To the Maternity Designers of the World

I’d just like to tell you that I do not look good in jewel tones. Please stop making EVERYTHING in DARK, DRAB colors!!!!

It’s tough enough to go shopping when you are 20 pounds heavier than you normally are, with a big ole belly in front, well knowing that what you are buying will only be worn for a few months. I have gone to the big box maternity store with nothing but a pair of jeans to show for it and have fruitlessly searched various department stores for clothes to no avail. I have no choices ANYWHERE!!! And there isn’t a Gap Maternity within 100 miles of me. Oye. Not like their color palette is much better.

And the Nicole Richie line? A hundred and twenty bucks  for a gray flowy bohemian-ish cardigan? Really? Not everybody is the offspring of a wealthy musician.

I’ve ordered this pattern from Burda:

I’m hopeful that *maybe* it’ll work out. Too bad that the model doesn’t look pregnant at all.

The Organza that Changed it All

With baby number 2 on his way soon, we decided to move Sweet Pea into the smallest of our 3 bedrooms. The room has slanted ceilings and a couple little nooks & crannies that we thought would be a fun space for a little girl’s room.

I had ideas and sketches incorporating white eyelet fabrics and soft pink gingham accents…

But then I saw this fabric in the clearance rack at Joann’s:

An embroidered organza for only six bucks. Sold.

Plans quickly changed. I found a great lining on sale with a coupon- I thought the white lining really made the embroidery pop- and the valence project is now my inspiration piece for the room.

I had never worked with sheer fabrics before or linings, but despite the slipping and patience required, I enjoyed it.

I can definitely see the allure of dress-making. With such pretty fabric in my hands I wondered if I would ever sew my daughter a formal dress… or gown… or even for myself! Someday…

The valence is now hanging up in Sweet Pea’s new room. I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of her (big girl) bed while I work on the rest of the space!

Keeping that coffee cozy

Tired of using those cardboard coffee sleeves that waste paper and STILL burn your hand?

Why not try…

… the coffee cozey?

I found this easy cozy pattern from  House on Hill Road. Quite a bit of talent and creativity over on that Hill Road, if you ask me.

This project literally took 20 minutes. I was able to run around the house during Sweet Pea’s nap time and do all sorts (bake two loaves of banana bread, weed the garden, fold a load of laundry) of stuff AND finish this. I kind of thought I would just get to cut out the fabric, but no! I had the whole thing sewn, pressed and ready for a button with time to spare before my child woke up. Not to mention that most sewers have a few 6 x 14 inch pieces of already washed & pressed fabric left over from other projects… so there’s very little cost involved in this cozy. Bonus.

Once the little one woke up, we dashed to our closest Joann’s to get the right button, Starbucks to get a gift card, a little hand sewing action and our thank you gift is complete.

Sprucing up the bistro table

Since I don’t usually spend the big bucks to inve$t in durable patio furniture, I have a bistro table set from Joann’s that is several years old and starting to show it’s age.

The base of the chair is all wonky and starting to rust; I’ll likely have to clean it with a wire brush and repaint it by the end of the season.

BUT! I thought it could use some cushions, since the chairs have never really been all that comfortable.

Enter one of my design heroes, Kristin Nicholas. You may remember I made some wicked cool leg warmers she designed. I don’t wear them nearly often enough, as I am generally more conservative in my color palate than Kristen is, but everytime I do don my legwarmers, it’s a good day.

Kristen shared this fabulous tutorial last summer on printing your own fabric, using a canvas dropcloth as the fabric (AKA- cheap!) and basically whatever paints you have lying around.

I really liked the affordability of the project, because I wasn’t about to shell out $30 a yard for some Sunbrella fabric that was going to sit on my rusty bistro chairs.

I cut and preshrunk my canvas cloth, then I cut out a stamp or two like from kid’s adhesive foam.

A little stamping action with some random acrylics I had lying around, a little striping action, some sewing and stuffing of foam padding…

I only used one color, because I didn’t want the cushions to stand out too much. I wanted the main focus of the flagstone patio to be the garden, not the bistro set.

and…

TADAAAAA! My spiffy bistro table. Now, for some iced tea and some quiet time…

Christmas In January

Whew! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. Christmas was fun, but then our entire household got sick, with me getting the worst of it. It’s no fun when Mama is ill! Thankfully I was well on the mend before my in-laws arrived for our first annual “Christmas In January.”

As I mentioned a few posts back, this year was a handmade Christmas. We were really moved by the Advent Conspiracy and wanted to participate in helping build water wells for the people of Sierra Leon. By careful budgeting and some craftiness, we were able to do so. I’d encourage everybody to check out the Advent Conspiracy for next Christmas- it was a breath of fresh air!

I think that many people have felt like the meaning of Christmas has been lost, taken over by commercialism. It was estimated that Americans would spend $450 BILLION on Christmas in 2008, and yet solving the worldwide humanitarian crisis of lack of clean drinking water would cost $10 BILLION.

Quite the drop in the bucket, eh?

So, what did we make???

This is one of five aprons I made. This particular one was for my sister-in-law, who is an amazing cook and wore this last week while she and her husband prepared the greatest roasted chicken dinner I’ve ever had.

A cable knit purse for my aunt, gizzly bear pajama pants for my husband, brother, cousin, and uncle (yes, they all match and no, I have not been able to get them to wear them at the same time for a photo-op), and brown and blue paisely lounge pants from Amy Butler’s In Stitches for my mom. My female cousins and my brother’s girlfriend received pajama pants that matched Sweet Pea’s lounge pants. No photo there either

House Slippers from Knit Two Together for my sister-in-law and Keith.

We made Habanero Jelly with peppers from a friend’s garden. We also made grape jelly with grapes we picked!

I made my mother-in-law the Kimono from In Stitches and forgot to take a picture. They haven’t left yet, so maybe I can get a photo before they leave!

Christmas Apron

I present Simplicity 3752, apron A.

My aunt always hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas and I thought she deserved a pretty apron! Her other apron made her look, uh, um, matronly- which she is SO NOT!

The fabric was from Joann’s from my Black Friday excursion. The only problem I had with it was pressing…… the little gold stars almost melted in some places. I had never sucessfully gathered fabric before, as seen in the bustline. I practiced with some scrap fabric first to build some confidence and am quite pleased with the end results.

I have one apron, view C, completed, with fabric for 4 more cut. I wish somebody would make ME an apron!

I am loving a handmade Christmas

Technically, they’re “lounge pants”

I call them PJ pants. But technically, they’re lounge pants because they are made from non-flame retardant flannel material and therefore not intended for children’s sleepwear.  Or something. So I guess Sweet Pea will just lounge in these.

The lighting was horrible this evening but I just HAD to take a picture!

I made two adult size pants in this same fabric for my cousins, ages 20 and 17.  I even have some fabric left over for myself.

Yep, I’ve turned into THAT lady who makes everyone matching pajama pants for Christmas.

That’s what happens when flannel is on sale at Joann’s.

The Sewing Continues

Making a tree skirt is much more time consuming than I originally thought. Especially since I had no pattern and was just “winging it.” Keith always gets nervous for me when I make projects up….

How about the deer on the fabric- that made my outdoorsy husband happy! I love the fabric and the fact that it is reversible too! Next year I  may add some tassels or a crochet edging to the skirt, as well as quilting it. I have little quilting experience but am hopeful to acquire some skills next year.

So it’s finished, yet not finished. A neverending project that I will work on each Christmas until it is perfected.

One project down, about a dozen to go. I love making gifts for Christmas. I hope the recipients are just as pleased.

It’s in the bag!

I have a new knitting bag… and love it!

I used McCalls Pattern 5283 with a few minor modifications, namely getting rid of the zipper pocket. I didn’t have the right size zipper on hand nor enough fabric in my stash, so I went without! I purchased the wooden handles from Joann.com, as they are only available online, and BEWARE- there is only ONE handle per package! I didn’t realize that until I received a package with only one.

In my new knitting bag would be my Hourglass Sweater, waiting for sleeves. I made the length of the lower body about 2 inches longer than the pattern suggested due to my new, ahem, post-pregnancy measurements. I knit the body on size 6 Addis but don’t have a 12 inch size 6 Addis for the sleeves…. do you think that a Denise circular would work or would that mess up my gauge?

Also in the bag is Sweet Pea’s Cabled Coat. I’m about 6 1/2 inches on the back and have learned how to cable without a cable needle! Not having to worry about a cable needle definitely makes things move along a bit faster.

After a warm spell, the ski country finally got some snow. Saturday we will be off to hit the slopes while Sweet Pea and Mercy spend some time with their Grandma. And we’re still praying that Sweet Pea will take her bottles like a champ!!!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Shaken, not stirred, for the yorkie…

This is Mercy’s food bowl.

Ghetto, I know.

However, it was a last resort this summer when ants invaded our kitchen. For some reason, ants won’t climb up and under the lip on this plastic bowl to get to Mercy’s food. I was SO grossed out by the ants- simply horrified! I guess if you have one ant that finds your dogs food, unprotected, that little ant will tell his entire family tree. So all my dog loving friends, if ants find their way into your puppy’s bowl, try using a plastic container with a lip. it worked for us.

After switching to the plastic ghetto bowl, Mercy was unable to dig inside of her bowls before eating. Weird, I know, but it was part of her routine- dig, dig, dig, remove one piece of food, run to the living room, toss said piece of kibble on the floor and roll around on it before deeming it safe for consumption.

NOW, Mercy will paw at the sides of her bowl and cry. It took a while, but we finally figured out that if we shook her food around, she would start her dining routine.

Stirring her food doesn’t work. It must be shaken.

Are all yorkies this wierd?

Mercy’s midmorning nap interrupted…

So what have I been up to while waiting for labor?

I have started making some handmade Christmas gifts like this tissue holder. The Sew Mama Sew Blog has an entire month of handmade gift ideas… and sewing gifts is a wee bit faster than knitting them, no? They have links to free tutorials at various reader’s blogs. Check it out!

What I really like about the tissue holder idea is that you only need a 6 x 7 piece of fabric for the exterior- which totally lets you use up some of your scrap stash. Plus, what woman hasn’t been a position where she wished she had tissues in her bag?

I’ve also been working on my hourglass…

I have about 9 or 10 inches of the body done… I wish I could try it on to see how it would fit- but I will have to wait on that. Until then I am comparing it to some of my favorite sweaters that I own.

Maybe a baby post next time…. I hope…