creating for kids

New hats

2011-10-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

It's fall and she needed hats. I've knit hats, but thought I'd try to sew some. These were super, super easy and she loves them, as you can see. She is a little over two months old and the fleece fits great (nice and snug); the knit one turned out a little big and falls down over her eyes sometimes. I used this tutorial. Just make sure you cut the hat in the right direction (so it can stretch to fit baby's head). Also, I don't have a serger, just used a regular sewing machine for the knit fabric. Speaking of sewing machines, I just bought a new machine. I have had three machines in my life and all three were hand-me-downs. I almost cried opening up a brand new machine. It is a Brother CS-6001 and, for the record, the pink fleece hat was the first project ever sewn on the machine.

stroller remake

2011-07-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

This stroller had seen too much outdoors and big kid riders and was in desperate need of a redo. Notice the big hole ripped in the seat? I did this for Joe, my two year old. When he saw the new cover, his comment was, "Cute!" For days, he pushed it everywhere. I used the old cover as a template and reused the old straps. Not perfect, but super cute.

New skirt

2011-07-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

First, pay no attention to the half-naked 2-year old. I'm sure our neighbors are convinced we are complete rednecks. If the shoe fits...

Carolina wanted a skirt that she could twirl around in. She picked both fabrics and insisted on a lace trim. It went together very quickly and she is super happy with it.

Baby Quilt

2010-11-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick quilt for a friend. Not entirely happy with the actual quilting aspect of it. My machine was having issues or there would be more quilting in the sashing. Ran out of time before our move. No pattern, just threw it together.

Doily pillow

2010-11-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

Fun and easy project. I've picked up doilies for 25 cents at yard sales. Just baffles me that something that tooks hours and hours of hand crocheting can be sold so inexpensively. Maybe some people would be aghast that I have now machine stitched it to a recently made pillow cover. I'm totally happy with the result. I'm sure I copied this from something I've seen online. It seems I'm not very original these days. In case my grandmother reads this, this doily is not the one crocheted by my great-grandmother. She can tell anyway, I'm sure. I have other, safer, plans for that one.

Her Thanksgiving Dress

2010-11-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

I call this her Thanksgiving dress, but I couldn't wait until the holiday to let Carolina wear it. Started it Friday and finished last night. I used McCalls 6062. I really recommend the pattern. Super easy (necessary for me) and no zipper. I used fabric on my hand (borrowed from my mom's stash) and I bought the pattern on sale for $1 a few weeks ago. I can also call it my $3 dress ($2 for elastic). She loves it and that's what counts. Someday when we're not paying for two houses or maybe when I get my fabric stash out of storage I'll be able to do more.

Fall pillow cover

2010-10-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Really I shouldn't be sewing when life is so crazy with moving, etc. Anyway, here's my pillow. I really need to come up with my own ideas one day soon, but here's where I found this. Hers is cuter. Next thing you know, I'll be copying my friend's skirts. Seriously, check them out:

Recovering chairs

2010-10-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

This was my project late Saturday night. I've recovered six total and five of them needed new plywood cut for the base (thanks, Ben!). I didn't have enough fabric in my stash for all six to match, so it's a mixture of colors. Seriously a very easy project. They have some helpful videos on youtube, but really it's not rocket science. Just a staple gun, fabric, and green foam. The chairs still need some clean up. My kids are pretty hard on them.

Here's a before shot. I didn't think to take one before it was too late. So this was the best picture I could come up with.

table runner

2010-09-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

Finally created something! I got the itch the other day and made this. It didn't take long at all and Amy Smart's tutorial was super easy to follow. I saw her fall runner and knew I had to make one too.

Baby gifts

2010-05-23T04:18:00.000-07:00

For a sweet little boy in Indiana. I made this quilt. Really just too easy. Very similar to this quilt. I'll do something more complicated for my next quilt. Also, by request I knit some baby blessing booties. Really fun!

Not completely satisfied with the shrinking issues, but I do love the little strip on the back that I added. I've seen those pop up everywhere on blogs and thought I would spruce up the back just a little.

I think the pattern came from here.

Princess Dress

2010-05-07T04:36:00.000-07:00

Not exactly my idea. The fabric was free from Mee-Mee and Carolina begged and begged for a dress from it. I figured it would be good practice for nicer fabric later. I'll make the next one a lot longer. Size 4, Simplicity 5118. Pretty easy pattern and more plans to make variations of this.

Another wallaby

2010-01-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

Here's my third wonderful wallaby knit for my nephew Will, 2 years old. He totally loves it. I thought his mom would maybe appreciate it and then he would discard it for a toy, but he wanted it on right away and walked around just as you see him here. (For those that know my siblings, this is Jim's oldest).

You'll see pictures of a purple wallaby soon when I finish Carolina's. I think I'll take a break from wallabys for awhile, but I might just make Tim a new one. This is the only item that I've knit more than once.

Lina's little smock

2009-11-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Easy project. I decided I wanted to remake a too-small smock for Carolina. I call it a smock -- if anyone has a better name, let me know. I took the size 2T original (a hand-me-down from Ben's cousin --thanks, Snow!) and just traced it a little bigger on to the new fabric. It is two-sided and each side has three pieces. The whole thing lays flat when unbuttoned, so it was easy to remake.

the original below - picture taken Jan 2009

Newest quilt

2009-10-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back I went to the Sewing and Quilt Expo in Chantilly, VA. I met up with my mom and grandma and it was terrific. I was in a class all morning on free-motion quilting. That afternoon I enjoyed all the booths. So much fabric! I didn't buy much, but I did get a small stack of 100 2 1/4" squares. I really wasn't sure what to do with it when I got home, so I decided to keep it simple. I think this will end up hanging on a wall. I'm definitely still learning the whole free-motion quilting, but I'm told it takes lots of practice.

Little booties

2009-09-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

I made these sweet little booties for a little girl soon to be born in our ward. Really very easy. It is the same pattern I used for these. Sometimes I find a pattern that works and stick with it. I've started my third wallaby sweater and have the yarn for a fourth. These are both great basic patterns for the more experienced beginning knitter.

Art Gallery

2009-09-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

I totally snagged this idea from Sarah Jane Studio. The changes I made: a couple of different animal shapes, watercolor instead of fingerpaints, and just freehand the words with permanent marker. Really fun, super easy, and got the kids involved!

New doll dress

2009-09-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

Remember this doll? I finally made a nice new dress for her not too long ago. Carolina really likes her little "dolly."

My grandma is great at finding me really cool older books and patterns for dolls and other crafts. I found the pattern for this dress from a book called "Dollmaker's Workshop" by Vera Guild. 1981.

Felt paper doll

2009-05-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

So this idea first started as a magnet doll. Maybe I'll post more about it another time. Carolina was not very happy with the magnets because she could not pick up the doll and play with it without her clothes coming off (she's only 2 and fairly head-strong). So, my next idea was a felt paper doll. It originally was going to have no face and be one felt thickness. It turned into what you see here. I sewed on the hair, underwear, and shoes to keep things simple. Lina loses small things easily.

The clothes were originally just plain felt, but I thought it would be fun to add some fabric using heat 'n bond. I didn't bother sewing it down. It seems fairly secure and will never be washed. The doll and clothes were created in an evening and some of the next morning.

Then Carolina informs me that "Girl" needs a pillow. Well, she still doesn't have a pillow, but during naptime yesterday, I sewed up a case with a pocket, handles, velcro tab, and a padded half for her "bed." She sleeps right next to Lina's pillow.

New Life to Timmy's blanket

2008-12-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

We've loved this quilt for over three and a half years now. It's Timmy's "blankie" and the backside really started falling apart. This first picture shows the blanket in March 2005, beforeTimothy ever laid eyes on it. It was an awesome baby shower gift made by my sister Jen. After many months and many blankets, he chose this as his favorite. I'm not sure why the backing fabric fell apart, but it was in very poor condition. I tried fixing the tears earlier this year, but the holes just kept coming.

So, we picked out new fabric together. I wanted to stick with a batik to keep with the original quilt. Surprisingly, Tim took this all very well and didn't mind too much about the new fabric or not having his blankie for two weeks. The new batik is very different, but it does have dots like he wanted. I separated the quilt and sandwiched it together with new cotton batting and the new fabric. Rather than tying it, I felt like hand quilting. It took a little while, but I think it was worth it. I created a double-fold binding with pieces from the back and barely had enough. I finished hand stitching the binding last night and Tim had his blankie once again. I was prepared for him to shun this new rendition (he'd already commented on how it seemed really different). I put the blanket on him while he slept and he trooped downstairs this morning enjoying it lots. I'm really happy it turned out well.

And here is the blanket November 2008:

On the back, if you look closely, you can see where I stitched up a long vertical tear near the top.

Here is the new quilt back, after quilting.

The quilted top. If you look closely you can see the stitches. My quilting is rather uneven, but I don't hold myself to a very high standard with this sort of thing. To save time, I just quilted every other square. I'm really not sure if that is acceptable, but it seems to work okay.

Joseph's quilt

2008-09-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

I finished this quilt for little Joseph the Sunday before he was born. It went really quickly, but with the kids, I really could only work on it an hour or two a few days a week, so it took me about three weeks to complete. I used the pattern from Last-Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts and I was also inspired by versions seen here and here. There's also a flickr group for the book that has more. I'm really good at putting things together crooked and uneven, but the imperfections were intentional here (most of them anyway). I adjusted the pattern in the book for a smaller crib-size version and instead of machine quilting the top, I did a little bit of hand-quilting. I really love the quilt and it's been getting lots of use the last few days. It's too big for him to drag around when the time comes, but perfect for a lap quilt for me!

Carolina's pillowcase

2008-07-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Poor girl, not nearly neglected as this blog thankfully, but she was using an old full-size pillowcase wrapped around her half-size pillow. Last time I changed her sheets, I decided it was time she had a new pillowcase. She picked out the purple fabric herself from my stash. Purple is one word that she can say and recognize. She really loves the pillow!

Onesie fun

2008-04-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

The first two onesies were for a custom order. The third is for some punk-rocking mama out there. I'm not too crazy about skulls, but it might be kind of fun for the right little tike.

Apron swap

2008-03-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

I finished the apron for the sassy apron swap and sent it out a week ago this last Monday (a little late, I know). I seriously liked this one a lot, but alas, it has found a new home. I used the Amy Butler In Stitches apron pattern again. I think I'll have to make myself one soon.

Tote bags

2008-03-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

I made four of these yesterday for the young women at church. We were making "babysitting kits" for them to take on babysitting jobs with coloring books, etc. I made them all exactly the same so that it would all be fair. I really was hoping that one of them would hate theirs so that I could take one back home. I really like the final product. I used this book for inspiration, but changed the dimensions and the handles. It is a ladybug fabric on the outside with purple gingham checked fabric as the lining. I'll be making myself one soon.

Hats

2008-02-28T07:56:00.000-08:00

Hats are lots of fun to knit. Seamless and quick. The first will end up being a gift to a one-year old sometime in the future (it fits Carolina, but too boyish for my little girl). I originally knit it for my nephew Danny, just turned 2, but I thought it was a little small with not enough room to grow. (I used pattern "Kim's Hats" from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and yarn Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted)

So here's the next hat, a size bigger. Too small for Tim (nearly 3), but fits Danny just fine. This is my first attempt at fair isle. Really pretty fun and not hard. (I used pattern Madison's Hats, but with a ribbed brim rather than rolled. I think the rolled brim looks kind of girly; made with the same yarn as above). There is one more hat on the needles, it will be the same fair isle (I think), but a little bigger for Timmy.

Teddy bear

2008-02-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

It's been too long since the last post...I've been in kind of a funk the last little while. Not exactly a creative funk because the ideas are still swimming around my head, but the follow-through just isn't there. Anyway, here is a loveable bear that I made after I made the booties with the same yarn. I can't even tell you for sure what pattern I used and the yarn is Norwegian. I know that he was not knitted flat. That would require way too much "finishing" for me and I really like my items to be more complete when I'm done my knitting. I'm happiest with no seams at all. So he was knit on double pointed needles (not sure why he is a "he" when he's purple with a fuschia sweater). The sweater was knit with manos del uruguay yarn and the pattern came from my head. It was also knit completely in the round, from the neck down, I believe. More knitting to come...I've been on a hat kick and have my first fair isle project to show for it.

Tim's bedskirt

2008-01-28T20:45:00.000-08:00

One more thing for Tim's room. A bedskirt. I reused his old valance from out last home and added more pieces to it for a bedskirt. It only goes around two sides because his bed is in the corner. I figure his bed will always be in the corner because the room is so small.

Additions to Tim's room

2008-01-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

I made easy-as-anything memo board to hold his favorite pictures, etc. He enjoys looking at Mee-Mee and Pop-Pop and their new dog Chester.

Here's a fabric panel that I machine quilted for the wall. Definitely very homemade, but he can point to Maryland--that counts for something, right? I bought this panel at Wal-Mart a couple years ago and it's sat on my "to-do" list all that time.

Here's a little pillow and a mini-quilt that I made for Tim awhile back. It was during the first stages of his love for quilts and I made it in the hopes that it would work as a substitute for the larger quilts he insisted on dragging around him, even outside. It didn't work as planned, but it is now serves as blanket and pillow for "Wuh-Wuh," his beloved dog.

Doll, bed and start to quilt

2008-01-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

Here is the new cradle mattress and pillow. It's definitely poofier than I expected, but I think it may collapse some over time. My grandma looked at the crib and original mattress and thinks it may be from the thirties. I'm not sure how to clean the original mattress -- it really smells like my grandpa's house (tobacco stink). Not good for a little girl's room.

Here is the start to the doll quilt. Just part of the top done. It didn't take anytime at all, but I need to keep working on it. I think I started it Christmas Eve afternoon and haven't gotten any farther. I love all the purple!

Here is the doll. Carolina's not too enamored by her, but I think she might grow to like her a little more. I think she spends too much time playing with her older brother and almost prefers cars and trains over dolls. She does like to snuggle her blankets and little fuzzy stuffed animals. But I don't think that is a gender thing at all, is it? Tim definitely has his favorite lovies.

Tie One On

2008-01-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

The current theme for Tie One On is polka-dots -- here's my submission. An apron just for me. It's definitely a little "froo-frooey"--not a real word, but that's how I describe it. I certainly keep things a lot more plain most of the time. But it hides spaghetti sauce splatters very nicely and I'm keeping it!

Cherry apron

2008-01-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

I bought this cherry apron just especially for my sister-in-law's apron. Her birthday is the day before mine and we had a little family get-together this last Sunday. For this apron, I consulted this book for the dimensions. I actually got three of those books for Christmas! Pretty crazy. I kept the one from Ben, gave the one from my mom to my sister Jen, and exchanged the one from my sister-in-law Jen for this book.

Anyway, I think I'll do pleats next time instead of the gathers. I like it though.

Baby boy quilt

2008-01-16T22:23:00.000-08:00

I had a hard time finally using up this baby toy flannel. I got it for a $1/yard and I just like its nostalgic feel. This is just one of those easy-as-pie flannel blankets. Not a very complicated homemade gift, but it's simple. And I love all the blankets that I have like this.

Carolina's bib and headband

2008-01-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

I don't have better pictures, but here is her birthday bib. I whipped it out really quick that afternoon. I was frantic to do it and I knew I was crazy. Who really cares about the bib? I did and that's all that mattered. I really liked how it turned out. I made her headband months and months ago. It's hard to get her to wear it for very long.

Carolina's baby booties

2008-01-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

I made these last spring for Carolina and you can tell they have been well-loved. They fit her for awhile and actually stayed on her feet, usually. I used a pattern found in a BH&G baby knitting booklet. The pattern was wonderful and super-quick. I didn't even check my gauge and it ended up being too small the first time. I just made another real quick, no big deal.

I made them with some yarn that my friend Kat gave me for my birthday several years ago. She bought it in Norway on her LDS mission. I've also made a bear with this same yarn and need to post that too. I love these booties and am sad that her feet no longer fit them. She just turned 1 recently and has yet to walk on her own. These are the only shoes she's worn and only sometimes to church. I tell her that when she learns to walk we can buy her some shoes. She's pretty stubborn sometimes, but super sweet.

Here she is at Easter wearing her newly made booties. She sure has grown since then!

Peggy's apron

2008-01-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

Ben's aunt loves Christmas and snowmen, so I made this for her with lots of love. The snowmen are leftover scraps from an apron (I think) from my mother-in-law. You know those aprons that come in fabric panels that you buy by the yard? My mil loves to make them and has given me some of the extra fun stuff. Anyway, the snowmen are kind of sparkly and I appliqued them on the bottom front. I also added green trim to match the handles and some red ric-rac. I made them in the same style I've made a bunch of kid's aprons this year. We should have more in our etsy shop soon. My sister has added some awesome messenger bags there. She's been using home dec fabrics and it gives the bags a lot of stability.

My current project is an apron for ME! Pictures will be coming soon.

In other apron-related news, Apronista has a great giveaway this week. Check it out!

We've been featured!

2008-01-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Isn't this so cool! Mama's Kitchen has featured us on her blog. Really fun! She has some really unique and nice stuff in her etsy shop. Thanks, Terri!

Katie's doll

2008-01-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

I made this for my 7-yr old neice based on the ruby doll pattern. I would definitely do some things a little different next time. Crafting is such a learning process, but I'm still pleased with the outcome. I used some wool fabric from my grandma, felt fabric, ribbon, etc. It was a fun process. I am definitely interested in making more dolls.

Amy Butler apron

2008-01-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

This was a hard apron to give away. We sent this down to Ben's sister in South Carolina. She is a big fan of Vera Bradley and I got this beautiful VB fabric secondhand from my sister. I get the best stuff from other people's overflowing stash. The vintage gold fabric came from a craft show for a $1/stuff a bag. My sister and I found some cool stuff. She made a great bag from one of the pieces. Anyway, the apron is a half apron from Amy Butler's In Stitches. The book is wonderful and I finally had to return it to the library this week. I got it on ILL and only could keep it for six weeks. I check out all my books from the library, but I might actually have to purchase this one.

I hope Ben's sister loves it as much as I do. Too bad there is not enough fabric for another one, but I might end up making myself one from a remnant I picked up at Joann's. It's the main fabric seen on this gorgeous bag in this crafter's post. I'm not a huge dog person, but the fabric really caught my eye.

Crayon roll

2008-01-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I followed the pattern exactly right, but I'm pleased with the results. We sent this down to Tim's second cousin in North Carolina.

doll update

2007-11-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

The hair can be kind of tricky. This was actually my second attempt (no pics of the first). I liked the back, but I didn't like the front at all. It might have worked better with a not-so-thick yarn.

This is how she looks now. I'm not 100% happy with it, but she's cute anyway. I plan on making another one for a niece, so we'll see if it's easier second time around. Little Timmy insists on a doll too, he's helping me design a robot doll!

Christmas or Birthday?

2007-10-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

My little girl will receive her first doll in December -- either for Christmas or her birthday. I'm making her a ragdoll starting with this pattern. I'm really pleased so far. She will have brown hair and several articles of clothing. I am also going to make new bedding for an old doll cradle passed on from my dad.

Oooh, I was so excited to make a quick trip to the fabric store for some girly fabrics. Plans for sheets, pillow, quilt, and clothes, of course. Now all I need is some brown yarn (for the hair).

Organizing the Toys

2007-10-24T15:29:00.001-07:00

The kids are starting to accumulate tons of toys which are overtaking the house. We've got some pretty generous gift-givers in the family and, although we've tried, there is no end in sight. So, I've come up with an organizational system that involves draw string bags hung from pegs in their closets, an additional low shelf to put toys on, and continued use of containers. Here's a bag to hold all the musical instruments. Mostly toy rhythm makers: shaky eggs, maracas, drums, etc. The kids both love to pull them out when we put on a music DVD or pull out the guitar.

Gifts for baby James

2007-10-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

I love making gifts for friends and family! These were for a first-time mom and she really enjoyed them. I just took two pieces of flannel, cut them into strips and started sewing them together. I cut it to a bib shape and then cut the backing out of some light green fuzzy material. Put right sides together, sew them up leaving a few inches open. Turn it inside-out and top-stitch the outside. Super fun, mini-quilt project. Carolina had to try it on.

Hopefully mom will let her baby actually eat in it. Also a onesie necktie. These were a big hit.

Recent Ventures

2007-10-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

Just a few recent kids' projects. The sewn felt dots on our spotty dotty ladybug really helped her look darling. She didn't even mind the wings and kept them on the whole time at her cousin's birthday party. She's a sweetheart!
Timmy just woke up from a car nap! He loves his robot costume, but he can't stand wearing it. I've offered to make him another costume for the rest of this season's dress-up events, but he really wants this one.
Not a great picture of his wallaby sweater. I'm glad the weather has cooled sufficiently for wearing wonderful wallabies. He loves the hood on!

Just one of the many necktie onesies for little ones. They are so darling and make perfect for gifts for babies.