TGFC (Thank God for Crafting) -

An old post that never got posted... :(  Regardless, here it is:

My schedule lately has been nothing more than hectic. Meeting after meeting at work has left me mentally wiped and then home so spend time with my husband and daughter have left little time for crafting but I have definitely tried to squeeze it in when I can. Keeps me sane.

So here's what I've been up to recently.

1- Felt Food: Wandering around on Craftster a little while back, I was totally awestruck by some of the amazing felt food people have made. Here is a link to what made my jaw drop! AMAZING!

So I said to myself that I really wanted to make some for my daughter. Granted I'm still new to all this but here's what I've come up with so far.

Don't know why I started with breakfast foods but I was on a roll for a while doing one thing a night.

Then I made lettuce which, as most people who know me will agree I don't even like to eat, but I loved embroidering in the leafy detail on both sides. That took me a little longer.


Then onto dessert...

I will, of course, come back to the main course and other goodies as I have a VERY ambitious list of foods I am hoping to make for my daughter. She has sort of seen them but I want to give them to her in a larger bunch. And due to a excitable attention span when it comes to crafting got sidetracked.

2- Stroller Quilt: Sadly I hadn't checked my blog in a while and apparently am no longer included in the Crazy Mom Quilts Quilt-a-Long members. :( I was actually genuinely sad because I really plan on doing it but am working on a stroller patchwork quilt for my chicky before we head on our vacation.

It uses Decadent Victorian squares by Moda. I have had it in the works for some time now and have had it laid out for like a month or so. Drives my husband crazy but I keep going back, check and double check that two squares of the same color or pattern are not next to each other and sometimes make a little change. This is what I had a last week...

And yesterday finally started sewing though it doesn't look exactly like this picture. So far so good They are now sewn in 9 squares of 4 and I am hoping to tackle the rest tomorrow.

3- Japanese Clothing patterns - I can't remember what blog I was reading but I came across someone who was working on the Girly Style Wardrobe Japanese pattern book. So I took a trip down to Kinokuniya Book Store down on 40th St and 6th Avenue one day after work so see if it might be there. It was laid on perfectly on a display table and thumbed through it and instantly fell in love with every pattern. Love them. they are so cute and so...girly. So that's my next project.

I have done some research reading blog of other people's experiences with Japanese pattern books and have gotten some useful tips. i.e., Japanese pattern books do not include the seam allowance in the pattern so that has to be added after tracing. So I have traced everything which for anyone who does not know Japanese pattern books is quite a feat b/c (for this book, anyways) all the patterns for everything is one the front and back of 1 large sheet of paper and as many have commented it looks like a topographical map. So it takes some maneuvering, good lighting a patience to get everything traced. Just have to add the seam allowance and get to cutting.

 

TGFC!

Back from Hiatus

I have unfortunately not been keeping up with the blogging but hope to get back in the swing. I got overloaded with Christmas crafting with Sew Mama Sew's Handmade Holidays List and was so glad I got to make a lot of what I set out to do. I made:

6 wallets - 1 with matching keychain and tissue holder
3 with matching keychains
2 with matching business card holders (my own design)
1 apron with matching decor on 4 kitchen towels
1 set of three soft blocks
2 pointy cats for my twin nieces
2 crayon rolls

I took pictures of most of them but have to get them from my sister to post.

More recently I made a coat for my daughter's horse doll b/c it was cold here in NYC and she wanted to take a blanket for him everywhere when what he really needed was a coat so voila. I also made her a pair of PJ pants from fabric from my stash, which coincidentally match her Small Paul baseball tee (like this one but pink sleeves). And then we made PJs out of leftover fabric, as well as a pillow and blanket for her gingerbread doll for which she had also made a bed out of popsicle sticks. We definitely had fun making them!

Plus I have been knitting regularly (and am so overjoyed that I found a knitting circle at work). I was inspired by a beautiful sweater I saw online and started a Top Down Raglan right around the beginning of January for my daughter and am so almost done. And now have some new nieces either here or arriving by the end of the year that I want to make blankets for.

And I finally became a member of Ravelry which is amazing. One major plus - it helps me keep track of all the knitting projects I want to make though I wish there was one for sewing. One my list of things to sew up is:

a car/stroller blanket that I will be patchwork on one side (in progress)

Mom & daughter headbands from Heather Bailey's pattern

I must add as an aside that Heather Bailey is so amazing and I totally admire and am inspired by her. As a young mother of a 4 year old, reading her blog reminds me and motivates to continue my crafting despite the daily madness of routine. It keeps me sane.

Owlie!

Ok. I must admit I didn't blog as I had promised this past weekend b/c I didn't really get blog traffic my way and was feeling a bit down. I decided to check my blog today and guess what! Comments! How exciting! Thanks Alison and Em! I appreciate your kind words!



I have yet to get my hands on a digital camera (on my to do list) but using a camera phone -- best I could do for now -- Here ALAS is a rather blurry picture of Owlie! Doesn't do him justice.

Since it was chilly outside this past weekend, my chickie and I stayed in and did some crafting. I decided to teach HER to sew. We are making a kitty, a Fat Cat rather. Though it is from a knitting website, we had felt and started from that point on. She did however decide he needed a tail so that's what we started with. She got a hang of the sewing bit with some help though she got restless and left him sanz a body.

So we will continue with that and next on our list I figured could be some handmade Christmas ornaments. We are getting our tree this weekend and I figured it would added a nice homemade, handmade touch and, well, maybe we are starting our own little tradition. I imagine it will be great to see them when we are all older.

I have been building my stash so it's a good thing that on Monday I kidnapped my mom's old Singer Stylist 543 sewing machine. I put the Quilt-A-Long on pause (but do plan on catching up) and got working on Christmas presents. They are coming along great. I am making some nice matching sets of wallet, key chain, change purse and tissue pouch, all from Sew Mama Sew's List. I am 3/4 done with my practice set and so far so good. It's coming along much faster. I will post pictures tomorrow! NOTE TO SELF: Borrow camera!

Nice Mice weekend

First of all, thanks to Kristin from Sew Mama Sew for leaving me a comment on my blog. I swear I never thought anyone would read it but I appreciate your words. :)

Another successful crafting weekend. It seems that now that I've truly commited to crafting and finishing at least one project a week I feel more whole. Crafting completes me. :)

My daughter and I did another project this weekend. It kept her busy while Dada studied. I am determined to make this part of our weekly routine. She really enjoys it and hopefully this will teach her to make art and crafts (or art and craps as she says) part of her life. We made Mousey and his Bed and while I was hesitant about the colors she picked and even tried to convince her otherwise (bad mommy). But she stuck to her guns and Mousey came out adorable. Next time, she does what she wants. She even came up with an idea for the bed. It is red (her favorite color) covered with a lot of yellow triangles that she cut out (cheese). Again I will have to post a picture. Note to self: Must invest in a digital camera!

Now at night lie (from right to left), Teddy, who has been squished into another doll's sleeping bag, by the wall; Mousey and his snazzy red sleeping bag in the middle and my little one curls up next to them. Must think of our next project for next weekend. If anyone happens upon this blog, any suggestions?

I am still working on the Quilt-A-Long week 2 block which is coming along very nicely considering it's my first (and if I finish it will have done 2 things this weekend! Woo hoo!). It's the hand sewing that takes time but I do it at night before going to bed and it's quite relaxing. And then more wonderful gifts to make on Sew Mama Sew's November Handmade Holiday gifts. I was already thinking of making aprons for a few chef-types, purses for bag lady-types, a few wallets and keychains for weathier-types, couple of crayon rolls for kids, 2 striped kitties (meow-meows) for my twin nieces, a bathmat for our own apt and then...I see the lovely kitchen sewing projects. Perfect for a couple of aunts. I think I will not be able to fully settle on my Christmas list and what I am going to make for whom until November 30th.

Happily crafting...

Embarking on craft adventures

Day One. I hope blogging gets easier as I am not sure exactly what to write...type. I wanted to start this mainly to track my own craft adventures. I have become an avid fan of many craft blogs in recent months and have been feeling so inspired. So a couple of months ago I decided to start knitting again.

Needless to say what I first did was go online and look for inspiration and then saw such beautiful and fun projects and then such gorgeous yarns and such interesting blogs then wanted to buy knitting pattern books and yarns and then started checking out eBay. And then in one moment of clarity I looked at my stash and decided to use what I have first (mainly so my husband doesn't freak out).

So I started working on a pair of navy knee high socks from Knitter's magazine Socks, Socks, Socks with some Patons Kroy sock yarn I had. I have made a pair of basic booties from this book before so I figured it would be a good place to start. So far I have worked through half of one sock but due to normal life obligations, that project sits at the bottom of my backpack, traveling with me day to day, yet to be completed. Hopefully with the Thanksgiving break I will have some extra time to dedicate to them.

This weekend I was so good. I did major cleaning of my closets and ended up with a pile of clothes to donate/ hand down and a few undonateable items that could possibly be useable in a future projects. I remembered having seen adorable owls on Craftster and thought it would be a great project to do with my 4-year-old daughter. She helped me pick out colors, cut fabric, stuff him, picked button eyes and found an excellent beak for it. But I have no sewing machine so the hand sewing made my daughter, Little Miss Impatient. Well "Owlie," as she has named him, came out absolutely, adorably cute. In fact, when she woke up the next morning and saw that Mama had finished sewing him up she was so happy that Owlie went to school with her today. <Picture to come> Definitely more Owlies in our future.

So now I am a crazy crafter planning my weeks ahead. Today I joined the crazymomquilts' Quilt-A-Long. I have always wanted to try quilting but have been a bit hesitant to do it totally on my own and figured this was a perfect way to do it. No pressure of being in a class, in the comfort of my own home and yet not totally alone. I think we will end up with many a quilt block pillow until I can commit to a full quilt. I also found another treasure, Sew, Mama, Sew! Handmade Holidays 30 Days of Gifts to Sew. I can assure you my daughter and I have a great few weekends ahead!