Sew Mama Sew Giveaway

Ever since discovering crafty blogland I've been amazed by the giveaways. "You made that and it's incredible and you are giving it away. Just to be nice!!" I think it's a testament to the kind disposition of sewers/knitters/crafters. So, when I found out about Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day I figured I ought to participate and keep the good feeling going.


So, from May 27 to May 31, leave a comment on this post and win the apron below. Anyone interested in the apron is welcome to leave a comment but must include something that your child or someone else's child said that is particularly funny. My husband, who fancies himself seriously hilarious, will be reading them all and judging the winner. Just a hint: the more inappropriate the comment the better. I'm currently home with our newborn and also a mother to a newly two-year old, so our whole world is kids right now. Please, we need some levity brought to the situation.

Just a note on the fabric of the apron, the main portion is from a never-used tablecloth and the weave is quite loose. So, it might require special care when washed, like a gentle cycle and low temperature dry. I'm not sure about that but if you wanted to be cautious that would be the approach to take. Also, I've posted the apron in the Angry Chicken Tie One On gallery along with a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb pie so the winner can let me know if they would also like the recipe. I have no idea how many people (if any!) will leave comments but I will try to be prompt in announcing a winner. Please leave your email so I can respond to you.

Getting Organized the Pretty Way

I've been meaning to get my crafting space more organized for a while now. After the work was done on our house I had just enough time to throw it all together and make it mildly functional. As I've had time I've been working on making it more organized. So, this week and last I sorted my stash and even my scraps and laid out my supplies in an organized fashion. I've seen pictures on lots of people's blogs of their crafting table and always admire how organized they are and how much inspirational material people keep up in their view. So, I decided to build an inspiration board that also organizes me. I've been meaning to create a wall organizer for a while after looking at the project in Lotta's book Simple Sewing. Then for Christmas I got Anna Maria Horner's (who just had her baby!) book Seams to Me. It was only in the last few months that I was able to really sit down and pour through it. She has a project for a fabric covered magnet board that I thought I could alter to use up some cork board that I have. In the end, I decided to create a cork board that incorporates a wall organizer. I love the way ideas germinate even when you don't know it's happening! So long story short...or longer, whatever. I adhered foam board to the size of cork I wanted as is picture below.


Then made a fabric sleeve with pockets at the bottom as in this shot, slid in the cork board and blind stiched the end. (Lesson for the future, leave the short side open for blind hand-stitches unless you really like hand-sewing, which I do not.)
This is how it looks completed. I don't have a picture of it hung up because my crafting space is in a dark basement. But, now, next to the boxes and grey walls is this great, bright organizer ready and waiting to inspire me.

Here it is hung up, on our oven. This is sure to cut down on the under-the-breath swearing in this household as I will be able to locate my exacto knife! I will say this was a fun project and is essential for a tinkerer like me. As I flit from one project area to another my list of 'must have' tools tends to shift, this way I can keep things right in front of me.

I'm thinking I need more of these, especially behind our kitchen office space for bills and cards and wedding save-the-dates. And, of course, kid art. Might as well use of the cork board. Both of the books, Lotta's and Anna Maria's are fantastic--elegant and whimsical projects.

Repurpose and Refresh

I've been enjoying using old fabric for a new purpose lately. Did finish this Ikea curtain apron for my mother and entered it into the Angry Chicken tie-one-on apron making group--the theme this time is pie making apron (deadline is July 1st, join in it's an easy way to get creative with your stash), which is why this little lovely has an extra blue pocket in the front...for your cherry pitter or whatnot. The other fabric is all vintage from my stash, which always feels good.


Then I refashioned the fabric from these curtains that we no longer need after our house work. I turned it into an art smock for the little man, complete with a front pocket with his name.
This also uses the pattern from Bend the Rules (that book is incredible) and will hopefully come in handy as our little guy ONLY wants to paint these days, coloring is so for one year olds.

Finally, I sewed this design onto a skirt, cut off a Lotta Jansdotter t-shirt I bought ages ago that somehow (I can't imagine how?) grew too small and one portion had a stain. So I cut out what I liked and used the rest. The skirt is a basic jersey from J.Crew, also really old, possibly 5 years but stretchy so I don't have the same problem. This was my first successful sewing with jersey and the interfacing under the design made it easier. Seems tricky to get it so the fabric doesn't pucker up and go wonky. Any advice? I've got about 10 onesies I'd like to reconfigure when I do finally figure this one out.

More Birthday Goodness

It's Papa's birthday! I decided that he also needed a birthday crown and added the ambulance more for the pleasure of our truck-obsessed two year old...who decided he also needed to wear his birthday crown if Papa was wearing his, though he knew it wasn't his birthday.

I also made this disasterous-looking cake that was truly gorgeous tasting. It's a cool whip frosting. Sounds awful but it is amazing. Truly amazing. Just make your own regular chocolate cake into two rounds. Then, the frosting is 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 package INSTANT pudding (my mistake was not using instant pudding mix and trying to correct for this mistake in various ways), and 8 ozs. cool whip. Mix together the pudding mix, called for milk according to pudding directions, and sugar. Then add the cool whip folding it in. It sounds odd but it is light and less sugary than regular frosting. Frost between the two rounds and on the top and sides like normal. I prefer it refrigerated a little bit. Fantastic!

Here is the crew enjoying it all. I also splurged on an odd but kind of great gift that I saw mentioned on Loobylu. It's a monthly subscription to funky t-shirts. It is pricy but I recently cancelled a credit card (you are upping the interest rate 100%, no thanks) and cashed in on my "points" that I didn't even know I had. Thanks American Express. Chumps.

Crafternooning Time

Finally, the quilt kits have all been sent to my fake sorority sisters, the gammas. It truly did take me forever, which is why I say this with a bit of humility...TIME TO GET CRAFTING LADIES!! Oh yes, you know how it goes...13 X 13 inch fabric squares with an 1/2 inch on all sides that will be sewn into the quilt so don't decorate right to the edge. Send me pictures of all crafternooning (thank you Drea for my favorite new term). All quilts intended for J, H, and K are sent to me and you all have to designate someone to receive those meant for me. And, drumroll....they are due by August 21st because that is my birthday and I think it will be really fun to get them then, like a brilliant birthday gift. And, it's not too close to R's wedding and gives me a bit of time before I head back to work. But mostly, and I say this as a mother, because I said so.

Kaboom! Pow!

In the end it all came together in time for the birthday get-together--the cupcake toppers, the birthday banner and the birthday crown. These cupcake toppers of cars and trains were the last to be made and were also really simple, made with craft toothpicks, stickers and paper cut with scalloped scissors.
The cupcake toppers were definitely a hit and so was the crown, he wore it all week long! Big sigh...now that the decorating and baking and hub-hub is done it has hit me that the little guy is 2 and not so little anymore. It does go by fast.

This one reminded my of my childhood television shows like Chips or Dukes of Hazzard. Kaboom!

I Found My People

There is some beauty in being a tinkerer. I'm never going to 'perfect' a single craft and become amazing at it and start selling it and make the same thing again and again and become known for making it. This is the curse. But, in flitting from one thing to another I get to glimpse in the many different worlds out there, live in them for a little while and then move on. It's fun and I don't get bogged down with the specifics and exactitudes. This is the blessing.

So, long story short, it turns out there is a whole world of 'apron people' out there and (for) now they are my people. At the same time as I was working on my aprons Angry Chicken was holding a No $ Apron giveaway. It's easy for me to make no $$ aprons (all supplies from my stash; nothing bought from the store) given that I am caring for a newborn so I don't leave the house for much of anything. So, I submitted my aprons, which are displayed on her flickr set and then discovered other apron makers like this and this (amazing right!). A beautiful find.

In other news, made these easy curtains for our bathrooms out of old Ikea curtains and have just enough fabric left over for a mother's day apron, though it might be a little late.

The Sister Apron

My apron-love is spreading! My little sister is growing up and I couldn't resist sending her this apron to help celebrate. The ruffle fabric is repurposed from a thrift store bathrobe and the tree fabric is japanese (love the japanese fabric!).