Sew the Day

A Sleeping Bag for Doggie

2012-01-26T02:12:00.000-08:00

My 3 year old looked up at me on Christmas Eve and said, "Mama, would you make Doggie a present?" How could I refuse such a request. Doggie, you see, is the most beloved of all Bennett's stuffed animals and he really isn't a dog... more of a Giraffosaurus.

So after he went to bed I stayed up and made doll sized sleeping bag for Doggie.

I made it a little bit wider than I probably would have, had it been for a regular animal. Doggie has rather large feet and I wanted to make sure it would be big enough.

All of the materials I had on hand. It was late on Christmas Eve and there would be no running out to get anything.

I had more of this Alexander Henry 2-D Zoo fabric sitting around. I had plenty of left over bias tape that I'd made from the dot fabric, so that went into the mix.

The M'liss green fabric with white dots didn't match exactly, but it was close enough. I used it on the back side as well.

And I always have a bag of poly fill around, so into the sleeping bag it went for Doggie's pillow.

A perfect fit!

Bennett was thrilled with Doggie's present and apparently so was Doggie.

ZZZzzzzz....

Snowflakes for Snow Days

2012-01-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

We had quite the snow storm last week! During some of those days we made some more paper snowflakes.

Several people have ask me about a tutorial after seeing them... so here it is.

This is regular printer paper. I find cardstock is a little too thick with all the folding needed.

Bennett thoroughly enjoys coloring the paper for me.

Fold one of the short edges over to the long edge so the edges meet and make a nice point

Cut off the edge.

If you open your paper up, it should be a square.

Fold it back so you have a triangle again.

Along the folded edge, fold it in half again.

Fold the closed side over to just past the center, about 2/3 over.

Fold the open side over to meet the other edge.

This is what it should look like when you flip it over.

Cut off the corners

Now you are ready to cut out the shapes! You can cut anywhere and in any shape, just don't cut all the way across from one side to the other across the folds.

This pattern....

Looks like this when you open it up....

Here are the four in our front window. I absolutely adore how the one on the top left came out.

Cutting paper with his new scissors is something Bennett can do for hours. He cut up all the "ends" and collected all the cut out shapes from the snowflakes to play with. He made "breakfast" for his stuffed animals. How sweet.

Snowmageddon

2012-01-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Well, our first snow has turned into quite the storm. The entire Pacific Northwest has been heavily blanketed in snow. We had about 12 inches yesterday and lots of fun was had playing in it.

Now the snow has a beautiful layer of ice on top and while pretty to look at, it isn't a great idea to get out in it.

The trees are all bent over from the weight of all the ice and snow. And I can hear and sometimes see the branches crashing down.

I wouldn't be surprised if we lose power in the next few hours.

First Snow

2012-01-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

The first snow of the season began late yesterday afternoon and we woke to a lovely blanket of snow to play in this morning.

The sun is still very low all day. This is about 10am.

The Scottish Broom shrubs had clumps of snow hanging off of them like lace.

It's been snowing on and off all day, so I'm hoping that there is more tomorrow morning.

Wordless Wednesday - Jelly Beans!

2011-08-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - Bread

2011-07-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Birthday Bunting

2011-07-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

I knew Spoonflower had a bunting contest a while back so I thought I'd look there first when I decided to make a birthday bunting. I found several that I liked, but the moment I saw Inktree Press's Birthday Bunting I knew that was it!

It won't be hanging on the fireplace mantel on Birthday Day, but I need some more command hooks before I can hang it up for the party next weekend.

Happy... And a Hedgehog on an H.

I loved these little mushrooms. There are also teeny tiny ones on the D and one of the P letters.

Nothing like a waving gnome to add in some serious cuteness. :)

Here is the D with the little Deer. I love that all the letters have an object or animal that starts with that letter. You can also see the some of the red backing that I used.

I didn't follow her directions exactly because I didn't want a pinked edge, but one that was crisp and clean. So I cut a 1/4 inch seam allowance on each of the long sides of each triangle piece and sewed the backing to the front right sides together. After flipping at the short side opening I just ironed everything nice and flat and lined up all the letters and pinned them to the bias tape.

For a backing used some red fabric with white stars on some and red with white polka dots on others. I didn't have enough of either to do all of them. Both backing fabrics were stash fabrics! I also had to buy the red bias tape, since I didn't have nearly enough for the full length. It took almost the entire pack, 3 yards. I really wanted to bring out the little bits of red and make it more vibrant. I added some wide grosgrain ribbon to the ends for a little added tying length in a matching red. :)

The fabric came printed with triangles numbered 1st, 2nd, 3rd... up through 10th for attaching to the banner. I haven't made them up yet, as I'm on a time crunch and my machine is going in for repairs tomorrow morning.

Most store bought banners are only good for a few uses before they get tattered looking. I love that we will be able to use this banner for years to come!

Cravings

2011-07-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Except for ice water, I haven't been craving much as of late, but yesterday I wanted deviled eggs so bad. Little Bit is allergic to eggs, so I don't buy them because we don't use them. I posted my yearning on facebook and my friend Roberta happened to have 5 dozen surplus eggs! She dropped by this morning with a dozen lovely eggs just for me.

Half of them went immediately into a pot of boiling water for deviled eggs. I threw in one extra to make some tuna salad for lunch.

This also meant that I got to use my woefully neglected polish pottery egg plate. :)

I was very well pleased with my deviled eggs and tuna salad sandwich. I haven't decided what to do with the other 5 eggs, maybe I'll make some fried eggs for myself and make hubby an egg omelet tomorrow for breakfast.

Wordless Wednesday - Putting up Peas

2011-07-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Baby Cocoon

2011-07-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing too much crochet recently, but while going through my yarn I found 2 skeins of Brown Sheep worsted weight Lanaloft wool in purple iris. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it....Make a baby cocoon for my little Thumper due in December.

I just did it free hand, no pattern. Something I haven't done in a very long time.

Here is the end result...

My friend Honor bought these buttons in Scotland and gifted them to me a several years ago. I think they are a perfect fit!

This really is a beautiful color way, I wish they were still making it.

I have some other Brown Sheep yarn that I bought at the same time I got this yarn 3 years ago. It is a blue variegated Lambs Pride wool and mohair blend. It is oh so soft! I'm really lucky that the color way, Blue Skyways, is still in production, since I really needed another skein to make another cocoon for Thumper. Luckily my local yarn shop carries it and a friend was there on Saturday and called to see if I wanted some. :) So I'll be starting the other cocoon shortly, and I should have enough for a hat since the Lambs Pride skeins are bigger than the Lanaloft ones.

Wordless Wednesday - Peas

2011-07-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth

2011-07-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all an Happy and Safe 4th of July!

Dyeing Play Silks

2011-07-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Play silks are great for imaginary play. Unfortunately they can get rather expensive if you buy them already made. I really wanted a nice set for my son's third birthday so I set out to dye my own.

Dharma Trading has great prices on plain white silk scarves and they came highly recommended, so I went with them.

Today, while Little Bit slept, I Kool-Aid dyed some more play silks for his birthday. I found an awesome tutorial at Confessions of a Stash Junkie. There is also a neat color guide at Tried and True.

Here are the results:

1, 36x36 orange (this was a re-dye, as it didn't turn out the first time.)

1, 36x36 blue (a duplicate of one I already made)

2, 8x54 rainbows

1, 22x72 rainbow

and 1, 6x24 pink.

One of the 8x54 rainbows, the blue and the little pink ones are a birthday gift for a friend's daughter.

I'm rather pleased with how this batch came out.

The ones I made before are all 36x36 and solid colored.

Red, Purple, and Gold (accidental, but pretty)

Blue, Pink, and Green

Since I still have some time before Little Bit's Birthday, I'm thinking of getting some more blank ones and making a batch for party favors.

Wordless Wednesday - Iris

2011-05-25T21:51:00.000-07:00

Banner

2011-05-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Quite a while back I made a white and red banner for my husband on his request. Last week he asked me if I would paint "Black Sheep" on it for him.

Here is the result....

I used fabric paint on the trigger and it came out pretty well. I had bought some foam brushes, but found that a 1/2 inch regular paint brush worked better.

Splash

2011-05-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally gotten warm enough for the splash park to open! So Little Bit and I ventured out to have a little fun at the park.

I think this was his favorite... Water cannons!

He had a billant time and even figured out how to turn on the water by touching the buttons on the red posts.

We'll be going back frequently during the summer. It's probably going to be his favorite summer place. I don't mind, especially since it is free!

Don't worry, this little ginger had plenty of sunscreen on, as did I. We're both fish belly white and burn in a second. :( He did refuse to wear his sun hat though... first time for everything I suppose.

Wordless Wenesday - Farmer B

2011-05-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - Carrots

2011-05-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Curtains

2011-05-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

Since the sun has been going down later and later, bed time for Little Bit has been getting a little more difficult. He has a huge 58"x59" west facing window in his room that lets in great light during the day, but at bed time the light is too much, making it more difficult for him to get to sleep.

Solution... Lined curtains!

I let Little Bit pick out the fabric himself!
You can't see it in these pictures, but there are tiny vines in a stripe pattern. They are quite green, but he's happy with them. :)

They went up yesterday and they are working great.

I didn't follow a pattern. They are just plain, lined, rectangular curtain panels.

I'm thinking of making a pillow slip for him out of the leftover fabric.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a lovely Mother's Day!

Please enjoy some of the Spring that has finally arrived in Washington State.

Wordless Wednesday - Day at the Zoo

2011-04-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

Hooked Up

2011-04-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

This was not how I'd planned to spend the later half of last week.... Hooked Up.

I landed in the emergency room last Wednesday afternoon having heart palpitations. As it turned out I was having a type of heart arrhythmia called Atrial Fibrillation.

They transferred me from from triage to the ER very quickly and I was hooked up to about 5 different machines within minutes. They did an EKG once, and then again just to be sure. Yep, my heart was beating very fast and out of a normal rhythm. Talking while laying reclined winded me.

After about 10 doctors of all types, cardiology, OB, ER and several IV attempts, they all agreed I should be admitted. OB came by because I'm 8 weeks pregnant with kiddo number 2, and that complicated things significantly.

After being admitted to internal medicine, I was given some meds to lower my heart rate, which was spiking to 150 just standing up. After the drugs, my heart rate went down, but my BP tanked to almost dangerous levels. Yeah. Not Good.

So after some more drugs, it started to become clear that this wasn't working and they decided to move me to the Intensive Care Unit the next day.

So Thursday I had an echocardiogram to check for heart defects. That at least was clear. Labs came back and it wasn't my thyroid causing all the trouble either.

So it was determined that I should undergo a cardioversion. This is where they hooked me up to electrodes and shocked my heart to kick start it back into a regular healthy rhythm. I was sedated, so there wasn't any pain and there was no risk to the baby.

My heart went back to a normal rhythm like it was supposed to and I spent the night in the ICU recovering. They let me out of the hospital on Friday afternoon, and recovery has been slow. I've been mostly just tired and sore.

I have to give myself blood thinner shots for the next 3 weeks to stave off blood clots and after that I'll be on an aspirin regimen for I don't know how long.

For me, the really big bummer of all this is that now I'm considered high risk with the pregnancy, so I can't be cared for by the Midwife Team and I've essentially been handed over to the High Risk OB Team. Not, my ideal situation.

So I spent the later half of last week wired to an EKG machine, 2 IVs, a pulseox monitor, blood pressure cuff, and oxygen.... all hooked up.

I have to say that I've been heartily impressed with the outpouring of help from my husband's unit's FRG. The wives really were outstanding help to my family and I haven't had to cook a meal for days. Thank you very much! And 'Thank You' to the Unit for my lovely Easter Lilies, they brought bit of what I love into my room and made it a little nicer to be stuck in the hospital.

Tomorrow is my first day alone with a 2 year old all day since I've been home... it should be interesting.

Wordless Wenesday

2011-04-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Back in the swing

2011-04-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

After a nice vacation in Germany, we are home and getting back in the swing of life.
I'm in the midst of finals, one ever 2 weeks for the next 6 weeks, so there still won't be a ton of posts right now, but I'll try to post as often as I can.

Before we left I made a couple of last minute things for the trip.

I made Little Bit this box bag for his toiletries. It is made with some super cute kids prints from St. Jude's and lined in white PLU. It also matches his large wetbag which we used for a laundry sac while traveling.

I also made myself a small box bag for my crochet hooks and sewing bits and bobs. It came in quite handy! I is interlined in fusible fleece, which gives it a bit of structure and it helps keep sewing needles from sticking through!

Tray Table Cover

2011-03-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Our long trip has me really thinking about fun ways to keep Little Bit occupied and happy on a plane. He's never traveled on a plane before and having little things to do, and personal touches really can make a difference.

When we moved last summer I made him this Travel Lap Desk, and while it is great for in the car, it is way to big for an airplane.

Here is what I've come up with... It is a slip cover for an airline tray table. I used some IKEA Fredrika fabric that I had left over from making Little Bit's curtains for the tray top portion.

the whole thing rolls up pretty small when the pockets are empty for storage. I'll probably just toss it in Little Bit's Trunki for our flight change rather than empty it out.

It has a couple of pockets in the front for crayons, snacks or small toys, like matchbox cars.

He picked out the lady bug fabric and has made an appearance in his small Peak-a-Boo toy sacks, also for the trip.

I love how the red contrasts nicely with the green, nice and vibrant.

The underside has a zippered pocked made from Katharinahirsch's Medium Elephants on Blue. I got a the free swatch last August from Spoonflower.com when they were running their free swatch promotion and I finally used it!

Kathainahirsch's fabrics are so bright and colorful, they are perfect for sewing things for kids.

The buttons at the bottom keep the loops around the backside of the tray table and the ones at the top secure the pocket closed.

The entire cover is lined in plain white cotton fabric.

The bright green fabric is from my stash. The pocket is the perfect size for color pages or a book or two.

This is what the cover looks like when the tray table is in the upright position. the pockets can flip over to the back or be left out for use.

I used a combination of new and stash fabric and notions. I was very happy to finally used the elephant fabric! :)

I'm very pleased with the results and will post a couple of "action shots" in a couple of days after the trip.

Sewing for Little Bit

2011-03-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing like made to get things ready for our trip. I made two small Peek-A-Boo bags today to hold a couple of toys for the plane ride.

Little Bit picked out the lady bug fabric himself. :) I'd picked out the red for myself, but it went so well I used it too. The white fabric, the clear vinyl, and the braided cotton ties I had on hand.

One of the bags holds a few matchbox cars...

And the other holds Little Bit's Felt Scape. :)

Speaking of the Felt Scape... I also made it today. All the felt shapes are made from the scraps of upcycled sweaters. There are stars, hearts, circles, squiggles, diamonds, squares, petals, and some abstract shapes. I got the idea for a portable felt scape toy from Chez Beeper Bebe's Felt Egg Design Book.

The background fabric is polar fleece because I didn't have any felt pieces big enough. There is one blue and one white.

Using lots of different felted sweater scraps means a lot of different colors, patterns, thicknesses and textures of felt.

Felt Scape Fun...

This is such a quick and easy no sew project that anyone can make! Little Bit was begging to play with it, so we made one. :)

It is put away now so I can save it for the plane ride.

Travel Things

2011-03-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready to take a very long flight and I've been making little things for Little Bit to have for the trip.

I had a little fabric left from making Little Bit's napkins and table cloth that I'd been holding on to for a while, nearly 2 years. I was glad to finally make it into something useful and get it out of the scrap pile! Yea for Stash Busting!

Inspired by Bright Life Toys...Here is the result... a Very Hungry Caterpillar memory game! This will be lots of fun on the plane and it is a nice quiet game. :)

The pieces are backed in the VHC dot fabric, which is the same as the storage bag.

Storage bag with an odd square of the fabric appliqued to the front for easy identification.

My next challenge was to make a travel pillow.

I found this Sew Baby pattern for animal travel pillows at Joann's yesterday. It sews up really quickly! I made it from an upcycled cashmere sweater and stuffed it with poly-fil. Little Bit is thrilled with his new travel pillow... I wonder if he will name it.

MEOW!

Busy Busy Busy!

2011-03-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't done a real update in weeks...sorry. I've been up to my eyeballs in Astronomy, Environmental Health, and Biology... my university courses for this semester. Papers, tests, and now midterms. Ugh!

I have managed to get a lot of sewing done too though.

Here is Lenny the mutant frog from a couple of weeks ago and his normal counterpart...

Two little lamkins in fleece...

A scrappy Bunny in peach, pink, cream and purple (tail) cashmere.

Three more lamkins plushies made from upcycled cashmere!

Here is Raff the Griaffe in fleece looking very curious.

All these animals were made from Funky Friends Patterns with permission. :)

I also finished some crochet work, but the pics aren't edited yet.

Wordless Wenesday - Oh Hi!

2011-03-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - A Little Spring

2011-03-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

Fat Tuesday

2011-03-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone who is celebrating Mardi Gras is having a lovely day!

Being in Washington, we just did a little celebrating at home by making some beignets and donning our purple, green, and gold!

Here is Little Bit enjoying his beignets...

Yesterday's Sweater

2011-03-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

Totally Kids Times wrote a sweet little piece titled Yesterday's Sweater which showcased items made from upcycled sweaters! I'm very honored that they included a couple of my hats! Thanks Totally Kids Times!

I wanted to share a How To that they also included in their post. Dollar Store Crafts has a quick and easy picture tutorial on Dabbled for making quick upcycled sweater mittens! Don't Heather's mitten look great!

Little Bit wouldn't keep mittens on this year! If he picks out the sweater I'm sure he'll be more interested in wearing mittens next year!

Wordless Wednesday - Mutant Frog

2011-03-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday - I catch it!

2011-02-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

The Week in Wool - 5

2011-02-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

Not much wool this week, I've been crocheting like mad though.

I did finished a little stuffed bunny made from upcycled cashmere and one purple cashmere hat.

I think she has the sweetest little face. :) She's made from the Funky Friends Factory, Baby Bunny Pattern.

This organic cotton hat was a custom for a friend who is moving away. 6-9 month sized.

I also finished up a wholesale lot of cotton crocheted soap savers....

I have a couple of more bunny plushies in the works and hats of course. :) I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Wordless Wednesday - Bunny

2011-02-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

Week in Wool - 4 Owl Plushies

2011-02-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry... I'm running a little late with this. We've all been sick for a week and Little Bit has had it pretty bad with double ear infections.

This week I finished 4 owl plushies I've been working on for about 2 weeks.

This time of year always makes me a little home sick for New Orleans. It is Mardi Gras time...so, purple, green, and gold have been on the brain! There wasn't much to be done, they just started cutting themselves out like I had no control...

Meet Mardi and.... Gras.
Not quite twins, Gras is a little bit more plump than Mardi.

Mardi Gras

This little guy I call Zydeco, he just wants to get up and dance in the streets!

And here we have Nola... for New Oleans, LA. She's already to catch some beads and get into the Mardi Gras spirit! She's also my favorite. :)

All these stuffed owl plushies are made from scraps of upcycled wool and cashmere sweaters. I'm glad I was able to make a little dent in my scrap pile. :)

I also made 2 cashmere baby hats, but I haven't taken pictures yet... maybe tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Kitty

2011-02-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

Guesting with Universal Mama

2011-02-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

I'm very honored that Universal Mama has asked me to be a guest with them next week. I'm really excited to stock with them on Monday at 10pm eastern time at their Universal Mama Hyena Cart Congo Page.

I'll be listing hats from this weeks, Week in Wool and more. :) Come on by and peruse a great variety of handmade items from Mama Artisans!

The Week in Wool - 3

2011-02-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this week's Week in Wool.... thought it's mostly cashmere this week.

I made two 0-3 month light pink cashmere hats. One went off to WAHM Connect, the other will be for sale.

This is such a sunny yellow, perfect to banish the gray of winter, 0-6 months, cashmere.

This red gnome hat is made from 100% lambswool. The ribbing is so stretchy, it starts at a 2T size and stretches to fit a young adult, just fold the bottom edge up or down for years of wear!

Also cashmere, this bright blue, fully ribbed hat is a 3-9 month size. So soft and stretchy too!

This was a custom for a friend. a 6-12 month fuzzy cashmere lavender double knot.

I do have 2 others hats this week, but between having a sick kiddo and feeling under the weather myself, I haven't taken pictures of them yet.

Raspberry Smoothie

2011-02-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

Little Bit has been sick the past few days. He has a really sore throat and is having trouble swallowing. We've been to the Dr. and it is just a virus, not strep. Yea! Since he likes smoothies I figured it would be an easy way to get some food and liquids in him. Hooray for smoothies!

Today's smoothie was raspberry! I used some frozen raspberries that I'd put up a few weeks ago, milk, Yami vanilla yogurt, ice and a dash of sugar. I didn't measure, I just used the TLAR method... That looks about right. :) I crumbled up a few raspberry bits on top and Little bit went to town. There was enough for me to have some too.

Giving Bagels A Go

2011-01-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

In an effort to try more things this year, I tried making bagels for the first time yesterday. I used the recipe from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book. They were so easy to make I can't believe I've never tried making them before!

They did come out a little misshapen and I need to make the holes bigger next time, but they were still very tasty!

The recipe was just for the plain ones, but I wanted a little variety. I dipped 4 of them in a plate dusted with kosher salt. These tasted just like pretzels!

And I dipped another 4 in a cinnamon sugar mixture. These were Little Bit's favorite!

It is so nice knowing exactly what is in them, nothing weird sounding or unpronounceable, just flour, salt, sugar, water, and yeast! Well, and a bit of cinnamon. :)

I really want to try some with blueberries or other fruit.

The Week in Wool - 2

2011-01-29T23:27:00.000-08:00

Here are this weeks recycled wool and cashmere sweater projects.

These two black cashmere hats are 3-6 month sized, each with a small appliqued lambswool star, pink and blue respectively.

This ManiMina Elfin Earflap Hat is hot pink wool/angora blend on the outside and light pink cashmere on the inside. The little ball on the tip of the hat is also the same cashmere as the lining. It is a 6-12 month size. The ties are braided natural cotton.

Perfect for a boy or girl, this gender neutral 3-12 month top knot hat is so soft and stretchy!

I made one of these red gnome hats at halloween for Little Bit, I knew I had to make more. :)
This red gnome hat is a 9-12 month size and made from soft felted lambswool.

A little more pink this week and another pointy pixie hat, light pink sized for a 0-3 month old.

This ManiMina is also a 6-12 month size earflap hat. This green fabric is felted merino wool. It is lined in white cashmere and has a little white cashmere star applique. It also has natural braided cotton ties.

One more pointy pixie hat rounded out the week. This one was made from a beautiful fair isle sweater, with pastel pink, blue, green, and tan stripes. It is a wool blend of 79% lambswool and 21% nylon and is so soft!

So that's what I've finished this week. :) I hope everyone is enjoying their last days of January.

Wordless Wednesday - Leaf Vein Skeleton

2011-01-25T22:51:00.001-08:00

Spring Peaking

2011-01-25T15:02:00.000-08:00

Spring is peaking out its head a little...

I have no idea what these little flowers are, but they all all over town. We have the purple variety, while some I've seen are white. I think they are very sweet and just what I needed to see today.

My early daffodils are right on schedule! They should be blooming in late February or early March.

These are in the front garden.

I put in this bed of lily bulbs and daffodils last november. The lilies have been sprouting for weeks and the daffodils have joined the chorus. I was a little afraid that the lilies came up too soon, but the weather here seems to suit them, even if it is January.

I'm really looking forward to the splashes of color to wash away some of this Washington gray.

The Week in Wool

2011-01-22T19:50:00.001-08:00

This is what I've made this week from upcycled wool and cashmere sweaters....mostly hats, and one lone owl.

3 newborn sized gnome / pixie hats... All made from 100% lambswool. I was destined to spend the rest of the week in pinks... so I'm glad I got some boy-ish colored things finished early in the week.

I had a request for some pink toddler and baby hats from a friend... so I made up several.

This pink merino wool hat is lined in cashmere and has a small appliqued wool star. Made from the ManiMina Pattern with permission.

Another custom, a black cashmere knot hat with a fuchsia organza flower.

Also a custom that went out this week is another pink owl, cousin to the first two that I made last year. I love how she came out. :) Made from cashmere, wool, and wool roving needle felted eyes.

As ever, if you like my owls, you'll love the owl paintings of Quirky Dame, my inspiration.

I have 3 more ManiMina hats cut out and 2 more black cashmere that are nearing completion.

Wordless Wednesday - Fish!

2011-01-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

Day at the Aquarium

2011-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Friday we spent the morning at the Seattle Aquarium. Thanks to Groupon, we were able to get tickets for $10! It turned at $50 day into a $30 day!

Little bit had a great time looking at all the fish and animals, but would absolutely not touch anything in the touch ponds.

Wordless Wednesday - Snowy

2011-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

More Pointy Hats!

2011-01-10T00:14:00.001-08:00

I finished up a couple more upcycled sweater hats over the weekend!

I'm not really a pink person, but this pink stripe really spoke to me. I think it would be perfect for Valentine's Day or spring pictures in a garden.

I made 2 hats out of it. The first is a 0-6 month size, and the second is an 18 month to 5 year old size. The stretchy ribbing around the bottom really allows for a great amount of stretch for longer wear. This is the same type of sweater that Little Bit's green pointy hat was made from. He's been wearing it since April, and will have another couple of years wear out of it!

And then there is this super fun faire isle hat! So many great colors, it would go with so many cute outfits! It is a 3-6 month size, and upcycled wool of course! :)

I hope everyone is having a Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday - Funky Fun Hat

2011-01-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

Shop Update Winter Baby Hats

2011-01-03T23:34:00.001-08:00

Right before New Years, I added a bunch of new upcycled cashmere baby hats to my Artfire Studio, White Dandelion Works!

Here are some of my favorites!

So Soft! Fuzzy Mint Green 3 to 6 Months. This is some of the softest cashmere I've ever felt!

This Bright red cashmere is perfect for your newest little Valentine! I love this red with the little knot ears! So stretchy, 0-6 month sized.

This is such a pretty color! It looks more blue in daylight and more purple under incandescent light! I call it a purplish blue. :) I have one in Preemie and one in 3-6 months sizes.

This is a nice soft pink cashmere. I have one Preemie and two 0-3 month sized hats in this pink.

This is just a sampling. There are bunches more listed and bunches more to make! :)

Wordless Wednesday - Maestro

2010-12-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday - Rainbow

2010-12-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday - Picking a Tree

2010-12-08T01:54:00.000-08:00

Still Here

2010-12-06T07:38:00.002-08:00

I'm sorry for being so absent lately. My classes have ben eating up my time lately. I had two weeks of midterms for one class and finals and term papers in two others. I'm down to one class now, so I have a little more time on my hands, but the holidays are now bearing down on me. So much to do!

Even with all the chaos, I managed to finish this bookcase that I started in September.

I bought this bookcase at a thrift shop for $10. It was coming apart at the corners and had been badly stained, but the wood was solid and would be great with a little TLC.

I took the back off and set to work sanding and cleaning it up.

Here you can see the bad stain job on the backing.

With a little Gorilla Glue and some clamps I got the corners back to stable and it no longer wiggles from side to side.

A little more sanding after the glue set and it was ready for paint.

Ta Da!

I used plain semi-gloss white Valspar paint, two coats. I covered the back in a layer of batting and red and white fabric from my stash. It matches my fabric bucket that I made last spring. :)

I still love red and white. This shelf is going in my studio for some badly needed storage space!

Spa Gift Collection

2010-12-02T14:32:00.002-08:00

Who doesn't need a little relaxation during the holidays? Made a collection last night... Spa in a Basket. Check out these great handmade soaps, scrubbies, powders, and more!

Wash away the hustle and bustle, have a luxurious and relaxing holiday season with this collection of bath and body items. Buy them all and wrap them up in the beautiful basket.

Honey, are you listening? :)

Spa in a Basket

Curated By: WhiteDandelion

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

Edit: I've just been informed that this collection was chosen as the collection of the week by Artfire for the week of December 6th!

Wordless Wednesday - Last Leaves

2010-12-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday - Fall Canning

2010-11-17T16:46:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday - At the beach

2010-11-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Boobie Hat For Charity

2010-11-08T22:04:00.001-08:00

I just finished up a Boobie Hat for Regrety's Alchemy Fund Raiser, Holiday Regrets.
Over the years Regretsy and participating artisans have raised over $25,000.00 for charity, and I'm happy to be able to contribute something this year. I'm also donating the shipping costs, so that the full amount, less etsy fees, can be contributed to the Alchemy Fund.

The Holiday Regrets Etsy Shop open and stocking daily until December 15th. The shop will be open for purchases until the end of the year. All proceeds go to charitable organizations. If you are interested in contributing something to the shop, contact information can be found on the Holiday Regrets Facebook info page.

Happy Holidays.

Get it in Washington

2010-11-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

There are some really wonderful artisans in Washington State. I put this little collection together...
Get it in Washington to showcase some of our local talent. :)

Get it in Washing...

Curated By: WhiteDandelion

ArtFire.com

Unique Gifts

If you are starting to shop for the holidays, consider shopping on Artfire. They are launching their Shop Local feature soon to make it easier to find local artisans very soon.

Wordless Wednesday - Mushrooms

2010-11-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

One Gnome Costume - Check

2010-10-29T20:34:00.001-07:00

I finished Little Bit's Halloween costume... He's a Garden Gnome!

His hat is made from a lambswool sweater and his beard is a lambswool and angora blend. Both recycled wool sweaters of course. :)

I went rummaging in the wool fabric bin and found a 1 1/3 yards of this nice blue wool, light enough to wear on it's own, or layer when it is cold. It was a remnant that I bought in Germany a few years ago. It is such a nice fine wool I couldn't pass it up. I'm glad it has found a use. :)

After Halloween, Little Bit will some more use out of the tunic, since we play in the SCA, with the Barony of Blatha an Oir. He needed new garb anyway, and he still needs more, but we'll work on that another day.

I used some 1/8 inch elastic on the beard to hook it over his ears and around the back of his head... it was the only thing I had to buy! All the fabric and thread was from my stash! Yeah stash busting. :)

We went with a group to a local nursing home/elder facility yesterday morning to visit and the kids did a parade for the residents.

Here is Little Bit carrying his Halloween bucket that I made him last year. :)

Afterwards we drove down to Schilter Family Farm for some pumpkin picking... in the mud.

Much fun was had. :)

Wordless Wednesday - Socks?

2010-10-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

Doing something just because

2010-10-25T23:02:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it is nice to do something just because. I got a call from my husband about a guy he is in school with who's wife had 30 week preemie twin boys. He asked if I'd make them a couple of preemie hats. The boys were born very small and I know how hard it can be to find tiny little clothes.

I told the husband that I'd look into making a pair of hats for them. I had a nice blue cashmere sweater that just screamed "make me into hats for these special little boys." Without taking any pictures, I sent them out a week ago and I sent a little note with the hats basically saying that I knew she didn't know who I was, but that our husbands were at school together and we wanted to do something for her boys. I got a call from the husband today... They arrived. She was so overjoyed by this unexpected package that it brought tears to her eyes. And now thinking about it... I'm getting weepy eyed.

The twins are doing great and are off oxygen, but still have a long way to go. I'm just glad I could do something for someone I don't know that made them so happy.

I hadn't planned on writing a post about this, but I'm just so touched by the families appreciation for something so small.

Gifts for under $20

2010-10-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

Under $20 Gift Gu...

Curated By: WhiteDandelion

ArtFire.com

Vintage Fashion

I put this little gift guide collection together to showcase some of the Fire Stalker Guild members' great gifts for under $20.

It's never to early to start your Holiday shopping!

Wordless Wednesday - Dahlias

2010-10-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

Spoonflower Design Contest

2010-10-14T14:00:00.001-07:00

Some of you may be wondering what my Wordless Wednesday was about a couple of weeks ago....

Well.... it is a wet pinecone that I scanned as apart of the Spoonflower Scanned Nature design contest.

I took this scan and made it into a fabric design which is now entered in the Spoonflower contest!

I would appreciate it if you would take the time to go vote. Please only vote for mine if you like it. :) You can vote for as many fabric designs as you like. There are some really cool designs in this contest!

This was my first attempt at making a fabric design from a scanned object and I'm rather pleased with.

My Design...

This fabric is also available to buy from Spoonflower!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

Collection Fun

2010-10-09T01:41:00.000-07:00

I put together two collections this week...

This reds collection is made up of items from fellow Artfire FireStalkers Guild members.

Red Red They Call...

Curated By: WhiteDandelion

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

Trying to keep a little bit of summer alive.... with Fun Fish!

Something Fishy T...

Curated By: WhiteDandelion

ArtFire.com

Craft Supplies

Hand Puppets

2010-10-08T21:43:00.005-07:00

Spoonflower had a Puppet design contest a few weeks ago. I really liked a lot of the designs that people came up with, but my favorite is this one by mytinystar...

I ordered the fat quarter about 2 weeks ago and It arrived yesterday. Whee!

Here are the resulting Puppets!

Rose Red...

Snow White....... and the Grumpy Gnome, which is a finger puppet

Rose Red and Snow White are definitely kid hand sized. My hand was snug inside, but it will be perfect for little kiddo hands.

Though the instructions on mytinystar's design page say to sew the bear and prince together, I wanted them to be 2 different puppets.

So we have the Prince.....

And the Bear!

Prince and Bear are both good sized and would fit an adult easily.

I did a little Stash-custing and used fabric that I already had sitting around for the backs. I lined them in white muslin. They didn't need to be lined, but I like them that way.

These are a Christmas present for Little Bit... getting started early this year.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

Upcycled Cashmere and Wool Hats

2010-10-04T21:25:00.001-07:00

I've been busy making bunches of wool and cashmere hats! It gets quite cold here in the evenings and I've started to see birds heading south. Fall is fast approaching. I've been sewing as much as I can to get stocked up for the cooler weater and the coming holiday season. Here is a little of what I've been working on....

0-3 light grey cashmere baby hat with red lambswool star applique.

12-18 Month dark blue fair isle wool hats lined in grey cashmere and a red and white fair isle wool hat with red cashmere lining.

More Flannel receiving blankets...

My son has one of these friendly monster blankies and loves it!

This Flannel Blanket is made from M'liss Forest Glen fabric, so sweet but not too pink! :)

Cashmere Baby hat 3-6 months in Pink!

And some of my recent customs...

A lambswool and cashmere pumpkin hat. :)

An Adult sized cloche in Paton's merino wool.

A plain dark brown newborn cashmere.

Tutorial: Sweater Shoulder Refashion

2010-09-29T14:21:00.003-07:00

Last spring our Mom's Club did a clothing swap. I got this great little cotton sweater with white moose on if for Little Bit for this winter. I thought it was perfect! Then I put it on him today and realized it was a girls sweater! The shoulders had gathering at the seems, which seems to be the universal sign for "this a is girl shirt." Well I wasn't about to let that get in the way of a nice sweater!

Besides the shoulder gathering, the sweater is completely gender neutral.

I've frogged sweaters before, so finding the connecting threads wasn't difficult.

If you are looking to try this and your seams are serged, You may not want to try this method. Serging is a lot more complex to undo.

I snipped the connecting seam yarn on both sides and fiddled with it until I found the thread that when pulled would just unravel and open up the rest of the seam easily.

Once your seam is opened enough, Iron the sleeve so the former gathered area lays flat. Pin the shoulder seam back together making it flat. I had a couple of odd shapes sticking up on the sleeve side because of the original sleeve shape.

Sew along the edge of the seam. Be sure to backstitch where you start and end to make sure your sleeve doesn't unravel more.

Snip of any odd pieces that stick out as a result of changing the seam line and zigzag or serge over it to prevent it from unraveling.

Before.

And after.

I do need to steam iron the seam again, but I'm very happy with this quick fix refashioning of a girl's sweater. Now my little guy can wear it without it looking like he's wearing a big sister's hand-me-down. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-28T21:52:00.003-07:00

Jane Fabric

2010-09-27T22:07:00.002-07:00

I'm a huge Jane Austen fan and I wanted some fabric that had her silhouette on it. I toyed with the idea of screen-printing, but I just don't have the time, money, and space to do it properly. Having a 2 year old also is counterintuitive to screen-printing... oh paint!

I've been playing around with fabric design on Spoonflower.com for a couple of months. I love the idea of being able to order fabric of my own design! Provided I'm able to execute it the way I want... that is.

Today I received 3 proof swatches for some fabric that I designed with Jane Austen's silhouette! I'm so happy with them, I must share!

They are simple and uncomplicated, but that doesn't mean it was easy to do! I'm not a graphic designer, I would much rather draw something out with pencil and paper, so this really was challenging for me. I decided to make 3 different background colors, a dusty blue, a light blue and white.

I'm planning to order some yardage to make some library pillows.

Since I have approved the proofs, the designs are now for sale on Spoonflower on a variety of different fabrics!

Visit my Spoonflower profile page if you are interested, and tell your Janeite friends! :)

Artfire Group Deal October 1st!

2010-09-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

Tony has just announced that the ArtFire Group Deal, a Pro Studio on ArtFire for $5.95, WILL be ACTIVATED on October 1st! The deal is no longer dependent on 20,000 artisans op-ing in!

Thank you Tony, John, and everyone at ArtFire for this incredible opportunity!

Want to hear more? Listen to Tony and John's new Podcast!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

Pillow Re-Do

2010-09-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant, my husband bought me a body pillow. We both thought it would be fabulous, but it was huge in the bed, bulky, and uncomfortable. So for 2 years it has sat unused in our basement.

When we moved and were unpacking I thought about putting this pillow on our futon in the library.

It is not a fabulous shade of blue for decorating and has an unsightly white zipper on one end, so I decided it needed a makeover.

I stripped off the blue poly/cotton blend cover and salvaged the zipper.

I had this spiffy cotton fabric that I'd picked up at IKEA a couple of weeks ago. It was a remnant and I hadn't bought it with anything in mind, I just liked the fabric. I thought it would be great as a new cover for the body pillow.

The pillow form was made from blue striped mattress ticking. Joy. This meant that I needed to put a lining behind my new fabric, since the blue stripes showed through. I always have white muslin on hand so that is what I used.

Basically I just made a huge version of my Nook Sleeve Tutorial to fit the pillow form. I reused the zipper, which with the white fabric is not nearly as obvious as it was with the blue.

I'm really happy with the result! It cost me about $7 in fabric and materials for this Pillow Re-do.

I think it makes a nice addition to our upstairs hang-out spot, the Library.

Artfire Group Deal

2010-09-15T22:42:00.001-07:00

Artfire announced that it is coming out of Beta next week and to celebrate they are offering an AWESOME opt-in Group Deal for existing members of Artfire.

If you have a Pro Studio you have absolutely nothing to loose by opting in...actually, you have a lot to gain! If the 20,000 opt-in mark is reached, you get to have your studio at the lower rate of $5.95 per month for life! You also get the benefits of increased marketing and a say in how that money is spent...as outlined in Tony's post.

If you currently have a basic studio on Artfire, you get a Pro Studio at the phenominal deal of $5.95 a month for life! You won't find a deal like that ANYWHERE on the web. The SEO is worth that alone!

You can read about the Terms and Conditions or if you are ready to opt-in Sign up!

I've opt-ed in! Won't you!

Wordless Wednesday - Cap Henge

2010-09-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

Tag Along Tuesday

2010-09-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

Tagging Along with Twee Poppets Tag Along Tuesday! Wheee!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Peek-a-Boo Toy Sacks

2010-09-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting about the toy bags that I made right before the move.

I can't remember which blog I saw them on originally, but the Peek-A-Boo Toy Sack Tutorial is by Make It Perfect.

I had been wanting to make some toy sacks for a while. I'd seen a tutorial for making bags with an iron-on picture... so if it was a bag of trains, you'd take a picture of the trains, print it out on special paper, Iron it onto your fabric and make a bag. Then, what if Little Bit changed his mind about the trains and only played with Legos. I'm stuck with a bag with a picture of a train. I really like the Peek-a-Boo sacks better because you can switch out toys infinitely and you can see what's inside before dumping the bag out!

I confess I did buy fabric for this, even though I had plenty on hand that I could have used. I had been looking at some 30's and 40's reproduction print fabrics, but didn't have a reason to buy any. So when this toy sack idea popped up they immediately came to mind. The fabric didn't stay sitting around, that's for sure. I didn't have much time, so I only got to make two of them. I did use some white linen from the stash for the lining and I used some bias tape that was left over from a former quilt project.... so some stash and some new.

I just loved the little kitties on purple and the flying/parachuting bunnies on blue!

Some of my left over bias tape that I used for the drawstrings and casings.

These sacks hold a lot of stuff too! There are 2 sets of lacing beads in this bag and there is still room left over for more. :)

What was really nice it being able to grab a bag and take it anywhere without having to worry about dropping small pieces or having to sort through to find what we were looking for. When traveling this was really nice!

These bags really make up quick and I need to make more. I also love the tip in the tutorial to use paperclips to "pin" the vinyl to the fabric for sewing. What a great idea!

Garden Gnome and Lamkins

2010-09-10T22:25:00.006-07:00

The weather has turned a bit colder here in the past week and the sun goes down noticeably sooner. Little Bit's after dinner romp in the garden therefor requires a hat of course! Here are just a few pictures of him in the garden, being my little garden gnome. His green stripy hat was made from a felted wool sweater and the ribbing is so stretchy that he'll be able to wear this for several years... it actually fits me. I have a 3-12 month sized one available in my shop and it comes in hot pink stripes now too!

Gnome flower inspection is underway.

He loves playing with my old dolly stroller.

Digging up rocks and burying them again is a great gnome pastime. The poor bean plants have seen better days. We've been having nights temps in the 40s.

We'll be getting a ton of tomatoes and onions from the garden very shortly. I bought some chiles today at the farmers market to make salsa!

In other news I finished another commission today. A friend wanted a little Lamkins for a gift and I was happy to oblige her. Made from the Funky Friends Factory Lamkins pattern with permission.

Though the pattern says it is supposed to be 9 inches tall, Lamkins only came out to right at 8 inches. I don't know what I did in error, but I guess I'll figure it out when I make another one.

I just adore how cute she came out. Just perching on my hand and smiling away. Sweet little lamb.

Made from a cream colored merino wool and tan and pink cashmere upcycled sweaters, so soft! I need to find some nice ribbon to put around her neck.

My cousin, on seeing the pictures of this one, asked for one for her little boy. So more Lamkins are on the way!

There is one little Lamkins left in my shop... just waiting for a new home. :)

Baby It's Cold Outside

2010-09-03T01:57:00.002-07:00

The weather here has take a shift to the cold side, especially the mornings. My thermometer outside has been reading 55 at 8am. Brrrrr!

It certainly makes me want to sit in front a warm fire with a cup of tea and crochet or sew! And that's what I've been doing, as much as I can with a 2 year old and pulling an 8 hour course load. Heh.

So here is what I've been working on... Baby Hats! All the sewn wool and cashmere hats are made from upcycled sweaters!

I loved this Fair Isle sweater and I knew it would look so cute made into this elf hat, pattern by ManiMina. It is soft lambswool outside and cashmere lined with braided cotton ties.

This Light gray cashmere is appliqued with a blue felted wool star.

I made one of these for my son and it is his absolute favorite! The ribbing is so stretchy that it will last for a long time! It reminds me of something out of a Dr. Seuss story. So fun!

Knotted Preemie and Newborn 100% cashmere.

Organic Cotton Newborn hats. So soft!

Lion Brand came out with this great Baby Wool! It is machine washable! I had to try it out and I'm pretty happy with the results.

I also made a new owl plushie! Red, White, and Blue All Over! He is made from cashmere, lambswool, wool roving and stuffed with bamboo fiberfill.

As always, my owls are inspired by the wonderful owl art of Quirky Dame.

All of these hats and the owl are available in my Artfire Studio: White Dandelion Works

Wordless Wednesday - Stuck

2010-09-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

From the Linen Closet

2010-08-30T00:51:00.004-07:00

Since moving into Our new house, I've had to lay hands on just about everything we own. We have so many lovely things that never see the light of day. Some of those shouldn't be exposed to prolonged light just because they are delicate, but others should get more use. I've vowed to use more of the "nice things" that we have and to enjoy them. After all, why have them if you don't use them?

We spent a few years overseas in Germany and I acquired quite a few vintage and antique linens. I loved them, that's why I have so many! I was especially attracted to the redwork and bluework embroidery pieces. I would pick through mounds of textiles to find that special piece that would make my heart sing.

Here is one of my favorites...

It is a German over-towel. They were used to cover up plain everyday towels. This one is linen and completely hand embroidered in blue with the following:

Ein helles Feuer

Ein freundlich gesicht,
Ein braves männlein mehr brauch ich nicht.

Which in English means:
A bright Fire
A friendly face
A good Husband, more I do not need.

Thank you Martin for a better translation than I was able to come up with on my own.

The embroidery is very even and detailed. It looks like she is cooking Knödelen which are dumplings made from potatoes or bread which have been poached. It makes be a little homesick for Germany.

I love the saying, I love the embroidery. It is perfect, no flaws, no holes! A perfect find for a rainy afternoon. I'm going to hang it in my kitchen, probably over a cabinet door, or maybe my backdoor. I want to enjoy these wonderful things and not keep them hidden away in a drawer.

Open one of those drawers in your house that you haven't looked in for a while... and see what you find! Maybe you'll find a cherished piece of lace that got shoved to the back of the drawer, or maybe just a simple thing that evokes a happy memory.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T20:35:00.001-07:00

Travel Lap Desk

2010-08-21T21:07:00.001-07:00

Quite a while back Chez Beeper Bebe did a post about a lap desk that she made for her son for traveling in the car. I think this is a great idea! Chez Beeper made hers based on MerMag's Tutorial.

I finished this literally the night before getting on the road to drive to Washington from Kentucky... hence no post until now. I'm still unpacking and catching up online.

I made Little Bit's very similarly to both MerMag's and Chez Beepers.

I for the most part, I only used materials that I had on hand. The only thing I didn't have on hand were some buttons that were flat and were cute with the fabrics I was using.

I started out with plain white linen. I followed the tutorial pretty closely and deviated where needed, like Chez Beeper.

I cut down an extra pillow for the pillow insert. It has a zipper, so I can take out some more of the polyfill if needed.... which it was.

I used a Pimpernel placemat instead of a masonite board. Pimpernel placemats are heat resistant and have a cork backing. I already had extras on hand and it was the perfect size! I doubled the white linen throughout, so the design on the placemat doesn't show through.

I also made the closure with velcro, so I can open it to take out the pillow and placemat to wash the cover. I've already washed it a couple of times. :)

I had to use this cute and whimsical bug fabric! I'd bought it just because I thought it would be a cute kid fabric. I didn't know what I was going to do with it until I started digging for fabric for this lap desk. I knew it would be perfect! All the other fabrics coordinate with the bug fabric in some way.

I made loads of pockets for Little Bit to put all his treasures and activities in. I liked Chez Beeper's idea for a cup holder.... so I added that on one side. It also is a great holder for a cup of snacks!

Here is the other side. The little buggy fabric pocket is perfect for a box of raisins!

I nice big handle for easy lugging.

A little applique B for a little personalization. :)

It fits very nicely on a chair or car seat.

The buttoned pockets on both sides are deep enough to hold a standard sized coloring book or notebook. Perfect for color wonder markers too!

This definitely helped keep Little Bit entertained on the 5 day drive across the country!

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Sweet Pin Cushion

2010-08-17T22:08:00.001-07:00

Looking for a way to use up those felted wool sweater scraps?
Better Homes and Gardens has a wonderful tutorial for making a sweet little cupcake pincushion!

I'll probably give this a try sometime in the next week! I have a secret pal swap coming up and if my pal is a crafter I think this would be a perfect little secret pal gift!

Tuesday Tag-Along

2010-08-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

Now that I've unpacked most of the house, I think we've just about reached normality. So I'm hopping along with Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag-Along again. I've already found a couple of blogs that are right up my alley. :) Whee.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

2010-08-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with Collections on Artfire. This is the 4th one I've made, but I think it is my favorite so far. I've always loved the Owl and the Pussy-Cat, by Edward Lear. I thought it would be neat to put together a Collection that told the story... as best that I could in 12 pictures. :) I hope you enjoy it.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey,
and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married;
too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand on the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

The Owl and the Pussy Cat

Curated By: WhiteDandelion

ArtFire.com

Handmade Soap

Over the Weekend

2010-08-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

After a near week long drive from Kentucky to Washington, we are finally getting settled in our new house. Our household goods were delivered and I'd been furiously unpacking for a week solid.. so I took the weekend off. Here is what we did instead of unpacking!

Saturday I went to get my eye exam, way over due, and went to the PX to pick out new glasses since mine got broken during the move. Not exactly fun, but not torture either. Here was Saturday's fun... We ate lunch while in line and B played with his Color Wonder markers.

We finally got to meet Captain Keith and Monte from the Discovery Channel show The Deadliest Catch! They sat for hours signing autographs for soldiers and family members on Fort Lewis. Thanks Keith and Monte!!

Sunday it was supposed to rain so I really didn't have an outing planned. However, the weather gods were smiling on us and it was just overcast. So I packed us a lunch and went exploring in our neighborhood. I'd been told there was a walking path/trail down to Puget Sound and that it would take about a half hour to get there. It sounded good to me so B rode happily in the pram and off we went.

Just as we were entering the trail another lady and two of her daughters were entering as well. She happened to be an arborist so as we walked to the Sound I got a great nature lesson about the plants, trees, animals, and edible berries in the area. Here are some of the pictures.

There are quite a few fern varieties. I've never seen so many before.

Leaning trees in the gully.

Red huckleberries! Yum!

I love this gnarly tree.

Foxglove growing just at the forest edge.

Puget Sound. The sun came out too!

B had a great time splashing in the little waves.

What do you think of when you see this? I thought it was a pile of dirt and twigs.... well it was that and so much more. Thatcher Ants! This Thatcher Ant mound was about 5 feet tall. The entire surface was covered with thousands of ants. I dared not get any closer.

Another neat tree in a fern gully.

It was such a beautiful hike, I'll definitely be making the trek to Puget Sound again. Until then we have plenty of other local trails and parks to explore.

Tuesday Tag Along

2010-07-12T21:41:00.001-07:00

I've never done this before, so I thought I'd give it a go... :)

If you follow me through the TTA, leave a comment so I can follow you back!

I joined this Tuesday Tag Along which is being hosted by Twee Poppets.

To join the Tuesday Tag Along just follow these instructions; reposted with permission from Twee Poppets.

Here's how it works:

Create a new Tuesday Tag-Along blog post. Include the Tuesday Tag-Along button by copying and pasting the code above. (You are also welcome to copy and paste these instructions in their entirety, or any portion of this Tuesday Tag-Along blog post!)
Add your blog name and the URL of your TTA post to the MckLinky below.
Follow Twee Poppets, the hostess blog listed in the first slot. Twee Poppets will follow you back! (Note: If you want Twee Poppets to follow you back, you MUST leave her a comment saying that you are a new follower and leave a link to your blog!)
Follow the Blog Hopper of the Week, listed in the second slot. To learn how to be chosen as the Blog Hopper of the Week, read the red text below.
If you can, please follow the blogs in the three slots before you (e.g., if you're number 20, follow numbers 19, 18, and 17). This is not mandatory, but it will help ensure that everyone who signs up gets a few new followers!
Follow as many other blogs as you want. The more you follow, the more that will follow you back! Be sure to tell them that you're following from Tuesday Tag-Along! You may also want to leave a link to your blog so they can return your follow more easily.
When you get a new follower through Tuesday Tag-Along, be sure to follow them back! It's just common courtesy. :)

The weekly Tuesday Tag-Along MckLinky opens every Monday night at 8:59pm Pacific Standard Time (that's 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time), and the TTA blog post will be posted well in advance of that time. The MckLinky will be open to add your blog until 11:59pm Tuesday night. You then have all week long to visit blogs and return follows!

There is a new list every week. The link you enter one week will not carry over to the next week's MckLinky. Please link up again each week to join in the fun!

From the Garden

2010-07-10T14:26:00.001-07:00

I have a small container garden on my deck. I knew were going to be moving, but we'd been told we were going to Georgia originally. I had planned to take my plants with me to Georgia, it's only a 9 hour drive. Since our plans have changed and we are moving to Washington state, moving my plants is impractical. I'm glad to have planted early and I've been enjoying the fruits and veggies for several weeks. Yesterday was the first day in 2 weeks we haven't had strawberries, but we'll have some tomorrow. I've let several of my plants go to seed so I can take them with me to plant next year.

Here are some pictures of my home grown produce, flowers and garden visitors...

Strawberries

Tomato

Basil gone to seed.

Dill

Couple of butterflies were fighting over the petunias. :)

We are really lucky to have found a house with a garden already planted which will be waiting for us when we get there.

Moving Sale!

2010-07-08T19:06:00.001-07:00

I've been kind of absent from here for a few weeks...sorry. Along with it being Summer and spending time out of the house, we are getting ready for a cross country move from Fort Knox, KY to Fort Lewis, Washington. I've been cleaning and preparing for our move for a while now and have been waiting for our orders to move for even longer. Such is life with the military. Anyhow, we finally have orders and our pack out is scheduled for a week and a half from now. This means a little bit of a scramble on this end to get everything ready.

I don't want to move it, so it is on sale! Everything in both of my Artfire shops is 25% off! Use code MOVE25 for 25% Off Everything!

White Dandelion Works - Handmade goods for home and family

EcoWoolies - Wool Sweaters for felting, crafting, upcycling and refashioning.

Sale ends July 15th! As of the 16th my shops will be on vacation until we get settled in Washington.
I'll also resume taking custom orders after the move. :)

Thank you for hanging in there during this time of change.

Colleen

Custom Work

2010-06-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd share some of my recent custom work....

This little zipper birdy coin purse was for Yasemin.

A hot pink extra large wetbag for Aspen...

A pair of Soap Saver Socks in brown and white twist cotton. I have some more of these available in my shop in lots of other colors!

A pair of pink owl plushies for Paige. Made from upcycled cashmere and wool sweaters and stuffed with sustainable bamboo fiberfill.

This orange a blue owl was for Quirky Dame! Also made from upcycled sweaters with bamboo fiber fill.

These pillow sized owls are made from polar fleece with polyfill suffing.

My friend Moira asked me to make an XBox Controller.... I'm quite happy with the result. :)

Using a great pattern and with permission from Funky Friends... This Monkey was made from a pink upcycled wool sweater and some green wool fabric.

This is my most recent commission.... A Stuffed Chica from Sprout! She is made from Polar Fleece and has a squeaker in her beak. :) I just finished her yesterday.

I hope you all have a Happy Father's Day!