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cheery flower brooch

attic 24 flower brooch pin

Yep, I’m still crafting over here. Now that the holiday pressure is off, I’m doing some fun small projects. Last Spring I became a little obsessed with crochet flowers and I’m at it again. They are so quick to whip up and are a great way to use up odd bits of yarn. I’m thinking these would be nice to send to someone instead of sending actual flowers. They’d last longer and can be pinned to almost anything. They definitely bring good cheer!

stash: Thrifted yarn from my amigurumi stash. Brooch pattern from Attic24.

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my first crochet scarf

lily chin nolita crochet scarf

Do you ever have an empty feeling after the big holiday gift/package/mail rush is over? Everything got done in time, but who knows with the weather if it will arrive on time. Now I don’t know what to do with myself. I should be doing all of the laundry I’ve neglected for crafting the past few weeks.

Instead, I crocheted a scarf for my daughter. It’s not a Christmas present. It’s just because I was gifted some yarn and it was fuzzy and cute and she needed a scarf that matched her brown hat and mittens.

The yarn is Lily Chin’s Nolita* and from my friend Amy. She destashed a lot of her fuzzy fibers and brought them to our last knitting guild meeting. It’s the perfect amount for a toddler sized scarf. It’s soft and cuddly, but a pain to rip if you make a mistake. I have another ball in green that I think would make a perfect cowl for me.

pattern: 16 double crochets across with a J hook. Final size was 4 x 30 inches after steam blocking.

*Don’t judge this yarn based on the awful photo on the website. It’s actually very pretty.

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wardrobe refashion: dressing up a pair of flip flops

What kind of shoes should a three-year-old girl wear to a beach wedding in October? Will the weather be warm or cold? Should the shoe be casual or dressy? Should you invest in sandals that will probably be too small by next Spring? Where are you even going to find sandals this late in the season?

I decided to take some simple, casual flip flops and dress them up. Here is the before picture:

dress up a pair of flip flops

Step 1
I took four strands of embroidery thread and weaved them through the existing stitches with a needle.

dress up a pair of flip flops

Step 2
I crocheted a flower and stitched a button on the center. Then I sewed the flower onto the strap.

dress up a pair of flip flops

Step 3
I tried to get my daughter to wear them, but she wasn’t interested at all. In fact, she wound up wearing her sporty little sandals with her cute frilly dress. I guess I can always remove the flowers and put them on another pair of flip flops next season.

dress up a pair of flip flops

refashion: I used embroidery thread, cotton yarn and vintage buttons from my stash. The flip flops came from Once Upon a Child. The crochet flower pattern is from My Crochet Stuff.

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sleeping snoopy baby quilt

sleeping snoopy baby quilt

Every time I turn around it seems like someone else is having a baby. I love crafting for babies. This quilt is almost finished. All I need to do is attach the binding. I bought a lot of this fabric off of ebay awhile ago. You might be thinking, “That looks familiar!” The first quilt I made was backed with fleece. This one is backed with navy cotton. (It’s really not that dark, but I don’t have much sun for taking pictures today.) I only have a little bit of the binding fabric, but it should be just enough.

Update on birthday crafting: The knitted gift is finished. The embroidery tea towels are almost done. These are going much better than my experiment with cross stitch. I’m using a simple split stitch and loving it. I can’t wait until I can post pictures!

stash: So far I’ve used stash yarn, embroidery thread, fabric and batting for all of my projects. Having everything at my fingertips really makes all of the thrifting and garage sale-ing I did earlier in the year worth it!

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a little bicycle mending

This summer we bought our daughter a cute bike from our neighbor’s garage sale. My husband is planning to take the pedals off and make it a balance bike. My job was to mend the handle bar cover, which was torn.

Using my trusty seam ripper, I picked out the hem and removed the velcro. With a cloth on top and low heat, I pressed it flat and used this as my pattern.

handle bar cover

The cotton I chose was too lightweight on its own, so I backed it with some denim. Here’s how I did it:

  1. Traced around the pattern on both fabrics adding 1/4 inch seam allowance.
  2. With right sides together, I stitched around leaving a gap for turning.
  3. Clipped my corners, turned right side out, and top stitched around, closing up the gap along the way.
  4. Reattached the velcro.

I think it looks better than the original, especially since my daughter doesn’t even know about Strawberry Shortcake.

handle bar cover

mend: Simple sewing projects can make me so happy. I love being able to say, “I can fix that!” Cotton fat quarter from my stash, denim from thrifted jeans.

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quick and easy birthday shirt

third birthday shirt

My daughter’s birthday was last week and I wanted her to have a special shirt. Turning three is a big deal! I used one of her summer t-shirts, some Heat n Bond, and some fabric scraps from my stash.

stash: Appliques are great way to use up your fabric scraps! You can usually find Heat n Bond at garage sales, but it’s so inexpensive that you should go ahead and buy some with your 40% off coupon. One package lasts a long time!

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easy backpack with bias tape straps

My daughter starts preschool next week and she needed a backpack. I asked her if she’d like me to make one for her and she said YES!

I let her choose fabric from my stash and helped her with coordinating the colors. I really like how it turned out and she loves it. My only problem is getting her to wear it. Right now, she just wants to carry it by the straps.

martha stewart easy beach bag

I used Martha’s Easy Beach Bag pattern with a few modifications:
• inside is canvas instead of nylon
• inside has two pockets
• used fabric instead of cord for the straps
• serged the raw edges inside

drawstring back pack with lining

Drawstring Strap How-to:
Feed strips of denim through a 1-inch bias tape maker, fold the tape in half and stitch it together. Once threaded through the loops, sew the ends together because they’ll be too thick to knot.

drawstring back pack with lining

stash: This is one of those occasions that I love having a stash of fabric. It’s so easy to dive right into a project when the motivation strikes! Plus, using a thrifty stash is so affordable. I’m guessing this cost less than $2 to make. Sweet!

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handmade baby shower gift

My knitting group had a baby shower for my friend Tana last night. I couldn’t figure out what to make because she has already created so many beautiful sweaters, blankets and quilts herself. I decided to sew something instead. I figured her daughter is going to be the best dressed baby when the weather is cold, so she would need something for the warm weather.

mccall's m5083

I sewed the 12-month size with the hope that it will fit sometime next year between June and August. Estimating the size was tricky! I added a little extra elastic on the inside so Tana can adjust the waist if necessary. Luckily, the top ties in the back, so that should be an easy fit.

mccall's m5083

project notes: Pattern is McCall’s M5083. Fabric is from my stash. It’s one of my first and favorite purchases. I can’t believe it’s almost gone!

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twinkle, twinkle little chromium star

chromium star blanket

I won’t tell you how long it got me to get to this point in the Chromium Star blanket pattern. I’m not sure why I had a hard time following the instructions because when I look at them now, they seem so straightforward. It helped to put stitch markers at each adjacent dc stitch. Now that I have the hang of the pattern repeats, this is really addicting. I find myself sneaking in a few stitches whenever I get the chance.

stash: I went shopping for this yarn in my stash. It’s Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and originally was going to be a sweater for my daughter. Too bad I didn’t get it done before she outgrew the pattern. I think it will make a lovely blanket. Pattern from The Kidney Bean.

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remnants!

remnants

Last Saturday I discovered a little store called Stitches that creates custom drapes, valances, slip covers, etc. I found them through a garage sale listing on craigslist and I couldn’t resist the words “fabric sale.” I had originally planned to just look. I had no idea that things would be so inexpensive. I picked up a bunch of canvas remnants for 25 cents each (not pictured) and a few larger pieces for 50 cents a yard. I already have plans for the floral print flannel: pajama pants!

stash: Whenever I bring something new home I have to destash to make room. On the list this time: jeans I had planned to refashion into tote bags. I just don’t have time for all of the projects in my head!