...in which some things happened and were accomplished...

Some general housekeeping:

Micah had his wisdom teeth out, went OK, a couple days of more pain than
we'd hoped, looking particularly jowl-y here.

He told me yesterday, surprise in his voice,
"There's no pain today!" 13 days post surgery.

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Teacher gifts for Grace's last year teachers are finally done!
I'd started these, my machine's tension got gorked up, 

and I put them away for a while.

Happy these are done.
My first attempt to thread sketch.

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Grace, first day of 3rd grade!!

What went in the locker this years was a big deal:

 This is by the front doors of her school:

I think we should all embrace this!

I know I'm going to try.

Coffee Cozy

I cut these out on the last craft retreat I went to, and then decided to go home at a decent time on Sunday instead of sewing them up. Last night, Grace helped me match buttons to each one and I sewed them on. Made 100% from materials I already had, I like how they turned out. And of course they are all backed in repurposed jeans. Here are my coffee cozys:

Most people would make something because they had a plan for it. Not me. These are another item I made with no real plan, I just knew I had all the materials to make them, so I did. As I've completed them I've decided they will just be used to bless some people I love. I'll probably include a small coffee shop gift card. Maybe one will be left in a mailbox, another might get mailed. One will probably go for my friend who is doing my hair for the prom on Friday. Another for a friend who is having a challenging time in most areas of her life right now. Now I'm excited to give them away.

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One woman who will get one of these blessed me the other day when she heard God's heart for me.

I was sharing in a class that I help lead and told how I was on the South Beach Diet wagon, and how I'd fallen off the South Beach Diet wagon, and was now trying to get back on. I have lost some weight, but not as much as I hoped, but that I wasn't giving up, I know God is in it wanting to break off my 'need' for sugar. 

Later, she told me to stop being so hard on myself. That as a parent, I should know that God isn't looking at me with disgust. She compared it to having a baby who is learning to walk. When your child takes their first steps, you drop everything and cheer. You don't tell them, "Eh, that was okay, but it was really only a step and then you fell. Next time try harder and I'll be here when you get it right." You keep encouraging them to try over and over again. 

That's what God is doing with me. He loves that I'm stepping out, listening to Him and following Him. He's cheering me on and when I stumble, He stops to see if I need help or if I can get up myself, gaining strength from His presence. He cheers. For me. And I have strength to try again. Soon I'll be running, and He'll still be cheering.

Aaaaaand again...

I made more stuff. Annnnd I may need a Pinterest intervention.

You can follow me on Pinterest and see what keeps my attention to the exclusion of all else, simply by clicking the 'Follow me on Pinterest' button at the top right of this blog. Do it. I should probably link back to the original posts, but I just can't make myself do it right now, but Pitnerest will do it for me, and you may find some other stuff you like.

Someone at the bridal shower I attended even made a Pinterest comment when my gift was opened. The covered cake pan the bride registered for was filled with crocheted dishcloths and a variety of potholders I made.

(Sometimes Blogger is so frustrating. Like today when this photo is obviously supposed to be turned the other way. Gah! No matter what I do, it's wrong. Maybe someone from the Google corp. will see my complaint and want to give me a huge gift card to make up for the inconvenience?!? It could happen.)

Cute, bright materials, all backed with repurposed jean material. Jean is so durable, these should wash up really well. And the jean parts should interfere with the grooms masculine preference...'

 Cupcake potholder.

Japanese style potholders, minimalistic, nothing extra to get in the way...

In lieu of a bow, I added this little guy to the outside of the package. I like these kind of little primitive crafts, good for not much at all, other than getting a smile! I liked him so much, I started on a few more.

These are sitting in the basket of socks & underwear I should have been sorting & folding instead of crocheting. Maybe the socks will get done tonight. Or, if I leave them long enough, the family will have dug through the basket, picking their own stuff out... and then I could crochet more...

How I Might be Growing Up, and Some Gifts I Made

The Chenille quilt I made this fall has found a new home. It is living with a cute little snuggler named Henry. He also received these letters I found a pattern for online (I can't find the original link - sorry!!)

I used scraps from the chenille quilt and a couple other coordinating fabrics, cut the edges to rag and washed them up. They are pretty cute. Next, I sewed them on a wide ribbon, vertically, to hang on a door or wall. So cute. Unfortunately, I did this last step in a hurry the morning of the shower, which I was hosting. Here's a blurry shot of the result:

Do you see what I didn't? ?   ?      ?     Yeah, it says 'Herny', which is CLOSE to Henry, but not close enough. I had this hanging as a decoration to go home with the mom, and finally someone was nice enough to point out my spelling error. Bah. It was a good laugh, and now it's been fixed and is ready to go in the mail back to Henry. Embarrassing, but we had a good laugh.

Henry also got a couple rattles that I made. The first one, I saw Stephanie, a friend, post on her blog 'built to last' a while ago (check her blog out - you'll like it!), and then when I saw one on Pinterest it reminded me how much I liked them. I totally free-handed mine and let's just call them an interpretation of the cute ones I've seen. Or maybe 'artictic'? He has a little bell in his nose so he makes a small noise, not too obnoxious.

Then I crocheted a wormmy kind of stacking-ring-ish rattle. (I may have called his back end slightly phallic shaped in the past. Don't judge, I just kind of made up the pattern as I looked at a picture.) This one has a cat toy in his head (a bell in a plastic ball) so he rattles a little louder. The rings come off and the yarn is all 100% cotton as are the tshirt strips I stuffed him with so he can be thrown right in the wash. The rings should be good sizes for baby hands.

Also, some fun paint chip garland was made. This was fun decoration, and almost free - just the cost of some thread, and time. Grace even helped punch these out, and I think the garland will live in her room now that the shower is over. I ended up with almost 15 feet of garland. We sprinkled some extra pieces on the bar where the shower treats were, very festive!

The baby shower concluded a couple weeks of lots of company. We had some good friends over a few times over the Christmas holiday, hosted a game night for our small group, and then the baby shower. My husband likes to have people over. I don't, not as much anyway. But I noticed something in myself as we were having company. I was enjoying it. I was relaxed and having fun. I wasn't worried about getting on to the next thing. It was even OK when I didn't get to play a single game with our small group and refereed kids instead so other parents could have fun.

I'm also in an accountability group with a couple other great ladies to encourage each other in the area of health. We would all like to lose weight, but want to not do a fad diet. We all feel like there is a spiritual component to this fight, so we are fighting. And most of all, we are praying for each other and trying to allow God to speak into this area of our lives. We're reading a book about this together, using the 'my fitness pal' app on our phones, and meeting weekly. I've lost 9 pounds so far (2 or three weeks? Three maybe.) by cutting out some extra eating and just being aware of how many calories are in the regular food I eat. I still need to add in exercise, throw out the McD's Mocha Frappe that I love, and commit to better meal planning, but it's a good start.

But the thing I'm noticing is that I feel better about myself. Typical of my experience of God, I'm asking Him to do one thing, and He's doing that and other stuff at the same time. He seems to be speaking to my identity, telling me I'm OK, and making me comfortable in my own skin. I think that's why I liked having people over and didn't have to worry overly much about the house being perfect. I think I could relax and have fun because God made me OK with myself. Crazy. Great. I jokingly told my husband that I am 41 and it feels like I'm just growing up in this area. I want to get healthy, but I can't wait to see what else God will do through my willingness to let Him in. Stay tuned!

Prophetic Arts & Crafts

I saw these beauties pinned on a website I'm not going to keep harping about (See my last two posts!), and followed them to the original post. I love them. Again, something I don't need, but compelled to make one. So Grace and I each made one.

These were fun. We drew the pattern, Grace traced her own and cut the pieces out. She added wings to hers. They are supposed to be rustic so it didn't matter that the eyes weren't exactly even, or the wings weren't perfectly cut out - the best kind of project to do with kids! And it's good for Grace to loosen up and not have something she made be too perfect.

I did all the sewing, she did all the stuffing.

She's happy with the results. I had to get up at 2:30am to go get the owl she'd kicked out of bed!

And she had to take a picture with both animals we've made together now. Evidently, when you are a two dimensional, stuffed, handmade creature, you are automatically friends with any other two dimensional, stuffed, handmade creature you meet. Good to know.

Here's mine, I love this bright, cheery seersucker fabric. I made it with a friend in mind, she wouldn't get out of my head all week. I wish I had fuzzy material for the back, but I'm pretty into using what I have or repurposing other stuff, so this guy was backed with jeans.

And there was a little message free motion quilted onto the back:

Whoooooo is loved?

Annie is!

I felt corny with this (corny) pun, but again, couldn't get it out of my head so I went with it. And the recipient assured me that that is exactly what God has been speaking into her heart over the last few days. She also said that it's like "prophetic arts and crafts!" 

I loved that! I walked into church carrying this little stuffed guy, and felt kind of silly, but pretty sure I was supposed to bring it, and it seems like that was right on. Sweet! Maybe this is why I get hooked on making something. right. now. And love giving stuff away. Maybe it's prophetic arts and crafts? Maybe.

Jump on the Bandwagon!

(Should it be Band Wagon or Bandwagon? IDK)

Did you read this post where I talked about TARN? Because now I am seeing it all over, and people are evidently paying a lot for it. Or 'they' want people to pay a lot for it. Whichever. Check these out:

This one was at Michael's craft store, 12 loops, 4 of each color, for $7!

And this one is at the store on the university where I work. These Boho Wraps can be used for "bracelets, headbands, necklaces, belts, or ponytale holders," per the packaging. $8! For a quarter of the material above.

So jump on the bandwagon, people! Grab some tshirts, make your own tarn, and save a few bucks! What can you make?

(See Wikipedia for Bandwagon origins here.)

Woodland Gnomes & Captive Thoughts

I've talked about Pinterest on this blog before. I love Pinterest, a little too much.

Some of the great things about Pinterest are how visual it is. You can scroll through pictures (what's it called when it's bigger than a thumbnail but not the whole window?) and only need to click something if you are interested, not open each link and hit 'back' because you didn't find what you wanted. Everything on it is something someone else has found 'pin worthy' so you have less junk to wade through to determine if you like something. It is like walking through a art fair with mostly things you can do yourself, but you don't have to secretly sneak a photo or mutter to a friend about how you can make that, too. (There are categories on Pinterest that do not fall into the categories I'm describing, like architecture & fashion, but I'm not so interested in those.)

I saw some cute woodland gnomes made from corks. I knew I had corks, and yarn, and suddenly had to make them. Waiting and crocheting during Grace's dance class I chatted with the other waiting mom's, and they asked what I was making. I showed them the gnomes on my iPhone, which led to a discussion about what I was making them for.

Wait, what do you mean, 'what am I making them for?!?' Obviously they are missing the obvious answer. They're cute, and I have corks and yarn.... And then I realized that I was making something for no reason, and that I can try to simply enjoy the idea that there are creative people out in the big world that can make cute, creative things, that I never have to try. Just because I can, doesn't mean I should. Duh!

So, I made some cute woodland gnomes, I don't know what I'm going to do with them, I don't think I need to make any more.

And again, I learned a few things (all this learning is hard!):
Again, because I can make something doesn't mean I should make it.
I don't always have to have a project, do I?
It's nice to make things for people (who wants some gnomes?), but not necessary.
I shouldn't start a new project when the hat I started this weekend is not done.
(Or the 17 other projects that are waiting for some attention)
It's OK to create margin, instead of stuff.

Some This & That

 

I love that our 16 year old can still be captivated by building creatures with twist-ties.

Such a strange dog.

Girl wanted a braid, NOT THIS KIND OF BRAID!#%@*!!,
so the braid came out.

I was sick Friday-now and started a baby rattle.
Not too bad for no pattern, even if the end is a little phallic.

Two more rings to go on it, the rings come off and the larger end rattles.

On Pinterest I saw a quilt with pixelated pics from Star Wars.

I think Micah would like it. 

Maybe I'd get fancier and use these cross stitch pieces for a pattern:

 

If I ever get ambitious. We'll see.

Show & Tell

I spent the weekend at a cabin in the woods with a bunch of crafty ladies. There was scrapbooking, quilting, jewelry making, sewing, stamping, ancestor researching, crocheting... and eating. Three whole days and nights of doing whatever we wanted to do. I can't show you some things because they're gifts, but here's a few of the things I made that I can show you:

 I was going to make a bunch of different amigurami like these in 3s for juggling kits for Christmas for nieces & nephews, but I don't think so anymore. Anyone wanna buy a juggling book? I'll give you a great deal!

A repurposed pair of jeans into a bag for current yarn projects.

Can you see the vintage sheets I lined them with, above? I love that material!

And potholders I made from some scraps someone passed on to me.

Not colors I would normally pick, but they were already half sewn. I used thermal fleece inside and as thin as they are, they really do protect from heat. They sound a little crinkly.

 

I just left a raw edge that I pinked. I hope the edges hold up, or else I'll have to throw some binding on. After being married almost 20 years, all our potholders are about that old, and trashed, burned, or stained from the BBQ, I may have been the most excited about these!

And I made a little chapstick holder for Grace. It's chapped lips season and I hope this well help her always have chapstick with her!

Remember these?

I always wanted to wear these in Jr. High but my mom wouldn't allow me to have long enough hair to get the 'right' look. I was very sad. Sad enough that I remember it 30 years later, and with it the jealousy I felt for a certain classmate who had the long, blond, straight hair I always wanted, instead of my dishwater, curly, short mop...

(Pause for a moment at the poignancy of the memory...)

When I saw the lovely ribboned barrettes someone pinned on Pinterest, of course I immediately put this project on my list. Grace and I made them last night.

The trickiest part is starting them, so I did that, but then Grace could easily do the braiding while I held the barrette steady. You can see some imperfections, and we packed more braiding on them than necessary, but we both like the result!

Here's a tutorial, case you're interested. (Really, if this memory has stuck with me all these years, you don't want your daughter to live under a cloud like I have, do you???) The only difference we did, other than extra braiding, is we started on the other side of the barrette so the ribbons would end up hanging from what will be the bottom, it made more sense to me!

Making

 Are you making gifts for Christmas this year?

It's only 67 days away.

In 8 days I'm going on a crafting weekend with a bunch of women. I think most of them will be scrapbooking. But not me, I sold all my stuff in favor of digital scrapping. But I do have a bunch of stuff I'd like to make...

But how do YOU narrow it down? Do you make a bunch of the same thing for everyone? Do you make unique things for each person? Do you eschew all things home-made and  buy gifts, or gift cards?

I'm starting to get a little stressed out about it!!! 67 days, people!

My husband wants one of these iPhone thermometer thingies for Christmas. They actually look pretty sweet. But I bet I can't make one of those.

67 days, people!

What are your Christmas projects? (And tell me you are even less prepared than I am. Please?)

Hotpads & Pictures

I made a fabric basket for a friend, and every time I looked at the scraps I thought about what I should use them for. They weren't big scraps, so they turned into this:

It was surprisingly challenging to make these random. I'd like to think that my difficulty means that I am a meticulous crafter, but it probably just means that I am a control freak. ;o)

These are backed with repurposed denim with another layer of (way more worn) denim and scrap of batting inside. And the quilted top is sewn to a scrap layer of fleece, so 4+ layers. And then I dropped them off for my friend because, made out of 'her' material, they felt like they were hers.

We had Grace's kid birthday party at the roller rink last Saturday. Only half the kids could skate, but they were troopers and kept getting up and trying when I would have quit. In their goody-bags we put some glowing bracelets, a sticky hand thing, candy, and a container of goo. Grace and I made the goo ourselves (find a basic recipe here), colored it blue and purple, added extra fine glitter and put it in dollar store containers. The goo was a hit! (And if I had planned ahead, it would have been even cheaper to pick up the glue during back to school sales!) And Grace got to pick a pair of gloves to go with her 'I had a skate party tshirt.' She had to wear then to school on Monday. (And insists they are warm and that she could wear them all winter! Ummm, no.)

Flashback to the 80s!

Micah's been sick, wearing lots of sweats, and doing lots of this.

Everywhere we go, Grace wants to pose with something.

And then she likes to flip through them so she can make decide if they are 

facebook-worthy or not.