mmmcrafts

kitchen curtain follow up...

2012-01-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

...with not very great photographs, but here they are all the same. I was just glad to see some actual sun today, but it might have been the wrong time of day to snap the shots. At my house I have to get while the gettin' is good. The table was clean, the sun was shining. The getting, as they say, was good.

The fabrics I used are this cheerful AMH LouLouThi and a band of grey chambray at the bottoms. These curtains came together really quickly because:

I didn't line them this time. They are on the back of my house, so I didn't have to adhere to the white lining rule in my neighborhood.
For each curtain I just used the entire width from selvedge to selvedge and then measured the length I wanted plus 3.5 inches at the top and 5.5 at the bottom for hems. The sides were hemmed 1/2 inch over, then 1 inch over again. The tops and bottoms were hemmed 1/2 over then another 3 inches over at the top, and another 5 inches over at the bottoms.
I ripped the fabric to length instead of cutting with scissors. First I snipped near the end of the yardage and ripped off the cut edge to square it up, then just measured the lengths by holding the fabric selvedge against my cutting mat (for example, measured twice to 35 inches for a total of 70 inches for the LouLouThi) and then while pinching it at the spot, snipped it with scissors through the selvedge and ripped it across instead of cutting. So much quicker and easier.

The curtain rings are those clip-on kind that I picked up a long time ago at IKEA. I love those things. I used this method to attach them, so it created the look of pleats without actually have to sew the pleats.

Easiest curtains I've made by far. My next kitchen sewing project needs to be some cushions for the chairs. I bought yellow piping a few months ago but that's as far as it got.

what I'm up to.

2012-01-19T15:16:00.001-05:00

Sewing kitchen curtains.

Putting together IKEA shelving and organizing stuff in them.

Framing pretty art that's been laying around for months.

Rehanging stuff.

Making pillow covers.

Nothing like having a bunch of people to your house to light a fire under your unfinished projects.

I forgot to show and tell

2012-01-16T22:22:00.000-05:00

I forgot to show you the pretty round crochet pillow that my wonderful friend made for me for Christmas. It goes perfectly in my bedroom. How does she do that? I have (quite reasonably) requested that she make me another one to go in my living room, but she acts like moving to Brazil is taking up all her time. What about my pillow needs?

This pillow came wrapped up with all kinds of thoughtful presents for me and my whole family, and as if that were not enough, there were also generous bags of homemade Christmas Crack Corn (think Moose Munch only ten times better), Piggy Corn (caramel popcorn with bacon in it. Yes, BACON.), and some really delicious chocolate popcorn for the girls.

Man, I need to take another swing at crochet. I got a started a while back (ok, two years ago) but got confused about how to turn corners and then lost interest. Typical. Then I see all the cool possibilities like this pillow and I get all excited about it again. I really ought to do a retrospective post on all the beautiful things Robyn has crocheted for me. Might be more of the motivation I need to pick up the hook and yarn and try again.

my felty valentine: a deal and a contest!

2012-01-12T17:25:00.001-05:00

You guys know I love wool felt. Perhaps that is not a strong enough word. I'm mad-crazy for it. So this post is especially for my fellow wool felt enthusiasts. Wonderful Janet, mmmcrafts sponsor and owner of top notch etsy shop, Felt On The Fly, is offering my readers a BOGO deal featuring this pretty wool felt die-cut set with hearts and keys.

Here's the deal: When you purchase any gorgeous, five-piece Color Story ($15 US) from her shop, be sure to mention "mmmcrafts" in the note to seller box. When you do that, Janet will include a free Felt Hearts die cut set with your purchase! The set includes all that you see in the photo above. That's a $7.50 value. (This BOGO offer ends Feb 10th)

Just a few of the Color Stories available.

I speak from personal experience when I say that Felt On The Fly's 100% wool felt is a joy to use for any craft. It has a substantial, smooth hand and the colors are so bright and rich. Here's a great description from Janet:

My 100% merino wool felt fabric is made from natural, renewable, dyed wool fiber from merino sheep, pressed together using a needle felt/steam process to produce a fabric specifically created for the handwork and fine craft marketplace. It is color fast and fade-resistant. It is very soft, cuts cleanly, does not fray and holds stitches beautifully. It has a nice ‘body’ and holds up very well with use and handling.

Enter the Felty Heart Challenge: Take a great deal one step further. Get creative with the Felty Hearts set! Use it to make something cool. Use all of it or just part of it. Then upload a photo of your creation by February 17th to Janet's Felty Hearts Challenge flickr group.

Here's what you can win: Janet and I will put our heads together and choose a winner from the flickr pool. The lucky winner's creation will be featured on my blog and the winner will receive a free five-piece set of Felt On The Fly's 100% wool felt. The winner can choose a Color Story or create a custom mix from Janet's amazing set of 96 colors. That's five 8 x 12 inch pieces of soft, richly colored 100% merino wool felt to add to your stash.

Go check out her shop, and we will look forward to seeing your beautiful creations!

valentiney things, a retrospective

2012-01-09T06:00:00.003-05:00

My Valentine Schmalentine free printable from 2011. A very minimal effort card for cynics.

My Wood You free printable from back in 2009. For you foresty types.

My smoochie printable Mwah card and tags from 2010.

Love You bookmarks tutorial with printable template from 2009. Makes a nice handmade gift for those bookworms in your life.

And finally just a little old fashioned papercut card inspiration for you from 2010. No template for these, but if you'd like to try it here are the basic steps:

Freehand sketch a largish heart lightly in pencil. Slightly wonky is charming. Lightly sketch initials and hearts inside. Or you can use your computer to draw it/type it, but print it backwards on your paper since you won't be able to erase your sketch lines.
Use Xacto blade to cut out letterforms and hearts. Keep any counters you cut out (like those pieces in the middles of Os and As).
Erase your sketch lines if you did it in pencil.
Use hole punches to add interest. I used 1/4 and 1/8 inch in clusters.
Cut out large heart with scallop scissors and glue to a colored piece of cardstock. Glue on the missing counters, or leave them off for a more Rob Ryan feel.

back to real life.

2012-01-05T10:31:00.000-05:00

Anticlimactic. All the sparkle and magic has been put away in the attic. The lawn has been denuded of lights. School books have reappeared. Suitcases have been put away. The flabby reckoning is here. The January calendar page is filling with appointments and classes. Clementines and a good book are helping to cushion the bump.

handmade gifts 2011: french hen for Shari

2012-01-04T06:00:00.005-05:00

Another sparkly french hen ornament, this time for Robyn's sweet mom, who happens to like chickens.

handmade gifts 2011: french hen and colly bird ornaments

2012-01-02T06:00:00.012-05:00

Happy new year, everybody! My new year's resolution: More cowbell.

Continuing on with the parade of handmade, I present days three and four in the Twelve Days of Christmas ornament series for Robyn. (Here are days one and two.)

I went ahead and made two ornaments this year because I figure twelve years is a long ever lovin' time to wait for the complete set.

*No, that's not a typo up there in the title. It really and truly is colly bird.

handmade gifts 2011: mouse house for Asher

2011-12-30T06:00:00.024-05:00

A curiously small little mouse in a tin house for a wee boy I know. I hope he likes tiny things like I do. Actually, it was kind of hard to send little mousy away. We miss you, Alton.

Alton is corduroy and felt with an embroidery floss tail, and his house has a wool felt mattress and blankie, and a cotton ticking pillow.

The girls went crazy over him, and I happen to have two more Altoids tins, so they will be getting a little surprise for Valentines Day. I'm thinking white mice with pink ears. By the by, have you ever visited the Altoids Hall of Curiosities? It's...quirky.

handmade gifts 2011: operation incognito for Gage

2011-12-28T06:00:00.012-05:00

When we were in London we saw a kit with a bunch of crazy mustaches for kids and I thought it would be fun to make my own version for a cool boy I know. Some are felt, some are faux fur (thanks, Chris!) and all have elastic string to hold them on. They are in a hand lettered portable drawstring bag so he can always have them on hand in case he needs to Go On The Sly.

"And so another case is solved, Sherlock."

"Exactly, my dear Watson."

"Arr, that's a grand new ship you be havin', Bluebeard."

"Aye, me hearty, it do be that."

"I say, Inspector Smallbottom. Do you detect a certain...odor...in the car?"

"It must be the rubbish lorry we overtook a moment ago, sir."

handmade gifts 2011: flower crown for Audrey

2011-12-26T06:00:00.030-05:00

As sported by my two stunt models on a rainy, gloomy day. I've seen some really, really beautiful felt flower crowns around the web (like here and esssspecially here), so I've been itching to try my hand at one. I didn't get it exactly right. The red flower is a bit too large, but I didn't realize this until after I started looking at the photos. I had flower blindness. Too many late nights. Robyn, maybe you could take some judicious trims here and there. But. Overall, I love the colors and variety and I hope a certain purple-loving wood fairy will enjoy it.

There're about a million online felt flower tutorials at your fingertips if you would like to try something like this. I started with the red flower that is actually from an excellent paper flower tutorial over at A Little Hut. I stiffened the felt with Stiffen Quick. I also used this one for the large purple flower, and then just messed around with what tools I had on hand for the other flower shapes, creating cones with poms in the middle and rosettes like these. It's really fun to see what kinds of shapes you can come up with. Wool felt is pretty versatile. I love it so.

The base of the crown is two layers of purple grosgrain ribbon that I used to sandwich the smaller maroon grosgrain ties on either end. I attached the flowers and leaves to the ribbon first with fabric glue, then hand stitched them to reinforce.

I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did. It was lovely. This year we were at home, so that's always magical when you don't have to travel and you can sit around your very own sparkly tree on your very own comfy couch and watch your sleepy-eyed kids have a ball. Since it fell on a Sunday this year, we let the girls see what Santa brought when they woke up. (Santa Claus brings one gift for each and it is not wrapped and ready to play with under the tree.) The rest waited until after worship, when we had a tasty brunch and took our time opening each other's gifts and just enjoying being together. Sigh. It's always such a letdown when it's over.

merry, merry to you! and I made stockings I like.

2011-12-23T22:47:00.032-05:00

My new (literally, I just finished them a few minutes ago) handmade stockings. Yay! These from last year will be retiring quietly to a thrift store somewhere.

The new ones are in wool felt with (of course) leaves and sequined berries. I like a little sparkle at Christmas. I couldn't decide on which color scheme I liked better, so I did two of each. I can't help wishing I'd done each in different color, but hoo boy would that have been busy looking. Maybe not in a bad way though? Hm.

They were pretty easy to put together. I sketched it out and made one several weeks ago then made three more last night and this morning. I was actually mentally writing the pattern as I went, so I will release a PDF version of this next year for the shop.

I'm so excited Christmas is almost here. I have some food to make for this Eve, and yes, some gifts to make. Small ones. Ha. But see you back here shortly after Christmas day. I have a few posts already lined up to go to show what I've been making in secret these last few weeks. Fun fun fun.

I wish each and every one of you a lovely, lovely, bright and peaceful Christmas.

and one more needle book

2011-12-17T06:00:00.031-05:00

This one is not for sale. It's a gift. But not a Christmas gift, oh, no. It's a much sadder kind of gift. A How-Could-You-Go-Off-And-Leave-This-Hemisphere gift. A What-About-My-Needs gift. A But-I-Will-Miss-You-Too-Much gift. An OK-I-Will-Be-Big-About-This gift. Otherwise known as a going away gift.

I may have mentioned my bosom friend Robyn here once or twice. (violent cough that sounds like 'stalker') You guys know how much I love her. Well, she and Rich and their three adorable kidlets are moving to Rio de Janeiro. Yes.

IN BRAZIL.

Seriously Robyn. Pretty drastic way to get rid of me.

I've been dealing with it so far by avoiding thinking about it, but it has come down to their last few weeks in the United States and so I've been kinda freaking out. Not that I have any right to be freaking out since she's the one who has to take care of about one million crucial details and decisions that must be seen to before they move. So the quick visit we had a few days ago was extra special because it was our last one for a while. I tried to soak up every minute and help her in whatever way I could for the move. Along with a big dose of girl chat time and yes, some farewell therapeutic crafting.

If you'd like, pop over and wish her bon voyage. I'm going to go have a good cry.

needle books are now in the shop

2011-12-16T15:10:00.000-05:00

Just in case your needles need a really colorful new home, these six books are in the shop! Hand cut and embroidered appliques on the cover, ribbon spines and four pages for your needles.

needle books going in the shop

2011-12-15T23:50:00.000-05:00

Hello, just a heads up for those who have asked about needle books lately. I have six needle books that are going in the shop sometime on Friday, Dec 16.

Sorry I can't be specific on a time. I'm just going to git 'er done as soon as I can in case someone wants to chance getting one by Christmas. I'm not offering a guarantee, but seems like if you buy promptly and live in the mainland USA there would be enough time for the USPS to get it to you before next weekend? I'll mail them as quickly as I can. Anyway. I'll post again tomorrow when they go in the shop!

hello, floor.

2011-12-13T12:16:00.000-05:00

Nice to meet you, O Beautiful Not-Concrete-Or-Vinyl Floor. And hello to you swell people. I've been blogging less lately for a number of reasons:

Mostly everything I'm presently (ha ha) making can't be shared because it will spoil the surprise for the giftees. I am making some sharable things, but gifts take precedence.
I've been having a bit of a row with my new Mac Mini (now fixed, thanks Schmoopie dear), but now my elderly G5 looks like it might be tanking before I have transferred everything over. I think it might be angry with me.
I've been on a little trip. I went to visit my BFF in Mandeville. I crashed her lovely Christmas ornament craft party and hung out with her. And I forgot to take pictures. So you'll have to use your imagination to see her beautiful home and Christmas decor. Make it really stunning, with handmade tree skirt and lovely woodland ornaments.

Back to the new kitchen floor. Oh, how I love it. My ever handy husband and my wonderful brother-in-law (we owe you BIG, Robby) installed it while I was away. We still need to put down the quarter round and finish the edges near the carpets, but we are getting close. Then hopefully we can get the trim work done under our countertops and the big stuff will be done.

I just received my timely January issue of Living that focuses on kitchen redos. I have a Pinterest board for my kitchen decor ideas, if you are interested in that sort of thing. Part of my Pinterest board has actually come to life:

This picture is for you, Robyn. Thank you soooo much for Mr. Winky on the left there. This row of owls brings some color onto the countertops and just makes me so happy every time I go through the kitchen. My kids have pronounced them way cooler that the previous boring non-mammal canisters. I have had to school them on the proper way to open the middle owl cookie jar (Use Both Hands. Do Not Bang The Lid On The Granite. If You Chip My Owl I Might Have To Sell You To A Workhouse.) That sort of thing. I'm sure you do the same for your kids.

Ever since the kitchen repaint I've had fabulous new curtains and seat cushions in on my long To Do list and I'm hoping that my recently ordered AMH LouLouThi fabric will be the ticket for the curtains. It hasn't arrived yet, so I'll keep you posted. Now to take my china and crystal off the top of the TV cabinet and put it back in the hutch. Yay!

Kathreen's Celebration Action Pack

2011-12-04T06:00:00.004-05:00

images via WhipUp.net

Kathreen Ricketson kindly gave me a link to a review copy of her latest 80-page Celebration Action Pack for kids. Which looks delightful. Unfortunately, my review copy was lost when my Mac Mini HD took a face plant two weeks ago. Sorry, Kathreen!

But! You can still check it out for yourselves right here, where there are plenty more tantalizing photos of projects your kids can entertain themselves (and you) with during their school break.

and another leaf card, Now With Scallops!

2011-12-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

Felt leaves machine stitched on paper. Made for November-born friend, Laura. Grabbed my scallop shears this time and gave it a whirl.

what I'm up to.

2011-12-01T14:45:00.000-05:00

Well, what I didn't do was shop on Thanksgiving weekend. Sorry, National Economy. I sat around and enjoyed the days by feeling thankful, eating large numbers of pecan bars (Thanks a lot, Leigh. No really. They are evil.), watching my family watch the Bama game and occasionally sending out a supportive Whoo! (I was at the kitchen table making an ornament), watching the 1st season of Gilmore Girls with my mom, and taking a very occasional walk.

I have to show you the wondrous Thanksgiving table my sister Leigh set for our family feast. Isn't it beautiful? (the off-topic birthday banner was for my nephew Michael). There was also a satellite kiddie table with equally fancy settings that is not in the picture. The main table is huge, but that is all an illusion. Underneath it is my Mama Graham's regular sized dining table. Over the top of that is a cleverly built ginormous round plywood tabletop that has additional support legs, which is brought up from the basement and assembled for special occasions like this. Leigh really should do a guest tutorial so you can make one too, huh?

We did something most agreeable this year after the Thanksgiving feast too: a Gently Used Jewelry And Makeup Swap amongst the older gals in the family. We all cleaned out our jewelry boxes and makeup/toiletry kits ahead of time and then drew numbers. Things got pretty heated. Almost violent. Lots of guilt trips. Some snide remarks. It was excellent! And I ended up with some cool new-to-me pieces (above, just some of my loot) and a new lipstick color. After we were done, my daughters got to choose some play jewelry from the leftovers, and then the rest was donated to a local thrift store.

The shopping apathy lasted through the weekend and somehow I let CyberMonday also slip by (I was busy watching Edward and Jacob worry over skeletal Bella) and now I'm kicking myself for missing out on the online deals on Calico Critters, which my daughters are pining hard for and which are priced like nuclear grade uranium. Sheesh.

What I'm doing on today, Dec 1st, is getting out all our Christmas decorations. I'm trying to ignore the fact that the contents of my china cabinet are all on top of the TV armoire and that I still have no floor in my kitchen. It's bare slab cement with construction paint lines, mystery stains and patches of old vinyl flooring in places. It's real festive. Being rectified soon. Crossing fingers.

I need to stuff the mirrored advent calendar before I take it downstairs. I dream each year of making tiny things to go in it, but of course at the last minute I bought some peppermint kisses, LPS teensies and some weird hairy animal pencil toppers who get an amazing hairdo if you spin your pencil. I also have tiny wooden ornaments for their (new!) small white Christmas tree. That will buy me some time and maybe I can put in something cool and handmade. I have ideas for tiny felt necklaces. And this will be our second year with the awesome Playmobil advent. The girls are excited to see that one again.

I've got a pile of needlebooks started and a few thousand felt ornaments I'd like to make, and some I've actually completed.

And. I kinda hate my handmade stockings. I'll be attempting those again.

MmmCrafts Basics Felt/PDF Pattern Winners!

2011-11-22T09:45:00.000-05:00

MmmCrafts Basics image by Renae Bradley of Benzie Bazaar

Wow, thanks for playing everyone! Now y'all got excited about that Benzie Bazaar felt. I don't blame you, it's great felt to work with. Soft, substantial, with gorgeous colors. I love it! I'm making some needle books with it over the long turkey weekend.

So congratulations to the totallycompletelyrandom winners:
Louise and Lisa! You two, check your inbox for my email and get back to me.

Funniest comment goes to pinksuedeshoe:
"I am such a sucker for felt... in every color. I'm off to check out her shop right now! Also, since most giveaway comments are totally boring, I just want to let you know that I am making three pies plus stuffing and stuffed mushrooms for Thanksgiving and I can't wait to eat them. Especially the pies. :) "

MmmPie. Thanks for the laugh, Pink. Many thanks to Renae Bradley for the fantastic giveaway of the Mmmcrafts Basics felt collections! (sound of raucous applause)

I wish you all a wonderful, peaceful weekend full of thankfulness and family, whether you have the official holiday or not. I'll see you guys next week.

MmmCrafts Basics felt collection! And a giveaway!

2011-11-19T06:00:00.018-05:00

photo by Renae Bradley, benziebazaar.etsy.com

(Thanks everyone! Comments are now closed!)

I was nicely invited by wool-blend felt purveyor, Renae Bradley, to curate a custom color selection for her etsy shop, Benzie Bazaar. I was very tempted to play and put together some pretty pretty colors just for the sake of color - which I love to do, people! However, it occurred to me that it would be much more practical to put together the ten felt colors I use the most in my patterns and projects. It's an array that would start anyone's felt stash off in the right direction. So here is my collection as photographed by Renae, MmmCrafts Basics, which can be found in the Guest Curator section of her shop.

image by Renae Bradley, benziebazaar.etsy.com

Benzie Bazaar offers 80 colors of beautiful wool-blend felts that are packaged with ever so much care. I know this for a fact because I've had some great experiences purchasing from her shop for my projects, and can say she is a swell person to boot! Not only that, she also offers international shipping, which is a lovely feature for all my readers outside the US who are having trouble finding a local source for wool felt.

As a nice holiday bonus, if you are one of the first nine to purchase the MmmCrafts Basics bundle from Renae, you'll also receive a coupon to my etsy shop for 10% off the price of any PDF pattern in my shop!

And did I mention the awesome giveaway? Two commenters will each win a combo prize pack:

The MmmCrafts Basics Color Collection
(ten 9x12 inch sheets of gorgeous wool-blend felt)

AND

One PDF pattern of your choice from my shop

To enter the giveaway, leave one comment on this blog post, and I'll randomly choose the two winners next Tuesday! Whoo! Giveaways are fun.

Kids' Crafternoon Giveaway Winners:

2011-11-18T09:16:00.000-05:00

Yay! Now for the fun part.

Mary Beth and Chris, congratulations on winning one Kids' Crafternoon book a piece. I wish you lots of gluey, stringy, scissory, messy fun with your kids as we move into the holiday crafting season.

Mary Beth, please contact me with your information so I can get your book to you! Thanks for playing, everybody! If you'd like more chances to win free copies, be sure to check out the rest of the blog party:

Lisa Tilse from The Red Thread 14-Nov
Suzie Fry 15-Nov
Larissa Holland from mmmCrafts 16-Nov
Pascale Mestdagh from Between the Lines 17-Nov
Christine Chitnis 18-Nov
Holly Keller from Chez Beeper Bebe 19-Nov
Monica Solorio-Snow from The Happy Zombie 20-Nov
Cate Holst from Go Make Me 21-Nov
Shannon Cook from Luvinthemommyhood 22-Nov
Jennifer Casa from JCHandmade 23-Nov
Kate from Picklebums 24-Nov
Steph Morgan from Modern Parents Messy Kids 25-Nov
Kara Fleck from Simple Kids 26-Nov
Li’l Magoolie 27-Nov
Jackie Boucher from Oh Dee Doh 28-Nov
Bianca from Sadie and Lance 29-Nov
Tricia Hogbin from Little Eco Footprints 30-Nov
Lisa Siebert guest posting at Poppytalk 1-Dec

Kids' Crafternoon giveaway!

2011-11-16T06:00:00.008-05:00

Comments are now closed! Thanks for participating!

I'm happy to be the third stop on the awesome Kids' Crafternoon blog tour to celebrate the two latest volumes released, Felting and Beading. You may have seen my post in July with an interview and a giveaway for the first two books in the series, Papercraft and Sewing.

The Kids' Crafternoon series is edited by DIY mom extraordinaire, Kathreen Ricketson, and published by Hardie Grant. They are written especially to school-age kids and contain a wide variety of crafts to appeal to any kid and any skill level. The projects were contributed by crafters all around the world, and I was so pleased to for my owl cards to be included in Papercraft.

Here are only some of our favorite projects from the latest two books:

Bird of Paradise Earrings by Nicole Vaughan

Woodland Beaded Cards by Sharon Baldwin

Gamer Magnets by Lisa Tilse

Lego Jewels by Nicole Vaughan

Dachshund Moneybox by Timothy Haugen

Zakka Stash Box by Suzie Fry

Designer Wallet by Claire Dollan

Book Blanket by Christine Chitnis

I love the appealing large size and overall format of the books. They feature hand drawn diagrams, bright, colorful layouts and a wide spiral binding that allows the book to stay nicely flat while you are working from it. All patterns are included in the front of the books inside sturdy envelopes, and if you are like me, you'll be thrilled to know they are not printed on one ginormous sheet but are divided into quarter folded individual 12x18 inch sheets. Oh, yes. Thank you, Hardie Grant!

Speaking of Hardie Grant, they have generously provided a free copy of Felting and Beading for me to give away, one each to two lucky readers! All you need to do is leave one comment on this post and I'll randomly choose two winners on Friday. Be sure to follow the rest of the blog party for more chances to win and lots of project highlights.

The whole series of books are available for purchase at Booktopia.

Violet

2011-11-09T10:49:00.001-05:00

We had to say goodbye to my lovely Aunt Violet this weekend. She passed away on November 3rd at the age of 87. She was my mom's much beloved big sister, but she took care of my mom more like a mother when she was young. I will always remember her vivacious personality and signature way of speaking. She had such an engaging voice and impeccable taste. She loved the color purple, abstract art and modern decor.

I always admired her clothes. I remember one time I happened to be staying at my mom's house at the same time as Violet. In the slumber party atmosphere that followed, we all agreed it was time to get our pajamas on. I threw on whatever mismatched t-shirt and sweats combo I had stuffed in my suitcase, but Violet emerged momentarily in flawlessly pressed and tailored menswear style pajamas with contrast piping.

Even though we've never lived in the same state and I didn't get to see her that often, she was always an inspiration to me of how to bless others through handcraft and sewing.

As a young teen she started sewing clothes for my infant mom, and she continued to do that until my mom was in her twenties. Even after Violet married and left home, she would buy fabric and make a pencil tracing of my mom's foot so she could buy her shoes and make her school clothes for the year.

She had a true servant's heart and was always sewing for others, and I will cherish the handmade pillow cases and blankets she gifted us with over the years. I was just looking at a baby blanket she made for us last night and thought it was machine quilted, but upon closer inspection I realized it was her hand stitching that was so small and regular.

When we gathered with the family for her funeral, I learned that she had been busy passing her love of sewing on to her grandchildren and also her great grandchildren, teaching them to sew stuffed bears for foster kids.

It's the kind of wonderful legacy I hope to leave behind myself. I'll miss you, Aunt Violet. I'll wear some purple today for you.

Rapunzel hair recipe

2011-11-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

Our witch and our Rapunzel had a lovely time. No handmade costumes this year, but some handmade hair. And the hair did get made on time, however, I recommend allowing more than an hour and a half to do it in. Which seems obvious, but I'm just addressing any fellow crazy procrastinators out there.

As I stood and contemplated the huge length of yarn on the floor, my daughter said maybe I should have just bought the pattern we saw at the store. I scoffed to myself. How hard can it be? Just a huge braid, right? Here's what I figured out:

Rapunzel hair recipe for kids:
Hugemongous one pound (16 oz) skein of yellow yarn
Two tall backed chairs, preferably heavy ones
Willing helpers (bribe with candy if necessary)
Spool of purple ribbon
Scissors

Place the two chairs side by side but a few feet apart, the overall distance from the edge of one chair back to the other being the length of the hair you will need. Mine was about five feet. Enough to go from your Rapunzel's head to their feet, knowing that braiding will take up some length. You can always trim it if it is too long.

Roll several feet of yarn off and cut it free. You'll use this to make ties. Tape the end of the remaining skein of yarn to one of the chair backs and start winding the yarn around the backs of the chairs. Tight enough not to sag a lot, but not too tight or the chairs will begin to tip toward each other. Now keep doing this until your skein of yarn is empty. This will take some time. This is where your helpers come in. Give them the yarn, show them what to do, and check on them every once in a while.

Feed a yarn tie under and around all the strands on one end and draw it up tightly, knotting it.

Carefully use the scissors to cut completely through the other untied end of the loop. Then straighten it out on the floor so the tie is in the middle like this:

Now have one of your helpers sit on one half of the hair on the floor while you braid the other half. Divide the half you are working on into three equal bunches, and lay them out on the floor. Start crossing one bunch over at a time, and put it down, keeping the lengths of yarn separated. Pick up the next section, cross it over, put it down, and so on. Keep combing through the yarn with your fingers as you braid to keep it smooth. Tie the braid off tightly at the end with more yarn. Trim as needed.

Have your helper sit on the braided half while you braid the other side. Same process.

Now you have two long braids that are connected at a part in the middle. Put that center part on your Rapunzel's forehead, wrapping the braids snugly around her head and crossing them in the back. Tie it tightly together there with a length of yarn.

Now weave the purple ribbon in. Unroll the whole spool. Poke it under and through the center part on the forehead and pull it through until you have half of the ribbon on each side. Now choose one section of the braid on each side and weave the ribbon to follow along it all the way to the end.

Once you reach the end of each braid, tie the two braids together with the ribbon ends. Then you can do like me and use the rest of the purple ribbon to go back up and weave the two braids together. You could also make a pretty bow at the bottom with the ribbon and use invisible ties of yarn to attach the two braids together in a few places.

If I had had the time, I might have tried to fill the hole in the back of the head with some kind of yellow fabric, but time didn't allow. Ideally, you could just use a yellow knit hat under the braid to give the illusion that it is a full wig. I offered to add some felt flowers to decorate the braids, but my Rapunzel declined.

After the costume was on, I smoothed my daughter's real hair (which is ironically very long, but oh no, Mom, it is not blond) back into a bun and then anchored the Rapunzel hair around her forehead and underneath the bun with long bobby pins. And it stayed put during Trick or Treating, despite much excited running and swinging of the hair.

And that is how I did it.

I have to confess that there were a few tense moments after the hair was completed, when my daughter announced that she had decided not to wear the Rapunzel wig. That I had just made. With much effort. At her request.

And I'd like to be able to say that I reacted calmly with a discussion about being considerate of others and properly appreciative of what is done for you. I really would. That discussion did happen in a few minutes, but I think my first reaction was more something like "Oh, you will be wearing the hair, and you will get happy about that or you will be staying home to hand out candy with Daddy." Hey. I'm not perfect.

But, as you can see for yourself in the photos, she came around about the hair and was very happy to wear it after all. Thank goodness.