Posted on

sew, mama, sew! giveaway day

crochet recycled vase

* * * * * Congratulations to the giveaway winner Shana Putnam! * * * * *

Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day is one of my favorite times of year. I love participating: both in the giving away part and the entering for giveaways part.

If you are new to my blog, let me tell you a little bit about this vase. I love to use recycled goods in my work. I’ve made a few of these. The plastic container has been rescued from my very own recycle bin. The yarn is from the big spool of wool. I talk about it a lot. It’s a big spool.

You don’t have to do anything fancy to enter my giveaway — just leave a comment on this post. I’d love it if you follow my rss feed or follow me over on my facebook page. I’d also love to hear about your handmade holiday plans. Are you making anything special?

Don’t forget to visit Sew, Mama, Sew! for tons of other great giveaways. (They’ll be posted on Monday morning.)

Mine will close Midnight, Central Time, December 17th. I’ll ship internationally, so everyone is welcome to enter!

Posted on

thanksgiving surprise

My husband had this crazy idea to fly home on the “busiest travel day” and surprise our families for Thanksgiving. It was a fast trip, but we squeezed in an amazing amount of quality family time. We also debunked the myth that the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year. As for the media hype regarding security, there was not a body scanner nor pat down in sight.

thanksgiving surprise

Wednesday afternoon at the Lincoln Airport. You could hear a pin drop!

thanksgiving surprise

Bella with the Kundhi family.

thanksgiving surprise

Kundhi men fixing the ladies Thanksgiving dinner.

thanksgiving surprise

Bella with the Tamburello family.

thanksgiving surprise

Bella giving her great grandmom an hug and kiss.

Posted on

finished: rollie pollie bean bag chair

rollie pollie bean bag chair

The Rollie Pollie bean bag chair that I started sewing at the craft retreat is finished! Here are all of the nitty gritty details:

I used the tutorial from Dana posted on the So You Think You’re Crafty site. Dana has a pattern available for sale on her website. You don’t need the pattern, but I saw a copy at the retreat and it’s very comprehensive.

I only enlarged and printed a quarter of the pattern to save paper and ink. I folded my lining fabric in quarters, traced and cut. Then I used the lining pieces as my pattern for the cover fabric.

rollie pollie bean bag chair

Dana recommends sewing the seam and then going back and adding a serged seam for durability. I couldn’t think of a reason to finish the raw edges, so I just sewed a double seam: one at 1/2 inch and one at 1/4 inch from the edge.

I was planning on adding the handle, but as I was sewing up the cover, my daughter lifted the bag up over her head and carried it to her bedroom, so I skipped it.

The fabric and zipper were thrifted. The outside is upholstery fabric and the lining is cotton muslin.

The stuffing is new. I had been looking for a thrifted bean bag on craigslist and they were all pretty grungy. Then I read that even Goodwill doesn’t accept beanbags, so I decided repurposed stuffing wasn’t going to happen. I wound up buying two bags of bean bag pellets from here. Shipping is almost as expensive as the pellets, but I bought a few other things on my gift list and got free shipping. (The have a nice selection of Melissa and Doug items.)

When I started this project, I didn’t realize it would be so expensive. I also had no idea that bean bags were so pricey! I’m glad I made the large size so my daughter can get lots of use out of it. It currently resides in her “reading corner” next to her basket of library books. It was a fun project and has brought my daughter a lot of joy. I definitely give it two thumbs up!

Posted on

my creative space

In my creative space today I am blocking little wool stars. Can we talk about the miracle of blocking for a minute? With just a few pins and a spray bottle of water, I can make flowery-looking granny stars all pretty and pointy.

crochet granny star bookmark

crochet granny star bookmark

project notes: Yarn from the Big Spool of Wool, pattern from the The Royal Sisters.

Posted on

julie-k: the early years

weaving potholders

Yesterday, I mentioned that I was back in Baltimore for Thanksgiving. While I was there, my mom gave me a couple potholders that I had made when I was a kid. Not only was I excited to see them, but look at how well-used they are! That’s the best gift you could give any crafter!

Did you make potholders when you were little? I can’t wait to get my daughter started with a little loom of her own.

Posted on

ikea fabric

fabric from ikea

Until I started reading crafty blogs, I had no idea Ikea sold fabric. I grew up with an Ikea practically in my backyard. I got my college furniture there. I accessorized my first apartment from there. Fabric? Never knew it existed.

We went home for a few days over the Thanksgiving holiday and I found myself sitting in my parents’ livingroom less than two miles from the big blue and yellow store. I decided it was time to check out the textiles.

I loved the prints, although the pattern repeats are so large, I can’t imagine how I’d use some of them. I purchased three yards of the red and white fabric just because I loved it, there was only three yards left, and at $2.49 a yard (!) my husband insisted. (Seriously. He made me buy it all up!)

I also had fun remnant diving. The striped fabric is flannel. At first I thought blanket, but now I’m thinking jammies for my daughter. The orange will be sewn into pillow covers for our livingroom. I think they’ll look lovely with my thrifted afghan.

So there you have it. I’ve had the cinnamon rolls, put together furniture with an allen wrench and have bought fabric. My Ikea experience is now complete.

remnants: Did you know there are huge bins of fabric in the “as is” section down by the checkout? It was super fun digging through it all.

Posted on

tiny crochet ornament bookmark pattern

tiny ornament bookmark crochet pattern

I’m sorry my pictures aren’t the greatest for this post. The sun went down too early today. I can’t wait for the winter solstice. I just can’t get my photo-taking act together before dinnertime. I might try and retake the photos over the weekend.

This is the same pattern I used for the tiny baseball bookmarks, without the little top of course. If you want to do baseballs, I recommend marking the curves with a disappearing ink pen before embroidering the red stitches. It really helps!

tiny ornament bookmark crochet pattern

Tiny Crochet Ornament Bookmark Pattern
worsted weight yarn (I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece)
size F/5 (3.75mm) and D/3 (3.25mm) crochet hooks
tapestry needle for weaving ends
small bead

sl st: slip stitch
sc: single crochet
inc: 2 sc in one stitch

gauge: not important, but mine is about 1 1/2 inches wide

ornament
With larger hook, make a magic ring.
R1: 6 sc into ring
Ornament worked as a spiral. Place marker to keep track of rounds.
R2: inc in each stitch around
R3: *inc, sc* around
R4: *2 sc, inc* around until last two stitches. Sl st in last two stitches.
R5: sc in first stitch, change to smaller hook, chain 55, add bead, chain 5
Finishing: cut yarn, tie knot, thread end back through bead, tie double knot, trim close to knot.

ornament top
R1: pick up stitches at top of ornament as follows: pick up and chain 1, *pick up and sc* three times, turn work
R2: chain 1, sc 3
Finishing: cut yarn, add a little loop between middle two stitches while weaving in ends

These work up really fast and add a nice handmade touch to book gifts this holiday season. I’ve got a lot of books on my list for Santa — better make a few more just for myself. Enjoy!

stash: These only take a tiny bit of yarn. You can definitely go stash diving for this project!

Posted on

my daughter’s creative space

paint yourself silly christmas tree ornament

I think my daughter is officially in love with painting pottery. In the past few weeks, we’ve been to Paint Yourself Silly twice. Her first time she had fun, but didn’t really know what to expect. The second time she painted like a pro and once she saw her first project finished and sparkly, she was hooked.

paint yourself silly christmas tree ornament

Both times we went, I didn’t paint. I’m the official pottery holder so she can paint the edges and other side. I point out places she missed and remind her what needs a second coat. I’m also in charge of adding her name and date on the back.

I try to provide art direction, but this girl has a mind of her own. She knows exactly what paint she wants where. It’s difficult for me to not pick up a brush and “fix” something. (I might have sneaked in a few touch ups here and there when she wasn’t looking!)

I guess it’s good practice for me. I have a feeling there will be lots painting in our future. Next time I’ll just have to get my own piece of pottery.

This is the last official creative space of 2010 over at Kirsty’s blog. I’ll be posting them through the end of the year, though. Want to join me?