greetingarts

for Buffalo, NY

The earliest recollections I have are of my life in Buffalo, NY.  I know my parents couldn't wait to get out of there, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for my mom, caring for two little ones by herself during the day with no car, not speaking English very well, no Chinese supermarkets, in the middle of winter blizzards and no school Snow Days.  Not fun.  But I have great memories of our house with a checkered tiled basement, attic bedroom, backyard with a climbing tree, pussy willows and a sun room.

Well, anyway, all this is to say that when Lynne asks for something for the people of Buffalo, I feel compelled to help in any way I can.  For the last three (wow!  You don't realize how time passes until you go back and look!) years my knitting guild and I have contributed mittens to her Hearts to Hands project, and this year her call was for drawstring bags for a women and children's shelter.  I finally managed to find some yardage (I have a lot of fabric, but I guess I'm usually a half or one yard type of gal), and made these three bags in half an afternoon, using Lynne's simple tutorial.

The bags went off in the mail this morning, and my baby hats and the scarf I made for a local women's shelter were dropped off at my knitting guild to be distributed last week, and now I can concentrate on knitting, crocheting, sewing and embroidering for family and friends.  I do so love this time of year.  A tad overwhelming, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

The drawstring bags (of all different sizes) would be great for gift giving.  I'm not going to buy any more wrapping paper from now on.  Actually, I don't think I've purchased any for a few years now.  I still have a few rolls left (Santa has to wrap stuff, I guess), but when those are done I'll just wrap with fabric or reusable bags.  I might even make the recipients give them back to me before they leave the house, ha!  I hadn't realized how big 18" x 24" was...  Jessie could almost be stored inside one of those bags, don't you think?  

it all got done

Somehow, we managed.  Target didn't have any plain white knee high socks or tights in Rebecca's size, and on Wednesday night I was kind of panicking when I remembered an old pair of the girls' footless tights that had a teeny paint stain on them. I'd dumped them in the box designated for charity, so I pulled those out and with some pinking shears, fabric marker, a can of Sprite and tape, I transformed them into Pearl the Cloud Fairy stockings.

With pinking shears, I cut the legs off as long as possible, then stretched one over a soda can.  Using tape as a spacer and to mask off the areas I didn't want painted, I just colored stripes with a pink fabric marker that I had left over from Rebecca's birthday party.  The tops rolled in on themselves, didn't need hemming at all and it was pretty perfect.  I didn't spend a dime, and it was very MacGyver-ish of me, don't you think?  I don't think my husband or Rebecca was sufficiently impressed.

And on Thursday I only stayed up until a little past midnight finishing up 26 of these candy corn bags for Rebecca's classmates.  See the little tag on the right?  Made by printing this adorable design by Babalisme onto cardstock (sorry, I don't think it's available for download anymore).  Jessie tried to help Rebecca sign her name on the tags, since they all had to get done at breakfast the following morning.  Cute, huh?  Rebecca was not amused.

And speaking of Jessie, here's the only sharp photo I could find of her in the hat.  

Trust me, it looked cute, and with a Hello Kitty Halloween T-shirt and the skirt I made last year, she was stylin' during trick-or-treat.  I also made some quick, reversible treat bags from the glittery ghost fabric seen in the background of the first photo and some Halloween Hello Kitty stuff I found at Joann.  Of course they wanted the HK facing outwards.  

There was plenty of loot for all... I'm off to sneak some Reese's cups.

roundabout babies

I've been meaning to blog about the Roundabout Burp & Bib pattern I tested back in August for Michele of calicodaisy, but the days totally got away from me.  Where the heck did September go?  Every day is a mad rush of school, volunteering, library, knitting, shuttling people around, cooking, cleaning, laundry.  Homework, groceries, baths, teeth brushing, storytime.  I feel like I don't sit down unless I'm in the car or in front of the computer.  Anyway, I'm not complaining, our days are full and happy.  I'm just... explaining why friends and family rarely hear from me anymore.

So anyway, the pattern is a great one, and I think it took me only a little over a half hour (?) to make this.  The back is a super soft fleece-y material I had on hand, and the patterned fabric is a flannel from Jo-Ann.  I haven't put the fasteners on yet, don't know whether my sister and brother-in-law will prefer Velcro or snaps.  I remember having a very strong preference for Velcro when my babies were in the bib stage, but I thought I'd ask first.

The idea behind the pattern is that it's two things in one... a large bib to protect baby's clothes while feeding, and then later, you sling it over your own shoulder to protect yourself while burping the baby.  It's a generous size, about 22" x  8".  With all these baby items I'm making lately, you'd think *I* was pregnant! 

No, I'm not.  Very, very not.  One night my husband looked at the kids sleeping and remarked how big they were getting.  I agreed, and he joked, "So when are we having another one?"  That's the first time he's been the one to say that!  They really are growing up so quickly, and it does make me a little sad sometimes.  But then I think about potty training.  And this post, and I'm grateful for the moment I'm in. 

My husband and I will just have to borrow my nephew on occasion, and I think we'll be fine...

purple pencil eater

The week before school started my girls were invited to an 8 year old's birthday party.  I had to whip up a last minute gift, appropriately wonderful and stylish.  It didn't take me long to decide what to make.

Kathy's amazing 12-pocket Pencil Roll, of course.  Rebecca helped pick out all the fabrics to match each of the colored pencils, and they were all fabulous choices.  Look at that turquoise!  Perfect.  And the cherries?  So cute.  All the rainbow colors were from my scrap bins.  Actually, every single thing I needed for this project came from my stash. 

The pocket and flap were cut from fat quarters I had, and the exterior started out life as part of a brand new set of restaurant-quality dinner napkins I thrifted over a year ago.  A durable, almost canvas-like material.

Even the Hello Kitty button was one I had on hand, and the ribbon tie (though I sewed it on backwards, oops) was stash, too.  Then I used another napkin for the gift bag, used fusible web and leftover pocket material for the initial, and covered a drawing pad with scrapbooking paper and a sticker.  I tied the notepad and pencil roll together with thin satin ribbon, and tucked them inside the bag with a teeny bit of tissue paper, that was it... almost no wasted gift wrap whatsoever.

I enjoyed every bit of this project, and I think the birthday girl really liked it.  Her favorite colors and her initial, I hope it made her feel special.  I had the foresight to piece together a second rainbow panel to make another pencil roll for Jessie.  When I finally get around to it, half the work will already be done.  I know she'll need one for the second grade, because Rebecca just brought hers to school, and checked that off her classroom materials list.  I sincerely hope it doesn't take me three years to get Jessie's finished.  But with me, you just never know.

first day second grade

Rebecca started the second grade today, and I've been feeling ridiculously anxious about it for over a week.  Also, lately, there have been some worries regarding relatives on both sides of the family, so I crafted up a storm to distract myself. 

Rebecca  needed a new lunch tote, so after *much* time spent looking at my books,  magazines, internet bookmarks and saved files, I finally settled on the oh-so-awesome Vintage Pillowcase Lunchbox tutorial from Oh, Fransson!  I skipped the iron-on vinyl, and instead of a vintage pillowcase and fusible fleece, I used yardage I had on hand (look familiar?) and some insulated batting from an oven mitt project I never got around to. 

Shoelaces (washed, of course!) from a pair of sneakers I just threw away serve as the drawstrings, and I rubber stamped her name with a fabric inkpad on twill tape, hand tacking it to the interior. 

The lining was also hand sewn into the exterior, while sitting on a quilt under a tree in the park, watching the kids ride bikes and have their scraped knees and elbows tended to by Daddy.  Rebecca loves the bag, and it's quite roomy.  This was just the trial run, actually.  She (and Jessie, too!) has fabric picked out for her "real" one.  Next time, I'll probably add a small pocket just below the name label, a safe place to store the notes I include with her lunches.  She told me she and her friends love reading what I write, so "please keep doing it but nothing too mushy or embarrassing, okay?"

I also wanted to give her another first day mascot, so I sewed up two teeny little softies, one for Jessie, too.

I used this amazingly adorable fabric I got on clearance at Hancock's of Paducah a while back.  It's by Timeless Treasures, and was unbelievably cheap so I bought like 5 yards.  I cut out two of the same kitties (they aren't mirror images, but pretty close), held them up to the light and lined them up with right sides together, and then just hand sewed them together with a really small running stitch with the occasional backstitch thrown in for good measure.  Left an inch open, turned it right side out, stuffed with the teeniest bit of batting, slip stitched the opening closed, and the softie was born.  You could add a little ribbon loop for hanging, too, if you wanted.  I made both last night watching TV and putting positive thoughts into every stitch.  It did the trick, soothed me... and of course Rebecca had a great day today, as expected.

Spoonful of sugar?

the art party

Rebecca had her birthday party over the weekend.  She'd requested an art party long ago, and I was only too happy to oblige.

The invitations were easy enough, just blobs of colored construction paper glued to a quarter sheet of cardstock.  With rounded corners, of course.  The pertinent info was  first printed on the backside.  I was super diligent on the RSVPs this time, because I needed to know exactly how many kids were going to attend.  I had the brilliant idea that each kid would get a personalized apron as they walked through the door. 

Seventeen kids later, I wasn't quite so keen on my idea, but I managed.  I even finished everything up before midnight on the eve of the party.  Final count: 5 As, 4 Js, 3 Ms, 2 Ks, 1 H, 1 P, and 1 R; 68 straps; 34 plastic rings; 8.5 yards of fabric; 2 sewing machine needles; and at least 21 meals eaten on the coffee table, since all the sewing stuff was strewn all over the dining room. 

I didn't have a pattern, just made it up by studying some of the aprons I own, and using what I had.  I would have liked having D rings for the adjustable neck straps, but they were too cost prohibitive, and anyway I had these plastic circles I'd gotten years and years ago from an estate sale purchase of a box of knitting supplies.  They worked fine for my purpose, and I still have some left over.  These aprons are fully reversible and adjustable, and highly customizable.  I hope all the kids liked them, I'm proud of the way they turned out.  I've never sewn seventeen of anything at one time before, and it was quite an experience.  I know there are a million apron tutorials out there, but if anyone wants to know how I did these particular ones, I'd be happy to put together a show and tell.  I took a ton of pictures along the way. 

So anyway, back to the party.  Everyone got an apron as they arrived, siblings had their initials in matching fabrics.  There was even a mini apron for the youngest guest, only 18 months old.  Our first activity was cornstarch clay, using this recipe which produces the smoothest, most non-sticky homemade dough I've ever had the pleasure of playing with.  Jessie kept inhaling it, saying it smelled like rice.  Nothing caustic, unbelievably inexpensive, and comes together so easily.  It feels amazing.  I recommend turning off the heat the instant the dough starts forming, while it's still easy to stir.  Remove it from the heat, you don't want a crust to form at the bottom of your pan.  I skipped the food coloring bit, planning to use watercolors instead, but the kids were fine with just the white clay, so I figured why complicate things?  On the tables I had plastic cookie cutters, texture plates and Play-Doh tools, along with some straws. I made six batches for the seventeen kids, but four probably would have been more than enough.

Then we moved on to fabric softies.  Totally pinching Louise's idea, I made seventeen randomly shaped stuffed things and set out buckets of fabric scraps, ribbons, yarn, buttons, beads, fabric markers and fabric glue.  These are just a few of the amazing creatures that were born.  I didn't go with needle and thread because of the mixed ages of the kids, but I could totally see revisiting this idea in a few years.  Wish I'd taken some before photos, I liked that bucket full of chubby shapes.  Some had yarn appendages, some didn't (mainly because I just forgot to include them before I started stitching).

Then the kids had some snacks while we cleaned the tables and set up for the final craft, painting.  I found some wooden frames and keychains at Michaels, and along with some cheap paintbrushes and a couple dozen bottles of acrylic paint I had in my stash (yikes!), the kids really got to make a mess and play with color.  It was so much fun watching everyone thoroughly enjoy themselves.  Even the parents were getting into it.  And, oh, in case you were thinking I was completely insane, this was all done in a rented clubhouse, *not* in my living or dining room.  Ha.  I'm not that crazy.

My sweet, sweet baby is seven today, she hasn't seemed baby-ish in quite a while now.  All arms and legs, skinny and so grown-up.  She reads Roald Dahl with legs hanging over the arm of the couch, and wants to check her email at least once a day.  She plays a mean game of Dots, and puts away all the utensils as they come out of the dishwasher.  Happy seven sweetheart, I'm glad you had so much fun at your party with your friends.  I hope the next year is your best yet.

Great, great times, and I even had help cleaning up.

floss flowers

It's been a surprisingly grey day outside, probably because the girls and I were planning to fix up our little postage stamp yard and play in the dirt outside.  Oh, well, if the weather won't cooperate, I'll just have to grow my own flowers inside.

So I finished up some stitching and made my daffodils bloom indoors, with a bit of perle cotton.  An online quilt group that I've belonged to for years has started a monthly embroidery challenge, and that's where I'm getting these cute floral patterns.

Don't know what I'm going to do with these panels yet, but I might make them into a table runner or wall hanging of some sort.  I just stitched them onto some scrap white Kona cotton, and each one is pretty small, maybe only 5" x 5", give or take.  Meanwhile, I'm just waiting until Wednesday.  It's supposed to be 79 degrees and sunny.

mini me tooth

Recently someone contacted me after I left a comment on a blog.  She'd seen my little user picture, and wondered where I'd found the pattern.  Well, one thing led to another, and I offered to make a smaller scale tooth for her daughter (who is studying to be a dentist) to wear as a pin.

 

Not exactly the same, but pretty close to the original.  I really enjoyed making this.  Less than 2" tall and about the same from side to side.  Lightly stuffed, all hand done with nice wool felt.  The little flower at the top was hardest to do just because it was pretty tiny.

 

No safety pins this time, I sewed a jewelry pin back on very securely, and now it's wrapped and on its way home.  I hope both mom and the future dentist get a big smile out of it.

last of the valentine loot

Before I say goodbye to Valentine's day, I forgot to show you some things we made.

A mousie for Rebecca's teacher, based on Robert Mahar's pattern.  I used two layers for the heart on the bottom, to give the mousie something more substantial to stand on, and so the cute Swiss cheese holes would show up better.

And for the principal, librarian and other staff, Jessie helped me dip some store-bought cookies in dark chocolate and fancy them up with Valentine sprinkles. 

She took some Princess valentines and drew a little happy face in the "To" section, and painstakingly printed a "J" in the "From" area.  So sweet.  This one was one of her last, she was getting really tired.  She made around 25, and we gave all but one away.  I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the whole batch, I can't get enough of her cute little scribble faces with the huge eyes.

Quite a haul for her first valentine party, don't you think?  Enough loot to rival Halloween... almost.

greeting hearts

Now that both kidlets are going to have Valentine's parties at school, we've been up to our ears in hearts lately.

For Jessie's preschool party tomorrow, I used my Sizzix and die cut no less than one hundred thirty-two hearts, freehand cut some leaves, punched a little hole at the bottom of each and every shape, and poked a lollipop through one leaf and six hearts.  A little glue stick, and in one afternoon, all her treats were made.

She's so excited about her first Valentine's party, and the fact that she gets to carry all her treats in a bag and pass them out to her friends by herself.  For some reason, the "carrying them all in a bag" part is crucial.  Then on Friday, she gets to come with me to set up Rebecca's class party, where she'll probably score some more treats as the unofficial class mascot.

With Becca, I got smart.  I had *her* do all the work.  Well, most of it anyway.  Rebecca looked through my paddle punches and chose her favorites, I punched the shapes out of the wool felt she picked, and cut out heart shapes with pinking shears. 

Rebecca stitched almost all of her Valentine pins by herself.  I made the knots, did some of the tacking stitches for the little shapes, but she really did do most everything else with just minimal guidance.  She's so proud, and I really think these are helping her with her concentration, patience and ability to stick to something.  All difficult things for a six year old to learn.

Twelve down, eight to go.  I don't know if she'll be able to finish in time or if I'll be up late tomorrow night, needle in hand, but either way, I'm really glad we embarked on this project together.

If I don't make it back to this space before Saturday, here's wishing you all a very happy Valentine's day.  May you spend it with hearts full of love.