Crafting with the Kiddies

I want to craft more with my girls. I have good intentions, but sometimes the need to 'plan' things out and get prepared gets in the way. My girls are always provided with glue, scissors, markers, crayons, paper, bits of yarn, googly eyes, pipecleaners, playdough, etc, in their easy accessible craft cupboard, but for the more organized 'attivities' (as my 4 year old calls crafts), I'm less good at finding things to do and getting prepared (even though I peruse many kids crafting websites frequently).

I love it when a quilting blog comes through with a good idea. A while back I saw this idea over on Cluck Cluck Sew. I knew that the girls' doors needed one, and last Easter weekend was the perfect opportunity as we had nothin' but time, time, time. And I'm a girl with scraps and buttons, oh, am I.

My four year old (her M is on the bottom) got very into this activity and even wanted to make a face with felt and buttons. My two year old was less focused but of course had to copy her sister's face idea. The Ms (their names both start with M!) now hang on their doors and make me smile when I walk by their rooms.

My four year old's breathey "oh, mama, it's sooo fabricy" statement of pride when she was all done pretty much melted my heart.

Have you and your kids made anything fab lately?

- Donna

Spring Cleaning

Since I have 4 quilts in progress which are all at a standstill awaiting various components to arrive, and since that is more than I have ever had on the go at one time, I couldn't bare to start anything else. I did pull the fabrics for #6, but that was as far as I let myself get with that. Instead, I sorted my scraps, as I have been meaning to do for a very long time. I can't remember where I saw this idea, but I liked it when I saw it and I like it even more now! It makes getting at my scraps exponentially easier than my previous storage (crammed into one bin that was too small to house them all.) Now, when I want a certain color, I can just grab what's in the pouch, dig through until I find what I want and stuff it all back in there when i'm finished. Perfect. I (the Mr.) hung it on the inside of the closet door so that it is easily hidden by closing the door. Again, perfect! Did I mention it was $2?

Once that was finished, I moved on to my stash. The situation is getting a little bit out of hand. I can't fit much else on that vintage potato chip rack! A normal person would destash, but I've never claimed to be normal! I can't let go of any of it and I kind of treated myself to some new fabric on Friday...oh where will I ever put it when it arrives? I'm sure I'll figure it out somehow!

Where/how do you store your stash? Are you good at destashing? How often do you destash? What do you do with the fabrics you're ready to part with?

~Sara

2011 - What's in store?

Hi everyone!

We hope you all had a peaceful and relaxing Christmas (if you celebrate) and a sparkly new year. I know I did. Lots of sleep, much packing (my sewing room is now completely packed up, and I'm embarrassed about the amount of fabric and other things I've acquired in my short time sewing.) This year's number one resolution in my sewing life is to USE WHAT I HAVE. I am pledging to go 6 months with no fabric purchases, except solids (if needed!) but my first focus will be some super scrap busting challenges to get some scraps used up. I'm gleaning some inspiration from the ScrapBuster Challenge 2011 group over in flickr. Things like this pillow and this growth chart really get my heart happy. While I was packing, I sorted all my scraps into bins by colour, and I'm hoping my organization will allow me to better see what I have, and crack on with it.

Sara gifted me this little treasure of a book. Yippee....I'm sure that this will inspire me to use up some scraps for sure.

Moving day is in two weeks tomorrow so things will no doubt be quiet on my end...but I promise to regale you with takes of the new craft space set up - I think it's going to be fantastic!

- Donna

Zeee Shirts

I think I mentioned that I'm participating in a craft show in mid-November (like maybe eighteen times or so ..I'm pretty excited!). I've been sitting on a big box of beautiful organic onesies that I ordered from here ages ago. They arrived in June, and while I so pleased with the quality and colours of them, I haven't touched them.



(aren't the colours GREAT? I was so psyched to find organic cotton in colours that go beyond oatmeal or pale pastels - although I did order a few in pale colours, and even a few in 'natural')

After pre-washing, the shirts have sat, in a box, in my craft room. Prompted by the birth of a very good friend's second child (Welcome, Cedar!!), I got a few out last night and FINALLY got started.

It's my daughter's first birthday, and I've had a long sleeve tee in white sitting waiting for some jazzing up. I was majorly inspired by Allison's beautiful pillow, and have based my shirt on this. (Funny - in looking up the link to this awesome pillow, I looked at it again - I had a picture of what it looked like in my head last night when I laid out the shirt but in fact it's pretty different. Mind playing tricks . . .) I machine stitched Cedar's shirt in the interest of time (I handmade a few other little treats and need to get this parcel off - the girl is going to be a month old before it reaches her, easily!), but I want to handstitch all my girl's leaves. Labour of love and all that.

I've been busy with a few other projects but nothing to show for my busyness yet! Back to it . .I'm feeling charged up by having started building some 'stock' for the show. You were right, Sara - once I got started I got excited! Only 40 or so more shirts to go.

- Donna

Working on Prototypes

I love craft sales, particularly around Christmas. I think that they are such a great alternative to shopping at a mall. Several months ago, some friends and I were talking, and we decided to organize one for next November here in Ottawa . .we're thinking about 15 vendors, in a church basement, a fun afternoon of crafty love.

And, er, I'm one of the vendors.

I have several foodie type items I'm going to make, which should go over well, but I'm also looking to sew some small items.

But what, but what? Given my newbie skills (but I have many months to improve, I argue!), and my shortage on time (two kids under 2.5, one of whom is now sleeping in my craft room - temporarily, I hope - and an impending return to full time work in early August), what can I possibly make?

And so the search for a few prototypes begins. I've got a few ideas, but I need some time to work on a model and then figure out how to mass (as in 25 or so!) produce a few things.

I've got a line on some organic cotton onesies in lush colours, and I think I'm going to place an order and applique some with great fabric cutouts. I've done many of those and do a mean blanket stitch, if I do say so myself. I might even try to machine applique but not sure what kind of stabilizer to use.

Today, though, I tried making a patchy fabric bookmark. Many kinks, but fun. I grabbed a handful of scraps from my stash, stitched 'em together, ironed the seams flat, and cut out a piece of corduroy for the back. I stitched a piece of retro ribbon on to it, and then stiched some interfacing to the wrong side of the back. I wanted a little stiffness to the thing. I then put the pieces wrong sides together and top stitched 'em up, and trimmed the edges with a decorative wavy rotary cutter. I'm not sure I like that.

I'd like to put a ribbon through a hole at the top, but I have no idea how to set an eyelet or even make a hole through two pieces of fabric and interfacing. Back to the drawing board.

- Donna