A Project for Me!

My ironing board cover was in sad shape. I don't know how it got so bad. It had water stains and fusible interfacing on the top and the pad underneath was tearing (partly because it was free to side around and partly because it had a five year-old plucking pieces off) and it had gotten pretty flat. I really wanted a new one but I didn't want to spend $20 or more buying a new one so I found a pattern at The Purl Bee and went to work. I made a few changes to the pattern. First, I don't have pinking shears so when I made the casing for the string (I used acrylic yarn that matches my fabric) I folded the raw edge in so it would be in the casing. Second, I made a little pocket for the pointy part of my ironing board so it would be less likely to slip off when I iron sleeves that fit over the end of the board. Third, I used two layers of interfacing (the fleecy kind) and I zig-zagged them together, then I quilted the top fabric onto the interfacing rather than basting it all together first (I tried basting but had to go through and pull out the stitching because it wouldn't lay flat). I am really happy with the way it turned out! And it only cost me $10 (I had a coupon for 50% off so I splurged on the fabric because I knew I would have enough for another project).

Birthday Boy

My little 'lijah just turned one last Friday. The time has gone by so quickly. So, what do you give a one-year old who doesn't really care about presents? Not much. We gave him two things - a wooden snail pull toy (I am really into wood toys) and a handmade doll. I so loved my little Black Apple Doll that I decided I had to make one for my little babe. I made a few changes (or at least attempted) to make it more boy-like. I shortened the hair in the back and made the front more plain and simple (I like how the hair turned out). I attempted to make the body more rounded and less dress-like but once you get those fat little legs pinned on and try to sew it all together you are no longer in control. I also made him look like he is wearing pants by using corduroy (once a pair of my pants) on both the legs and body. I decided not to attempt hands and feet to match the skin so I just continued the shirt and pants the whole way.

Do you think I like the color combination?

Christmas Presents Unwrapped, Part 4

Part 4 is the final installment. For everyone else in our family (grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncle) I made calendars. I do this every year so it is no longer a surprise. It is a great way for family to see how the boys have grown over the years and what we like to do. I am not a big scrapbooker so this takes its place. I make the calendars in Microsoft Picture It! and edit the fonts to look how I am feeling at the time. This year the font was "Enviro." I add major holidays from this website so people can actually use it as a calendar. Then I make the picture page, also in Picture It!, with pictures of our family. This year each month is made up of pictures of what we did during that month in 2008. I print them out on white cardstock, punch a nail hole at the top, and take them to Office Depot for a spiral binding. It is really pretty easy and much cheaper than having someone else print them out.

Christmas Presents Unwrapped, Part 3

Part 3 will be the things I made for my step-daughter who is 7 years old. All three of her gifts were handmade. She got a sleeping bag, scarf, and doll. I already posted the sleeping bag so I won't bore you with it again but if you missed it, check it out.

I made her a pretty pink scarf with dark pink flowers on the ends to match the hat and mitten set I made for her sixth birthday. She really liked the idea that I made them just for her (who knew kids were into that?) so she wore them every time she was at our house. That was seriously her favorite present that year. Anyhow, after seeing how much she liked the hat and mittens and having her ask for a scarf (I made my son a scarf for Christmas last year), I decided that I would make her a scarf for this Christmas (I didn't want to give it to her sooner because I have a lot of trouble thinking of gifts she would like). She loved it! She wore it even when she was wearing a jacket in 45 degree weather. When she opened the package her eyes bulged and she said, "It matches my mittens and hat!"

I also made her a doll. I really hoped that she wasn't too old for dolls. I used the pattern from when Emily Martin of The Black Apple was on Martha (I should get paid for that sentence). In the instructions they said to paint on the face but that sounded a little out of my league so I hand stitched the face (my first shot at embroidery) before I finished her off. I also made her a little apron to dress her up (it gave me an excuse to use one of my favorite little buttons that I had been hoarding). My little doll turned out so cute! I think my husband had more fun taking pictures of her around the house than my step-daughter did playing with her......at least she is loved. I like the doll so much that I am going to make a boy version for my baby. I have decided that every child should have a handmade doll (they are so easy). Oh, you can't have a doll without a name, so she was named Cooking Mama (because my step-daughter played a lot of Nintendo DS while stranded with my sister-in-law in the Spokane airport) but her name was later changed to "flowers and sweetie pie."

Christmas Presents Unwrapped, Part 2

For Part 2 I will tell you what I made for my 5 year old... a scripture case. He has had his own Book of Mormon since he started reading on his own about a year ago. He loved having his own scriptures but he wanted to have his own Bible so, for Christmas we got him his very own full set of scriptures. To go along with that I made him a messenger bag-style scripture case. He (unknowingly) picked out the fabric (red for the outside and black with polka-dots on the inside). I used nylon straps and buckles to hold it closed and it will have a nylon strap long enough to go over his shoulder (I didn't buy enough at the time and have been unable to go back because of the freak Portland snow storm, Christmas, and a trip to Nebraska). Hopefully I can get to the store tomorrow. For the clasps I found ones with reflectors, which were cheaper (by like 10 cents) than the ones without reflectors and I figured that the red reflectors would make a fun addition to the red bag. I also padded the bag with a fleecy interfacing because I don't think a 5 year old boy will be easy on it - ever. I think I am going to get a piece of black elastic and sew it to the top inside of the flap for a pencil. It turned out a little short for his scriptures but pretty good overall. It was my first and it was from scratch so I have to say I get a silver star for this one.

Best of all, he really likes it!

Christmas Presents Unwrapped, Part 1

Now that Christmas is all over and all of the presents have been unwrapped I can tell you all of the things I made (this was a very homemade Christmas). I will do this in a few smaller posts rather than one long post. This is Part 1 or things I made for my baby.

I already wrote about the giraffe scarf and rattles I made for my baby. He really loves those rattles! I also made him a stocking. I did a combination of different ideas to get what I wanted (and what my husband liked). I liked Martha's Felt Punched Stocking but my husband was not a fan of the 90-degree angle (I have to say that I agree now but I didn't really notice it until he pointed it out) so I traced the shape of a store-bought stocking that my eldest son has. The toe ended up being a bit long but it's all good. It was super easy. The felt was not strong enough after I punched the holes in it so I went back and added interfacing for stability (I had to re-punch my holes) so if you are going to do this either get stronger, more-expensive fabric or iron on interfacing before punching.