know, the concept that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, while objects in motion tend to stay in motion?

I had to fake my way into things. I certainly didn't feel like moving. I blame physics, the whole "at rest" thing....

I was rather delighted to find that even slow motion is motion. The beds all got made. We went grocery shopping. I baked cookie bars. Which, frankly, were the catalyst to regular motion. Which propelled me through the day.

And then something happened today. I began the day in motion...and this happened:



A baby blanket for a future niece.



...and maybe because I'm having a boy, I couldn't stop adding ruffles to this girly blankie.



....this heart, too. It might be over the top...but I couldn't help myself. If I would have had lace and sequins on hand, you can be sure that this thing would have looked like a prom dress from the early 90s.

ahahahaha!

When yesterday's creative juices were flowing, I decided I needed to strike while the iron was hot!

So that lovely piece of fabric on the top of the pile in yesterday's picture? It was going to be a purse...or a blanket...or a lavender eye pillow....but I grabbed my scissors and started cutting it apart. Into pieces for a dress. For my girl. Who was asleep on the couch. Without a pattern. Or any prior successful dress making skills. (I've probably mentioned before my disdain for patterns. They're so constricting. And bossy. I don't like to be bossed. A reflection on my glowing personality? I'm quite certain it speaks volumes.)

And what I've discovered, is that I have really no idea what I'm doing. The "dress" is okay. It's the kind of thing that looks like "your mom made it." (If MY mom made it, it would be lovely. SHE can sew. She knows what she's doing. And she uses patterns.) But for my little one, it looks like I made it. Which I did...but I don't want it to look that way. I want it to look like someone ELSE made it. For a store. You know what I'm saying?

I also realized that it is probably helpful to at least have the person's general size in mind while cutting things out. Guesstimating doesn't exactly cut it. Unless you want it to look like it belongs to a sister who is 5 years older.

I'm having some thoughts on what I want to try to do to fix it. I'm planning a really wide waist band that will help conceal the awkwardly placed waist, with a fuller apron attached to help fill out the skirt...which in my mind's eye was going to be billowy-er.

But now for your viewing pleasure, the first draft: (it wouldn't hurt my feelings if it made you giggle)

(I purposely scrunched it together for this picture...so it didn't look so wide and marmy.)

new projects

I was hoping to put a few things in my Etsy shop this July. But in order to do that, I'll need to actually MAKE a few things to go in there.

.

I've been playing around with fabrics and ribbons this morning. I think I'm going to make some random blankets and bags.

.

The best part is dreaming up what each piece of fabric can become....so much potential. Where to begin?

baby blanket

I've got a friend SO ready to give birth to a baby girl. Her second child. I had her little boy draw a picture for his sister-to-be. Not bad for a three year old, huh? :) It's the new baby. With a bow in her hair. So adorable.

I embroidered the picture's design onto pink linen....

And then sewed that pink linen into this...

Here's the back...

My husband doesn't quite appreciate the embroidery...because he has never been a mom. About to give birth to her second baby. That will now have tangible evidence of her son's artistic ability two weeks before second baby's arrival. I'm hoping that this friend will appreciate this tangible evidence. :)

What do you think?

Church Bags

I thought it time for the kids to have their own bags to bring to church.

Her's...fancy dancy.

His, too fancy at first with out a flap. The flap was daddy's idea.

(Doesn't want his son carrying a purse, you know. With a flap, it looks more military...or something.) *snicker*

{wip}

(in very poor lighting)

Pear

A quick whip-up for today. Some linen. Some thread. Some stuffing.

Back at it

I took a bit of a break over the weekend. Project Handmade Christmas is back in full swing. Here's a little purse for my girl...

...some frills...

...and the opposite side.

The hardest part for me, is knowing when to stop. Knowing when a project is done. I think this one is done. And this brings me to 8. Thank you very much. :)

His

A truck ornament for him. That puts me at seven.
Stay tuned! More to come!!

An angel for my angel

This is an ornament for my girl. Number 6 in the list of things I've made for Christmas. Next up, and ornament for my wee man. To be completed by this time tomorrow. It's so much fun to come up with gifts to make. I feel a great sense of accomplishment. :)

Al O. Dile

Whew. I had to take this picture quickly. I nearly lost my hand. (Don't be fooled by his lack of teeth...those gums are D.A.N.G.E.R.O.U.S.)

He's a biggun. Over 3 feet long. That's right. Three long feet of danger. Fortunately, I know someone that likes to wrestle large reptiles. Good thing for me!

(Um, that's Me~5, China~Zero)

The Doll's doll

They seem very happy together, but can't wait to meet their mother.

SSSsssssssss.....

Ssssylvesssster.

The half hour handmade stuffed snake.

Ooohhh. He's a scary thing, this one.

Be wary when you hear the rattle. One never can tell the capabilities...especially of the shifty eyed.

Little Buddy

Is not afraid of heights.

Quit climbing so high, little stinker.

His stiff arms pack a tiny wallop if you twirl him from side to side. There was a short list of stipulations for this guy. He needed not to have hair-like daddy. And his limbs needed to be firmly attached...since both buddies are extremely fond of rough play.

Two Christmas gifts down. Several more to go.

(Me ~ two :: China ~ zero)

Progress

So the Christmas Dolly is coming along.

She's waiting for her own little dolly, and a blanket.

(She wanted to be photographed out in the tree, but it's raining--that's why she looks to be sulking. Sassy thing.)

The Swap

I've finally come up with my Create a Connection Swap gift. My gal likes berries, cherries, and a wonderful slew of other fruits. It was nice to have a lot of stuff to choose from. I thought and thought and thought on this all week, and finally{!} came up with this:

A little bag.

With some yo-yo cherries...

...and a little button detail.

A little jar full of berry colored buttons...

...and a few sweets, for good measure.

I'm off to write up a recipe to include, and then to package it all up to be mailed on Monday. That was fun!

Yes, I want your grandmother's old button jar!

A girlfriend asked if I wanted a jar of old buttons.

I spent the morning playing with these beauties. I don't know if I can stop my mind from making imaginary projects out of them. A jar of possibilites. What a treasure!!

Eeek!! Some are bigger than a silver dollar! (Am I the only one that gets excited about large buttons?! It's like striking gold - on some embarrassingly pathetic scale.)

Little Angels

Mom, remember these? I wanted to come up with a way to utilize the small scraps of fabric left over from my pillow projects, and remembered the little angels I used to make.

A perfect way to use up scrappy bits of material...that sounds yucky...umm...a perfect way to use up lovely bits of material left over...because you cannot simply throw them out, you know.

seven.seven.seven

I have a hot date tonight.

We've lined up a babysitting swap with some friends, and I am really getting excited about it. The kids are all great, and I'm hoping that they're all on their best behavior tonight. Don't want to burn them out on this first go round.

Just in case there's chaos, I'm bringing a little gift of gratitude. A lavender eye pillow for the headache I hope my dear friend doesn't have at the end of the night. :)

A close up of my staggered hand stitches. I've noticed that I don't have nice, neat, even stitches after drinking a tall latte. At least that's my excuse.