Posted on

what are the elk having for lunch?

I love to visit the bison at Pioneers Park, but my daughter isn’t a big fan. It’s tough trying to convince her to do a little drive by hello. (I know I’m the one driving, but without her buy in, the way home gets kind of whiny.)

I’ve discovered that sometimes I just need to try a couple of different approaches until I get the answer I want.

• • • • • • • • • •

Let’s drive by and visit the bison before we go home.

I don’t want to.

Why don’t you like visiting the bison?

I don’t know.

Do you like visiting the elk?

Sometimes, but I already saw them today.

Were they having lunch?

No.

I bet they are having lunch now. It’s almost Noon. Want to check?

YES!

• • • • • • • • • •

pioneers park

I’m not sure what the elk are doing. The one on the left could be having lunch, don’t you think?

pioneers park

“Look Mama! A gaggle of geese!”

pioneers park

Last, but not least, the bison.

Posted on

handmade baptism gift: prayer pillow

prayer pillow

This weekend I went to my first Mormon Baptism. I did some research to see if there was a traditional gift, but turns out it’s pretty much like a Catholic Baptism (except the children are a little older and get a little more wet).

I kept seeing prayer rocks popping up in my search. I never heard of these before, but liked the idea behind them — the prayer reminder, not the bonking-in-the-head and stubbing-of-the-toe with a rock part. I decided a prayer pillow would be a nicer, gentler gift.

prayer pillow

I was excited to use some of my retro automobile fabric for this project. I made a matching drawstring bag, too. I used ink-jet iron-on transfer paper to print the poem and personalize it. It turned out so cute! The only thing I would change next time is to trim the iron-on paper with some fun patterned craft scissors instead of a plain rectangle.

prayer pillow

I think this would make a great gift for anyone celebrating an important faith milestone: Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation.

stash: Everything for this project was in my stash. My daughter helped me stuff it with polyfil. It was nice to involve her in the project. Prayer pillow poem can be found here.

Posted on

finished: elastic waist surprise

altered waist

These pants are from the mending pile. They fit my daughter in length, but were too big in the waist. They looked like an easy fix: open up the waistband, take in the elastic, stitch the casing closed.

As I started with Mr. Seam Ripper, I noticed that there were a lot of stitches. In fact, it looked like a row of regular stitches over a serged row of stitches. What the? Then I realized there was no casing. The elastic was sewn directly into the waistband and pants.

If I took them in the correct amount on only one side, the back would look lopsided. I decided to take them in half the amount on either side, just like darts. (In hindsight, sewing darts over the elastic would have been easier!)

I got things put back together fairly well. On the hanger they look a little bunched up, but when my daughter wears them they look just fine.

Next time, I will pay closer attention to the construction before I start ripping out stitches.

What have you finished this week?

Posted on

new (to me) tablecloth

tablecloth refashion

I’m starting with an after picture so you’ll see the pretty new tablecloth first. I’m a little bit embarrassed posting the before picture, but I guess when you publicly make a commitment to finishing up some long overdue projects, that’s what happens. In my defense, the chair at the end of the table usually covers up the orange tablecloth. Here it is:

tablecloth refashion

Some history: a few years ago we ordered a table base online and had a local guy make the top for us. Our plan was to stain it the same color as our cabinets. The stain gives me a headache, so it needs to be done outside. There aren’t a lot of good days for that with Nebraska’s cold winters and windy summers. I bought the red striped tablecloth to help protect the unfinished wood.

Then my daughter got to the drinking-milk-out-of-a-cup stage, followed by spilling-milk-on-the-table stage and I needed something to protect the wood better. The vinyl tablecloth I found was too big, but it matched our decor. It’s nice for messy group projects, like carving pumpkins or birthday parties. I figured I’d wait to hem it until I found a more permanent tablecloth.

Fast forward to last week: I finally found the perfect tablecloth. Unfortunately it was too small, but fortunately there were two! I cut off the extra, serged the ends and unpicked the hems for a “seamless” seam.

tablecloth refashion

The extra fabric will become matching pillow cushion covers for the adjoining room. And the vinyl tablecloth finally got hemmed! I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the extra vinyl fabric. Any suggestions?

thrifted: original tablecloth was on clearance at Target, but all of the others are from local thrift stores.

Posted on

my creative space

rainbow granny square

In my creative space today, I’m pushing myself beyond my color comfort zone.

When asked about my favorite color, I usually respond Roy G. Biv. It’s true. I love all colors of the rainbow. It’s just that I’m more of a monochromatic girl: shades of a particular hue combined with a nice neutral. All of these colors in one square are making me a little dizzy.

I’m trying not to think about it too much. How can I go wrong with a basket full of beautiful yarn?

Details about the rainbow squares here. More creative spaces here.

Posted on

finished: noro mittens

noro mittens

This weekend I finished the mittens to match the Kitty Cat Hat. My daughter loves them, but wants to know when I’m going to add a cat face. Really? Can’t we just be happy they got finished before Spring?

When I bought this yarn I asked the store owner if he thought two balls would be enough to make a hat and mittens for a four year old. He didn’t think so and recommended I buy a third ball. I weighed the remaining yarn after I was finished and I had just over 50 grams, which is a little more than one ball.

If you’re thinking the same question, the answer is yes, it’s possible. You’ll use every bit of yarn, but may not be able to match color changes as nicely without a third ball from which to pull.

leftover yarn: I wonder if my daughter would wear a cowl?

Posted on

old cat, new tricks

I’d like to say that I adapt fairly well to change, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Today I tried three new things and I’m actually exited about them.

crochet yarn over
Recently, my friend Jennifer pointed out that our double crochet stitches look different. She watched me do mine and I watched her do hers. The difference? How we did the yarn overs. I spent the day practicing her yarn over and I’m hooked. (Ha, ha)

granny square basics
I’ve been making my granny squares the same way since my very first one. I happened across a tutorial on Sarah’s Crochet a Rainbow post and I really like how she does her color changes. Starting the next color in a different chain space makes it easier to crochet over the previous row’s tail. Sweet!

chai concentrate
Awhile back, Amy posted a link to chai concentrate. I don’t think I’ve ever had milk in my tea. Milk my coffee, sure, but in tea? (When I visited India, I was the weird American who ordered my tea black.)

Today I made a double batch: one for a friend and one for myself. I have to say that I don’t hate it. I’m not used to sugar in either coffee or tea, so the sweetness is a little weird. What I do like about this recipe: you can switch up your tea with each serving: caff, decaf, green. I’ll be trying it again tomorrow.

Three new things in one day. Who says you can’t teach an old cat new tricks?

Posted on

finished: crochet basket lining

lined crochet napkin basket

My first official Finished on Friday post: remember this basket? Back in September I mentioned that it was ready for a lining. Then it sat around for a few months before I decided to just start using it.

Without a lining, though, the sides were getting a little saggy and our napkins were getting a little wooly. Not only that, but every time I sat down at the kitchen table I felt UFO Guilt. (UFO=unfinished object)

lined crochet napkin basket

It didn’t take that long to do: just a little sewing in the afternoon and some hand-stitching in the evening.

stash: I wound up using some leftover upholstery fabric from the rollie pollie.

What did you finish this week? Share in the comments!

Posted on

the big to-do pile

big to-do pile

A few things got put on hold over the holidays. Most of them are simple mending projects: fix a hole here, sew a button there. I should mention that the basket isn’t entirely full of clothing. The bottom half is filled with yarn bits for granny squares. The mending just sort of moved in and set up camp on top of them. But in the spirit of full disclosure, there is another pile not pictured that needs the same attention.

I’m making it a goal to finish one project a week. I’ll probably get motivated to do more once I get started, but I want a realistic goal that I can keep. My plan is to highlight each one on a new “Finished on Friday” weekly post. Hopefully, writing it down here will seal my commitment!

I actually completed one project earlier this week. While I was working on the puppy nightshirt, I let the hems down on these and these from last year. Yay for progress!

Posted on

my creative space (and a call to action)

sarah london crochet a rainbow granny square

I’ve been trying to think of a way that I can do something for the flood victims in Australia. Something besides just donating money (which there is nothing wrong with, of course). Today Sarah London posted a blanket project that will eventually be “distributed to those affected throughout Queensland and Victoria, providing comfort and colour and as a reminder that there is always a rainbow after a storm.”

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know I’m a big fan of squares. Making them helps me find peace, deal with events that I don’t understand, and feel useful in some small way. Back in 2007, I organized a local effort to contribute squares to Mosaic Yarn’s Hokie Healing project. If you are the least bit doubtful of the impact a square can make, go read this. (I’ll wait.)

Pretty powerful, right? In my creative space today, and all this year, I’ll be crocheting granny squares for Crochet a Rainbow. I encourage my fellow crocheters to make a few, too. You can get all of the details on Sarah’s website.

Don’t crochet? Consider bidding on one of the many auctions being held by the crafting community. 100% of the donations listed on Toni’s site go to the Queensland Flood Appeal. (Thanks for the link, Steph!)

stash: I’ll be starting my squares with the yarn from last week’s creative space. (Thanks again, Tana!)

Kirsty’s started up the 2011 Creative Spaces. If you have any time left after browsing through the above list of links, don’t forget to check out the creative spaces listed on her site, too.