Me and Madeline

Sugar Scrub - a mini tutorial

2012-01-31T08:29:00.001-05:00

Last year I made lavender sugar scrub for all the women on my gift list. I have seven sisters (remember?) I'm always looking for a little something extra to put with their gifts.

I totally intended to post this before Christmas, but time just got away from me. I figure if I try to wait until next Christmas to post - I never will. Anyway, here is the super duper easy instructions.

You will need:
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
essential oil for scent (I used lavender)

You might need to play with the quantities of your ingredients to get the texture you want, but those are the basic numbers. It's really hard to get this wrong. I picked up some lavender oil at the vitamin shoppe, but there are dozens of other places to get yummy smelling essential oils. Instead of plain white sugar, I used Domino's raw sugar, which is a little coarser and more like the sugar scrubs you find at the store. But if you want to keep the cost really low, go with plain 'ole white sugar.

Then I bought a case of pint sized mason jars to package them in. The packaging options for sugar scrub are really endless. You could probably hit the thrift store and come home with a gaggle of unique bottles that would make cute little gifts. Of course, glass and porcelain don't exactly mix, so plastic containers might be preferable.

I printed the labels on big shipping labels and used my rotary cutter to cut them to size. I bought a pack of cheap spoons from wal-mart and a 1$ spool of matching ribbon and - voila! A whole bunch of yummy smelling sugar scrub.

I did keep a couple jars for myself and I loved it! It makes your skin super soft and it last forever. It keeps well too. I have a jar that I just recently opened and it's still fresh and smells great.

Molly

Library Totes

2012-01-13T12:18:00.003-05:00

I made these totes for my little sister and niece for Christmas and I just love how they turned out. Siera is a little bookworm, so this bag was made just for her many trips to the library. I used this tutorial and it was easier than I anticipated. Great way to use up some scraps!

Louisa's was a little simpler. I just used scraps of fabric in bright colors, hand embroidered the words and attached them to the front of the bag with some fusible webbing and then permanently attached them with a decorative stitch in contrasting thread.

I also hand embroidered each girls' name on the shoulder strap. I love the little things like that that make a big impact.

The girls both totally loved their new bags (which each had a new book inside, of course) and I'm already mulling different themed bags I can create. The bag itself was just a basic tote, tutorials are a dime a dozen all over the web. I used canvas straps that can be purchased by the yard from your craft store.

I was seriously off pace from last year's homemade Christmas, but I did squeeze in a few other homemade gifts. You can check them out over on my flickr stream.

I'm in the midst of some health issues that should hopefully be resolved quickly so I can get back to crafting! The next thing on my list is homemade goodies for the kids joint birthday parties next month. I'm certain I'm more excited about it than them. :)

Molly

Our Advent Calendar...and some ideas

2011-12-02T22:49:00.002-05:00

I thought I had published this post a few days ago, but for some reason it didn't post. Whoops.

I *finally* finished up our advent calendar on December 2nd. A day late. But it was totally worth all that hard work to see it hanging up in the (otherwise undecorated) living room.

I used this tutorial, with just a few size modifications.

As promised, here is the list I've come up with to fill our calendar with lots of good cheer this Christmas season:

Every day: I bought a 100 piece Christmas Ravensburger puzzle and assembled it and then disassemble it in sets and put several pieces in each stocking. Each day she can add to her puzzle - and it will be complete on Christmas Eve. It's a good visual for her since she still doesn't totally understand the concept of time.

Activities: I'm not assigning days to these until I'm sure what's going on that day. Most of them are things that we would have done anyway, but it's fun for her to look forward to something.

Sleepover at Nana's
Sleepover at Nona's. (yes, she has a Nana and a Nona)
Go see the Christmas lights on the boardwalk
Christmas shopping at the dollar store (I plan to give her 10 $1 bills to buy gifts for her cousins and her brother)
Shopping for toys for tots or Angel tree
Decorate the house for Christmas
Put up the tree
Bake Christmas cookies with Gramma
Make special Christmas cards for grandparents
Paper cone Christmas tree craft
Watch TV Christmas specials (love DVR for this!)
Cousins Christmas party
Visit "Walk through Bethlehem" (live nativity)
Aunt Hannah sleepover
Christmas cookies for Sunday School teachers
Wrap Christmas gifts
Visit Santa
Christmas caroling

That's 18 activities, which should be plenty. Sunday is a pretty full day around here, so those days will just be a piece of candy and the daily puzzle pieces. Some days just won't work for any activities and those days will be a gift:

New Christmas movie
New Christmas book
Colored pencils and a Christmas coloring book

I'm hanging on to all the activities/gifts to decide on until the night before. I planned on decorating the house as one of our first activities, but Maddie was sick this week, so I used the new Christmas movie (Elf!) and the TV Christmas specials since she wasn't up for anything else.

That's it! One thing that this calendar has really made me do is get organized for this month! When you sit down and realize how much you actually want to accomplish in one month, it becomes apparent that you must plan ahead to fit it all in! This is the first year since we've been married that I'm not working at all - (if you don't count sewing and crocheting into the wee hours), and I'm SO excited about the prospect of a whole month of uninterrupted Christmas merriment!

Molly

All about Advent... and a calendar round-up

2011-11-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

Last year, one of my facebook friends made an incredibly awesome Advent Calendar and I was totally inspired. Honestly, I really wasn't even sure what Advent was, we never celebrated it when I was a child, but all I knew was that she made a really cool looking calendar with pockets and I wanted in on the fun! Of course, it was too late in the season to make one last year, but I've been eagerly anticipating the start of this Christmas season so that our little family could participate.

But, first things first. What is Advent?

Quite simply, Advent is a countdown to Christmas. It's traditionally a time for Christians to reflect on the birth of Christ and to prepare for his coming. Advent is taken from the latin word "adventus" which literally means "coming". Advent actually begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas, but Advent calendars begin on December 1st.

The Advent Calendar is simply a physical way to countdown the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas and there are literally a hundred different ways you can do it. There is no right or wrong way and it can be a simple or elaborate as you want it to be. In most cases, the calendar contains 24 vessels of some sort - one for each day of December. Pockets, drawers, cones, stockings, envelopes, tins...you get the idea. Alternatively, the advent calendar could be something that is added too every day until it is finally completed on the 24th. An example of that kind of calendar would be a mini tree that gets an ornament each day.

The web is chock full of amazing homemade calendars and fabulous ideas for celebrating advent and there are plenty of other calendar round-ups, but here are some interesting ones that I thought were worth sharing.

Make an Advent Calendar:

This is about the cutest thing I've ever seen - A felt garland of bulb lights. You've got to click over and check it out. If we had a mantel, I'd totally go that route.

I'm really leaning toward making something similar to this for our calendar this year. Love, love it.

This activity advent calendar requires a minimal amount of sewing and is totally functional AND adorable.

Here is a basic quilted calendar with pockets - there are so many variations to this calendar!

Another cute non-quilted hanging calendar with pockets. Love the linen look!

No sew, easy advent calendar ideas:No sew, easy advent calendar ideas:

Paper Chain - It doesn't get much simpler than that! We used to make a paper chain to countdown to birthdays and other exciting events when I was little. This would be a great way to get the kids involved in making the calendar - have them decorate paper to be cut into strips and linked together. As a twist, write an activity (or the first clue for a scavenger hunt!) on the inside of each chain. Each day as the links are removed, the child can find out what fun activity is planned for the day.

Paper Origami Boxes - This is a particularly cute little paper calendar.

Paper Cones - Okay, this is adorable. You could just as easily make this into a garland for the mantel or staircase.

Buy a Calendar or Kit*:

These are all from Etsy, because 1) Etsy is awesome and 2) supporting local, home-based businesses is so vital at Christmas time!

This one is PDF file that walks you through printing little paper boxes that can be arranged anyway you want:

Here's another DIY kit that is SUPER cute. This one has a pocket with a ornament that signifies a different part of the Christmas story that can be hung on the tree each day.

This one is another garland version with little distressed tags for each day of Advent.

Another garland with a pennant look. This DIY kit includes Bible verses paraphrasing the Christmas story for each day.

*Note: I found all these calendars just by browsing on Etsy, I've never ordered from these sellers and thus can't personally recommend them - I just think their stuff is super cute. ;)

I think I've finally decided on plan for our advent calendar this year - I have fabric ordered and list started for activities and gifts for Madeline. But I think I'll save all that for another post - this is getting lengthy! Look for that post next week.

Dresden Plate fun...

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Since I've begun dabbling in quilting, I've been dying to try out the dresden plate block. It's so very vintage, but can still be modern and fun with the right fabric choices. (side note, the more I sew, the more I realize how much it really, really is all about the fabric)

I made this little table topper for my sister's birthday - she just did a little kitchen revamp and I tried to tie in a lot of the colors she chose.

I intended to just quilt an outline around the flower, but I got carried away and ended up carrying the zig zagging pattern all the way to the edges of the topper. I kind of love it.

My "to-do" list is a mile long, but I'm still hoping to make a Christmas version of this for my table.

Doesn't it look cute on my sister's corner table?

Molly

Little Bo Peep and Her Sheep

2011-11-01T07:39:00.004-04:00

It's been a busy summer. And a busy beginning of fall (can someone please tell me how it can possibly be November?). Anyway, that's my excuse for being so absent. But November seems like a good place to get back in the swing of things in bloggy land. Also, yesterday was Halloween...and that's my weak segue into sharing pictures of my cutie pies in their costumes.

Meet Little Bo Peep and her sheep. They make a cute pair, no?

I know that my days of dressing them in coordinating costumes are numbered, so I figured I would take advantage while Maddie can still be easily persuaded. She was honestly excited that her brother was going to be her little sheep.

Will was a little angel and didn't fuss at all about wearing a hood and hooves.

Madeline had SUCH a good time trick or treating (this was her first year), that I have a feeling that I'm going to be hearing about it for weeks to come.

Her costume is a doctored up version of The Precious Dress, which you know I just love. I've lost count of how many times I've used it, but you can see a couple versions here. I also borrowed some ideas from the Cinderella dress you can find over here. I searched high and low, but I couldn't find a tutorial for exactly what I wanted for her bonnet, so I just winged it. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, even though I was totally improvising as I went.

Maddie's eyes lit up when she looked at herself in the mirror after trying on her costume - and that always makes those hours behind the sewing machine worth it. As a bonus for Mommy, this dress will also double as her Plow Days dress for next spring.

Will's lamb costume is a Tom Arma costume I scored off of ebay on the cheap. Love that!

I really have been busy in the past few months doing all sorts of crafty things, including a complete bedroom set for Will, so I have plenty to share - just need to carve out the time for blogging! Wiping noses and filling bellies always comes first, you know. ;)

Molly

Messenger Bags for the girls

2011-07-06T08:59:00.002-04:00

Last week my littlest sister and my niece came over to make bags with me. My sister Louisa was just 7 months old when my oldest sister got married and 10 months later - my niece Siera was born. They are the best of friends and completely inseparable. And now they have matching bags.

My sister Katie helped them pick out and order the material. I was a little unsure of working with the nylon canvas, but it worked out beautifully.

We even had some excitement when Louisa lost her 13th tooth in the middle of constructing the bags.

I will admit that even though we intended for the girls to help sew the bags, I ended up doing all the sewing. The girls did help cut the pieces out and then spent the rest of the day refereeing the other kids with my sister and watching Toy Story 3. And they even mananged to NOT cry uncontrollably at the end like I did. Anyway.

Let me tell you how fabulous this tutorial is. Clear directions, helpful pictures. This was my second time using the pattern and I have another bag cut out for a birthday gift. One of these days I'll get to make one for me!

Molly

Skirt Week!

2011-06-17T11:01:00.004-04:00

Crafterhours (seriously, how clever is that blog title?) is hosting "skirt week" 2011 and I decided to enter a few skirts into the competition. The deadline is....ummmm....today, so I figured I'd better get down to business and finish up my skirts!

First - a couple for Madeline. She still has to be bribed to wear pants, so skirts and dresses and anything girly is right up her alley. Plus, skirts are so easy for summertime! I'll start with my favorite:

I fused a large piece of seafoam Kona cotton to some fusible web (I use wonder under) and used a sippy cup lid as a template to cut out about 25 circles. I fused them to the white skirt piece and then topstitched them all in matching thread. I decided it needed something else, so I made an underskirt in aqua - about 2 inches longer than my white circle piece. Then I attached the waistband and made a casing for the elastic.

I love it so much! The 3-D circles give this skirt a little pizazz and seafoam is one of my favorite colors.

Next, a skirt in the same style, but just a little simpler. No underskirt and no applique.

The prints are one of my favorite Heather Bailey fabric combinations. (Ewww, I just noticed I really need to clean my baseboards. And is that crayon on the wall?)

And now two skirts for me! I'm going to be totally honest and tell you that getting dressed post-Will has been a challenge. Mostly because NOTHING FITS ME!! I'm telling you, it's ridiculous. Anyway. I think my point is that I needed some new clothes anyway. Or maybe I just needed to get that off my chest. Either way, here's skirt numero uno:

Elastic is NOT my friend. I need as little bunching fabric around my nicely padded waistline as possible. So I made a waistband and shirred the back of the waistband to make it a pull-on skirt. The fabric is a light-weight black denim. I'm going to get a lot of use out of this one.
Here's the back.

I actually made the following skirt for Easter. It was my first time drafting a pattern for myself. Much easier than I thought it would be. I used this tutorial as a guide for creating a 6 panel skirt. There is no elastic (thread or otherwise) on this one. It closes with a zipper. I added a blind hem to make it more fancy. ;)

I've already wore this skirt to church three times. It's an AWESOME pattern, because you don't have to mess with pesky darts and it's made to fit YOU, so...it's a perfect fit! A little time consuming, but most worthwhile things are. The fabric is Benartex "ZuZu's Petals".

What is your favorite skirt pattern? I had intended to make one more for me - I'd like to try a tiered peasant skirt with a zipper (staying away from elastic, remember?), but I ran out of time. Maybe by the end of summer. Check out all the other great skirts entered in "Skirt Week" here on Crafterhours - there is a link to the flickr groups for each category in the sidebar.

Molly

Kaleidoscope Quilt Along!

2011-06-07T12:00:00.002-04:00

I've been wanting to join a quilt along for awhile now and Don't Call Me Betsy just gave me the perfect reason: The Kaleidoscope Quilt! I've been eyeing this quilt for such a long time and this was a great excuse to bite the bullet and put the pedal to the...err...carpet?

This quilt will be a challenge for me, because I plan to make it entirely out of my current fabric stash, which is dwindling by the day. I'm going to have to buy solids and backing, but other than that, I'll be raiding my craft closet.

I have until June 23rd to pick fabrics, so in the meantime I plan to finish up this little crib quilt:

Yup, more pinwheels in a house. These blocks just make me happy, I can't wait to finish this top!

Molly

Something for the kids...

2011-05-26T10:21:00.005-04:00

Edited to add: I posted Will's birth story over on my personal blog - I know a few of you have been asking, so click on over if you want all the gory details. :)

I've been trying to include Madeline in my crafty endeavors whenever I can. Usually this involves setting her up with paint and paper while the baby sleeps so I can sew or giving her some crazy scissors and paper and letting her go to town. When I saw this cute project over at Cluck Cluck Sew, I knew I had to make one of these with my girl.

I cut a "M" out of an empty cereal box, cut up some scraps from my scrap box, handed her a bottle of glue and let her have at it. She had so much fun!

When we were finished, I punched two holes through the top and hung it on some pink ribbon and she put it on her doorknob. I intended to hang it on her door, but she was very unhappy that she couldn't reach it "all the way up there", so the doorknob it is.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I do NOT set her up with a project everytime I sew. Like...right now she's watching Max & Ruby while I blog about keeping her occupied with cool craft projects. Ironic?

Molly

Rise and Shine mini-quilt

2011-05-24T09:03:00.003-04:00

This was my first stab at a miniature quilt. I've found that I really enjoy the process of quilting, but I have a short attention span so full size (and even baby size!) quilts can feel a little monotonous to me by the time I'm nearing the end. That's not the case with a mini quilt! This one measures 13x16 and every part of it was so much fun to make! If you're new to quilting, this is a great way to get your feet wet without the commitment (and expense!) of a big quilt. I tried a little embroidery on this one too.

Mini quilts are generally used as a wall hanging, but they work as a unique table topper or placemat too!

I see many more mini-quilts in my future! This one is in the shop.

Molly

More Marissa...

2011-05-15T23:38:00.005-04:00

I really love this pattern.

A couple of my friends asked me to make dresses for their daughters after seeing pictures of my Maddie in her Easter dress. Here's one of them in my beloved hunky dory fabric. Some day I'll get sick of it...but not today!

I don't buy a lot of patterns. I'm a big fan of figuring stuff out myself or finding a free tutorial online. But I don't mind spending money on one of Carla's patterns. I always learn so much from her instructions! (The way she installs the zipper in this dress is genius!) She makes intermediate projects into beginner projects with her fabulous pictures and instructions. This is not a paid advertisement, I just really love her patterns. :)

Molly

Just so you know...

2011-05-14T20:30:00.003-04:00

So, just so you know...here's the deal. If I disappear from blogging for a week or two...you don't have to wonder where I am or what I'm up to.

You can just assume I'm loving on these two little munchkins:

Yes, I have the cutest kids in the world. Yes, I know I'm totally biased, but I still think it's true. :)

Molly

Sunday Bonnet Tutorial

2011-04-25T06:38:00.001-04:00

Every little girl needs a bonnet - even if it's just to play dress up with!

I made this bonnet for Madeline for Plow Days, but then tweaked the pattern and added some ruffles and piping for these babies:

These are really super easy and I'm even going to show you how to shir with elastic thread and make your own piping! As always, I probably included more pictures and instructions than necessary - I know from experience that there is nothing more frustrating than following a tutorial and thinking "I wish they had a picture of that! I have no idea what that means!". As always, feel free to leave questions in the comments, I'll answer them there.

This bonnet will fit most little girls from 2-5 years old.

Ready, set - let's go!

Materials

1/2 yard main fabric
1/4 yard (or less - you may be able to get away with using scraps if you piece strips together, I actually used jelly roll strips I had on hand) trim fabric
elastic thread
thread to match fabric
light to medium weight iron on interfacing
chunky yarn or petite piping

Cut:

From Main fabric:
15 x 15 - cut one
3.5 x 14 - cut two for brim
3.5 x 20 - cut two for ties (alternately, you could use the trim fabric for the ties)

From trim fabric
2.5 x 30 (ish) - cut one for brim ruffle (it's not super crucial to have a particular length here - just as long as it's double your brim length)
1 x 15 - cut one for piping

From interfacing
3.5 x 14 - cut two for brim

1. Fuse your interfacing pieces to the wrong side of the two brim pieces. This will make your bring a little stiffer and not quite so floppy.

2. Using a bowl or other round object - cut a curve into the short end of your brim pieces. (tip: fold the fabric in half length-wise for matching curves.)

3. Repeat with your main bonnet piece.

4. Fold your ruffle piece in half, wrong sides together and iron.

5. Fold your tie pieces in half - right sides together - and iron in half. Fold one short end down at a 45 degree angle (is that right?) and iron. Cut the end of the tie off on the line you just made with your iron, creating a pointed end.

6. Sew your ties together, leaving the short, non pointed end open for turning. Clip corners, turn and iron flat.

7. Grab your ruffle strip and topstitch along the folded edge.

8. Set your stitch length as long as it will go and sew a basting stitch 1/4 inch from the raw edge. Do not backstitch.

9. Pull the bottom bobbin thread to gather your ruffle. You want to gather it as long as the rounded edge of your brim.

10. Line up the raw edge of the ruffle with the rounded raw edge of one of your brim pieces. Sew onto brim piece using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

11. Place second brim piece over the first brim piece, sandwiching the ruffle piece inbetween them. Pin. Use the stitches from the first brim piece as a guide, sew pieces together.

12. Turn and press.

Piping mini-tutorial

You can skip this step, but the piping really does turn a plain jane bonnet into something a little more special. You could also pre-made piping. Here's how to easily make your own.

I just wanted very small piping, so I used some 8 ply yarn I had on hand.

Iron your 1 inch strip in half

Place your piping (or yarn!) inside the strip in the fold you just created with your iron.

You can use a zipper foot for this step (and you would certainly want to if you ever make larger piping), but I find that using my regular presser foot is fine for small piping like this. Sew as close to the piping as possible, sandwiching the piping in the strip of fabric.

Viola! Piping!

14. Pin your piping on the brim piece, raw edges together. Turn your piping under when you get to where the brim meets the ruffle, as shown in the pictures below and sew onto brim, using the original stitches in piping as a guide.

15. Take your main bonnet piece and iron the bottom straight edge under 1/4 inch and then again another 1/4 inch. Stitch.

16. Iron the sides of the main piece (just up to the curve) under 1/4 inch and then again another 1/4 inch. Stitch.

17. Set your stitch length to the longest it will go and sew around the entire curved edge (3 sides). Sew the stitches on the inside of the finished edges you just sewed - otherwise you won't be able to gather the stiches.

18. Gather the stitches.

19. Pin the bonnet piece to the brim piece, right sides together (piping is sewn on the right side) and raw edges alined. Leave 1 1/2 inches of the main bonnet piece on each end of the brim, as shown in the pictures below.

20. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew brim and main piece together, using the stitch line from piping on the wrong side of brim piece as a guide.

21. Trim away excess fabric and use a zig zag sitch to reinforce the seam.

Mini shirring tutorial

By using elastic thread in your bobbin, you can create a stretchy stitch that creates a faux smocked look. It's super easy and a great way to create shape.

Thread your thread through the hole in the top of your bobbin and carefully wind the thread around the bobbin by hand.

You don't want to wind it too tight or too loose. When you are finished, it should look something like this:

Load your bobbin as you normally would.

22. With your elastic thread loaded on your bobbin, set your stitch length to it's longest setting and sew three lines into the neck of the bonnet - each 1/4 inch apart, backstitching at the beginning and end of each row. You may need to stretch your fabric out flat when you are sewing your 2nd and 3rd row.

23. Attach your ties by folding the raw end under and stitching to the inside of the neck of the bonnet, right over the shirring rows.

24. Take your bonnet to the iron and steam the shirred rows. The steam shrinks the elastic thread and gives you a nice tightly shirred look. Here's a before and after picture - cool, huh?

Now stick your adorable new bonnet on your favorite little person and admire your handiwork!

I'd love to see a picture if anyone attempts a bonnet from this tutorial!

Molly

Easter Outfits!

2011-04-22T21:44:00.004-04:00

I had in my mind that I wanted Madeline to have a very old-fashioned Easter dress with a vintage feel to it. A little embroidered collar with hand-made lace, complete with pearl buttons and pintucks.

Uh, yeah. Totally crashed and burned, ya'll.

I made a very poor fabric choice that was way too thin and delicate (read: difficult to work with) and my hand crocheted lace started unraveling after it was sewn into the collar.

So, I started all over with a new plan. I had purchased the "Marissa" dress from The Scientific Seamstress right after it came out and decided it would be a good choice. And yes, more Amy Butler "water bouquet" fabric. Can't get away from it.

Recognize that basket? The tutorial is here. The hat was thrifted for $1...love that!

I'm so pleased with how it came out! And Carla has done it again with another fantastic pattern. If you recall, I used her "Precious Dress" pattern for Maddie's dress last year (it kills me how much she's grown in just a year!).

I bought Will an outfit to wear Easter Sunday, but it was really, really bugging me that he didn't coordinate at all with his sister. So I made a tie to pair with a white shirt and pants that he already had. I know he's mine and that makes me totally biased, but seriously...how cute is he? The tie is from this pattern. I highly recommend it - you'll be seeing plenty more of these on my little guy!

And together?

I can't believe these kids are mine. Am I blessed or what?

Molly

Bonnets!

2011-04-14T17:14:00.001-04:00

I just made seven of these bonnets for a customer. She is using them as Easter gifts for all the little girls in her life. I thought that was an adorable idea! Traditionally, I think an Easter bonnet is a hat, but these work too! I searched the web high and low for the perfect tutorial - but in the end, I just ended up working up my own pattern and method.

Madeline wasn't too happy that she didn't get to keep one - her bonnet from plow days isn't quite as special as this one. So now I guess I have to make another one.

I tried several different ways of gathering the back of the bonnet, but in the end - shirring won out! It's fast and easy and looks really nice too. Win-win-win!

Yes, the tutorial is coming. I thought it would be a waste to make 7 of these and not take some pictures. :)

Molly

p.s. If you are reading this, can you comment and let me know if my pictures look ginormous? They look fine on my screen, but I recently looked at my blog from my mom's computer and I had to scroll over to the right to see my pictures and I'm hoping it's not like that for the rest of you. (You know, the three people that still read this blog.) ;)

p.p.s. I really should dedicate this post to my absolutely angelic baby boy. I fully expected to be out of commission in the sewing department for awhile after his birth, but he's an angel, I tell you. Tomorrow I'm tackling my first "boy" sewing project, so I'll have an excuse soon to show his sweet little face.

p.p.p.s. Remember when you were a kid and you would try to add as many pppppps's to a letter as you could because you thought it was cool? What? That was just me? Never mind, then. Over and out.

It's all in the details...

2011-04-14T16:34:00.003-04:00

My new obsession is browsing flickr and checking out the amazing things that people are making. The one thing that really struck me was the attention to detail that is demonstrated in so many of these items.

So I've been inspired to start taking time to think about how I can add special little details into each of the things I make. It's been fun to just stop and focus on the little things instead of just cranking out another project.

I've tried my hand at embroidery, which is something I've always wanted to try. I'm working it into a really fun mini-quilt that I can't *wait* to share. It's awesome. Just sayin'.

If you have a chance, check out this website. Amazing tutorials on just about every embroidery stitch under the sun.

Another new skill tackled: pintucks! I used this tutorial. I'll admit, these sort of look like pleats - the smaller pintucks were a little more difficult than they look! Still working on it. This is front of Madeline's Easter dress. I plan to sew pearl buttons down the center, I'm really hoping it translates the way I see it in my head!

I also dug out the crochet thread I purchased forever ago and played around with making homemade lace trim. I think this would be darling on a collar or pocket of a little girls dress. I'll share the tutorial (easy, peasy) if anyone is interested and I ever get around to taking pictures.

I'm amazed at how much just a little extra thought and time can add to an item. A little lace on a pocket, a strategically placed button or tiny applique...it's all in the details.

Molly

Cloth baby wipes : Tutorial

2011-04-10T16:10:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this is probably the easiest project ever. Like, for real.

I cloth diaper, so using cloth wipes just makes sense. But I'm not okay with paying out the nose for something I'm going to wipe my baby's butt with. You know? I made up a batch of these when I was pregnant with Madeline and we still use them all.the.time. In fact, I just used the leftover flannel and terrycloth I had from her wipes to whip up some more for Will.

Okay, here we go!

Materials

Cotton flannel
Cotton terrycloth
matching thread

Cut your flannel and terrycloth into 9 inch squares. I find this size works the best, because they fit perfectly in a standard wipe container, but you might want a different size for whatever reason.

The loopy side of the terry cloth is what I use as the "right" side of the fabric.

So, right sides together! Stitch together, leaving a gap for turning. I usually leave my gap in the middle of a side as opposed to a corner. It's easier to hide.

Trim corners, turn and press.

Now you can top stitch anyway you like. I've used both a zig-zag and a straight stitch and they both look fine. Again, just wiping a baby's butt here.

I also made a matching bath towel in the same manner. I just added two lines of stitching down the center of the towel for added durability.

Done!

This would make an awesome baby shower gift!

Oh, I forgot the last step... go wrap your adorable baby in their snugly new towel! (Okay, I'll admit that was just my lame-o way of sneaking another picture of my baby in. He's just so darn cute!)

Molly

Plow Days...and a pretty pinny

2011-04-07T15:10:00.004-04:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile - but that doesn't mean I haven't been crafting. In fact, I've been giving my sewing machine quite a work out lately.

First up - An old-fashioned dress for Madeline for "Plow Days". You can read about the event and see pictures of last year's dress here.

Of course, the day ended up being quite chilly, so we had to cover it up with a sweater for the actual event. Her cousin is just a day younger (and a foot taller!) than her, so they were partners in crime for the day.

The next day just happened to be "old-fashioned day" at church, so we got some more mileage out of her outfit.

Photo-op with the horse and carriage. She was quite pleased with herself!

Will giving us his unimpressed face...

I have a few other projects that are currently a work-in-progress, so when I can find time between changing diapers and working on the red lipstick stain currently on my carpet (yes, that actually happened. sigh.), I'll share those too.

Molly

Notes:
The dress and pinafore is from this pattern. Definitely not just for old-fashioned days! I plan to make another one of these for every day play!

Maddie and Will

2011-03-10T16:03:00.002-05:00

I think it's safe to say that she loves her little brother...

Worth the Wait

2011-03-04T22:13:00.002-05:00

Introducing our new baby boy!

William Oren

March 3, 2011, 1:30pm

9 lbs, 12 oz. 21 inches

Covering my bases...

2011-03-01T10:15:00.002-05:00

The biggest downside to not finding out the gender of your baby before birth is not being able to buy and make gender-specific baby stuff. I really wanted to make a special blanket for the new baby, but I couldn't decide on a fabric that would work for a boy or a girl. So... I made two!

If it's a boy...

I was inspired by this amazing quilt (it was her "if it's a boy" quilt too!) - and I'm really happy with how my version came out! The fabric is "Make Life" by Sweetwater, and it's the perfect color scheme for the blue room that will become the nursery if it's a boy.

If it's a girl...

First of all, this might be my favorite fabric ever. It's Amy Butler Water Lilies and I've been hanging on to this large piece for a looong time waiting for a worthy enough project to use it on. I used this tutorial for blanket, which involves hand-made chenille. Even though it has a solid front - this one probably took me about three times as long as the "boy" quilt. But it was SO worth the time. The flannel chenille is super soft and totally worth all the hand cramps i got from cutting all those layers of fabric. I LOVE this blanket.

So whenever this little baby decides to arrive, he or she will have a cozy blanket to snuggle in. Yes, this means I'm still pregnant...what are you waiting on, little one?

Molly

A Pink Party!

2011-02-21T11:27:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday we celebrated Maddie's 3rd birthday. I can't believe it's been THREE years since that February day that I gave birth to her. Time has just flown by. I knew I would be very pregnant for her party so I really tried to keep it simple and not overwhelm myself with a lot of home made details.

While we wait on baby - and I finish up my baby projects - I thought I'd share just a few images from her very pink party.

A pink ruffle cake! My sister, cake decorator extraordinaire, piped the ruffles on. (Thanks for the idea, Martha!) The cake bunting turned out a little big, but still worked!

Pink cupcakes!

A very happy birthday girl!

And in case you were wondering...nope, she's not a big sister *quite* yet. I'm 41 weeks today, so it's got to be soon, right?

Molly

Twirly Birthday Dress!

2011-02-10T15:26:00.004-05:00

Last year for Madeline's birthday, I made her a special birthday outfit, and I thought it would be a fun tradition to keep up! This year, we're doing a "pink party" - everything is pink, pink, pink! My girl loves anything girly, frilly and PINK. As I mentioned in my tiered curtain post, the idea for the curtains originated when I was trying to come up with an idea for a frilly, twirly dress for Maddie. I made the curtains first and then got to work on her birthday dress.

She really loves it. Because - a) it's pink and b) it twirls. Does she need any more reasons? I let her try it on for a mini photo-op and had to seriously bribe her to get her to take it off. Every morning she asks if she can wear her "birthday dress". She knows how to make her momma feel good!!

We're trying to beat the baby to the punch by having her birthday party a little early this year - so this little one is under strict orders to stay put until after Saturday. After that? Bring on the baby!!

I've been working on some other little birthday things, I'll share them after the party on Saturday. And then maybe I can finally finish my baby quilts? I'm kind of cutting it close! 6 days!

Notes: I used the same method as I did for the curtains - I just doubled the length of each tier to make it more "twirly". I also sandwiched in a layer of tulle to make it a little more full. To get my first tier width, I measured the turtleneck from armpit to armpit and multipled that number by 4. Then took that number and multiplied it by 2 for tier #2 and so on.

The waistband was an afterthought - I wasn't happy with how the first tier attached to the turtleneck (which I did NOT make, by the way!), so I sewed down a piece of ribbon and ric rac and handsewed the bow on. I think I'm going to add a tie for the back - the dress is so heavy that it does make the knit turtleneck sag a bit. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing - it came out just like I wanted. (love it when that happens!!)

Molly

Tiered Ruffled Valances - Tutorial

2011-02-02T10:54:00.007-05:00

When I bought all the fabric for Madeline's quilt, I made sure I bought plenty of extra matching fabric so I could make pillows, curtains and other accents for her room. I knew I wanted valances, but I could not for the life of me decide what style to make. I knew I wanted something fun and girly, but it's hard to get creative with curtains, right? Wrong!

The idea for these curtains actually came when I was sketching out a birthday outfit for my girl and it dawned on me that I could apply the same principle of ruffled tiers to curtains! I am so, so happy with how they came out, and my girl just loves them. Well, as much as an almost 3 year old can love curtains. :)

Cute, right?

I took pictures so I could share a quick tutorial with you guys! These are really pretty simple to make, just a little time consuming.

CUT:

Important note: I made these to fit the 3 inch curtain rods that were already in her room - if you want to make them to fit a traditional pocket rod, you'll need to adjust the pocket measurements. Her windows are 39" wide from molding to molding.

Pocket fabric - This is the fabric that will hold your curtain rod. For my 3" rod, I cut a piece
55" x 7.5" - cut one

White lining fabric - 55" x 4.5" - cut four

Fabric for tiers - 90" x 5" - cut four (note: Since this is going to be gathered, don't sweat the length of these tiers too much. I wanted to double the length, but my fabric was 45" wide, so I just cut two pieces that I then pieced together to make one long piece. You probably will have to piece these tiers together unless you're working with a large cut of fabric, but since they'll be gathered, the seams will be virtually invisible.)

Okay, now head to your ironing board.

Here is where you need to figure out the width of your curtain rod. Mine is 3", so ironed over a 1/4" and then measured exactly 3 1/4" and folded and ironed the fabric like this:

Iron down a 1/4" of the bottom of each tier and the ends of the pocket fabric and white lining pieces.

Only ONE white lining piece will need to be hemmed - the piece attached to the bottom tier. I cheated and used a piece I had cut on the selvage and just trimmed it down an inch so it wouldn't show under the last tier. Otherwise, you'd want to iron and hem this piece up about an inch.

I didn't enclose my raw edge. I kind of figured that 1) no one is going to look and 2) how often do you really wash curtains? They just kind of hang there so I wasn't too worried about durability. If you want to do this, I'd add another 1/4" to your cuts.

Now we're ready to sew! Ready?

Sew down the ends of your top pocket piece and then sew down the length of the piece, creating the pocket for the curtain rod.

Sew down the ends of your long tiered pieces and then hem the bottom edge.

Sew down the ends of your white pieces and just hem that one piece. Both edges of the other three will be sewn, so leave those raw.

Now we're ready to put in our gathering stitches! Set your stitch length to the longest it will go, give yourself about a 6" tail of thread and sew a straight line 1/4" from the edge along the top of the tier. Don't backstitch! Gather your tiers by gently pulling the bobbin thread. Repeat with all four tiers.

Now we're ready to assemble the valance!

Each tier with have THREE layers. Lay your first tier on top of our pocket piece, right sides facing, raw edges aligned. Now you will need to evenly distribute your gathers along the length of the pocket piece. Lay one of your unhemmed white pieces on top of your gathered piece, sandwiching your gathered tier. Like this:

Pin very well, taking care to make sure that all three raw edges are lined up. I'm a lazy seamstress and if I can get away with not pinning, I will. You NEED to pin this one, folks.

Head to your machine and using a 1/2" seam allowance, sew the three layers together.

Remove pins and flip down your first tier! Remove any of the gathering stitching that may be visible and iron down. See how pretty?

Now continue to attach the remaining tiers in the same way by flipping up the first tier and aligning the raw edge of the white lining piece (see it peeking out up there?) with the raw, gathered edge of the next tier. Distribute gathers, and then sandwich the tier with another white lining piece.

Here's a picture of my 2nd sewn tier. You can see the first tier flipped up to expose the white lining.

Clear as mud?

Use your hemmed lining piece on the bottom tier. Actually, this piece is not totally essential to the curtain, but it gives the curtain more weight and helps it lay (lie?) nicer.

Stand back and admire your pretty, ruffled, tiered curtain!

And then make another for the other window. ;)

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them. You know, if I'm not giving birth or something. 2 weeks to D-day! Can't wait to share the baby projects I'm working on! That is...if I ever finish them.

Molly

Linking up to the following parties:

Fingerprints on the Fridge

The Shabby Nest

The Creative Itch

Someday Crafts

Pillows, Pillows, Pillows!

2011-01-14T07:31:00.003-05:00

When I stumbled across this tutorial a couple months before Christmas, I knew I had to add a few of these floor pillows to my Christmas "to do" list. Then, a few turned into...eight. I've already showed you the one that I made Madeline - and here are the rest!

For the boys! I think these are my favorite of the whole bunch.

For the girls!

These were a custom order for my sister's nieces - I love the fabric she chose!!

I did adjust the pattern slightly - Madeline's pillow was a little tall, so I made these wider and shorter. Perfect for older kids.

Even though I'm totally sick of this pattern, I'd really like to make a couple more for my living room! I'll save that project for post-baby, I think.

These pillows below were a big hit! I made one for my grandparents (forgot to take a picture!) with all the great-grandkids hands on them and then these two for my sister's inlaws and grandmother. I shamelessly stole the idea from this tutorial!

I know, I know, I'm almost done posting old stuff. I *am* working on new crafty stuff, though! I just made new living room curtains and I'm working on my "if it's a boy" quilt. 'cause I think it is. 5 weeks and counting.

Molly

Maddie's Quilt

2011-01-05T19:32:00.005-05:00

I finally got around to taking proper pictures of Maddie's big girl quilt. Which, by the way, she loves to tell people that "my mommy made for me". She sure knows how to make Momma's heart swell.

Here's the back. I used the block tutorial from this post over at Moda Bake Shop. These blocks were SO much fun to make. I ended up adding an extra strip to the block to make them slightly bigger.

Okay, one more picture and I promise I'm done foaming at the mouth over this quilt.

I'm already assembling my next quilt. It's for the baby...if it's a boy. I kind of think it is...this week anyway. My official "if it's a girl" quilt is still bouncing around inside my head, but it'll be ready for paper soon. Wait, you guys didn't forget that I look like this now, right? Actually, this is about 5 weeks ago...so, yeah. Somebody is growing like a weed in there!

6 weeks until my official due date! I have a LOT of baby crafting to do! Not to mention clean the house, stock the freezer, take down the tree...uh, anyone want to volunteer to be my maid? It pays in leftover Christmas chocolate. ;)

Molly

Merry Christmas, Madeline!

2010-12-27T14:46:00.001-05:00

Somehow it's two days after Christmas...was it just me or did December fly by abnormally fast? Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - we sure did!

My homemade Christmas didn't go exactly according to plan, but I did manage to make a lot of my gifts this year. I have more to share, but I'll start with the homemade goodies I made for my own little girl.

First, a softie doll. This was SO much fun to make. This was my first attempt at making an actually toy - and it's a whole new sewing experience. Not a super fast project, but worth it. Especially when she gave more attention to her little homemade doll than she did her store bought one. Mommy was just a *little* happy about that. :)

See? Love at first sight. Right now she's still nameless, Madeline has just been calling her "bonnet baby".

There was something so satisfying about watching my little girl open a doll that I had made especially for her on Christmas morning. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Maddie is calling this her "house purse". She does like the house, but she was more excited about the little peg people family that I painted.

She's at the age where she does a lot of pretend play, so I think these little guys will get lots of love.

This was the first thing I made for her in early December - a floor pillow to match her new quilt.

I have so much more to share! But I need to track down the recipients of a couple gifts I forgot to take pictures of (whoops!) and edit some more pictures. But I'll share it all at some point before next Christmas. Joking, joking...I think. Pregnant people shouldn't make promises, they'll just forget them the next day (or minute.) Seriously, this little munchkin is sucking what little bit of brain power I had left completely out of my head. 8 weeks and counting.

Notes:

The tutorial for the softie doll can be found here. I ordered the felt for the face and limbs from Praire Point Junction. Fabric is Hunky Dory by Chez Moi.

The tutorial for the floor pillow can be found here. This is one of EIGHT of these suckers that I made this Christmas - pictures of the others to come. Fun project! But...I'd really be happy to never sew another piece of piping...

The dollhouse tutorial can be found here. It was really pretty simple to make. I found the peg people from this awesome Etsy seller. Less than $5! Can't beat that. I used regular acrylic craft paint that I had on hand and a small detail brush (and a toothpick for the eyes and buttons!).

Molly

Linking up at the following parties:

Skip to my Lou

Sugar Bee

Tip Junkie

Christmas specials...

2010-12-03T18:03:00.006-05:00

We interrupt your reguarly scheduled programming for some shameless self-promotion.

I've listed some new stuff in the shop recently...like this black newsgirl (isn't my sister the cutest model?),

and this blue newsgirl (that's my adorable niece!).

I'm only guaranteeing Christmas delivery on custom orders until December 6th (you know, because I haven't started in on my *own* Christmas crafting), and until that date you can get 10% your entire order by using the coupon code CHRISTMAS2010 at checkout.

I also started a new section called "Ready to Ship" and everything in that section is pre-made and can be mailed immediately. I'll guarantee Christmas delivery on anything ordered in that section between now and the 16th. Use the coupon code READYTOSHIPDEC for 20% off any ready to ship items. Seriously, folks - they are just sitting here waiting for a new home!

To sweeten the pot just a bit more - I'm issuing a special coupon code to customers that order anytime in the month of December that will give you 20% off a future order anytime in the year 2011! The code will be emailed after your order has been recieved.

I will say that I've finally had a chance to at least prep a few projects for my (uh, semi) homemade Christmas and I'm so excited to actually start sewing!

Can you guess what I'm making? The one on the right is kind of obvious, I think. :)

Okay, over and out! Happy shopping!

Molly

My first quilt

2010-11-27T18:58:00.004-05:00

I finally finished it up a couple weeks ago. Oh, I love it so much! I've been holding off posting about it until I got some decent pictures, but I still haven't brought it outside for proper photos, so these will have to do.

I pieced a log cabin/pinwheel strip in the backing so it would be reversible and I love that side too! No pictures of that yet.

I swear I didn't pose her like that, she likes to sleep with her hands tucked under her cheek like a little angel. It's the only time she tries to impersonate one, so I have to document it for proof.

Overall, quilting was a whole lot easier than I anticipated. Honestly, the hardest part was just sitting down with a calculator, ruler and graph paper to figure out the dimensions and factor in seam allowances, etc. And the cutting process was tedious. After that, it came together very quickly. I spray basted, which left and interesting film on my kitchen floor, but was quick and easy. Free motion quilting the stippling (is that want it's called? I feel like a fraud using quilting terminology, I'm such a newbie!) was challenging, but I felt like I hit a groove about halfway through. Handling a generously sized twin quilt on my small machine wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

Details:

The fabric is "hunky dory" by Chez Moi and the sashing and cornerstones are Kona cotton. I purchased them all from fabric.com, but the Hunky Dory is not available anymore - I believe you can still get select prints here and there if you are a savvy internet searcher.

I shamelessly stole the pattern from this gorgeous baby quilt. Like I mentioned before, I just sat down with a ruler and graph paper and figured out how large I wanted it to be and went for it.

The squares are 7" finished and the sashing and cornerstones are 2". I used a 1/4" seam allowance on everything. I started with a 2 layer cakes and just picked my favorite prints and trimmed them down to 7 1/2" squares. The scraps were used for the pieced backing strip.

I used cheapo machine quilting thread and it worked fine. I used "Warm & Natural" 100% cotton batting. It's pretty thin, but the quilt has a beautiful drape and it was much more manageable on my machine than I imagine a thicker poly batting would have been.

Here are some links that I found particularly helpful when working through the nuts and bolts of quilting:

Basting: Distant Pickles

Free-motion Quilting: Oh Fransson!

Binding: Jaybird Quilts

Thanks for letting me show off my very first quilt! It's the biggest project I've ever started (and completed!) and so I'm just a *little* proud of it. ;) My next quilting project(s) will be my "if it's a boy" quilt and my "if it's a girl" quilt. 11 weeks and counting until baby #2 makes his or her debut!

Molly

Someday Crafts

Show & Tell @ Blue Cricket Design

Homemade Christmas Ideas - Bags!

2010-11-12T08:55:00.006-05:00

When I first started sewing, there were so many projects that seemed "hard" to me. Bags were one of them. Just like anything else, there are beginner bags and more advanced bags, but for the most part, it's just sewing a series of straight lines - and anybody can do that! If you've never tried a bag (or one with - gasp! - a zipper) you should just bite the bullet. They're easy, they're fun and they make GREAT gifts.

So, as you know, I have seven sisters. Handbags, clutches and little pouches are always a safe bet for gifts - and there are so many amazing tutorials to chose from! Here are a few of my favorites:

Row 1:
Ruffled Messenger Bag
Reversible Tie-Top Bag
The Everything Pocket Bag
Kids Messenger Bag

Row 2:
Gathered Clutch
Simple Zippered Pouch
Hobo Bag
Foldover Bag

Row 3:
Pleated Pouch
Striped Teacher Bag
Pleated Big Bag
On the Go Diaper Bag

I've made a few of Noodlehead's gathered clutches for birthdays recently (and if I can ever get around to uploading photos, I'll share them!) and they work up so quickly and are a big hit! For Christmas, I've got my eye on the Pleated Bag in Row 3 and the Foldover bag (Noodlehead again! Man, she's talented) in Row 2. And how amazing is that diaper bag? Once we get through December, I'm actually going to make that for me.

Signing off for now - Guess what I finished last night? The quilt is done! As in, pieced, basted, quilted AND bound. Just needs to be washed and dried. Me and Madeline are headed out to get some sheets (uh, we need a plastic one!) and pillows for the big bed switcheroo that's happening this weekend. I'll be sharing pictures soon, I'm SO pleased with the way it turned out!

I'll be back with more homemade Christmas ideas - next up, stocking stuffers! Here's the link to the other posts in this series:

Homemade Christmas Ideas - Kids!

Molly

Homemade Christmas Ideas - Kids

2010-11-02T19:46:00.009-04:00

I'm working on several of my Christmas gifts now (I'm not sure why I always feel the need to work on multiple projects at the same time) and I'm starting to feel like maybe, just maybe I can actually get all my projects done in time for Christmas. Did I mention there are exactly 24 people on my Christmas list? Eeek!

I have a couple original ideas for gifts, but most of the items on my list are from tutorials and free patterns on the web. There are some seriously crafty people out there, ya'll! Here are some of my favorite ideas for gifts for the little ones on your list.

Row 1
Oopsie the Octopus
Superhero Cape
Car Cozy
Baby Bonnet

Row 2
Fabric Dollhouse
Journal Cover
Floor pillow
Mini me Apron Set

Row 3
Bow Ties
Softie Doll
Art Bag
Flat Dolls and Matching Bag

Personally, I'm madly in love with the little softie doll in the 3rd row. That, along with the fabric dollhouse and the floor cushion (one of my works in progress!) are on Madeline's Christmas list.

Next up: Bags, bags, bags!

Molly

The Quilt and Plans for a Homemade Christmas

2010-10-27T10:19:00.003-04:00

Last year we had a semi-homemade Christmas. This year I'm committed to making the majority of my gifts. *insert nervous laugh* I'm a little freaked out that it's almost November and I've barely started, but I'm trying to just ignore the calendar and just get down to business. My gift to-do list is almost complete and I've assembled most of the materials that I'll need to make this happen (I'm hoping that will motivate me to actually DO it.)

Over the last year I've been bookmarking and saving tutorials and ideas like a crazy person. Seriously, it's a problem. I'm working on sorting through all my saved projects and putting together some Christmas gift idea posts based on recipient.

Oh! Guess what I finally started? *Squeal*

Somewhere inbetween all this Christmas crafting, I need to squeeze in finishing this quilt and making matching curtains and bed linens for the big bed switcheroo. It needs to happen soon, people. We're ready, she's ready. Anyway.

I'm almost finished piecing the top and simultaneously working on a pretty awesome pieced strip for the backing. I'm still terrified to actually *quilt* something this size, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Molly

Work in progress...

2010-10-06T09:53:00.008-04:00

Although I've taking a bit of a bloggy break over the summer, I haven't been completely idle in the crafting department.

Have I ever mentioned that I have a (very) short attention span? Projects that require more than a nap or two's worth of time, which in our house amounts to about 5 hours, start to bore me. So I end up with a bunch of unfinished projects. These are ones that I actually *do* plan on completing. The last project, and consequently the one I'm the most proud of, is requiring a LOT more effort and time than I normally put into things I make, but I think it'll be worth it. ;)

A sweater for my nephew for Christmas...

Some new hats for the shop...

Madeline's big girl quilt - still in the cutting phase...

My big sister's birthday gift (only a month late!)...
And my biggest work in progress....

This one won't be done until the end of February... :)

Molly

My new baby

2010-06-15T07:14:00.006-04:00

No, not *that* kind of baby.

This kind.

I ditched my little not-so-trusty Singer for an upgrade. It's not a huge upgrade, but enough of one that it's making a huge difference in my sewing time. A local sewing shop is going out of business and I got it for a song.

It's first night home I pulled out some of my new fabric and made a little dress for Madeline. I think this one might be one of my favorites to date. It was fast and easy, but still super cute. If there is any interest, I may do a tutorial.

I love this fabric. It's "Fresh" by Deb Strain.

I know I've been a little scarce, but this new machine is just the kick in the pants I needed to get back to sewing. I just finished up a doll quilt that I'll share soon, I'm slowing honing those quilting skills!

Just call me the bag lady...

2010-06-03T23:47:00.007-04:00

Through a series of events too complex and detailed to list, I ended up at a flea market this past Saturday. I brought a handful of bags and hats that I had made and sat in the drizzle for about 4 hours. I sold one item and finally called it a day.

I'm going to call it a learning experience, since I'd rather not admit that I wasted a Saturday.

I did have fun making the bags, though! Most of the bags were made with Premier Prints outer fabric and some fun cotton interior prints.

This one has a Joel Dewberry lining that I adore.

See the deer?

This one is my favorite. Since it didn't sell, it's now my new library bag.

Isn't this little clutch just the cutest? It's from this tutorial. Don't let the size fool you, though. It took me twice as long as the full size bags!

Same fabric as my currect favorite bag. I love it so much. Mmmmm, green!

Another shoulder bag. Lined with Nicey Jane. Another fabric line I can't ever get enough of.

I bought this material ages ago at Hancock to make draperies for my living room. Then I changed my mind. (What? You can't change your mind when after you buy 4 yards of expensive Waverly fabic? Shut up.) I think it works pretty well as a bag though - this one would be perfect for fall.

This one went to the beach with me on Memorial Day. Yes Siree. Lined in Nicey Jane...again.

There's a couple more that I forgot to take pictures of, but you can sort of see them in the first picture of my table, I really, really love the orange one too.

Just call me the bag lady.

Up next...a doll quilt and pillow for Madeline's baby. Got to get some practice in before I get started on the real deal!

Molly

EIGHT

2010-05-18T22:21:00.004-04:00

After my mother's day post, a few people have asked to see close ups of the filmstrip I posted of my sisters and I.

So, since I love you, I love my sisters and I love these photos...

Here we are. All eight of us.

I pretty much have the best sisters ever.

Molly

My new favorite bag

2010-05-15T14:47:00.005-04:00

I figured I'd better get this post up quick, I've been on a bag kick lately and I'm perfecting a pattern that is threatening my *current* favorite bag. Which is this one:

It's probably not not a totally fair assessment, because I love the fabric so, so much, I can't NOT love it. It's chartreuse. Green. I love green. LOVE green. I tried to pick a shade of green for every room when we were painting our new house last year but hubby put his foot down. I did get guacamole in the living room, though.

Wait, where was I?

The chartreuse bag, right.

The lining and pocket is in Nicey Jane. Because if I could only pick one line of fabric to use for the rest of my life, that would probably be it. I'm sort of addicted. Exhibit A, B, and C.

It's big enough to hold all my stuff , but shallow enough that I can still see everything when I open it up. I love it. Wait, did I say that already? I sort of followed this pattern. Uber easy, you guys.

The only thing I'd probably do differently is add some interfacing to make it a little more structured. It's pretty soft and floppy. Which is actually kind of perfect for a summer-time bag.

I'm on a bag kick now. I have three different bags cut out, and a bunch of ideas rattling around in my head, so you'll be seeing some more posts dedicated to bags pretty soon.

Okay, I'm signing off. It's a gorgeous Saturday here on the East Coast and I'm heading to the playground with my munchkin.

Molly

Mother's Day Gifts

2010-05-11T21:54:00.009-04:00

I finished my mother's day gifts at the eleventh hour last Saturday. Although, that's not entirely accurate. Two of my grandmothers are out of town, so I *still* haven't finished their gifts. But I will. I will.

I spray painted a bunch of frames....

Then I made a mat and covered it in fabric for an interesting photo presentation. This one was for my Mother in law. I made smaller versions of this for Madeline's three great-grandmothers.

I spray painted 8 of these watermelon frames...

And then my sister and I took pictures of ourselves and our sisters (yup, there's 8 of us!) for my mom. We're all holding up a number for our birth order. Mom loved it! I still need to get a picture of them hanging on her wall. It looks pretty awesome.

(click to enlarge)

This tote bag was for my mother in law, super easy bag and very practical, I think.

I loaded it with pockets.

And did a simple button closure.

A ruffled clutch for my sister, who is quite possibly the best mother in the world:

This clutch was a pain in the butt to make. At one point I ripped out every single stitch and started over. The finished product is pretty cute, but I have no idea how I got there, my design process was totally flawed. I do love the lining and card pockets, though!

I also made another bag that was intended as a gift, but I loved the fabric too much to part with it, so it became a mothers day present to myself. I've been using it for a week, and it might be too early in our relationship to make these kinds of statements, but I think I'm in love. At the very least, I'm smitten. It deserves it's own post, so I'll introduce you guys later.

A big thanks to everyone who voted for my top in Made By Rae's Spring Top Week. I think I ended up in 4th place out of that group - not to shabby, right?

Molly

I made the cut!

2010-05-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

I'm so seriously stoked about this! One of my tops made the finals in Spring Top Week! Since this challenge was the first (but certainly not the last) time I've ever sewed tops for myself, it just makes "making the cut" all the more sweet.

So, if you really want to make my day, go over to Made By Rae and vote for me today. Pretty please? I'm up against 11 other fantastic tops, all competing for a shot at the finals. If I don't land in the bottom spot I'll consider it a victory. :-)

Okay, that's all. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Molly

Quilting: The adventure begins

2010-05-03T20:08:00.005-04:00

Ever since I laid my eyes on this fabric, I've known it was meant to be a quilt for Madeline. But, there's one small problem.

I've never made a quilt.

So a couple months ago, I started reading and researching quilting. What fabric to use, what kind of batting to use. Sashing, cornerpost, pinwheels, log cabin squares, borders. Different methods of basting, spraying, pinning, clipping. Quilting with a walking foot, free motion quilting, long arm quilting. Birthing a quilt, binding a quilt, mitered corners, blind stitches...

It's enough to give me a headache.

But I still want to do it. She's still in her crib, and I'm crossing my fingers that we'll be able keep her in there until I have a chance to get educated and get her "big girl" bedding done.

So. We all have to start somewhere. I purchased a walking foot for my machine and started simple. I saw this great tutorial over at the Polkadot Chair and thought it would be perfect with the minimal cutting and straight line quilting. But even though it was simple, it still gave me a chance to practice making my quilt sandwich, basting, quilting and binding.

It was fun! It didn't take me nearly as long as I expected and I have a sweet table runner to show for it. I even successfully mitered my corners.

So, I'm feeling a teensy bit more confident about this whole quilting thing, and I'm planning on attempting some free motion quilting on this adorable doll quilt as soon as my darning foot arrives. Hopefully I'll be ready to start on "THE" project sometime in the next decade. :-)

Molly

Spring Top - Take Five!

2010-04-30T09:10:00.004-04:00

Okay, okay. I know I said I was done with Spring Top Week...but you're allowed five entries and it was nagging at me that I had only entered four. I have my dad's blood - competitive to the core. Not that I have the slightest chance of winning - have you seen the other entries? Like this one? Or this one? I think this one is my favorite. Amazing work.

Okay, on to top #5. This top was SO easy to make. It took me less than an hour from cut to finish. It's just a basic pillowcase top - but the fabric is what makes it special.

I found this gorgeous duvet at the thrift store for $1. I knew I could do something with the unique print.

I strategically cut the pieces to make the best use of the pattern, sewed the pieces together, used homemade bias tape for the armholes, hemmed the bottom and sewed a quick strap to loop through the casing.

I was SO sad to cut up this duvet - I love blue (as you can see, I even painted a room of my house that deep blue color I'm so fond of) so I almost thought of saving it for when I get sick of the bedspread in our blue guest room. But it was $1, folks. And I have enough left for at least 3 or 4 things for Maddie.

So, total cost for this top? $.25. Can't beat that.

Molly

Spring Top - Take Four!

2010-04-24T23:38:00.006-04:00

Unless I'm hit with a sudden burst of inspiration, this will be be my fourth and final entry for Spring Top week. Sewing for Madeline is much easier and much more enjoyable, I gotta tell you. But I've had fun with this "selfish" sewing challenge - and I really do like this fourth top.

It's fun and feminine and Maddie told me I was "bootiful" in it, so that makes it a favorite already.

I cut the yoke on a bias so it's stretchy enough to be a pull over, and added a ruffle for interest. I'll definitely make this style again, it was an easy project and the fabric is one of my favorite Heather Bailey prints.

This was my own design, I didn't use a pattern. I had planned for it to have little puff sleeves, but with the busy print it was a little much. I think it's pretty great as a simple sleeveless summer top!

I may be done with tops for the time being, but I'm not done sewing for myself - I picked up an amazing vintage dress from the thrift store the other week. The fabric is old and yellowed, but the dress is a beautiful fit and will be perfect for a pattern. Yay for thrift store finds!

What's your favorite thing to sew for yourself? I'm all about simple, quick projects, so I love a cute skirt, but I'm branching out here, people! What's your go-to adult pattern?

Molly

Reversible Sundress Tutorial - and Pattern!

2010-04-22T20:24:00.013-04:00

This dress is seriously easy, you guys. So don't let the number of pictures I included in this tutorial indimidate you, I just get a little carried away some times.

Okay, ready to make one super cute, super easy, reversible sundress? This is a beginner tutorial, you can totally make this. And if you're already a seasoned seamstress it's the perfect naptime project. Quick and easy. You know how I love those.

See the reversible side peeking out under the hem? Ah, I love it!

I drew up a pattern for Madeline's dress that you can download here. It fits Maddie well and she's a wearing 18 month - 2T clothes right now. If you need a larger or smaller size, use a dress that fits your daughter well and use that to adapt this pattern to your needs.

WHAT YOU NEED:

1/2 yard each of two different prints - that's 1 yard total folks! You'll need more if you're making a larger size.

1/4 yard of coordinating fabric for the hem, armholes and shoulder ties

Matching thread

CUT:

Print out the pattern, adjust it to your needs and trace it right onto your fabric. I just use a regular old pen. All the edges are going to be finished, so I never saw the point of using a fabric pen.

Cut out four dress pieces.

Two of each of your main dress fabrics.

Cut five 2 inch strips of your coordinating fabric in following lengths:
(1) 35 inches - for the hem
(2) 14 inches - for the armholes
(2) 24 inches - for the shoulder ties

Now here is where I was originally going to insert another 20 pictures and a bunch of information on making your own bias tape, instead - head over to my bias tape tutorial. I promise, once you learn to make and use bias tape, you'll use it all.the.time.

Okay, fold and press your bias tape strips - and you're ready to start sewing!

Take two matching dress pieces and sew the sides together, right sides together. Repeat with your second set of matching pieces.

Use a zig-zag stitch to reinforce your seams.

Now we're going to make the dress reversible! Turn one of your dresses right side out and leave on of them inside out. Now slip your "inside out dress" inside the "right side out" dress.

The wrong sides of both dresses should now be facing. Carefully smooth your "inside" dress so it fits nicely within the "outside" dress.

Using the instructions from my bias tape tutorial, pin your bias tape to the armholes of your dress.

Stitching close to the edge of your tape, sew the bias tape to the armholes.

Trim the edges of the armholes so they are even with the top of the dress.

Now, you need to decide which side of the dress you want the casing to show on. I decided the floral was already kind of busy, so I flipped the floral side over on the polka dots. Experiment by folding each side down and seeing what you like best.

Fold the top edge of the dress down 1/2 inch. Press.

Fold down another 3/4 of an inch, Press and pin in place. Repeat for other side of dress.

Sew the casing down on both sides of the dress.

Repeat for other side.

Okay, now it's time to sew your ties! Your tape should already be folded and pressed into 1/2 inch strips. Fold your ends in so you're not left with raw edges and sew the ties shut by sewing as close to the edge as possible.

Throw your pretty ties over the back of a chair and they'll be all ready for you once you finish the hem! Almost done!

Pin your last strip of bias tape to your hem.

When you get close to the end, trim the bias tape about an inch longer than you need it for your hem.

Open the tape up and fold one end under to finish the hem. Pin.

Sew your hem in place.

Attach a safety pin the end of one of your shoulder ties.

Thread it through the casing on your neckline.

Repeat with your other tie.

You're done!

As always, you'd make my day if you share a finished project with me!

Oh, and I accidentally grabbed my hem strip instead of one of the ties and sewed it shut, so instead of spending 10 minutes ripping stitches, I tossed it to the side and just cut a new one. Later when I put the dress on my munchkin, I remember my "oops" and grabbed the tie. Turns out 35 inches is the perfect length for a cute little matching headband. Love when that stuff happens!

Molly

Linking up at the following parties!

The Shabby Nest

A Few of my Favorite Things

Fingerprints on the Fridge

Bias Tape 101: a tutorial

2010-04-20T22:25:00.014-04:00

While I was working on the tutorial for the reversible sundress, I realized the pictures and instructions for the bias tape was becoming a tutorial all it's own. So here we go - Bias Tape 101.

A lot of this information is going to be very basic with loads of pictures, because we all learn better that way, right?

First of all, what is the bias of a fabric? Very simply, the bias just refers to the direction of the fabric at a 45 degree angle, diagonally, across the fabric. So if you took a square piece of fabric and drew a line from the top left corner to the bottom right corner that line would be across the bias of the fabric.

Let's do a little object lesson. Go grab a piece of cotton fabric. Go ahead, I'll wait....Got it? Okay, now give it a little tug holding your hands vertical. Not much give, right? Now try it holding your hands horizontal. A little more, but still not too stretchy. Now try to stretch it holding your hands on the corners and tugging diagonally. Nice and stretchy, right? THAT is the bias of the fabric.

Bias tape is a thin strip of fabric cut on the bias and folded in a particular way. More on the folding later. It's used mainly for finishing hems, armholes and can be used as the edging in blankets and a multitude of other things. Because of it's stretchy nature, it's much better suited for manipulating it around curves. Fabric cut along the grainline usually doesn't have as much flexibility.

Before I get any further, let me mention that you can buy bias tape - and if you're using it for the first time, I'd recommend that. It comes in a variety of colors and sizes and you can find it pretty much anywhere. But if you have a pair of scissors and an iron, you can make bias tape very easily.

Okay, let's get started. Pretend I'm cutting this fabric on the bias. Confession: I hate, hate, hate cutting fabric on a bias. It wastes so much fabric and you have to measure pretty precisely to get a nice even cut. So if my fabric has a decent amount of give along the grainline, I just go ahead and cut it this way. It just so happens that this particular cotton was pretty stretchy along the grainline. If you're using the tape to close a sharp curve, you will want to actually cut on the bias. We'll just call my tape grainline tape...ahem.

I cut my strips 2 inches wide - we'll be making double fold bias tape, so we'll end up with 1/2 inch finished tape. Your finished tape will be 1/4 of your original strip width, so if you're looking for 1 inch tape, you'd need to cut your fabric strip 4 inches wide. Make sense? Okay, moving right along...Cut your strip or strips as long as you need them for your project.

Okay, now this is really, really important. Take your strip and lay it right side down on your ironing board. Fold it in half leaving about a 1/16 inch overlap on one side. You can measure if you want, I just eyeball it.

Press to set the fold, making sure you keep your tiny overlap in place.

Now open up your newly creased bias tape and fold the outside edges in towards the crease you just made.

Because your first crease line is slightly off center, You should have one fold that is slightly longer than the other, like the photo below. Now press those folds in place, moving your hands and folding as you work your way down the strip:

Now fold the strip in half, right on the original crease line you made- you should have a little overlap where the edges don't quite meet. That's perfect, and you'll see why in a minute. Press, press, and press some more. Make those creases nice and defined.

Your bias (ummm, grainline..) tape is ready to be used!

Head to your sewing area. For illustration purposes, I cut two small scraps of fabric on a gentle curve.

Open up your tape.

Okay, now we are going to sandwich the raw edges of that curve inside this bias tape.

So open up your tape and place the wrong side of your fabric on top of the longer fold.

Fold the short fold side of your tape over, sandwiching your raw edges inside the tape.

Pin in place. I can't emphasis pinning enough. Normally, I don't pin if I don't have too, I'm a lazy seamstress, but bias tape - especially along a curve - really needs to be pinned!

Work your way along your raw edges, opening your tape and making sure your edges are pushed as close to the inner crease of the tape as possible and pinning as you go.

Once your tape is all pinned, head to your machine!

Start stitching as close to the edge as you comfortably can.

Here you can see how close I came to my edge:

Now remember, because that longer fold is on the opposite side, we're easily catching it with these stitches. If the folds were exactly the same length, you *might* be catching it, but you'd probably end up with some missed spots. That teeny little overlap is your "wiggle room" and gives you a perfectly finished seam on both sides of your garment:

See?

Easy peasy, right?

There are a lot of ways to sew bias tape - so I'm not claiming to have the perfect method, but this is what works for me, so I thought I'd share.

Did I leave something out? Have questions? Am I speaking gibberish? Leave me a comment or email me!

Next up: The perfect project to put your new bias tape skills to the test, The Reversible Sundress!

Molly

Reversible Sundress

2010-04-19T22:35:00.004-04:00

I promised myself I wasn't going to touch my sewing machine today and actually fold the pile of laundry that's been sitting on the loveseat since Friday.

I shouldn't make promises to myself.

Especially when I have no intention of keeping them.

Last summer I made a little reversible sundress for Madeline and she got so much use out of it. And it's simple, simple, simple. So I made one another one for her this afternoon instead of folding laundry. And...I took pictures AND made a pattern, so those are coming.

And since it was a gorgeous day and I haven't taken pictures of my girl in oh, something like 12 hours, we squeezed in a little photo shoot.

Also, when you accidentally grab the bias tape you prepared for the hem and sew it thinking it's the strap...it's the perfect length for a hair bow/headband. Best mistake I ever made.

Molly

Spring Top - Take Three!

2010-04-17T19:55:00.005-04:00

Last night, I foolishly agreed to watch the latest Netflix to hit our mailbox with my husband. What I didn't realize was that he had hacked my our queue again and we would be watching "Ninja Assasins". Thankfully, I had the good sense to gather some projects and my cutting board so I could do some cutting and pinning while watching helpless victims get thier heads and limbs sliced off by flying star blades.

I also grabbed a pen and paper and somewhere between the 53rd and 54th decapitation, I drew a quick sketch of my next top for Spring Top Week.

This is what I drew:

Nevermind the fact that it looks like my daughter drew it, sometimes you just have to get stuff on paper.

And this is what I ended up with today.

I didn't have a pattern or a fabric in mind when I drew my sketch, but when I hit the fabric store today I zoned in on this nice turquoise swiss dot. First of all, I adore swiss dot, it's the epitome of spring fabric. Secondly, I knew it would have that nice drape and airy feel I was going for and thirdly, it was on sale. So it came home with me and my darling, sweet daughter gifted me with a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon.

Measure, cut, measure, re-measure, cut, sew, (where's my seam ripper?), sew, measure, measure, sew. You get the picture.

I just about had it finished up by the time she woke up. I got stuck on the sleeves for awhile. I had originally intended to attach little ruffles in lieu of sleeves, but when I did, it just looked silly to me. I then tried little aysmetrical sleeves, but they weren't really doing it for me either. I finally settled on a longer puff sleeve, and shirred a few rows for the band.

*Please disregard my pasty white sausage arm in the this picture. Maybe now you know why the sleeveless version wasn't working. Ahem.

I should have taken a picture before I shirred the waistband, I can't believe what a difference it made. I was still on the fence about the top until I did the waist and put it on. Then once I sewed the buttons on I was totally sold. This by FAR my favorite top of the three I've made for Spring Top Week. It is incredibly comfortable and has so many possibilities. It's casual enough for jeans and flip flops, but dressy enough for a skirt and heels.

Molly

Spring Top - Take Two!

2010-04-12T19:35:00.004-04:00

This shirt came to me in a vision. Kidding, kidding. But I did lay in bed last night and plan it out in my head. So of course, as soon as naptime rolled around this afternoon, I had to get it out of my head or lose my mind.

I'm so happy with how this came out. It's so, so comfy and will go with so many things in my wardrobe. The main fabric is from a gigantic white sheet I found in my hopechest. I have no idea where it came from, but it has a super high thread count, so it's soft and silky and drapes so nicely. I ended up lining this, it was a bit see-through! The neckband and waist-tie is Heather Bailey Nicey Jane.

I used three different shirts to make the pattern, and then just figured out the rest as I went. I actually took my time and carefully planned the construction, so I think I only had to use my seam ripper once. That pretty much never happens.

I shirred the waistband with three rows of elastic thread, so it's perfect for hiding lumps... Here's a picture without the tie...I think I'll end up tacking the waistband down on the sides, I think it ties (no pun intended!) the whole top together.

I'm having so much fun with these tops, and I'm in awe of all the amazing entries in Spring Top Week so far - if you haven't already, go check them out.

Molly

Boy Stuff...

2010-04-12T08:15:00.002-04:00

Boy stuff? In this pink, frilly, little corner of the web? Yup. I tore a page out of Char's book and make these tie and guitar applique shirts for Madeline's cousin who turned 2 last month. Ummm, yeah, these are a little late.

You can find a tie pattern here. I didn't feel like plugging my laptop into my printer, so I drew this tie using the staight lines on my cutting mat. I used google images to find a picture of a electric guitar and then freehanded it.

Who says boy clothes can't be fun?

Molly

Spring Top - Take One!

2010-04-10T22:36:00.007-04:00

I'm so excited to be participating in the Spring Top Challenge over at Made By Rae. I'm going to just go ahead and admit that I've never made myself a top...like, ever. So this was the perfect little kick in the pants to get me out of my comfort zone.

Here's my first attempt, I'm actually pretty pleased with how this came out.

This top is my own design reconstructed from a men's tshirt. I thrifted this tshirt for $.50, people. Beat that. I chose it because I liked the monochromatic stripes and I knew it was big enough that I'd have some options.

I pulled out an old tank top that has served me well over the years and used that as my pattern. I ended up making it a little more fitted and made the straps slightly thinner, but I think I love it! I used some of the scraps to make a ruffle for the neckline and crocheted a flower and added a fabric covered button in the center. Voila! A cute summer top.

I'm in love with the idea of reconstructing clothes...in.love. It transforms the way you look at everything in the thrift store. And if you mess it up - you're on out pennies! I found a perfect pink oxford that's going to be perfect for a recon project for Madeline...and I can get back into my comfort zone - creating stuff for my girl!

Molly

Skirt sets

2010-04-07T15:02:00.005-04:00

I finally got around to updating the shop today! You can now purchase the tie summer skirt separately or paired with a customized initial tshirt.

I just have a few fabric combinations listed, but let me know if you don't see anything you like, let me know - I have lots of fabric available.

Remember if you're a sewer, you can view the tutorial for the skirt here and make your own!

Molly

Easter projects and more...

2010-04-04T23:27:00.013-04:00

I have something to show for this diaster! I finally finished Madeline's Easter dress at 10pm Saturday night and my Easter skirt...oh, about 20 minutes before it was time to leave for church. In any event, I have to give a shout out to two fabulous patterns!

The Precious Dress...it is indeed, very, very precious. I bought it a couple weeks ago and I've made four dresses from it already. Carla is amazing!

My skirt was a super easy, but is already one of my favorites. The shirred waistband is so flattering and comfy! The Lily skirt is designed by Ashley over at Make it and Love it. This was our attempt at a family Easter picture. Didn't go so well...

Both my skirt and Maddie's dress were made from Chez Moi's Hunky Dory line. I'm obsessed, I just love this fabric so much.

____________________

We're always involved in "Plow Days", an event founded by hubby's grandfather, where local and not-so-local plowmen bring thier teams of horses and plow a field with horses and old farm equipment. It's a great way to bring the past back to life and show this generation and the next how things were done back in the good 'ole days. This year's event was on Saturday and we decided to dress up. These are outfits I made for Madeline and her cousin - both modified Precious Dresses and a simple bib apron.

If you want to see pictures of me plowing a field in my pioneer outfit, you'll have to click here. I'm not going to make it easy for you, I'm still slightly mortified.

____________________

Next on my list? Some spring tops for me! 90% of what I sew is for Madeline or for gifts and I don't generally make tops. So when I saw that Made by Rae was sponsoring another Spring Top Week, I knew it was time to break out of the box. I have some ideas rolling around in my head, I'm excited to carve out some time to work on some tops.

But for the moment? I need to do some laundry, my hubby gets cranky when he doesn't have any clean underwear.

Molly

Fabric Easter Basket Tutorial

2010-03-31T12:44:00.008-04:00

Just in time for Easter! I gotta tell you, I'm loving this little basket. It's crocheted using fabric, which works up really quickly, so it's a one nap project - and I'm all about one nap projects.

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 ¾ yards of fabric (this project looks best if you work with a fabric that is printed on both sides, like a cotton broadcloth)
Rotary cutter (you can use scissors, but you might end up using them on yourself by the time you’re done.)
Matching thread
Size N crochet needle
Cutting mat or old cutting board
Basic crocheting skills (this pattern uses slip stitch and single crochet)

SIZE:
This pattern will produce a basket approximately 8 inches wide and 6 inches tall, perfect for a toddler or small child. It can easily be adapted into a larger basket by adding a few stitches to the foundation round.

Lay your fabric out on your cutting mat and cut long 1” strips. These strips are going to be sewn together, so I cut my fabric longways so I’d have less seams throughout my basket.

You’ll end up with a big pile of strips. Head to your sewing machine and sew the strips together at the ends to create one long continuous strip. TIP: I didn’t cut all my fabric at the beginning of this project. I cut about 15 strips at a time, sewed them together and rolled the strip into a ball. Then I’d head back to my mat, cut some more and then keep adding to my ball of fabric. Cutting the fabric is the most tedious part of this project, so this kept me from becoming bored!

Foundation chain: Take your ball of fabric and your crochet needle and LOOSELY chain 5. I used a size N needle, but you could use a larger needle for a larger basket – but I wouldn’t recommend a smaller needle. Join fabric by inserting needle in first chain. Slip stitch.

Row 1: Crochet two SC (single crochet) in each chain around. (2 sc, 2 sc, 2 sc)
NOTE: Loose, loose, loose!

Row 2-4: Crochet one SC in first SC and two SC in next SC around. (1 sc, 2 sc, 1 sc, 2 sc)
NOTE: Do not join each round, just continue around in one continuous round.

Row 5: Crochet one SC in first SC, one SCtog in next two stitches (this is a decrease) around. (1 sc, 1sctog, 1 sc, 1sctog)

NOTE: Row 5 is the first row that decreases the stitch count, so you’re basket should start to curl up on the sides. Click here for a good tutorial on doing this.

Row 6-12: Crochet one SC in each stitch around (sc, sc, sc, sc). Slip stitch to finish.

You’re basket should look something like this:

Now turn the basket inside out, looks much better, right?

HANDLE: Without turning, crochet 1 SC in slip stitch you made at the end of row 12. Chain 20.

Join chain to the opposite side of the basket with a SC.

Crochet another SC at the base of the handle as shown in the picture below.

SC in every chain in the handle across to the other side. SC in basket to finish handle.
Weave in the ends.

Ta-da! If you want to, you can trim some of the longer strings. The basket is soft and flexible, but sturdy enough to hold it's shape.

I added a yarn flower, click here for a gazillion great crochet flower patterns, but it would also look cute with one of these or these.

More cute Easter craftiness over at Sew Dang Cute! Check it out:

Happy crafting!

Molly

Keepin' it real

2010-03-26T11:54:00.006-04:00

My sewing/craft room is supposed to be in the guest bedroom. Normally, I do work in there. But I'm working on a bunch of projects right now and since the next few days I'll be doing little else but sewing, I need to be where I can keep my eyes and ears on Madeline. I mentioned she just turned two, right? Whew, that kid wears me out.

So...back to my sewing space. I've moved to the dining room. It's a disaster area. Really, it is. And I'm all about keepin' it real. Which is why I'm sharing these scary photos.

Yes, that's a half-naked barbie doll on the table. I have no idea how she ended up there.

Speaking of scary, I REALLY need to replace my ironing board cover.

Wait! I forgot to show you pictures of my nice neat fabric pile!

Whoops! How did that picture get in here?

Hopefully next week I can the post the products that came out of this disaster area. The fabric for Madeline's easter dress just came in, I just cut it all out last night and I'm working on a few pioneer outfits for an event we have coming up. And a new tutorial that I think you guys will really dig. So stay tuned.

Here's some inspiring reading if your working on cleaning your sewing room. It's a must-read. As in, I must re-read it.

Molly

Simple Skirt Tutorial

2010-03-22T22:52:00.014-04:00

I've never posted a tutorial before, but I've followed so many great ones (check out my favorite crafty bloggers in my sidebar!) so I'm pretty sure I understand how this is supposed to work: I show you how I made this simple little skirt with pictures and (hopefully!) helpful instructions so you can make one (or ten) too! Yay! Let's get started!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 yard for main skirt fabric
1/2 yard for coordinating waistband and ties
around 2 feet of 1/2 inch elastic
Those fabric amounts should yield a skirt up to a size 10 girls. Obviously, that would make 2 or 3 smaller skirts.

SIZING

Use the following formula to arrive at the correct sizing for your skirt.

You'll need three measurements:

*Waist (around the navel!)

*Hip (around the tushie!)

*Finished length you want the skirt to be. Measure from the natural waistline to wherever you want the finished skirt to fall.

For the sake of illustration, I'll use the measurements I used when I was assembling this skirt. I made this one for my littlest sister Louisa (she's the first sweet model above!). She had a waist measurement of 24, a hip measurement of 29 and we wanted the finished length to be 21. I'll show you the measurements I used for this particular skirt in parentheses after the formula.

CUT

Cut 2 skirt pieces - Hip measurement + 4 inches = WIDTH of skirt piece x LENGTH you want skirt to be (Louisa's skirt: 33 inches WIDE x 21 inches LONG)

Cut 2 tie pieces - Hip measurement (LENGTH) x 3.5 inches (Louisa's skirt:3.5 inches WIDE x 29 inches LONG)

Cut 1 waistband piece - Hip measurement + 2 inches = LENGTH of wasitband piece x 6 inches (Louisa's skirt: 6 inches WIDE x 31 inches LONG)

Cut 1 piece of elastic - Waist measurement - 2 = length of elastic (Louisa's skirt: 22 inches long)

SEW

Unless I specify otherwise, all seam allowances are 1/8 inch.

Fold your tie pieces in half lengthwise, right sides facing. Press.

Turn one end of the tie up so that the raw edges are even with the folded edge of the tie. Press.

Using the press line as a guide, cut the corner off of the tie with a rotary cutter or scicsors.

Sew tie, leaving the straight end of tie open.

Trim tip of tie, being careful not to snip the stiches.

Turn ties right side out. A crochet needle or chopstick works perfectly for this job! Press ties.

Set ties aside. Press one long edge of your waistband piece down 1/2 inch. Keeping that crease folded down, fold the waistband in half lengthwise. The folded edge should line up with the raw edge.

Open the waistband piece and cut it exactly in half.

You should end up with two waistband pieces that look like this:

Turn one waistband piece over, right side up, and align the raw edges of the finished ties with the side edges of the waistband piece, just under the first middle fold as shown in the picture below.

Place second waistband piece, wrong side up, over ties and first waistband piece. Align all creases and take care to make sure the ties are still in the correct place. Pin in place. Make sure your right sides are facing!

Make sure all folds are open and sew side seams of waistband pieces.

Fold waistband piece in half, exposing ties - which should now be attached to your waistband.

Set waistband aside and with right sides together, sew skirt pieces together at side seams.

I'd reccomend serging or zig-zagging (is that a word? zig-zagging?) seams for added reinforcement.

Press your hem up 1/2 inch all the way around. Fold up another 1/2 inch and press, encasing raw edge. Stitch hem all the way around.

Set your machine to it's longest stitch length and sew two rows of gathering stitches. The first should be 1/8 inch from the edge and the second 1/2 inch from the edge. Be sure to leave a 6 inch tail for both rows.

Pulling gently on the bobbin threads, gather the skirt evenly until it fits in your waistband piece.

Turn your waistband piece inside out and pin bottom edge of the waistband to the top of the gathered skirt - right sides facing. Take time to make sure your gathering is even and your side seams are lined up.

Stitch 5/8 inch from the edge, taking care to keep your gathers from bunching and puckering. I usually keep on hand on the waistband, feeding it through the machine and the other on the bottom of the skirt, pulling it taunt. Sorry, that would have been a little hard to take a picture of!

Turn your skirt ride side out and inspect your gathers to make sure you don't have any puckering. If you do, make friends with your seam ripper and give it another go.

Turn your skirt inside out and fold the waistband down. Line up side seams and pin in place. The fold you pressed in earlier should be turned under so that the inside of your waistband will have a nice, clean edge.

Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the next few steps, but we're almost done, so you'll have to forgive me!

Sew the waistband in place. This is a little tricky, because you want to make sure that the stitching on the inside of the waistband will appear evenly on the outside of the waistband. So take it slow and be aware of where the stitches are landing on the outside of the waistband. If your original "middle fold" is folding nicely at the top of your skirt, the inside bottom edge of the waistband and the outside bottom edge should be even.

Leave about a two inch opening and thread your piece of elastic through. It helps tremendously to fold one end over, attach a safety pin and fed it through. Sew the elastic ends together (reinforce!) and then stitch the opening closed.

You're done!

I've gotten on a little kick with these little skirts and made up five of them in the last week. They look adorable paired with a little inital tee or other embellished shirt!

See?

If you try this, please share with me! Please? It would make my day!

Molly

New skirt pattern

2010-03-19T07:36:00.004-04:00

A few Sundays ago, I decided that Madeline had nothing to wear and I grabbed some fabric and starting frantially cutting. Less than an hour later, I ended up with this:

It's simple, but I'm loving the little tie in the front and it's just full enough that she can do a little twirling, so she's lovin' it too.

So...I got a little crazy and made four more this week! And took pictures. So if you can even tell what I'm doing once I get a chance to upload them, I'll post a tutorial this week.

...and this time I wasn't in a rush so I actually lined up the side seams. *cough*

Molly

Twirly skirts, birthday hats and initial tees

2010-02-27T09:30:00.010-05:00

Contrary to popular belief, I don't spend all day crocheting. In fact, I've been on a sewing kick lately. I made this little outfit for Madeline's 2nd birthday. The shirt is just a simple fabric applique with a crochet (okay, so maybe I can't get away from it!) flower and fabric covered button. I used this tutorial for the twirly skirt. It was a LOT of material for such a little skirt, so it was super "twirly" and with the petticoat underneath it stood out like it had a hoop under it.

She loved it.

The fabric birthday hats were another easy project. I loosely used this tutorial, but skipped the interfacing. You could sort of see the hat pattern through some of the lighter fabrics, but not enough to justify me making a special run to the store for interfacing.

Here's another inital tee. These are such a fun, easy way to dress up a plain 'ole t-shirt. In fact, they are so much fun to make, you may see them in the shop soon.

The twirly skirt was a fun project too - so I decided to make another set for Maddie's little cousin. They were born a day (yup, a day!) apart, so her birthday party was right after my little Peanut's. This skirt went much faster. I cut back on some of the material and I think it came out a little better. Of course, she may be a day younger, but she's a foot taller (okay, not a foot, but she's TALL), so that's probably why this one falls better. And this fabric. Oh, how I love this fabric! It's Amy Butler, Water Boquet in Mint, I believe...

The fabric flower was designed by yours truly...and I think I like it better than the crochet one. I'm sure it will wash better, and it's another oppurtunity to use coordinating fabric, which is just plain fun. I think I've said "fun" at least 27 times in this post. I can't help it, sewing and little projects like this are just fun. Anyone want to help me with some synonyms?

If I can't figure out how to make a pattern, I'll post a tutorial for the fabric flower soon.

So that's what I've been up too. Fabric.com just made another delivery yesterday, so I'm excited to carve out a few hours to work on some fun t-shirts for the shop. Wouldn't they be cute with a number for a birthday party?

Newsgirls are here!

2010-01-16T12:52:00.005-05:00

I've been busy developing this new style over the last month and I'm so excited that it is finally available in the shop!

I only have a few colors listed right now, but please remember that they can be custom ordered in any color.

Check it out!

As a special thank you to my Facebook fans, I'm offering a 15% rebate on all orders placed between January 16th and January 31st. Just mention that you are a facebook fan in the "notes to seller" at checkout and 15% of your total purchase price will be refunded via the paypal address you used at checkout.

Become a fan by clicking here.

Black Friday! A sale and a giveaway!

2009-11-26T22:04:00.004-05:00

UPDATE:
GIVEAWAY WINNER!

My little assistant Madeline helped me draw a random name out of a basket for the purchases made during the sale. The winner is.... Robin! Contact me and let me know what hat you'd like and I'll get it right out!

ORIGINAL POST:

Black Friday is upon us!

For all of you sane people who are sitting at home today instead of braving the crowds, I have a sweet deal for you!

Everything in the shop is 15% off - starting 12:00am on Friday and ending 11:59 on Monday, 11/30. The discount will be credited as a refund after your purchase is made - I'll be checking all day tomorrow, so you should have the refund within a few hours of making a purchase.

Additionally, everyone that makes a purchase between now and Monday will be entered to win a totally FREE hat of their choice! I'll select the winner randomly on Tuesday morning and announce the winner here and in the shop announcement section.

Remember, I L-O-V-E custom orders - I've worked with several clients recently to customize hats, mittens and scarfs to match winter jackets and everyone has been thrilled with the results.

Shipping is FREE to anywhere in the United States and Canada on ANY size order.

Happy shopping!

Mittens!

2009-11-07T12:12:00.005-05:00

I've finally perfected my new mitten pattern and you can now find them in the shop!

It will take me awhile to have all the colors listed, so if you don't see the color you'd like, just ask - I love working on custom orders!

Madeline loves her red mittens. She kept pulling her hat off and holding it beside her mittens - "Mommy, TWO flowers!".

Grand Opening Special - FREE Shipping

2009-09-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

In celebration of the grand opening of the Me and Madeline Etsy shop, we will be offering FREE shipping on all orders through the end of October. The shipping charges will be refunded to the buyer as soon as payment is received via paypal.

So don't waste any time! Get started on your Christmas shopping! Each and every order is shipped in packaging that is suitable for gift-giving - straight out of the box.

Happy shopping!

Welcome!

2009-09-10T23:34:00.002-04:00

Hello there! This is the official blog for Me and Madeline's Etsy shop. We specialize in hand crocheted hats and hair accessories for the whole family...but especially with little girls in mind.

We are thrilled to be officially open for business and are please to announce that we are accepting custom orders. Our Etsy shop is stocked and we have many items that are already created and ready for shipping.

It is my goal to add a totally new item each week. Right now we are only stocking hats and headbands, but look for other accessories and baby items in the future!

From time to time I'll be sharing free exclusive patterns and tutorials of items I've created. You can expect to see simple sewing projects, crochet patterns and other fun projects that strike my fancy.

I'm so glad you stopped by!

About "Me and Madeline"

2009-09-01T12:27:00.004-04:00

I'm Molly, the "Me" in Me and Madeline.

My two little munchkins are the inspiration for everything I create. I didn't enjoy sewing and crafting until I had my own little someones to make things for.

I'm also a wife to an amazing husband that lovingly tolerates all my crazy obsessions and doesn't usually complain about my less than desirable housekeeping skills...unless he's out of underwear.

Contact

2009-09-01T12:26:00.001-04:00

Wanna make my day? Have a question? Want to chat with me about creating a custom item?

Email me! I will respond to each and every email. Promise.

meandmadeline@gmail.com

Tutorials and Freebies

2009-09-01T12:00:00.005-04:00

Sunday Bonnet Tutorial

Ruffled Tiered Valances

Reversible Sundress - with Pattern

Fabric Easter Basket

Simple skirt tutorial