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springtime in nebraska

I never cease to be awed by Spring weather in the Midwest. It’s amazing to me that one half of our state can be under winter storm warnings while the other half is under tornado warnings.

Yesterday was the first time the sirens went off for the season. There is a weird energy that comes with the sirens. It’s not excitement, but it’s not anxiety either. I’m not sure how to describe it. It’s very humbling to acknowledge the force and strength of Mother Nature.

There’s not much time to prepare for a tornado. You don’t get days to stock up on supplies or evacuate. Boarding up windows and stacking sandbags doesn’t help. We just put a few things in the tornado bag and head for the basement. My tornado bag has our cordless phone, my cell phone and charger, my laptop and charger, my wallet, knitting for me and books for M. After yesterday, I’ve decided M needs a tornado bag of her own. She definitely picked up on the stressful urgency of the weatherman telling people to take cover. I think she needs some special books and toys to distract her.

Having a child has definitely changed the way I react in these situations. I am much more calm on the outside, but a little more panicky on the inside. Luckily, storms that blow in fast usually leave just as quickly. Then the sun comes out and we head upstairs and get on with our day. And I always say a small thank you when we climb the stairs that they’re still there.

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custom wool felted bag :: teal and white

I have to give props to my friend Cathy. She picks the neatest sweaters for her custom bags and always has the coolest coordinating fabric choices.

cathy's bag

I’m not sure what I like more—the beautiful buttons or the purple floral print.

cathy's bag

cathy's bag

She also requested a coordinating box bag for her knitting. I love making these bags. They give me lots of practice with zippers!

cathy's bag

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i have a lot to say…

…but don’t have time to blog about it all right now. Instead, I’ll remind you that my giveaway ends tonight, so leave a comment!

Here are some other fun giveaways for you:

Lisa is giving away something from one of her shops. You get to pick!

Kelly is giving away a sweet kid’s apron.

Sarah is giving away some fabric.

M&M Studio is giving away even more fabric.

Good luck and have fun!

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st. patrick’s day giveaway!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. CONGRATS TO LISA IN FLORIDA!

Are you feeling lucky? Maybe a four-leaf clover would help. St. Patrick’s Day is the second day of the Lincoln Handmade Team’s giveaway extravaganza and I’m throwing a four-leaf clover coffee sleeve into the ring!

All you need to do to win is leave a comment and tell me how you celebrate St. Paddy’s Day. Do you wear a lucky shamrock or lots of green? Maybe you wear orange! Do you eat corned beef and cabbage? Drink green beer? Make Irish soda bread? (Yum!)

Whether you use the cozy for a tasty Irish coffee or rich and creamy Guinness, join in on the fun! Then visit the other members of our team for more giveaway goodness.

Comments close Thursday at midnight CT. Erin Go Braugh!

felted wool coffee sleeve

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giveaway extravaganza

lincoln handmade

Every day next week a Lincoln Handmade Team member will be having a giveaway! All of our members are extremely talented and do beautiful work. Be sure to check out their blogs and shops. Then stop back here on Tuesday. I’m giving away something green for St. Patrick’s Day!

Monday: Christy of ChristyNelson.net
Tuesday: Julie of Kundhi Creative (Me!)
Wednesday: Lisa of Chimera Crochet
Thursday: Kelly of refibered
Friday: Korrine of Crafterella
Saturday: Lynette of Handmade for You

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how to refashion an ’80s sweater in five easy steps

UPDATE: Thanks to the Craft Magazine blog for their link to my tutorial!

March is Mending Month over at Craftzine. I’ve been doing a lot of mending lately. I keep a bag next to my desk for whenever I have a little time for sewing a button or fixing a hem. Mending is good for the soul, at least mine anyway.

Last week I posted a scarf I made out of sweater scraps from resizing my brother-in-law’s ’80s style sweaters. It was super easy. I probably wouldn’t try this with an heirloom sweater, but it’s great for all those oversized sweaters you may have collecting dust in the back of your closet.

Step 1
Try on the sweater inside out and pin along the sides and under the arms for a more fitted shape. (I used safety pins for this step.)

Step 2
Lay the sweater flat and adjust the pins make sure your seams are straight and equal in size. (I changed to straight pins at this point.)

sweater tutorial

Step 3
Machine stitch the new side seams with a straight stitch. Then repeat with zigzag stitch to catch the frayed ends. (A serger would be perfect for this.)

sweater tutorial

Step 4
Your seams might be a little wobbly after stitching. Press with a warm steam iron. Use a press cloth if your sweater isn’t 100% wool. Trim excess.

sweater tutorial

Step 5
Turn sweater right side out and press open the seams. That’s it!

sweater tutorial

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thursday highs and lows

Last Thursday it was 70 degrees. Bella and I went for a lovely walk with Lauren and Brady. We did our regular loop, visited the ducks and even stopped for lunch. It was a beautiful morning. The first long walks after the cold of winter are like those big stretches when you wake up in the morning: refreshing and invigorating — an unfolding and uncurling of all the kinks from hibernation. Lauren took this picture of Bella when we stopped to say hello to the ducks. We all were a little high off of the sights and sounds and smells of Spring.

bella on our walk

Later that afternoon, during quiet time, I could hear Bella in her room. It sounded like coughing. At first I didn’t think anything of it. She’s been coughing to get attention since she was a wee little thing. But something didn’t feel right. I decided to check in on her. Ugh! She had thrown up her lunch all over her bedroom, including her bed and blanket (but thankfully not on any of her friends that aren’t machine washable). It’s the first time she’s been that sick since we found out about her milk intolerance when she was an infant. She was stunned. Shocked. She didn’t understand what had just happened.

I cleaned her up. I cleaned her bed and the floor. I was thankful that I knit her blanket out of washable yarn. We settled down, read books in the living room and she took a nap. The rest of the evening wasn’t so good, but she did sleep through the night once we got her to bed. Her spirits were up on Friday even though she didn’t eat much and by Saturday she was back to her old self.

It’s hard explaining being sick to a two-year old. The idea of food coming back up? of running to the bathroom when your tummy rumbles? of only taking little sips of water and avoiding solid food when your tummy is empty? All of those were completely confusing to her. It’s hard to watch your little one feel so low. I’m so grateful that she bounced back so quickly!

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coffee sleeve of the month: lucky shamrock

felted wool coffee sleeve

It seems like I can’t stop making felted wool coffee sleeves, so I’ve decided to start a feature cozy of the month!

March is all about St. Patrick’s Day and basketball. I don’t know much about hoops, but I used to be quite the little Irish Dancer. My Girl Scout troop had to learn an ethnic dance and we picked The Walls of Limerick. I remember that we performed on the stage at Golden Ring Mall.* A few of my friends and I stuck with it until high school. We competed, performed at Irish festivals and even walked in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. So in honor of my “Irish” background, this month is all about green!

Two sleeves are available in my etsy store.

*Sadly, Golding Ring Mall has since been leveled and replaced with big box stores.

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denim messenger bag for christina

I’ve been wanting to make a bag like this for awhile, but just couldn’t figure out the pattern. I fiddled around with a prototype that didn’t work out too well and then abandoned it for a few months. (OK, a year!)

upcycled denim bag

Then my friend Christina asked me to do something with her Fairy Jeans. I did a lot of sketching and research and actually got a lot of inspiration from diy skirt and maternity jean tutorials.

upcycled denim bag

When we went shopping for her wedding gown, she mentioned that she liked the color combination of dark blue and champagne. She also asked me to incorporate one of her finance’s blue silk ties. I used it for the lining of the flap and lined the rest of the bag with tan cotton.

upcycled denim bag

I’m going to make one more of these bags to make sure I’ve got my pattern down and then I’m going to offer it as a custom bag listing in my etsy shop. More pics of the bag in my sewing gallery.

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february 10th, cpsia, and a snorkeling turtle

What do these things have in common? Over a year ago, one of M’s Baby Einstein Discover & Play Color Blocks was recalled. The paint used for the snorkeling turtle contained lead in “amounts that exceed US lead standards.” Following the instructions for returning the block was easy. They gave postage-paid label to return it and sent me a new block.

It took a long time to receive the replacement block. It didn’t matter, though. M wasn’t really attached to it, so it wasn’t missed. I had actually forgotten about it and then one day it arrived in the mail. End of story.

Fast forward to this year; February 10th, in fact. The day that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was supposed to go into effect. I’ll leave my opinions and rants about the actual law for some other blog post. Instead, I’d like to show you what showed up in my mail that day.

package

At first I thought maybe it was surprise yarn or something. It was light, soft and smooshy. Then I figured out it was a cube. It made a little rattle sound when I shook it. It was the little lead snorkeling turtle. (Why do turtles need snorkeling equipment?) The package looked like it had been through a war zone. It was battered, ripped and covered with stamps that had marked its journey through the postal system.

package

Apparently, its journey was so long that by the time it arrived to its destination, the postage-paid label permit had expired. The only thing more incredible than the thought of a recalled item being returned to the consumer was the original post mark date.

package

I sent Kids II an email explaining what had happened. I was concerned. What should I do with the block? I mean, if it was dangerous enough that they had wanted it returned, what was I supposed to do with it now? Toss it in the trash? Yep. That’s exactly what they advised me to do.

It all seems a little crazy, doesn’t it?