Halloween

Happy Halloween! 


I grew up in a house where store bought costumes were rare.  Many years costumes were put together last minute with things around the house and face paint.  


While my daughter is still too young to pick her own costumes I'm having fun dressing her up in whatever I come up with.  Last year she was Rocky Balboa (we already had the grey track suit), and I made a beanie and painted her shirt.  Total cost: $0:

This year I went another direction.  "He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who!  Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two."

Cindy Lou Who Cartoon image from here.

I found some pink knit fabric at the thrift store (originally I was hoping to just find a nightgown) and went to town.  I used one of her dresses as a guide, and then decided to make a pair of scalloped shorts to go with it.  The dress from the cartoon goes to the floor.  As it's 90 degrees here and Ellie is not a steady walker I decided a cropped gown would work best.  Altogether I spent probably $2.

Kind of random for Halloween, but I thought it turned out cute.  These may turn into a new set of pajamas if they hold up after tonight.

Sweater Mittens

I took break from quilting to get some backlog projects done.  

One of those being some sweater mittens that my mom and I started the last time she visited (ahem, in February).  We bought two grandma sweaters at the thrift store and got four mittens out of them (they are two layers thick--extra warm!).  One of the sweaters had some embroidery on it, which turned out super cute on the mittens.

They are a cute grandma chic gift for anyone who is prone to cold hands.  

Here's the pattern I used if anyone should desire to make their own.

Moving Along

Last night I had some time to myself so I started quilting.  It's coming along nicely, I'm about half way done with the initial pass.  I'm going to go back and sew inside every other stripe three or so more times to give it more character.  Here's a sneak peak at the back:

I love stopping at random small thrift shops around town when Ellie and I need to get out of the house (it's still too hot to play at the park during the day).  Today I found a sandwich bag full of wooden spools.  Two-thirds were generic craft store spools and the rest were genuine spools.  The price?  Twenty-five cents.  I was so excited.  I've already strung them on some twine and am trying to figure out where I want to hang my little spool garland (in a few months it will probably be on my tree!).

The Best Intentions

There have been numerous occasions in my life where I wished I could just have a few more hours or an extra day off to get all that I wished done.  I could do so much with even an extra hour!  

To make a short story long, a few weeks ago I found myself with some extra time during nap time (read:  the main side job I was working on kind of ended).  Super!  I could get so much crafting and organizing done!  I started with working on the back of my quilt.  I mentioned earlier that I wanted to use as many scraps as I could, so I was piecing a lot together.  After a good amount of time was spent on it I took a step back and didn't like it.  I wasn't about to finish a quilt I didn't like.  So out came the seam ripper to re-invent the back.  To keep me occupied I browsed online shows and found the newest season of Design Star.  Sweet.  Needless to say I spent more time watching the show than getting anything productive done.  Don't you hate that?

Anyway.  I am turning a new leaf.  I am going to be better with my free time!  Yay for motivation.

Last night I finished pinning together my quilt sandwich.  Oh, what an exciting step.  I don't think I'll be able to start quilting until later this week, but I am very excited!  I think I am going to branch out and do some straight line quilting and dearly hope it works out okay despite the fact I don't have a walking foot.

Assembling

This week I have found myself with a little extra time during nap time.  I've put that extra time to good use and have been making some good progress on my quilt!  A few rows have been sewn together and I like it so far.

As I sometimes have the memory of a ant, I keep numbers affixed to my rows so I don't mess up.  A helpful tip I picked up a few years back.

Although I am not a perfectionist in many aspects of my life (just take a peak at my living room right now), I am a perfectionist when it comes to quilt corners.  It bothers me so when corners don't match up.  Pressing, trimming finished blocks, and pinning helps tremendously when matching corners.  Hello, look at that lovely corner!

A Gift

My dear mother-in-law requested a pin cushion for her birthday.  She found one on Etsy she liked (this one), but wanted different colors to match her sewing room.  


Here is my version (Karen if you are reading avert your eyes!):

I think it turned out cute, although I wish it was a little rounder and less square.  I knew I should have made a trial run, but with limited craft time it's hard to do so.

I thought this little patch was a fun touch.  It certainly wasn't placed there to cover up a hole...


Perhaps if I find myself with some spare time in the near future I will make myself a cute pin cushion.  I love the old school tomato ones (like here, or here, or here)!

Homemade Play Dough

Today I decided it would be fun to make something with and for Ellie--play dough! 

I plopped Ellie in the sling so she could help pour the ingredients into the pot and help hold the spoon while I stirred.  I used this dough recipe (cutting the recipe in half) and was happy with the result.  Nice silky smooth dough that doesn't turn your hands as dry as a regular salt dough recipe.  It's pretty close to regular Play-Doh minus the smell (which many dislike, but I oddly like).

I loved how sunny the yellow turned out.  Once Ellie gets a hang of playing with dough I think we will have to make a few more batches so we have color options!