Keeping it real....

I hate to be a debbie downer.. but it's been a tough week. I hurt my back earlier doing some home improvement (can't wait to share!) and have been function only due to the power of ibuprofen and my husbands ability to run the house entirely on his own.

 I'm feeling better now, and hope to be back sewing by next week. But to get my mood up in the meantime, I decided to share a few things that made me smile this week.

1. This is a shameless mom brag-- please forgive me. My little girl rolled out her very first roti this week. (They are kind of like tortillas but made with whole wheat flour). I just about died with pride.

2.  I've been seeing smocking all over the place it seems. I loved the smocked romper and bonnet that Delia came up with for her little girl. It made me smile from ear to ear.

3. I'm sure you all have been to Little Big Girl Studio's blog. She has such a fabulous sense of style! I was lucky enough to win a  pair of bags from her and they came in the mail this week. They are absolutely perfect. She also has a new pattern coming out-- look how cheerful this hobo bag is!

4. My grandpa celebrated his 80th birthday this week. We are so happy and blessed to be able to celebrate with him.

5. I've been hating my kitchen cabinets lately. I spend the better part of the week stuck on the couch researching cabinet resurfacing/staining/gel staining and painting options, and was so surprised when this popped up in my reader.

How clever! Newsprint cabinets by the inimitable Aunt Peaches. Although they aren't exactly my style- they would be an improvement over my existing setup.

I feel better just writing this post! I hope you all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to a weekend full of smiles.

The Crinkle Quilt

Today I'm sharing a tutorial that originally appeared on the Moda Bakeshop site a few months ago. It's a favorite around our house now and still looks just gorgeous after many, many washings. Don't forget to check out my ruffle series for help with ruffling-- or take a look at the mini version made almost entirely with a serger.

This quilt is full of color and crinkles that babies will love. At the same time, it's a forgiving pattern that comes together in a few hours and doesn't require any precision piecing.  

The finished quilt is is about 40 inches square-- my favorite size baby quilt as both a mother and quilter. The size is perfect for covering a newborn or as a play mat for an infant, and doesn't take much room in the wash. For a toddler it's a great size for strollers and car seats, and is still large enough to be a lap quilt for a child or adult. As a quilter, I love that I don't have to piece the backing and it's easy to fit in the small throat of my home sewing machine.


Materials:
Quilt Top:
1  Simply Color Layer Cake
1 Yard Focus Print (I chose White Aquatic Blue)
Backing:
1.5 Yard  (I chose White Sweet Tangerine Chevron)
Binding:
1/2 Yard (I chose White Lime Aqua)

Directions:

The Crinkle Quilt alternates 5 inch strips of smooth fabric with pieced  ruched strips.  The texture makes errors in piecing unnoticeable  making this an easy, quick quilt that's done without much fuss. 

The colored strips in the diagram below are pieced ruffled; while the white ones are plain. The twist is the ruffling! With the tips you'll learn in this tutorial, the ruffles will be a snap too. 

Cut List (for quilt top only): 

• Cut your focus fabric into 5 5.5" by WOF and set aside
• Next, pick 24 squares out of the layer cake and cut them in half to make 48 5" by 10" rectangles. 

Piecing The Strips

Divide the 48 rectangles into 4 groups of 12. Sew each group together end to end making 4 long strips as shown below. (Chain piecing makes this step go fast).

Next, place a pin in one end of each long strip. I know this seems like a small thing, but I promise it will help with the ruffling later. From this point onward, whenever we sew, we will always start with the pinned edge going into the machine first. This will keep the ruffles looking even and keep the seam allowances from flipping up. 

Move to the ironing board and press all the seam allowances to one side away from end with the pin. Once you've done all four strips, you'll be ready to ruffle!

Ruffling

We are going to use the tension method to ruffle. This method is ideal for ruffling long strips that might need slight adjustments at the end. If you are having trouble with this method, try using another ruffling method.

Change your sewing machine to have a long stitch length and high tension.

We'll still need to add even more tension to get the fabric to ruffle enough to be the same size as the focus fabric strips. To do that, I hold the thread down with one finger while sewing.

Here's a close up of what I'm doing. You can also lightly pinch the thread through your fingers if that's easier. Just be sure to do this between the thread spool and tension disks as shown in the picture below.

While ruffling, make sure to pull out a long tail of both bobbin and top thread at either end of each strip. I normally use 10-12 inches to be on the safe side.

Starting with the pinned end of the strip, sew along one edge using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.You'll see your strip ruffle up along one edge.

Then, starting with the pinned edge again, sew along the opposite edge. This will mean you'll have to flip the strip over to the wrong side.

Do this until you have 4 strips ruffled down each side. Don't forget to change your sewing machine settings to normal.

Now, compare each strip with the focus fabric strips that we set aside. Pull on the top sewing thread to adjust the strip to be the same length as the focus fabric strips. I also like make sure the pieced sections look like squares instead of trapezoids .

Now for the most important step: Press the ruffled strips well and top stitch down each side of the ruffled using a quarter inch seam allowance and normal stitch length. This will stabilize your ruffled strip and keep it from shifting while you sew.  Now you can remove those pins at the ends of your strips!

Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew the strips together as normal, alternating a ruffled strip with a plain strip.

Your top is complete and ready to be quilted!

Finishing up 

Quilt your Crinkle Quilt with any pattern you like. I recommend not quilting the ruffled strips--  they poof up beautifully in the wash, and are so much fun for little fingers to play in. Trim, square and bind the quilt just as you would any other quilt.

You'll end up with a 40'' by 44'' quilt. Covers one sleepy child.



This was my first Bakeshop tutorial, and I was thrilled with the response. I've since been back to share the Cake Clutches, and I'm crossing my fingers that they will invite me back again someday! :)

Paridise Bay Tankini

I'm so excited to write this post! I've been wanting to make my daughter a swimsuit for well over a year.

In fact, this fabric has been sitting in my craft closet for at least that long. I feel like she's saying-- 'what took you so long mom!?!?' In this picture:

The pattern is Peekaboo's Pattern's Paridise Bay Tankini. The pattern was really well thought out and well written. I was a bit nervous about sewing the spandex (I had never tried before?) but the tutorial walked me through it step by step. Plus-- Amy is one of the nicest bloggers I know. I first talked to her when I was transfering some posts from my family blog to this one- and she kindly emailed me some hints, tips and encouragent. It was such a comfort to know that if my sewing machine ate up all that spandex, or if I ran into any other trouble, I could just email her for support.

I did end up opting to make little shorts instead of the bikini bottoms it came with. I think they are a bit more flattering on my daughter, and will cover the swim diaper a bit better. The best part?-- It's totally Amaani - approved. Look at that smile!

My kids often don't like what I make, and they turn their nose up at modeling for pictures. But this time, she followed me around for hours while I was making her 'simmy suit!'. I can't wait until the weather is good enough to go for a swim!

DIY Rainbow Knitting Needles

A tutorial! Just in time for Mother's Day!  This is another craft to either do with your kids or on your own. (Believe me, the kids make more mess, but they are also more fun).

 I love these colored wooden knitting needles from Knit Picks, but couldn't justify the price-- especially since I'm not a huge fan of wooden needles for anything but double pointed needles. I've come across a ton of tutorials for making knitting needles from wooden dowels... so I thought, why not make a few colored ones with the kids?

Supplies:

The supplies for this project are pretty simple (and inexpensive, thank goodness!) I picked up 1 quarter inch wooden dowel at my local home improvement store. 

I also had the following on hand:

• Kitchen Shears/Pruning Shears
• Sandpaper (steel wool or even a green scrubby from your dish rack will work)
• Pencil Sharpener
• Kids Watercolors or food coloring
• Beeswax or Olive Oil

Let's Get Started! 

First, using either kitchen shears or pruning shears snap your dowel into 7 inch pieces. I was able to get 6 equal length pieces  and used the leftovers to make a cable needle.  

Now, for the fun part! Grab your watercolors and kids and let them go to town. As you can see, my supply of water colors was very low, so I supplemented from my stash of food coloring. 

 If you want a little more control over the colors, try giving your kids just 1 or 2 colors to play with. But really-- you can't go wrong with project like this.

 Finally, hopefully, you'll have a few dowel peices that look like this. Let them dry while you clean up the kids.

 Using your pencil sharpener, sharpen each end of the dowels.

 Once they are sharpened, sand any rough edges down with the steel wool, and wax or oil the needles. I used this non-toxic wood wax recipe from Amber Dusick. It was easy to make, and I just buffed it in with a paper towel. I continued buffing until absolutely no color came off onto my towel. If your kids are a bit older, they can help with this part, as the wax is all natural.

For the ultimate test-- I was a worried that colors might bleed onto white yarn. I knitted what felt like a mile of stark white icord and no bleeding!

Now all that's left to do is to curl up on the couch with some yummy knitting. I cannot say enough how warm and fuzzy these knitting needles make me feel! Just knitting with them reminds of the fun we had making them. The needles are smooth enough that I find myself reaching for them just as much as my bamboo clover DPNs, but still grippy enough that I can also use them for straight knitting without worry of anything falling off.

And that tiny cable needle is my absolute new favorite-- it's small enough that I can hold it in my free fingers so it's always there when I need to cable.

Please do let me know if you all try this-- I'm absolutely thrilled with the result. And if you have a mom that knits-- how fun would it be to get these needles with some kid-dyed yarn? You could even wrap it up in an fun crushed tomato can!

Don't miss the next fun tutorial-- subscribe to MIH today!

Odds and Ends...

How was everyone's weekend? We had beautiful weather here, which means the kids got to play outside, and I got to play inside!

Yup, Sprocket Pillows in the making! This is the first of a bunch of home dec projects that I have floating around in my head. These will hopefully live in my little girls room one day. I used 6 layer cake squares from this Bunny Hill collection, and I was able to get two 16" pillow tops with almost no waste. Love that!

I also ended up saying good by to all the yellow on my blog. Oh how I loved this header! This pale yellow/cream reminded me of my dad's saffron-mango ice cream and all sorts of yumminess. I love, love, loved... until I saw it on a few other monitors.

It turns out that that yellow looks a bit icky to some readers. So we have an updated header and blog! I love making changes, but I'm sorry for any of you folks who had to deal with a changing blog over the weekend.

I'm also moving my google reader list over to bloglovin'. I'm terribly, terribly upset, and I"m waiting until the absolute last minute, but so far Google hasn't changed it's mind. If you want to follow using Blog lovin' you can use the little "b" with a heart in the header to follow!

And that's about it for today! What did ya'll accomplish over the weekend?

11 Teacher Appreciation Gifts To Sew

Happy Friday Everyone! Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and I've been scouring the web looking for something fun, unique and useful to sew. (That also won't break the bank-- my preschooler has 3 teachers!).

I've rounded up 11 sweet projects that I'm sure I can wrap up this weekend. (My bad track record with the KCWC nonwithstanding.) Need more? Checkout the pinterest board I've started for more ideas!

 1. This Pencil Case from Ikat bag caught my eye ages ago. The case is fully lined without exposed seams, and  she has a clever way of putting in the zipper that I really want to to try. See the whole tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew.

2. Of course the Cake Clutch-- this is especially affordable if you have multiple teachers you want to honor. Check out the Cake Clutch Tutorial at the Bakeshop!

3. I love this simple Crinkle Scarf from Ruffles and Stuff. Looks light enough for summer wear, and an older child could help with the fringe.

4. Does your favorite teacher sack a lunch? Even if she doesn't, I'm sure she could find a use for this sturdy Lunch Bag from Ayumi at the Pink Penguin.

5. This jersey Scrunch Scarf from Fave Crafts looks as fun to make as it is to wear.

6. Christy from Is It Naptime Yet? came up with this sweet tea wallet. It looks so easy to make, and you know your teacher already has a few mugs hanging around.

7. This Reversible Fabric Basket from the Red Kitchen starts out as a simple square, but ends up being a teacher's desk organizer, change tray, or secret in-the-drawer candy stash holder.

9. I'm a sucker for baskets and buckets, I'm guessing other people who hang out with little kids will be too. This happy little basket from Sew For Home is a great size for tucking onto a shelf.

10. If you are new to zippers, check out this lined pencil case. It's a straight forward, well written tutorial from The Dining Room Drawers.

11. And finally... I'm head over heels for the Open Wide Pouch from the amazingly awesome Noodlehead. I bet you won't be able to resist keeping at least one for yourself. (Or you can send one to me!)

Phew!!! I hope you found something that you'll love to sew for that special teacher in your kid's life. If not, look here for more ideas-- I'll be updating the board throughout the weekend.

This is my son's first year at school. We owe so much to the teachers that go the extra mile to make him feel at home and make us feel great about taking him to school.  I'm so excited that they have a day just for them!

Mother's Day Printable

I'm sure none of you need any reminding... but Mother's Day is coming up! We are lucky in our family to have 4 generations of mom's and daughters all living in the same zip code. This means that while I'm expecting something small from my kids, I'm also keeping an eye out for something for my own mother and grandmother. That's when I remembered these hand print trees!

This time trying I'm something new-- I'm offering these blank hand print tree printables for sale. Unlike the original handprint trees, they can be personalized with the recipients name, the date, etc. And since you will have the image, you can make one for each special mother in your family. You can purchase using the widget below, or by clicking here to purchase from ShopLocket directly.

The printable is for personal use only, but can be printed out and edited as many times as you need for your own personal use. The image will be emailed to you with instant download.

Oh, how I'd like to get a framed print along with a Starbucks gift card and an hour of babysitting! (hint hint)... Ahem...  I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! See you back here on Friday!

Fell Off The Wagon...

The Kids Clothes Week wagon that is :). I was feeling under the weather on Friday and barely left my sofa. And of course, that means Saturday was spent catching up... and spending time with family.

Here's where the Josephine dress is so far...

I've done all the fun stuff-- the ruffles and pin tucks  but I still have the sleeves, collar and finishing to go. I'm in love with how the ruffles contrast with the pin tucks texture-wise.

I'm a bit apprehensive about the buttons at the front. Because of the ruffles, the fabric is pretty thick under the button band. I'm thinking of using hook and eyes instead. Any opinions or suggestions?

We have a few more projects going on at home, so this little number is probably going to take a backseat for a while. Starting with picking up!

Finally Sewing....

I was feeling a little discouraged by the end of yesterday at not having gotten any sewing done yet, but we are there now!

I'm doing a bit before dinner, and the rest of the hour after bedtime.

Kids Clothes Week Day 3

decisions, decisions... I was choosing between these 3 fabrics for the dress... but then I realized that I didn't have enough of any of them to do the full dress with flutter sleeves and the ruffle band :(.

An hour later... I was finally done cutting out the dress in this grey cotton shirting. Man! Those tin cans are dead useful!

I know that many of you all won't believe that I spent over an hour cutting the fabric for this little dress, but it's true.

Why? I have to confess... I'm a fretter. I fuss and worry about grainlines, markings, trying to use the least amount of fabric etc. All of that is doubled when I'm working with a new pattern. I think that's why I prefer making things without a pattern most of the time. What did you all work on today?