An Hour At A Time

What can I do with an hour here and there? I can sew crumbs together.

I haven't decided what to do with these random units. Perhaps a new purse? My purse situation is getting desperate....Or a hat? An art quilt? Another Mod Podge canvass wall hanging? They sure are pretty - and tiny - most seams are only 1/8" or less.

My husband had a few spare hours the other day, and his musical/crafting self made a beautiful three-string guitar out of a cigar box! The music he makes on it sounds like hot lazy days and cool secret places. I love this guitar....er, guy.

I had an hour today and an idea from a friend on Facebook....so I made a little kitty.

I spent $4 for the black shirt (it's inside out so the screening doesn't show as brightly). I used black broadcloth, elastic and fiberfill to make a very long tail. I used leftover felt and an old Dollar-store headband to make ears. I'm still debating how to give her whiskers....

Check out the very long tail....it drags behind her slightly when she walks.

You may think that we're weird for not celebrating Halloween; it's been suggested that we deprive our children (of diabetes and obesity, yes). But I'm not hard-hearted. My Punk's class at school has been working hard to earn their right to a party on Wednesday, and it just happens to be a dress-up party. And so my kid wears "$4 + leftovers = costume" that took the Mama an entire hour to throw together.

Those smiles are why we do this.

And the Pixie? She'll be in her everyday uniform on Wednesday....a fairy dress with little sagging wings.

Do Not Sew This

It wasn't a crisis, but it stopped me from posting for a week. My computer randomly stopped giving me previews of pictures and I had no idea where to find and post my projects without seeing them. Husband was away at work for six days and he is my computer whisperer. He fixed the problem late last night and the result is you getting to see my crazy fabric workings from the past week.

Remember that bottle of Mod Podge I had purchased? I didn't feel like sewing this week (needed fresh mojo), so I went nuts with some 'Podging.

First was the Pixie's night table, of course. Then I moved on to cover her switchplate in fabric.

I also did mine, using a picture cut from a magazine.

And then I did a little math when I was sorting through my desktop, looking for inspiration. Mod Podge plus fabric plus canvass plus paint equals.....

I loved that result so much that I whipped out my crumb stash and an even larger canvass. This is the reason you should save even tiny bits of scraps. The result is one of my favorite pieces of art, ever. My Husband thinks that I'd fit in well in Mexico because of my love of bright colours and chaos.

Here it is again, in place on my wall next to some flowers that have been there forever, just waiting for some companion wall art.

I also knitted a few more mini-mittens and a dish cloth based on a pattern that I didn't have, but it worked out well anyways. I can post more pictures later (now that I have the settings on the computer fixed). This last shot is the wall over my dresser. It's starting to look lovely.

You see? Even if you don't sew, playing with fabric is still fun....because it's all about fabric, right?

Wait until you see what else I've been doing with crumbs!!

Just Two

This is the pillow that sits on my couch. It is old. It has holes, Sharpie marks, dirt, grime. It's ugly.

After some serious thought, a little cutting, and a bit of arranging and rearranging I came up with this pillow cover.

Much better! It is alternating strips of repros and music neutrals. I quilted it with poly in the middle, just because I had a piece that fit. The back is a navy blue corduroy that my camera hated so much it refused to take a good picture. You'll have to trust me on the colour.

In other news, my first Christmas project of the year is complete! I have no problem posting pictures of everything here because not many people on my list read this blog.

Those of you who are on my list and are reading this, take note: If you see a gift and it screams "you need me" then by all means drop me an email to let me know that you will be incomplete without that specific item. I will try to accommodate. Not every gift is made with a specific human in mind.

Some are made for specific people, but I won't tell you who. Chances are, the recipient can guess.

Front

Yes, it's a journal. Most adults will get one this year. Most gifts that we're giving away will be homemade. Even our kids are only getting one store bought gift plus stockings. We already have too much stuff to justify buying more!

Back

I hope the human who gets this falls in love with it. I certainly have.

How To Make A Pixie Smile

Step 1. Clean the kids' bedrooms.

Before picture withheld for good reason!

Step 2. Whip out your trusty Sharpie and draw an improv kitchen on the top of the toybox. Warning! This leads to hours of fun and your small person begging you to come over for tea parties.

Step 3. Refashion/refinish a piece of furniture for the Pixie. This is her night table.

Step 4. Capture the happiness on camera!

Step 5. Get to the tea party!

Girly Stuff

Today is going to be an almost-lazy Sunday. It's just my girls and I at home, so we'll do some cleaning, perhaps a little cookie making, definitely some sewing! Here's what I have to show you today....

First up, my diary cover. It started with a piece of patchwork like so:

And it look like this after being sewn up:

I love it! It's just the right mix of girly and bohemian to suit my personal style.

I also delivered a little elephant to his new owner:

My Pixie named this little guy "Flumpy," as in "He's so squishy and flumpy." I love toddler talk.

Hopefully tomorrow I can show you pictures of a pillow cover I plan to make. You see, we have a very ugly, very old pillow that sits on our couch and gets used every day. It begs to be made pretty. That is today's sewing project.

And this is the end!

White Motivation

The sky was falling yesterday.

This white stuff is like a herald, proclaiming the season, telling me to get my butt in gear - Christmas is not far away and I have many, many projects to complete before then!

I almost like the first snow of the year. After that it gets monotonous.

The Shorties have no issue with the seasons changing. Icicles are a delicacy, don't you know?

My motivation has forced me to almost complete a stuffed elephant - named "Flumpy" by my Pixie - but I need a bit o' felt to give him eyes. Reveal soon.

Also, I had a minor fail when sewing up the backing for Rambo Bright. You know that saying, "measure twice, cut once?" It does not apply when you had the wrong measurement in the first place. I measured correctly according to the figures floating around in my head....but I came up 6 inches short when the pinning was done. Wha...?

Turns out, I measured the correct length for the quilt itself, and not the backing. It was easily corrected with a piece sewn on to the ends of the short panels. I used my fail to my advantage and mixed up the prints a little, instead of matching like colours. It is a scrap quilt, after all. Have you noticed that I don't "do" matching very well?

Set aside that backing! Up next is a cover for my diary, made with very carefully hoarded oriental prints.

And after a concert in my living room.....

I feel the need to make lists. In fact, I could make a list of all the lists I need to make.

List of Lists:
- list of Christmas sewing to do
- list of areas in my home that still to be cleaned, downsized, and reorganized
- list of books I need to own
- list of groceries to buy at the farmer's market on Saturday

Too much!!

Back to the concert.

These girls sure know how to sing!

Magic

Did you know that the internet is magic? If I show you a picture like these fabrics I pulled two days ago....

....I can also show you the magical time-lapse version that I saw yesterday: One finished block.

Then, of course, you could go ahead and speculate what that single Circle of Geese block will transform into in the future. Will it be a new quilt? A pillow? A journal cover? None of the above. You'll get to see my completed genius idea in a couple days - after a trip to Michaels. At least, I hope what I need is at Michaels....

This next picture is another stroke of genius. It is a confetti block for the label on the back of Rambo Bright. I'll write in the blank space and surround it with loads of batiks. It's first on the list of things to complete tomorrow. (Someone asked when is the wedding....It was last summer. This was promised to the couple because I went empty handed to their nuptials.)

There will soon be many more lists in this house....a list of spaces yet to be cleaned, downsized, and organized....a list of gifts for our homemade Christmas....a list of WIP's that need completing because they'll keep us from freezing in our beds at night (the best projects!)....a pink cupcake quilt to design....some more tiny mitten knittin'....and this:

A late birthday gift for a 17 year old. She's gonna love it!

For Ladies Only

I was supposed to be making the backing for Rambo Bright. We picked out this lovely stack of batiks (I know the Bride loves batiks). Somebody (Cathy, most likely) will slap my wrist for not working on what needs to get done. My bad. ;)

Instead I was doing a little research into feminine health. You know what I'm talking about.

What struck me was a little post someone had written about how dangerous disposable products are - how detrimental to fertility. If you think about it, she was right: We buy products that are bleached, chemically processed, not sterile, of questionable origin....and then shove them up our sweet spot for several days a month. Those chemicals and bleach have ample time to be absorbed directly into our reproductive organs and wreck havoc by depositing carcinogens, destroying fertility, irritating sensitive skin and organs, not to mention the amount of gross that piles up in landfills and decomposes about as fast as a diaper (500+ years). Yuck, and no thank you!

While there truly are many options available (I'll leave some links at the bottom), most women don't know that they don't need to spend $7 a month just to be a card-carrying female! So I came up with these:

They are colourful, reusable pantyliners! Just rinse or soak and throw into the washing machine. It doesn't get easier than that. This option saves money, saves the environment, and saves men the embarrassment of shopping in that aisle when we can't get there ourselves. It could also protect your fertility, protect against cancer, and won't irritate sensitive skin (a very widespread issue, as I found out).

I am definitely going to be designing full sized protection as well, but for my chosen reusable option these are all I need! These might make a great Christmas gift for the women in my life.

Here are some links for further eye opening reading:

The Museum of Menstruation

Reusable Menstrual Products

Natural Parents Network

All About My Vagina  (Not for the faint of heart)