Sew Crafty Friday

Here are some patriotic things I made recently. The "C" thing is a potholder and the others are double-sided napkins. If you scroll down to yesterday's blog entry, you'll see a very simple tutorial for the napkins. I can use them for Memorial Day and Fourth of July!
Shereen doesn't have SCF up on her blog yet. Not only that, but I have her link totally wrong on my sidebar. I'll have the correct link here later on after Shereen does her Sew Crafty Friday thing today.
Meantime, so much for the amazing summer-like weather we've been having. It's pouring rain again. I don't mind. The flowers need it! (My cute little daffodils have pretty much died because of the heat.) However, my bil and others in his area were still pumping out their basements from the last storm, so I hope this won't be another bad one.

Needlebook I made and 600 posts!

Wow, I just realized this is my 600th post! I sure do feel old and decrepit! I wonder how many posts that is in dog years?

Anyway, the pic above is a super-easy needle book I made. I just took a long rectangle of fabric and folded it in half. I sewed around 3 sides, then inserted a piece of cardboard (about as thin as a cereal box, but it was from something else) into it. Then I sewed up the edge. I cut a piece of felt a little smaller than the 'book', then sewed it down the middle to make the 'spine'--right through the cardboard.

Those are beading needles in the picture, which is why they look skinny and weird. I glued the gold thing that holds the threader onto the other side.

One silly mistake: I put one of the ribbons on backwards. Oh, well!

No pic of the outside as it is plain, but I'll probably glue on some cute buttons or something.

The furry stuff in the background is my cat Melody, who personifies 'curious cat.'

BTW, my yellow baby afghan is twice is big now. I think I'll have to post how much I've done each week so I'll keep up with it!

A blessed and peaceful Good Friday to all.

Sew Crafty Friday: Necklaces

Here are some necklaces that I've made. These are just simple one-strand designs, but I have a beading magazine and plan to try my hand at more complicated patterns like flowers.
I make my necklaces on stretchy cord and I use magnetic clasps--except for the blue necklace, which has a barrel clasp you screw together. I prefer the magnetic ones--all you do is hold them close and they immediately snap together. I don't know about you, but reaching behind my head to hook necklaces in the regular way is annoying and clumsy.

I picked up most of the beads on sale, or using my Michael's coupon. The blue pendant was purchased for $4 at a store in Columbus, Ohio. It is glass and one-of-a-kind. That particular necklace probably cost me $10-12 to make and you know you wouldn't find it in any store for that cheap of a price!

Please take a hope over to Shereen's blog (link on my sidebar) for Sew Crafty Friday. It isn't just for sewing, but for any kind of crafters. C'mon, show us all how talented you are!

Almost Missed Sew Crafty Friday!

It's past 10 p.m. and this was the kind of day that went by too fast...suddenly I remembered Sew Crafty Friday (check it out on Shereen's blog...link on my sidebar.)

I don't have my camera handy but I wanted to post something. So I just got an idea.

For all you crafters out there, may I suggest checked "Etsy.com" first for your supplies? The prices are reasonable, many of the items are things not easily found, and the sellers are regular people like you and me. They not only offer wonderful handmade goodies, but also just about anything you need to make your own projects.

I just got a package of pink safety eyes that I will use for homemade Easter Bunny stuffies. The seller is Stephanie over at www.sugarcoated.etsy.com.

Oh, and btw? The shipping on most items is much, much more reasonable than regular retail!

Sew Crafty Friday

Please visit Shereen's blog (see my sidebar). Sew Crafty Friday isn't up yet--it's early, but you can see how cute her dog RJ is...and I hope that SCF is there later on!

Here are some more St. Pat's things I've made. The potholder on top is a recent project. The back is a plain square of the darker green and the front is just two rectangles sewn together. I free-hand drew the shamrock for the applique, and I made the bias binding. I had bought some insulated batting* for the middle. It makes a pretty thin potholder, but is good for taking things out quickly from the oven, like cookies. If I need to hold something a little longer, I just double-up and use 2 potholders. (*A great investment--one package will make many projects!)

I did the pillows a few years ago. I had a pattern for those shamrocks, which is why they look so much nicer, LOL!

The heart-shaped pillow was the easiest thing to make. You start with a square, then draw two round bumps around two sides. The way I did it was to sew the heart together, then use that to trace a plain heart for the back.

And, btw, you can see that a shamrock is nothing more than 3 hearts put together! So all you really need to do is trace a Valentine's heart 3 times. Or you can get 3 heart-shaped pieces (wood, styrofoam, whatever), glue them together and paint them or wrap them in fabric and you have a St. Pat's decoration!

Sew Crafty Friday

I miss "Sew Crafty Friday." Shereen's blog hadn't been updated for months last I saw. I hope she comes back again, but she is probably busy with her family. Meantime, I need something like this to push myself to get my crafting done. Here is my donation for the week: a baby blanket.

It isn't for any particular baby, but my nieces and nephews and my daughter's friends will surely be having them soon!

This is my own design--at least, the combination is! I don't think anyone really designs original 'stitches,' LOL! It is a simple shell stitch. I don't like working with baby yarn, so this is done on an "I" needle. I think the yarn is sport weight? Just standard, but soft and pretty.

One of the things I bought with the $50 gift card Mike gave me is a book called "100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet." I will make several flowers from the book and scatter them over the blanket.

I like that the shells make a nice, tight pattern. We want to keep baby cozy, LOL! As you might be able to see, I'm grading the size of each stripe. The first ones are about 11 rows, then I have 7 rows and if I feel I need to add length, the final group will be about 3 or 4 rows.

If you've got something going this week, please let me know and I'll come over and visit you!

Halloween Costume I made

If Sew Crafty Friday was up and running, this would be my 'donation.' I hope all is well with Shereen and family!

Angelina wanted to be a 'spooky bride' for Halloween. She's got her Halloween Dance tonight. So...despite having yet another flippin' sinus headache...I finished it up today. (I also had to get it done anyway...I'm leaving for Ohio tomorrow.) I bought the fabric at a discount store, so it only cost a dollar a yard! But don't laugh about that eyelet ruffle around the bottom...it comes from an old tablecloth. But hey, it works!

There is tulle around the neck that is held in place with little charms. The bow in the back is tulle as well.

I made this from the ground up--drafted the pattern myself. Basically, I used some exam table paper from work and held it up against Angelina and traced a bodice. I made a 'muslin' to check the fit, and it worked fine. The sleeves are a real pattern, adapted from a sweatshirt pattern.

P.S.--She'll use her first communion veil, wear creepy black nails, and of course she'll ditch the jeans, LOL! (She's wearing creepy lipstick here. Frankly...I made the gown 'pretty' so she could go either way with it...sweet or scary!)

Sew Crafty Friday/Frugal Friday

I'm not sure if Shereen is doing Sew Crafty Friday today, since they moved this week. I sure hope all is well and the move went smoothly! But I'm combining Sew Crafty Friday with Frugal Friday, which is featured over at "Biblical Womanhood." http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/frugal-friday-how-to-live-on-beans-and.html Check it out for some wonderful ideas!

The top photo is a beautiful tea set that I bought at a school tag sale last week. All the pieces are there in perfect condition, in the box. Can you believe I only paid $3 for it? It is now up in my attic and will be the gift I give the little girl I babysit. She's almost 9 and has shown herself to be a kid who takes care of things, so I know she'll enjoy this.
This second photo is of two projects I made yesterday. The weird little triangular things are stuffed with rice. They're for a game called "Five Stones." I'm sorry that I forgot where I got the idea from. Basically, though, you put two squares of fabric together and sew around 3 sides. Stuff it about half full of rice or beans. Instead of sewing straight across the fourth side, you fold it so that the seams match. fThen it makes a sort of triangle. I got the cute Japanese fabric from an etsy shop. This is a great way to use up scraps. I have to admit, I can't really figure out the "Five Stones" game. I guess it's 'cause I'm not a kid.
Not sure who's getting this game, but I'm probably going to make a bag to put these in.
I was also thinking you could do five different colored bean bags and put them in a quart-sized paint can (available at Home Depot). A young child would enjoy trying to toss the bags into the can! Or make multiples of the colors for sorting and matching.
Obviously, the cloth bowl is for Halloween. But I plan to make some up for Christmas, too. I'll try to post a tutorial for it later this week. It's very, very easy to do--think 'giant yo-yo'!

Sew Crafty Friday

Shereen's hosting Sew Crafty Friday, but she just had a root canal! So go on over there and send her some best wishes, okay? (See my sidebar: "Waiting for Him" is the blog.) Take it from someone who has had nine of them...NOT fun!

Here is my donation today. I bought the sweater fabric on clearance for about $2 a yard. This was made with the versatile "Lydia" pattern from the Burdastyle website. Remember, there are lots of free patterns there! I love the "Lydia" top because it's basically a t-shirt and that means no buttons or zippers.

The ruffle is made from a fat quarter. I wanted to do something around the neckline, but not the same old-same old. I saw the fat quarter in my stash and had one of those craft 'ah-ha' moments. So I tore it in strips about 2 inches wide, sewed the strips together, doubled them over and gathered it up. This is not done of the bias. A fat quarter wouldn't be big enough. But, as you can see by the scoop neckline, 'stretch' isn't necessary here.

Don't look too close at the finishing in the second picture. That's just there for a closeup of the ruffle. It was a little hard to bind the neckline and some of the knit 'escaped.' I did a fancy topstitch over it. Frankly, nobody's gonna get that close to the top, anyway...unless they want a poke in the nose.

So, one top down for the fall!

Sew Crafty Friday

Shereen's "Sew Crafty Friday" is on, so go on over and visit-- http://w8ng4him.blogspot.com/ Better yet, show something off!

I have a bunch of sewing projects in the works but today I'm going to talk about baking. My friend from Pennsylvania gave me starter for Amish Bread when we were visiting last month. So far, I've made vanilla, chocolate and Oreo Cookie versions. The Oreo cookie one was so much like vanilla I don't think I'd bother with that flavor again.

This is one of those deals where you have this sort of 'batter' that you play with and every ten days you bake bread. It's a sweet, dessert-like bread. The basis for the flavor is instant pudding, and you can all things like nuts, chocolate chips or fruit to it.

Today, I'm going to bake lemon with blueberries. I found lemon pudding, as well as cheesecake-flavored. I'm curious to see how they taste--I'll do either the cheesecake or another vanilla one (maybe with streusel!) in 10 days.

The recipe makes up 2 loaves each time you bake, so I always freeze one. They freeze beautifully.

Has anyone else ever made this bread using the Amish Starter? Do you do anything special? I'd like to figure out how to make a pumpkin version, but I'm wondering how to incorporate pumpkin puree into the mix.

I'd love to hear your ideas!

Sew Crafty Friday

I've mentioned sewing dresses for my daughter's "Molly" (American Girl) doll. I decided to climb into the back of the attic and find her. Katherine's 23, so Molly has been an attic doll for quite a few years now. She was happy to get some sunshine. (Molly, not my daughter. I don't keep my daughter in an attic. That's where I kept my boys until they turned 18. JUST KIDDING!)

The second picture shows detail of the lace trim. Basically, you sew on the lace and then use very, very sharp scissors to remove fabric behind the lace.

BTW, before Molly went up into the attic, someone gave her a haircut. Poor girl--12 years in an attic with a lousy haircut...

To see wonderful creativity, please visit Shereen's blog for Sew Crafty Friday! http://w8ng4him.blogspot.com/

Happy Fourth of July, Everyone!

It's also Friday, time for "Sew Crafty Friday" over at Shereen's blog! http://w8ng4him.blogspot.com/

Here's the crafty, 'patriotic' thing I did this morning. Well, okay, I made the cupcakes yesterday. Everything is from mixes. I'm not really into scratch baking, although I'll do it sometimes. I just like Betty Crocker, LOL!

I took half of the icing and fluffed it up with my hand mixer, then I added some blue sugar to it. I couldn't find the food coloring. The sugar is part of a set I bought years ago at Williams-Sonoma. Pricey at the time, but since I've probably had it 8years or more, it worked out to be quite frugal. It actually dissolved a bit in the icing and made this pretty color.

So I iced half the cupcakes in plain white and the other half in blue. Then I used the star tip of a cake decorator and made stars...well, weird looking stars, anyway. I don't know how to keep them from peaking.

See the stripes? After Valentine's Day, I snatched up some Wilton supplies for really, really cheap. Just because the icing in a can of cake decorator icing was red, it was something like 75% off! This is something to always keep in mind after holidays--what can you use for another holiday? Red Christmas can be used for Valentine's, and Valentine's Red works for Fourth of July!

BTW, the cupcakes are vanilla and the wrappers (cups? what are those things called?) have flags on them!

Happy Fourth of July, all!

We interrupt this virtual journey...

...for our regularly scheduled program, "Sew Crafty Friday" over at Shereen's Blog! http://w8ng4him.blogspot.com/

I finished one of the dresses I made. I like the dress, I just don't like what I look like in it. With or without the sash, I'm pudge woman. Oh, well. If I really cared, I'd go on a diet. And Mike isn't complaining. Actually, if I use the sash I have to tack it in place so it stays at the waistline, so I guess I'm not really done with this.

I just deleted the sash one...I look like death in that photo. At least in this photo, the timer on the camera caught me when I was smiling. (Actually, I'm talking to the camera, telling it to take the danged picture.)

I do have to say this is verrrry comfortable. I mean, really, it's just a t-shirt with a skirt attached. Oh, and in case you were wondering...why, yes, I did get a haircut!

Go on over and say 'hi' to Shereen!

Sew Crafty Friday: Romper

I've been 'finishing up' some projects which you've all seen already (like putting buttons on blouses) so I had to dig into my closet to find something to show today. This jumpsuit pattern is probably from the 80s--it has that style, anyway. I need to put elastic in the ankles and do a little finishing, then it will be done. I think it would fit a child of about 3 or 4 years of age. (I make things without anyone in mind...but there are always future grandchildren to consider. Maybe.)

Hey, here's another reason to love my new clothesline--it's a great place to hang things for photos!

Please visit Shereen's Blog, "Waiting for Him," and join in the fun--or just look! http://w8ng4him.blogspot.com/

Sew Crafty Friday: Bucket

Here is a little bucket that I made via a tutorial on a really cool blog called "Vintage Ric Rac."
The ones over there are much nicer, but this was fun to do and an easy way to use up fabric scraps. I've made several, including one I brought to work for a little trash receptacle. My boss hasn't used it yet. She says she wants to 'respect it' for a few days before she throws Bandaid wrappers into it, LOL. I told her she has to use it sometime.

That's the funny thing about people who don't sew...even the smallest project has them in awe.

Anyway, here's the link:
http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/
This is about 5 1/2 inches high. I am using one for my hair clips and such. It's nice to have a place where I can just toss them quickly.
Please also visit Shereen's Blog, "Waiting for Him" (see my sidebar) and join in Sew Crafty Friday today!