all this for them

Chevron Bag with Faux Leather Accents

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 01:50:00 +0000

I love bags! They're a fun accessory that say a little bit about your personality. I knew when I saw this bag I wanted to give it a shot, especially because I already had some chevron fabric and some faux leather.

The tutorial was excellent! My only problem was that I didn't quite have enough main fabric, so I had to adjust the measurements to make a smaller bag. Which is fine with me. I like the finished size of my bag very much. (For example, I used a 16" zipper instead of a 20".) The only other change I made to the pattern was making faux-leather handles rather than using cotton webbing. I thought that the faux-leather handles would make the bag look a little less casual.

I added an inside pocked with a 7" zipper (and wish I took a picture of the pretty pocket fabric. Darn.). I figure I can stick my phone in there since it always seems to get lost at the bottom of my bags.

I have to say I love this bag! Faux leather (i.e., pleather) is SO much lighter than real leather, so this bag is extremely light on my shoulder, which is a wonderful thing.

Would you like to make faux-leather straps for your bag? Here's how I did it:

Cut two strips 28" long and 3" wide.

Fold in the long sides twice (like you're making bias tape) so that the rough edges are concealed inside the "tube."

Stitch the length of each strap leaving about 2.5" at each end (stitch very close to the edge).

I then used a small round object (mine happened to be an Angry Bird plastic ring) to round out the ends. I traced the round edge on the backside of the pleather with a pen, then cut.

I stitched the straps down, following the curve of the bottom, then went back and stitched an X for extra strength!

I like the look! What do you think?

Early Spring Cabled Fingerless Mittens

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 20:10:00 +0000

How about a cute knitted project for early spring? What about a pair of cabled fingerless mittens? Aren't they pretty? I am super proud of myself. The cable part was really not as hard as I thought it'd be. Once you get the hang of this pattern, the mittens can sew up pretty fast.

These mitts are perfect for early spring, providing just enough warmth for those chilly walks to and from school when temps linger around 45 or 50.

It's a good pattern, but you do have to focus, at least until you get into the rhythm with counting. My husband started talking to me a few times and suddenly I couldn't quite remember which stitch number I was on. So I did have to re-start a couple times. However, once you finish one mitt and are satisfied with it, the second one goes much quicker. I actually did watch a little TV with the second one. That's the mark of success, no? Counting, cabling, and House of Cards.

The original pattern can be found on Lion Brand. In the comments section, a kind knitter named Charlotte Waters adjusted the pattern so that the cables are now centered on the back of the hand (the LB pattern had them off-center). I finished re-writing the pattern below. For my mittens, I did the exact same pattern twice, one for each hand, instead of doing the opposite as Charlotte suggests (I just flipped the second mitten upside down to sew up the thumb hole, while keeping the cables on the top of the hand).

This is the the revised pattern below:

STITCH EXPLANATION: 3/3 LC (3 over 3 left cross) Slip 3 std to cable needle and hold in front, K3, then K3 from cable needle
Using US 8 needles and worsted weight yarn,

CO 38 stitches (I used Paton's Classic Wool Worsted in Aran Tweed.)

Rows 1, 3, 5: (K1, P1) 4 times, K2, P6, K2, (P1, K1) 10 times
Row 2: (P1, K1) 10 times, P2 K6, P2, (K1, P1) 4 times
Row 4: (P1, K1) 10 times, P2, 3/3 LC, P2, (K1, P2) 4 times
Row 6: (P1, K1) 10 times, P2, K6, P2, (K1, P1) 4 times

Good luck and enjoy your new, cute mittens!

Knitted Sibling Winter Hats

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 00:04:00 +0000

These are my hats for the kids this year! It took me a while to make them, and then it took me a while to post them. We still have snow on the ground in these parts, and it was a blustery, freezing 25 degrees today, so the kids got good use of these knitted hats. I love how their ears are covered and both of them enjoy the ties. These pics were taken about a month or so ago on a sunny, but chilly day when we took the kids snowshoeing.

Green is my son's favorite color, so he was pretty happy with this hat. I thought it'd also be fitting for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Looks like it'll be cold enough to still wear it this weekend.

My little girl chose orange. And then yellow. So there you have it. And the hat matches her snowshoes! Totally not planned.

I found the pattern here. The hat is too small for my head, but makes a good-sized child's hat, in my opinion (or maybe we are all a family of large heads...which may be true).

I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick for the green hat, as directed by the pattern. And I used Lion Brand Hometown USA for the orange. I found the Thick & Quick knitted up much quicker and I also had a little leftover in the end. For the orange, on the other hand, I used the entire ball and was happy she wanted yellow too -- because I couldn't have finished the hat without it. Also, her hat just feels heavier than his. I thought these were pretty interesting observations considering the fact that both are "super bulky" yarns, but definitely knit up differently.

I have had such a good time knitting recently! I am almost sad to see winter go. I have several more knitted projects to post and hope to get them up on the blog before the cold weather really leaves us. I'm sure I'm not the only one sorry to see the snowy see go...or am I?

Have a good week!

The Winnie Shrug - Pattern Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 01:03:00 +0000

Well, my little girl got a cute addition to her wardrobe! It's the Winnie Shrug, a pattern by Anneliese of the WeeMuses line. I got to pattern test it for her and I made mine out of faux fur and added a shiny vintage button.

I love it!

Anneliese is a great pattern maker. This is the second pattern I've been able to test for her and once again, the directions are clear, the pattern is full of pictures to help you along, and the sizing is right on.

My daughter wears a 5/6 in regular clothes, but because I was using a bulky fabric, I was advised to go up a size. So I cut the 7/8. The Winnie Shrug is supposed to be worn over a shirt and I found this size worked perfectly. I imagine my daughter will get good use out of this shrug for the rest of the winter and into the spring. (I'm hoping she'll get some fall use out of it too!)

Thanks for stopping by!
Other clothes in pics:
Green dress can be found HERE. (Made almost a year ago, this dress is starting to look small on my little girl. Sniff.)
Wool circle skirt can be found HERE.

5-Minute Faux Fur Pillow Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 18:26:00 +0000

I have a great tutorial for you today! Each pillow seriously took me 5 minutes. And the effects look like I took much longer. I think that's the magic of faux fur. It can really jazz up a room! So this is how it works:
First, I got a couple 18" wide cuts of faux fur from JoAnn's. (I think I asked for 1/3 yard.) These, by the way, are a soft poodle-type fur. Really comfy for the couch. At home, I had two 18x18" pillows to cover. The steps are below.

1. Measure the fur by placing your pillow right on top, right side up.
2. Fold the other end of the fabric over the pillow so that the ends overlap about 4-5". Cut and pin across.
3. Slide out the pillow and pin down the sides, measuring to make sure the cover is still 18" long.
4. Sew down both sides of the cover about .5" (not including the fur sticking out). Back stitch at the ends.
5. Trim the excess fur.
6. Take a look at your pillow. You're seconds away from being done.
7. Flip it right side out.
8. Stuff your pillow inside the cover and stick it on your couch. Done!
No need to hem the ends because the fur covers the edges. (This particular faux fur also has a little stretch to it, so as a knit, it's not going to unravel. Still, I wouldn't bother hemming any faux fur.)

I let my daughter come with me into the hall to take pictures of my pillows and she had some fun with it. (Yes, condo living limits me with photo shoots so I use the sparse, clean hallway instead!)

I've had these two pillows done for a couple months now and they get lots of use. The kids both like to sit on them on the floor when we play cards, and snuggle up with them on the couch when we read books. I love the look of faux fur on pillows because they give the furniture a lot more dimension. And I've been reading a lot lately that a mixture of textiles is good for a room.

I so agree.

If I had a bigger home, I'd do more of these.

They could not have been easier - and I hope you'll agree if you give them a try.

If you have smaller or larger pillows than mine, just get a cut of fabric that fits. Or trim something in your stash, which will only add on a couple minutes to the project.

Let me know if you try it!

Sweetheart Pajamas!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:50:00 +0000

Happy Valentine's Day! Today, I'm sharing these cute pajamas I made last night in preparation for Valentine's Day AND Pajama Day at school. Talk about double-duty!

I realized this week that my kid doesn't own any RED pajamas to wear to school and I wanted him to be festive for Valentine's Day. The class was going to be delivering valentines and doing fun things for the holiday all in their pajamas! So I knew I could go buy some, but figured I could make something just as cute (or cuter) from my stash.

First came the pants. I'd just recently made some pants for the boy, so I had a good idea how to do them pretty quickly. I used some checkered flannel from Joann's and the Kindergarten pants as a guideline, and just cut around them. I kept a big hem on the bottom because I love the look.

The shirt came next. I used a roomy play shirt as the pattern piece and, again, just cut around it. What helped me draw up this shirt was all the practice I had making Flashback Skinny Tees last year for both my kids. (It's a really great pattern that taught me a lot about shirt construction.) I only own the pattern that goes up to size 5, so thought I'd be brave and cut my own pieces. And guess what? It worked! The fabric is knit from Joann's.

And those hearts? They're my favorite part of the outfit. I appliquéd them using EZ-Steam II by Pellon and didn't even bother top-stitching them. The adhesive seemed really strong.

I love how they turned out! I sent my son off to school today happy. He was truly excited about his new pajamas.
Which made me happy.

I am sure there were so many Valentine's events going on in schools today around the world and I hope your little ones had good days too.
Have a super weekend!

A Gray Knit Cowl

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 22:11:00 +0000

One of the things I've really enjoyed doing this winter is knit. I like how knitting forces me to slow down. I use the time to sit still and either watch a show, talk with my husband, or just think. All good things. Most often, I'm never still, whether it's playing/reading with my kids, driving them around, or making it to dance class, karate, etc. (and just in the nick of time, it always seams). I mean, face it. A knit project is seldom fast. Sewing, on the other side of the spectrum, gives me near-instant gratification. And I need that now and again! But the slow pace of knitting also gives me enormous pleasure, especially when the project's done and getting use. This cowl, for instance, has been wonderful. I wear it daily, back and forth from school, out in the cold as we trudge along through the snow. It's great because it covers a good portion of my face which makes such a difference on the coldest days!

And, as I said, knitting is not a fast craft. BUT, this cowl was probably one of the fastest things I've made. I used straight needles (the pattern has this option, though I think circulars would be easier) and I have two seems, but they're hardly noticeable. It's an interesting stitch pattern* and you actually knit with two strands of worsted weight yarn (so it knits up pretty fast, like super bulky yarns). I am thinking this cowl would also look good in an ice blue color and am debating whether to do another. (Though I have such a long mental list of knit projects I want to do right now!). Anyway, I highly recommend making this beautiful cowl. You can find the pattern HERE.

*If you look at the picture of the cowl on the blog with the pattern, you might notice that the finished project looks different from mine. Upon reading some of the comments from other readers and knitters (and looking at my own cowl), it appears that the straight-needle pattern option has different results than the circular option. It doesn't matter to me. I like this pattern just as much!

Kindergarten Pants for the Little Man

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 02:40:00 +0000

Recently, I have decided to start sewing again for my son. I made a gorgeous outfit for my daughter not too long ago, and she refuses to wear it! I am not at all sure why. My son, on the other hand, loves everything I make. From shirts to quilts. So I decided to make him some pants, which is what he needs.

I used this free pattern, which is about a size 4/5. My son is a skinny 6 year old, so I enlarged the pattern a little bit and got a light-gray pair of pants that fit him OK, but weren't roomy enough (I was glad I used an old fleece sweatshirt of my husband's for the "trial run"). I opted to use knit fabric rather than cotton as the pattern does because it's what my son seems most comfortable in. And I also wanted him to be able to wear them to gym class and run around. Aaaaand, there's a pair of Carter's pants that he has that I wanted to try to replicate. I also seem to have more knit fabric suitable for a boy than cotton. :)

The dark-gray pants featured in these photos worked out much better. I increased the pattern quite a bit more and widened the ankle some too. I also didn't do a cuff as the pattern calls for, but did follow the rest of the directions, including those for these awesome pockets. I think they are what make these pants so cool. For the lining, I used a cotton truck print from the stash. The main fabric was some sort of fleece from JoAnn's remnant bin.

Oh, and I added the faux drawstring at the waist, which I also think makes the pants look more professional. And a clothing label!

My kid wore these pants to gym class the day I took these pictures and they held up to some kindergarten craziness, so I think that makes them a success. Happy!

Does anyone else have a good (and easy) pants pattern for boys that they've liked? Please share if you do! I'd love to know.

The Garter Scrap Cowl

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 03:10:00 +0000

I finally handmade something for my husband! And it was a total surprise for him too. He told me he didn't suspect at all that I'd be making anything for him (I often knit right next to him while we watch shows and they're almost always hats or something for the kids). So it was kinda cool to give him this post-Christmas gift last week.

Originally, I wanted it to be a scarf. But honestly, as I knitted, I realized this was not going to work as a scarf. It would've looked too cumbersome. So, about halfway in, I decided it would be a cowl and it was going to be layered and warm. In making him this gift, I used several of my leftover balls of yarn so that the finished product is kind of a trip down memory lane. There's that blue striped yarn that I used to make my son's very first knitted hat (buried in this photo here - one of my first blog posts!). And there's the dark and light greens that I used to make my first pair of wrist warmers (which I realized I never blogged about). And the orange - that was used to make a newborn baby hat for charity a few years ago. I like that this cowl holds a lot of good memories.

It is a nice cowl because it's very warm and cozy. I used (mostly) all wool yarn. And because you cast on 56 stitches to start, the finished product is folded in half width-wise for extra warmth and also structure.

Do you want to make The Garter Scrap Cowl for the man in your life (or yourself)? Grab your Tupperware (in my case, anyway) of leftover balls of yarn and get to it! It's a relatively quick project because it's all in garter stitch and you'll be doing yourself a favor too by using up a whole bunch of yarn that might never have found another use. This is easy knitting, folks. What are you waiting for?

The Garter Scrap Cowl Pattern
U.S. Size 10 Knitting Needles
Worsted Weight Wool (or blend) yarn (leftovers of varying amounts)

Cast On 56 Stitches
Row 1: Knit
Repeat Row 1 until the cowl reaches 27" in length
Finishing
Cut the yarn, leaving a 20" tail. Sew the short ends of the cowl together to create a circle. Weave in the remaining end of the tail.
Fold in half width-wise.

Enjoy!

* Note, for the orange yarn in my cowl, I used two balls and knitted them together because it was a very thin yarn.

Interested in a new cowl for yourself that is quick and beautiful? Check out my latest project HERE: A Gray Knit Cowl.

Holiday Wall Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 00:16:00 +0000

So it's time to finally post my second and last Christmas craft! (Now that it's packed away in deep storage for next year...) The Holiday Wall Quilt! Yayyy!

The inspiration and design for this project can be found here.

I loved Jennifer's quilt and wanted to replicate it asap. I found some leftover Christmas fabric (previously used here, here, here, and here) and a piece long enough for the background.

I freehanded my letters and holly pieces (and trees - can you find them?), but if you want to be more precise, I suggest you follow the tutorial and print out the pattern pieces that Jennifer supplies. (I was in a hurry...)

I had a great time making this quilt namely because I haven't made a quilt in a long time. It was fun to bust out the free-motion needle and aggravate my husband with its squeakiness (does yours squeak too?). Just kidding, I don't really try to aggravate him. :)

I got it up on my wall as fast as I could. In this picture it looks a little wonky probably because it is a little wonky, but probably also because it's hiding the ugly red fire alarm box that adorns our wall.

I thought I'd throw in this iPhone photo just to show you how big the quilt is. (I have no idea why my son looks like he's going to eat it. I think I said, "Smile!" and this was the best I got.)

Anyway, glad I made it and glad I finally got around to posting it. Whew!

I also got some knitting done over the holidays and that's up next for the blog...

Have a wonderful day!!

Tree Ornaments to Sew

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 00:24:00 +0000

These last few weeks have been so busy! I'm sure you can relate. I have been doing some sewing, but haven't had much time to blog. I made these ornaments over the weekend and just got pictures snapped last night.

I saw this cute idea here and thought it'd be perfect to try. My mother-in-law requested a knitted a ornament and I realized I didn't have enough time to get one ready and send it off, so I sewed one instead.

I think it's so cute (if a little wonky).

I hope she likes it!

When I cut this little tree down to size, I had some triangular scraps left over. Since the fabrics were

already pieced together, I hated to just throw the them away. So...I stitched up the 4 triangular scraps and made a second tree ornament (the one on the left). I'm going to tie it to the top of a package for my friend.

Relatively quick and easy gifts. Done!

I made one other Christmas-y item in the last week and hope to post that in a day or two. (It's a quilted wall hanging and I looove it.)

Hope you all are enjoying the evening while your little ones are nestled in their beds!

Now off to wrap some presents...

Prairie Rose Blouse & Pants Pattern Tester & Promo Code

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 12:30:00 +0000

Recently, I got to pattern test the Prairie Rose Blouse and Pants for Anneliese's new line of sewing patterns, Wee Muses. I was so excited to dig into this pattern because I knew it was going to be amazing. Everything Anneliese does on her blog, Aesthetic Nest -- from sewing to cooking to decorating to crocheting -- is done beautifully and tastefully. She is uber-talented and has incredible taste. One can seriously get lost in her blog, gazing at her gorgeous creations, many of which are modeled by her three adorable girls.

Anyway, I knew my opportunity to pattern test was going to be a good experience before I even began.

For the Prairie Rose Blouse, I used a vintage sheet with little red and blue flowers. It was my parents' bed sheet so it has special meaning to me. The fabric conjures up memories from my childhood so I thought it would be fun to reuse it as a blouse for my daughter. I love the finished look and

my daughter loves the ruffles around the wrist the best.

And then there are the pants. Aren't they the coolest? I love that ankle ruffle. I used a royal blue pinwale corduroy and the fabric worked great for this project. I just love the texture both for its visual appeal and for its soft touch.

I sewed a 5 top for my daughter which was right-on target for size. But then I accidentally printed the pages for a size 6 pants (totally my fault). So I figured I'd just go ahead and make the 6. Low and behold, they're a touch big (as I figured), but all I had to do was shorten the waist elastic to make them stay in place. I dig the extra length and as we all know, kids grow. These pants will get good use all winter.

My little sweetie enjoyed a good romp through the leaves in her new outfit. I think she enjoyed being a little fashion model for the afternoon.

Overall, I loved working on the Prairie Rose Pattern! The directions were easy to follow with lots of pictures to guide you along the way. When it's done, you get a really professional looking garment, something I was super proud of!

Right now Anneliese is offering a Thanksgiving promotion of 20% off her patterns with the promo code THANKS20.

You can find the Prairie Rose pattern and others here:

Aesthetic Nest (link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AestheticNest )

Wee Muses (link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WeeMuses )

I know what my daughter is going to where when the grandparents come to visit this week. Do you?

Thank you again, Anneliese, for letting me test this beautiful pattern! I love it!

Angry Birds Chuck "Ham" Solo Costume ~ are you ready for this?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 00:39:00 +0000

Costumes can be a challenge. I don't make them every year. And so far, I've only made them for my son and not my daughter. And that may be because his ideas are precise (as in he knows what he wants) must-haves (as in, he's not going to change his mind).

This year was my most creative challenge. He wanted to be an Angry Bird. Chuck Bird, in fact. But not the regular Chuck. No, my son wanted to be the Star Wars Angry Birds version of Chuck.

This guy:

"Ham" Solo

There are some helpful versions on how to make a Chuck Bird costume. As for me, I mainly used this one and this one. But the Star Wars part?

I had to think about that.

I put some "clothes" on Ham. And I gave him a Blaster (made of cereal boxes, hot glue, crayon, and glitter). And I also gave him some hair, which was fun to pick out.

If I had to do it again, I'd bring the clothes up higher on the bird. Like right under his beak.

In the darkness, I'm afraid these aren't really going to show up. At least that badge will shine a bit.

He digs the blaster. It's the only "weapon" we've ever had in the house.

(But I think I need to make his sister one because battles are sorely uneven right now.)

Here's a look back at a couple other costumes I've made for my kiddo. When he was 3, he wanted to be the Very Hungry Butterfly, and to him, it only made sense that a year later he turned into a butterfly. A very cool Monarch too, I have to say.

Are you interested in any design details?

I put a tail on the back, but no clothes. Maybe I'll still add some. I've got time.

"Sometimes I amaze even myself." - Han Solo, Star Wars

Also, I only stuffed the front panel and not the back. It was getting heavy enough for the little guy and I didn't want to weigh him down too much. Here's a glimpse at the inside. I didn't sew the clothes down to the bird. I think I'll go back and do that to give Ham a sharper bottom edge.

And even though it's not *perfect*, my son is thrilled. His dream has come true. He is one happy Angry Bird. And he just may be the only Chuck "Ham" Solo we see on Halloween. Wouldn't that be cool?? Don't underestimate the power of the Pork Side.

Yay, Ham! May the Force by with you on Halloween!

Linking up with some of these fun parties.

Pillows and Aprons Custom Order

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 00:53:00 +0000

Hello! Just wanted to pop in and show you what I've been up to lately. A community center in my town where my daughter attends playgroup needed some new decor and the phenomenal woman in charge asked *me* if I could sew up some pillows to give the play area some color to pull it all together. She provided the fabric (which is April Cornell ~ placemats and napkins) and I transformed them into pillows and two aprons.

What are the details?
~ the two big pillows in the back have zippers on the bottom (napkins front and back)
~ the two medium-sized pillows in the middle (made out of the thicker placemat material) are envelope style with thicker-weight magenta fabric in the back
~ the four front pillows are filled with stuffing and sewn shut (cut from 2 napkins)
~ down below are 2 aprons made from napkins. The waist bands are double-fold bias tape. I used Dana's tutorial for the pockets.

It's so neat to see all these pieces when my daughter and I go to playgroup (and think, hehe I made those). The pillows are on rockers for nursing mamas to support their backs. They're on arm chairs for grandmas to lean against. And they're on a tiny little-person couch for little ones to rest upon. Oh, and the aprons are in the kitchen along with the pots, pans, and plastic food, ready for the next chef to tie them on.

I have to say, it feels good giving back to this community center. I've made friends there; my kids have made friends there. It's kind of been a second home of sorts. So yeah, I donated my time and ability and I know that these pillows & aprons will touch many moms and kiddies day after day. Month after month.

It feels good.

Feather and Fan Dishcloth in Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 23:53:00 +0000

With the colder weather, I've settled into some knitting in the evenings. I really like keeping my hands busy while watching TV or listening to movie. It makes me feel like I'm getting something done and not being a total slug.

I saw a pattern for a dishcloth and thought it'd be fun to try something different. (Usually I do hats and scarves.) I have a bunch of yarn in my stash, so I dug around and found two balls of cotton, which is what the pattern calls for. The solid blue is an organic cotton that I got at AC Moore a long time ago. I made a couple of hats with this yarn. I like it and how it looks as a dishcloth! For this first one, I used bamboo wood needles, size US 6. Note: the garter stitch bar toward the bottom is not a part of the pattern. It is the result of knitting while watching Homeland. And drinking wine. Yeah... Well, it turns out that I like this mistake and am wondering if I should have duplicated it in my second dishcloth?? To think I actually thought about ripping it out and starting over. (So not a perfectionist, so I didn't.)

For my second time with the Feather and Fan pattern, I used US 7 metal needles. The yarn definitely slid easier on these needles and I finished the dishcloth quicker. But, you know what? I like the first one better! The pattern is easier to see and the tighter stitches on smaller needles make it more eye-catching. You agree?

My friend who saw me knitting at ballet class said, "Are you really going to wash dishes with that?" Well, the answer is no. I imagine some glasses or silverware air-drying on these babies. Or maybe I will use them for my coffee mug. Or maybe I will just lay them out on the table and put a candle on top. I definitely can't imagine them getting dirty! What do you think? Would you use these to wash dishes? Do you prefer one over the other? I'd love to know!

[Original pattern found here. I altered the final "knit" step to a "k3, purl, k last 3" but kept the rest the same.]

Linking up at some of these fun parties.

Halloween Hair Bows ~Tutorial(s)

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 01:16:00 +0000

We live in a tall building in the city, so that means a) no front porch to decorate and b) not much storage space. (SIGH) So when it comes to the holidays, we are very limited with what we can do to decorate. (Our condo building prohibits any sort of decoration on our patio and on our door that leads to the hallway, for example.) So we buy pumpkins to carve because you can't have Halloween without a Jack-o-lantern, but that's about it.

Except I CAN decorate my children. My daughter is quite amenable to receiving and wearing holiday hair bows. I can get my decorating fix, and she can look cute wearing my efforts. :)

Of course in this shots, she has just played on the playground and her hair is not so smooth and shiny, but I'm basically happy enough for getting her hair in two pony tails for dance class. And, of course, for inserting my new Fabric Halloween Hair bows.

Mini-tutorial:

Cut several squares of orange-yellow-white fabric with pinking shears. Cut various sizes.

Start with the biggest and fold like an accordion.

Stack fabric squares/accordions on top of each other to form Xs until all the gaps are covered.

Use thread to secure the fabric pieces together.

Hot glue a pom-pom to the center.

Hot glue an alligator clip or barrette to the bottom.

Trim any extra-long edges.

Stick them in your girl's hair and admire.

And now for some other ideas for hair bows. I put together the next several hair clips all this past weekend and had a blast coming up with different styles.

Love this one.

Start with a rectangle of fabric (mine is jersey hounds tooth). Hand sew the center with two stitches. Hot glue the tall feathers to the back, then the bow into place. Finish by gluing on a pearl. Elegant!

Start again with a rectangle of fabric and sew the center accordion style with a couple stitches. For this one, I cut up a feather and glued one half on the top, and the other half on the bottom like a tail. Then I tied a knot in some ribbon and hot glued it into place. Funky-elegant!

Ah, tulle. I folded a strip of black tulle in half then crunched it up accordion style and stitched it together with a fabric hounds tooth bow. Then I made an orange ribbon bow and used ribbon to wrap all the way around the three layers, securing at each step with a drop of hot glue.

Here's a look at a couple of the backs. For some, I lined alligator clips and hot-glued them on. For others, I sewed barrettes into place, then secured them with hot glue on each end. I like both styles for different reasons. (You can get both clips and barrettes on etsy.)

Thanks for visiting! Are you going to give these hair bows a try? I promise they do not take long at all. Warm up that glue gun and get going. (And a bit of advice: keep a small bowl of cold water nearby for your fingers...just in case you singe one of them. Not that that ever happen to me...) I'd love to see what you make - feel free to leave me a link in the comments below and I'll be sure to check out your creations!

Have a wonderful week!

I'll be linking up with some of these fine parties too.

My Kid's New Pillowcase!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 02:07:00 +0000

Perhaps I should've made this into a little tutorial? I guess I think of these things too late. But there are tutorials out there on pillowcases such as this one and also on piping. So you should be ok. Even if I did my pillowcase differently, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Down at the end of this post, I'll throw in a few tips on how I put mine together, if you care to stick around.

So a little background. My son has never seen Star Wars, and has only started getting into it because they are on Lego boxes. And he has just gotten into Legos after someone gave him a cool box of them this summer for his birthday (ah, marketing). Anyway, long story short, my son and his dad think Star Wars is really cool, talk about it a lot (without revealing too much, of course) and the soundtrack is playing 24/7. So, with so much excitement going on in regard to this new love-interest, and kindergarten having just started as well, I thought, I want to make him something. A little celebratory gift that says I love you, I'm proud of you, and I really am interested in the Force too. Nothing says that better than a new set of pillowcases. (Great idea, right?) The first pillowcase showed up, casually, on his bed after school one day and he was really very excited. Really.

To get this nifty gift ready, I picked up a couple 1/2 yards of Star Wars fabric at Joann's on a recent trip, and looked in my stash for some coordinating materials. The two shades of solid blue fabrics would be perfect for my pillowcases! And what have we here? Leftover blue piping from my Emily Elizabeth dress. Excellent.

I don't have a ton of experience piping. See this and this. (There may be one or two other projects in the files.) But it's not hard, and I think it adds a lot of pizzaz to anything that it appears upon. And pillowcases can be rather plain. I didn't want to add rick-rack or pom-poms to my son's bedding, but piping - now that would be perfect.

Oh, yes? Pretty nice, I think. And boyish and a little fancy too. Doing piping on my pillowcases helped me practice my continuously developing skills, and, quite frankly, made sewing a pair of pillowcases more exciting.

My daughter wanted in on this photo session, so my son kindly gave her the Dora the Explorer pillowcase I made for him a while back so she could feel included (and so the Dora case could actually get some use...since it hasn't seen the light of day since, well, since Dora became un-cool about a year ago).

And now for a few sewing notes/tips:
1. a 1/2 yard of your favorite print is perfect for sewing one of these pillowcases.
2. use a pillowcase currently on your bed for sizing/length (take the pillow out first, of course).
3. find some coordinating fabric and cut the same width (as your cool fabric) but twice the length you want (so you can fold it over and have all the raw edges align).
4. I sewed the two raw edges of the coordinating fabric to my Star Wars fabric after attaching the piping to the Star Wars fabric (follow that?). Yes, you can still see the raw edges inside the pillowcase, but if you serge it (or sew zig-zags), it'll look better. But who's looking inside anyway?
5. I did reinforce the sides of the pillowcases with a zig-zag stitch (I had a broken needle on my serger at the time, darn it).

Well, thanks for visiting and reading all the way to the end. I hope you like my pillowcases and feel empowered to give piping a try! Oh, and the dark-blue Star Wars case - notice how it's not in any of the "action" shots? I'm saving it for a surprise. Surprises are just plain fun.

I'll be linking up with some of these parties.

Morning Schedules ~ inspired by Family Fun Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 18:54:00 +0000

Check out these morning checklists I made for my kids!

They have worked so well for the past couple weeks, really getting my kids to move in the morning. And I find myself not rushing around nearly as much after incorporating them into our morning routine. Honestly, they have made the mornings much more peaceful. The kids really get into lifting the flaps and being "done" with their chores.

Yay, happier mornings for us all!

{The idea for these morning checklists came from the September 2013 issue of FamilyFun magazine (see page 68).}

Supplies:
I used file folders I had on hand.
Then I found some cute clip art.
I glued scrapbook paper to the insides as well as the outside flaps.
To close the flaps, I used magnets, and when I ran out, I used some Velcro strips that I had in my sewing stash.
Finally, I threaded a ribbon through the holes at the top of the folder so that I can hand the checklists in the front hall. (To get the ribbon through, I fastened a safety pin to one end and pushed it through.)

My son has a few more chores in the morning, including making his bed and practicing his violin. So I did two checklists for him (6 total flaps). When my daughter saw how much FUN the checklists were, she wanted one too. For my little girl, I kept it simple: Eat Breakfast, Get Dressed, Shoes On.

She loves it!

FamilyFun calls this the "no-nag checklist" and, indeed, it is.

***

Please note: I am in no way affiliated with FamilyFun. I just love the magazine and like to share the projects that work for our family. You can find other FamilyFun projects on my blog here and here.

Thanks for visiting!

Emily Elizabeth Ensembles

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 13:14:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on Nap-Time Creations for the Sew Many Books series in August.

***

Well, I am super excited to be a part of this sewing/reading series! As summer winds down, and thoughts of school come to mind, I turned to what I consider the perfect little school-girl look to replicate for my daughter. Clifford's best friend, Emily Elizabeth, is adorable in her simple, classic outfits. My daughter LOVES Clifford books, so picking Emily Elizabeth as my style guide was easy. But once I started looking at her outfits, I realized she had more to choose from than I originally thought (a peter-pan collar dress was going to be my plan). I found two outfits to sew that I thought would be cute AND versatile. But this was the first outfit that caught my eye:

Cute, right? I thought a jumper would be very practical for my little girl. I already had the stripy fabric, but went to Joann's and picked up the soft, blue linen along with some piping. The white buttons I found in my stash. As for the striped leggings, I decided to skip them for two reasons: 1.) my knit fabric is on the heavier side and I'm pretty sure it would've gotten saggy pretty fast; and 2.) I didn't want my daughter to look like she was wearing a costume. Ok, one more reason: I also thought too many stripes would detract from the cute factor.

So as most of you know, there's the old-school Emily Elizabeth, and the modern-TV-one. I chose the classic Emily. Not only are the stories and drawings better, but so are the clothes.

Emily Elizabeth is a good friend/owner to Clifford. They have fun together. I like how EE is a pretty happy gal. She also is outside a lot with her dog (there aren't too many stories of her inside, are there?). So outside we went to take pictures. Living in a condo, in the city, we make sure we get out every day. But man, sometimes going down the elevator, past the concierge, outside past the fountain, around to the grassy area behind our building in handmade clothes makes me sweat! At least the day I took these pics it was hovering around 75, so not so bad. But still. (Please don't trip and skin your knees was what I was thinking. Oh, and Tiger better not jump on your dress! I'll show you the outtake soon.)

But back to the clothes. I love the fact that Emily Elizabeth owns a blue jumper! Sure, there's also a pink stripy top, but I was more than happy to sew up something blue for my girl. I started by drawing a basic jumper pattern and then cut out my front. When I couldn't decide how to fashion the back (we never see it in the book), I turned to Pinterest and found this great tutorial. Instead of printing her back pattern piece (it'd be too small), I freehanded the back design based on the photos and then followed LiEr's tutorial fairly closely.

But rather than sewing the panel on top of the front piece like she does, I cut mine into three pieces, adding the piping to the top and bottom of the middle piece. I did use her pattern piece for the straps, but lengthened them about an inch or more. My jumper is about a size 5 (my 3.5 year old is tall).

As we all know, Clifford's "too big," but he's so sweet. Kind of like this big dog that crashed our photo shoot...haha

(Tiger lives on our floor and is a big softie!)

Anyway, the other thing I noticed about Emily Elizabeth is that she does a lot of running in this book. A dress isn't going to stop her! (My daughter got a kick out of running around and getting her picture taken.)

Her top, by the way, is the awesome Flashback Skinny Tee, enlarged a bit from the size 5. It's a little big on her now, but won't be this winter (see? I'm thinking ahead for the colder weather. I'm all about being practical around here.)

And that's that! Now my second dress was a lot quicker and a lot easier. But still, super cute. The inspiration came from this book:

See how tattered it is? Both my kids have loved Clifford. But my daughter is the only one who actually insists on sleeping with the books. Yes. The books. Anyway, Clifford's First School Day is another classic Clifford tale, but this one goes back to his puppyhood. (I find the puppy stories rather endearing.)

In this story, Emily Elizabeth wears a simple {knit} dress with knee socks. Perfect play dress! I knew the perfect pattern to replicate it.

The Anywhere Dress. A recent sale finally helped me get my hot little hands on this pattern that I've wanted for a while. And it certainly didn't disappoint. The instructions were very easy to follow and though I sometimes scoff when people call things a "quick sew," this one really was. I added cuffs to the sleeves and an extra band for length at the bottom. This is the size 5 (which my daughter regularly wears) and it fit perfectly. I used a basic pale pink knit from Joann's to replicate Emily Elizabeth's look.

I have to hand it to my daughter. She was real amenable about going back inside, changing from the first outfit and coming back out for more pictures.

In fact, she relished it. Thank goodness.

Clifford might've caused Emily some trouble at school, but our Clifford behaved rather well.

Even when smooshed.

Anyway, I had a great time sewing for this series. And my daughter certainly loved "being" Emily Elizabeth for the day.

And to the real Emily of Nap-Time Creations, thanks for asking me to join this fun series. We had a blast!
~Mary Jo at All This for Them

Red & White Popover Sundress

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 01:29:00 +0000

Hi to everyone visiting my blog! Thanks for coming over!

I had pictures scheduled this morning for the kids and had imagined my daughter wearing a dress I had made. I have also been putting this off all summer because I didn't know what kind of dress to make.

Now that summer is practically over, I wasn't even sure if I should do a sundress. But the ladies at Project Run & Play made their first round of the competition sound so fun. Deciding on a dress got easier. I'd just buckle down and sew the adorable (and quick) Popover Sundress by Oliver + S.

Now here's an admission: I'm a newby to ruffles. But upon scanning the O+S Flickr pool, I quickly became enamored by this dress and wanted to make some ruffles for my little dress too. They're O-K. I think I can do better next time. The red fabric ended up being on the thicker side and caused me a little trouble around ten o'clock last night. But I didn't give up and toiled away until the dress was finished (around 11).

And I have to say, I love it! So unless my little ruffle counts, I didn't really "remix" this dress, but I'm still happy to be part of the lovely set of examples at PR&R.

Supplies: Red fabric and flower fabric were both from yard sales.
The while fabric is Kona bone (I think).
Knitted hair bows by moi.
Additional Notes: For my tall 3-year-old, I cut the size 5 pattern, but shortened it to the size 3 length (I like knees).

Also going to link up with some of these parties. Wahoo!

Little Geranium ~ big cuteness factor

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 23:07:00 +0000

This dress is seriously small! And seriously cute! It's the Little Geranium pattern and it's free on Rae's blog. I had a wonderful time making this little dress for my friend's new baby. Picking the fabrics, cutting the tiny pattern pieces. Imagining a new little person inside. (sigh) I have yet to meet this new little girl, but cannot wait to see her and give this dress to her mom and dad.

And, of course, I can't wait to see her wearing it. It seems like eons ago that my little girl was this small. But I do remember being stressed and tired and not wanting to fool around with difficult garments. So instead of buttons on the back, I put snaps. Easy on, easy off.

I love the full skirt on this dress and those little pockets and that thick hem. Rae's patterns are so awesome in their thoroughness and I'm always happy with the finished product. I'm thinking I may have to get with it and buy the bigger pattern for my daughter. It's that good.

Oh, and I figured a matching little hair bow/band would be super cute with this dress so I put one together pretty fast. Elastic+fabric tube+bow=easy.

Cannot wait to wrap this gift up and give it away!!
Linking up here.

Oxford Caps for the Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 01:40:00 +0000

***

My kids wear hats all the time. In the winter, they're knit and heavy. In the summer they're light and shield their faces from the sun. I've made hats for all seasons and had been thinking about making new summer hats for a while for my kids (well, since the summer started!). But I wasn't excited about making another bucket hat because I wasn't sure I could find a pattern that would fit. The thing is, my kids have big heads. (I maxed out the size on the last bucket hats.) So when I saw this pattern for a free adult size Oxford-style hat, I jumped on it.

I don't remember what they were talking about here, but they were having fun in the photo shoot, wearing their hats. My son picked out the giraffe-print flannel lining and I added a crocheted flower (from etsy) on my daughter's hat. The outer fabric is a medium-weight ticking from Joann's. (Oh, and my daughter has a light-weight khaki on the inside of her hat.)

The pattern was great. But paying attention to the seam allowance is key. The first hat I made ended up being too small for my kids and I gave it to a friend. This handsome kid here:

The second hat, I think I did the seam allowance perfectly according to the pattern. And that became my daughter's hat.

The third hat I enlarged the pattern pieces a little bit and the end result went to my son (his hat is, actually, a little big on him. But it's better than being a little small, right?).

Check out the cool picture on the left. It looks like my son can do magic with a piece of chalk! I love it. And here's just another cute shot of my daughter mailing a letter. Had to take a picture of her sporting her hat on the town.
I have to say, I really dig these hats. I think they're super cool. And they were pretty fast to make. I definitely see more of these in the future. (Maybe one for me...)

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Linking up here.

Sewing Inspiration from Clifford ~ Sew Many Books

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Sewing for my kids and reading to my kids are two of my FAVORITE things to do. Today, I'm over at Nap-Time Creations participating in a fun, summer series called Sew Many Books.

Anybody else like Clifford?

I made two outfits based on clothes worn by Emily Elizabeth in the books. And my daughter loved "being" EE for the day. (Can't you tell?)

So are you ready? Head on over and check out my full post. I promise there will be lots of pictures.

Here's who is joining in the fun this month:

Nap-TimeCreations - Buzzmills - All This For Them - Wild Wandering - CocoaPie Creations

Sunny Stitching - Bless by Tone - Coles Corner and Creations - Nap Time Crafters

Threading my Way - Welcome to the Mouse House - Sewing like Mad - Sews NBows

Simple Simon and Co- iCandy Handmade

Be sure to stop by Nap-Time Creations on these days forsome great giveaways

August 6th- $50 to fabric.com& free Personalized kids book from iseeme.com

August 13th- Pattern Pack from Peek-a-Boo Patterns

August 20th- Pattern Pack from Coles Corner and Creations& A Remnant Surprise Book

if you are interested in sponsoring a giveaway orparticipating in NEXT years Sew Many Books series e-mail Emily atnap-timecreations{at}hotmail{dot}com

Everyday Tee for Me

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 00:33:00 +0000

This top was born out of need. I really needed a new top. I was tired of wearing the same ones all the time. This summer, I've been wearing this top from last fall a lot. It's just so comfy and fits so well. I figured I should just replicate it. I started looking through my stash for some suitable fabric. Part of what makes my first Everyday Tee so wearable is the fabric - it's so soft. And stretchy. And just feels great on. This black/gray striped fabric that I chose for round two is very different. I mean, I like it: it's light, airy, and striped. All good things. But unlike the April Johnson fabric for the last top, this one doesn't stretch as much, and isn't quite as soft. In hindsight, I should've enlarged the pattern a bit. But seeing that I didn't, I decided to add a binding to the sleeves and a band at the bottom to give myself a little more room.

I kind of like the band. But maybe it's too much band? Still on the fence about it. Anyway, I wore this top out and about today and I was really comfortable in it and will definitely come back to this pattern by iCandy Handmade again.

I always learn something new when I sew. And this time I learned that all knits are not the same, and won't fit the same way with the same pattern. I guess that's common sense. But for me, it took a couple tops to figure it out.

The black/gray striped fabric is from JoAnn's. The bird's nest necklace is made by me.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll be linking up with some of these fun parties.

Family Fun - Beaded Buddies!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Jo) — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 14:04:00 +0000

I love FamilyFun Magazine for many reasons: the travel ideas, the book suggestions, the funny essays and definitely all the cute crafts for kids. Just recently, my kids made the Beaded Buddies on page 112h of the June/July 2013 issue.

My daughter said hers was a monster. My son said his was a lizard. Of course.

The necklaces are so stinkin' cute. They were super easy to make and even my 3-year-old could do it. See those sticky fingers?

By this point, my son was like, enough pictures, ok? Let's go play.

I somehow coerced him into one more. Just you and the lizard, ok? OK, mom.