Happy Memorial Day!

Thought this would be the perfect day for sharing a picture of this wall hanging my mother made for me and gave to me the other day.  It will go perfectly in my patriotic themed guest room.

Baby Burp Cloths

Over the weekend I went through my stash of flannel and realized there were lots of smaller pieces that were the perfect size to make pairs of burp cloths out of so that’s what I made.  Ended up with 6 pairs of burp cloths and one single.  They will come in handy for upcoming baby presents.

Crochenit U.F.O.

This past weekend I decided to rescue an unfinished object of my mother’s and try to finish it for her.  It’s a baby crochenit afghan that she started and never got back to.  I haven’t done crochenit for over 20 years so I didn’t remember what to do but figured I’d be able to find some help online and I did.  Luckily I came across their website complete with video tutorials that showed me exactly what I needed to do.  My mom gave me a couple pattern books she had as well.  Between those and the patterns on the website I could make a lot of different items using this technique but I’m not sure how much I’ll get into it.  Does seem like you could go pretty fast.  I’ll keep you posted how it goes.

There’s a hook on each end and you take turns with each color picking up stitches and then crocheting them off.  It’s an interesting combination of knitting and crocheting combined into one.

Tshirt Cozies make great gifts

The other day when a friend stopped past to pick up a couple of last minute Mother’s Day gifts I showed her a few of the latest things I’d been working on including these tshirt cozies.  She indicated that after just coming up with something for her kid’s teachers for teacher appreciation week she was looking for ideas for end of year presents and thought that the tshirt cozies would be a great gift.  I took a couple and added some school supplies that I had on hand to show what they would look like.  I’m sure they would make a perfect present for not only teachers but anyone on your gift giving list.  The two shown above are already spoken for but here are a couple others that I’ve made recently that are still available:

These were made from brand new bright yellow tshirts that had never been worn.  I made these a bit smaller and made a set of coasters with the leftover material.

The white cozies are crocheted from two white ribbed knit GAP tshirts and the pink cozie is crocheted from a pink Eddie Bauer tshirt.  So shabby chic!

This little mint cozie is crocheted from a GAP tshirt.  The material was thin so it ended up being a bit small.

Wouldn’t it make the perfect little holder for loose change or paper clips?

Turtle Soap

A couple weeks ago I asked my Activity Day girls what they wanted to make their mothers for Mother’s Day and they all said origami boxes.  I taught them how to make those at Christmas and they loved it.  So I was trying to think of something we could make to go in the origami boxes.  Luckily I came across some soap kits that were 75% off at Joann’s.  This kit had enough soap, coloring, scent and molds to make a bunch of flower soaps that were perfect.  The next day I happened to be at a different Joann’s and I picked up a different kit for me so I could practice.  I also bought some colored soaps.  In my vast overabundance of craft supplies I actually have a full box of soap molds that I was given but had never used.  I’d only made one bar of soap on one previous occasion many years ago so I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.  Since I had green soap and turtle molds I decided to make turtle soaps for my Mother in law and one of my friends for her b’day.  They both collect turtles so I thought this would be a fun gift for them.  Luckily they turned out and I had these little soap bags to package them in.  It ended up being a great gift.  We were quite hurried the night of Activity Days since we only have an hour and had to make the soap, origami gift boxes and cards but somehow we got it all done and the girls had a lot of fun in the process.

Wool Dryer Balls

A counter full of wool dryer balls!

All packaged up and ready for gift giving! I made homemade cards and included instructions. I wish I would’ve had more. I ran out of items long before I ran out of names of people to give them to. I gave away 13 sets. I hope they stick together and don’t unravel! I heard back from one recipient that tried them out and they worked so I hope they will stay intact for everyone else too. They are a great gift that will save everyone money.

and then two became one...

This afternoon I bought these two tshirts.
close up of neckline before...

closeup of neckline afterwards...

I love the transformation and can't wait to wear it tomorrow. First I cut off the neck binding, arm hems and bottom hem and then I cut the other tshirt into strips, rolled the strips into roses and sewed them around the front of the neckline. It's like having a necklace and shirt in one! I'd been wanting to try this for a while now and I'm so glad I finally got to it. I'll be tempted to do this to all my shirts now. It was super easy but a bit time consuming with all the hand sewing. Too bad you can't just hot glue them on!

Eco Friendly Clutter Free Mother’s Day Gift Idea

You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t use dryer sheets with your micro-fiber towels or other delicate items that you launder on a regular basis. Also, that the use of dryer sheets can cause a film to form over your lint screen that could potentially catch fire and that they can leave chemicals on your clothes that some people are sensitive to. So, if you would like to discontinue the use of dryer sheets what’s an eco-friendly alternative? Wool dryer balls may be the solution you are searching for.

They are quite easy to make. Start with a skein of 100% wool yarn (be sure to read the label)

I found this at Michael’s for $5.99 a skein.

Start by winding the yarn around a couple of fingers…

and then take the yarn off your fingers and continue wrapping alternating directions often (I put my yarn in a can so it didn’t roll all over the place while I was working)

until it’s about the size of a tennis ball. (With one skein I was able to make 2 wool balls).

When you get to the end use a crochet hook to pull the end through to the middle so it won’t unravel.

To felt them I boiled them on the stove for a while.

Then I placed them up in a pair of nylons and ran them through the washer and dryer with my clothes a couple of times to felt them some more.

They work great and supposedly help your clothes dry faster too which could decrease your electric bill.

Before & After shot

I’m excited about never having to buy dryer sheets ever again.

I'm giving away a bunch of them for Mother's Day & some upcoming birthdays.

Mug Cozies 2.0

I hadn’t made any soda can/water bottle mug cozies for a couple of months and I started making some new flowers the other day so I decided to make a couple and see what they looked like.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  I’ll probably make some more.

Boutique Vendors

I wanted to highlight some of the amazing vendors from the Boutique in the Barn over the weekend.

Right next to me was Carrie from murphysjewls  She specializes in charm necklaces.  She is often at boutiques and had several past clients come by and add to their collections.  These were among my favorite of her vast selection:

Another favorite was Simply Memzelle  These two girls were so sweet and had amazing style.  Each one of their headbands were completely unique.  They truly are inspired by their materials and make one of a kind items that help you stand out from the crowd.

One of the most popular booths was Lil’ Luna.  Not only did she have the cutest vinyl boards but also a selection of little boy ties and girls hairclips and more.  I discovered on her blog that she teaches classes from her home which is something I would love to do.  Her class next month will be this project.  It would be the perfect addition to any home and would make a lovely gift as well.

Another favorite was Craft Picinc.  She had the cutest zipper hairclips that I wanted so badly.  Also adorable clothespin dolls and these stunning child chairs.  Very talented!

Well that’s a good start for now.  I’ll highlight a few more later!

When you end up with scraps...

make a scrap bag!

hmmm... what can I make out of these leftover rag quilt blocks and a few strips of leftover fabric?

This cute totebag! I'm such a hoarder that I hate throwing out perfectly usuable materials and am thrilled when I come across good ideas for using up supplies that I already have. It's been a lot of fun the last 24 hours figuring out how to use the fabric I already have to make bags esp. since some of the fabric has been precut and even sewn together. A good challenge!

rag quilt tote bags

I absolutely adore making rag quilts. I've made lots and lots of them over the last couple of years. The are great because they are so forgiving. You don't have to be perfect to have them look good. Saturday at the Boutique in the Barn one booth was selling the cutest rag quilt bags. They were quite the steal. Customers snatched them up so fast. I really wanted one but couldn't decide which one I liked best and then they were gone... I wish I knew if they had a website so I could link to it because they were super cute and very well made.
Well, I couldn't stop thinking about them and then lastnight I remembered that my mom had given me some leftover squares from a rag quilt she made for herself and also some odd strips of flannel leftover from anothe rag quilt that I think we gave away.

From these random leftover 10" squares...

I made this giant butterfly bag for my mom.

From these 7 strips of leftover flannel...

I made this awesome bag that I can't wait to start carrying.

Of course now comes the time consuming part of sniping the edges to make them fray. I figure I can work on that later watching a movie or something. Right now I'm still in sewing mode and have leftovers from another quilt calling to me so I think I'll make another bag!