The Finger Puppets Started It

That's right, the finger puppets started it all.  Last week the boy and I started discussing what to make for friends and loved ones this holiday season.  There are several little cousins now and we thought that a set of finger puppets would be a perfect gift; I quickly hit pinterest for some tutorials and of course was not let down.

All by himself that sweet boy whipped up these 3 finger puppets along w/ a little pouch to store them in complete with an embroidered heart.  I found the owl here and the frog and elephant here.  He used the basic owl body on all three to make things simpler, as well as googly eyes...seriously can you stand the cuteness.
So next he informs me that we need more wool felt, apparently the stock is low.  Well being that I am trying to use materials that are already overflowing the craffice I dug up the bin of felted wool sweaters and before long and idea was born:

All these sleeves, perfect base for a hand puppet!

 

As often happens around here, when one person starts making, it's not long before others join in!  So these two spent a good portion of the afternoon yesterday making puppets,  I'm thinking a pattern and tutorial is in order, cuz these cuties are oh so easy and fun!  So far there is a monkey, frog and unicorn.  A giraffe is almost finished and I'm sure there will be more today.  I have no doubt that these gifts will be loved by all who receive them.

What are you working on for holiday crafts?

Far Off Adventures and More Sewing

Yesterday found us leaving our sweet girl at the airport to fly to Georgia with her grandpa.  She's been very excited to take this solo trip for a while now and as much as I miss her already I know she is having a blast and enjoying every bit of her time there.  We got a call saying they had arrived safely and were waiting for her grandmother last night; and today as the boy and I enjoy some one on one time in front of the fire on this chilly fall day in New England I'm guessing she is lounging poolside and feeling pretty "terrifical" as she would say.
Have fun my sweet girl...please stop growing so fast.

As for the KCWC  I managed to get these pants finished for the boy, though he needs about three more pair to combat his current growth rate.

I've been saving this fine brown corduroy for a while, the original plan was to make myself a skirt, and there may still be enough left.  The pattern is my go-to for pants for him right now.  Heather Ross' pajama pants from Weekend Sewing.  He likes the ease of pull on pants and I like the ease of making them.  I added front pockets and a side pocket all lined with fabric from his kindle case and some bright green thread just cuz. I also threw in a loop for carrying tools, swords and the like.  He is loving them and and so far they have passed the climbing test with flying colors!
Another successful day of the challenge! 
Unfortunately the housekeeping that is being ignored for this challenge is calling my name right now.

Morning sewing...

I managed to get my self out of bed a bit earlier this morning so that I could get a few projects out of the way.  It seems that with all the chaos lately I haven't found time to get things finished, or started even.  So I started off with this sweet little earbud case from dog under the desk.

Can you stand the cuteness!  This sweet little ditty whipped up in no time and Molly is thrilled to take it to Georgia next week.  The Georgia trip is what started it really.  I am planning to make her the two zip hipster to take on the plane (perfect size for kindle, iPod and a book I figure), but when I found this free tutorial I couldn't resist giving it a try (much easier than the bag). 
Well this project was so quick I decided I'd let the girl continue sleeping a wee bit longer and let the boy keep playing with blocks while I finally got around to making him a kindle case.

I've been promising him this simplicity for a while now and it took no time at all.  I am thinking about putting together a tutorial in case other folks are looking for something similar.  He is thrilled with the result and Molly has put her order in of course.  That's the morning sewing I got in...how exciting is that?   There is much to be done around the house and I'll get to that...but for now, while the kids are busy with math I'm going to squeeze myself between the two of them on the couch and finish a tank top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design that I started a while ago.  How was your morning?  Any sewing or stitching of another kind?
  I keep wondering as the weather turns chillier when a real knitting bug will strike, but for now it's still the sewing bug for me.

And We're Off

Hard to believe that we are moving through the month of September already.  It seems as though all of our summer fun whisked by in the blink of an eye.  I've got oh so many plans for fall though, after all it IS my favorite time of year by far.
We started school this week and it feels a bit crazy; we are off and running!

I was a bit unknowingly overzealous shall we say.  I dove right in to the deep end on these poor sweet kiddos.  "oh the first few math lessons are boring review? here jump right into the hard stuff after a few months off!"  Their little heads were spinning by the time dad got home last night.  Of course being the amazing papa that he is he seemed to make it all better...a little help with math and a little chat with mama about easing into things at the beginning a bit more gently.

So of course everyone is better today.  I'm feeling like the History Odyssey is going to be a fun way to learn about the middle ages for all of us.  Greg and the kids made a wonderful time line spanning from 400-1700 that the kiddos will be adding events to throughout the year.  There are art assignments, and my favorite actual literature.  The first book up for reading is The Door In the Wall, I'm excited about this one as I don't recall reading it as a child.  I've got it downloaded to their kindles and my laptop so we can all enjoy it.
I'm finding the kindle to be a wonderful tool for homeschooling.  They have a plethora of books on them as well as Internet access for research, a dictionary, thesaurus and so much more. 
I even have their science texts on the thing!  Free no less!  I'm so thrilled to have found this resource.  I've been hearing lots of good things about CPO science and that homeschoolers are finding it to be a very interactive engaging curriculum.  Then I found out that the CA version of their middle school science series (while put together a bit differently) is available for free here!  Whoa!  add that to all the free worksheets, slides and lecture materials on CPOs website and we are in business for the cost of some lab supplies!  For a science minded mama like myself this is very exciting.  I've been perusing the Home science tools website for equipment and supplies to go with what we already have.  We'll veer off a bit here and there to follow individual interests (I've made owl pellet dissection promises this year)but for the most part be following the Middle school Life Science curriculum.  I hope to make a regular post of our experiments. 
Of course there has still been plenty of crafting going on around here.  Molly has decided to take on quilting with mama;

As usual she's rocking it like any other creative endeavour she tackles.  I can't wait to see this finished product!  I've got the quilt top finished for my king quilt, but feeling a bit overwhelmed by it's size so it's on the back burner for a few weeks while I contemplate the long arm class.

There have also been some new little gnome homes popping up throughout the house.  We have a large bin of scrap wood from a friends woodworking business and the kids have found many uses for the odd little shapes (oh how I love the imagination of a child). 
So we have been busy and I've been away from the computer for a few days...How is school starting off for you?

Another Chair Re-do

So I have been loving the Alabama Studio Style book.  So many fun projects for me to play with.  This one though came together oh so perfectly...

I came across this chair for $5 recently and knew exactly what I had to do!  I've had a pile of Greg's old white t-shirts sitting in my craffice for a while now.  I figured I'd just turn them into rags, but after reading my new book I found a much better use for them.  I threw them all in the wash with some Scarlet dye and and cut them into strips!

These little "cotton jersey pulls" as they are called in the book will have many uses I know.  I made this necklace for myself just while I was cutting strips!  Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas:)

Just three pulls tied together with some wooden beads I had around (of course red and turquoise as I am obsessed with the color combo right now).  Cool huh!

OK back to the chair:

 Ta Da!  I put two coats of paint on the chair and after it dried I wove the pulls through the seat.

The directions are clearly laid out in the book, but really it was like making a giant pot holder (remember your pot holder loom from the 70s).  I made the weft from front to back and wove from side to side.   The book has you leave your little tied ends like a bit of fringe and I have to say I love it.  I actually added a few here and there just to even things out.

Molly helped a bunch and we both really enjoyed the process.

Even  Tucker is proud!  I can't believe how much I love this chair.  I want to make another, it's sturdy and functional while seeming a bit like a piece of art!  I'll be on the lookout for broken down ladder back chairs in need of a little love.

Sewing With Knits

Recently  Meg McElwee of Sew Liberated offered her craftsy course for half price!  How could I say no to that; 4 patterns (already worth the price) plus hours of Meg in an on-line course that I can access any time!  I was sold.
Well, what do you know...that sweet girl of mine sat down the other night and watched Meg explain how to make the fleece hoodie (first pattern in the set) and then got to work.

 We had picked up the fabric (a velvety soft pink) recently as I was going to attempt the hoodie for her...clearly I wasn't needed.

I know I could have posted 2 pictures and you would have gotten the idea, but I am so proud of this little lady of mine!  She truly did an amazing job don't ya think?  I'm thinking I'll go get some more fabric and see if she'll make me one.  I can't recommend Meg's class enough if you are at all hesitant with sewing knits.  Her directions are clear and her teaching style is fun and relaxed.  I'm thinking Molly will be making something else soon, and if I can get close to the sewing machine I'll take my turn (really wanting to make the dress looks soooo comfy) so we will be sure to keep you posted.

A Quilt

A while ago I mentioned my urge to make a quilt.  I've experimented a bit with the pillows, but I decided it was time to take the plunge!  Actually it was a mutual decision with my good friend at Dragonfly Farm.  She and I have been talking about it for a while So when Alwives had a big sale recently we planned a beach day with the kiddos that just happened to drive us right by...

 After much shopping, hemming and hawing and redirecting 3 very bored little boys we both decided on Amy Butler fat quarter packs.  I'm using Lark and I must say I'm head over heals in love.  I've got to get more of the Chinese lanterns (above left), I think that the Washi dress would look great in this print!  But one thing at a time folks.  Right?

This is what my squares will look like.  No particular order or pattern, just totally random.   I've got everything cut and the rectangles on the left side of the square are sewn together (yay)!  We went to Dragonfly farm for dinner last night and my lovely friend is WAY ahead of me...she likes to keep me on my toes that girl!  Of course I am thankful, without her enthusiasm it is quite possible that that project could end up in a pile lost in the craffice.  I'm excited and a bit nervous, already I've realized that I cut all my pieces out w/out thinking about a seam allowance...oops, probably quilting 101, but since I haven't taken that class nor am I using a pattern, mistakes will be made, I will learn from them and hopefully my new quilt will be finished this fall when the weather turns a bit colder.

 Of course every time I get my things out to work on, these crazy kids of mine want to get sewing something of their own.

And who am I to say no to  a little creativity.  So I have a feeling a few get together with homegrown food and fun will be in order so we can finish these not so little projects we have started.

A Craftastic Kind of Day

Yesterday was hot and I was thrilled that the kiddos were requesting just a mellow day to do some crafting, and boy did we!

Molly made this sweet little clutch from fabric scraps!  "winging it" of course, she does have her mama's genes for that one.  She even used the button hole maker on the sewing machine like a pro!  This girl loves to create!

Corey finished this sweet little pin cushion from Zakka Style as a thank you to a dear friend in Georgia who made him a gorgeous quilt for his bed!  He was very hesitant to sew on the buttons, but quite proud when he did.

Being the active guy that he is, after his sewing was finished he quickly moved on to another favorite craft of his:  Popsicle sticks and a glue gun!

 This bridge and doll were from the other day actually, kids working together, but hey it's pretty darned cute!

This is the project I spent most of my day working on...an organizer, heavily inspired by Zakka Style as well, but a snap instead of zipper.  I love it!  I quickly filled it with all my goods and threw it in my bag.

Once the day cooled down a bit we moved outside for a lovely dinner.  I was so proud, you see the problem with these wonderfully craftastic days is this; The poor hubs comes home to a house that looks like the local craft emporium exploded, the two kids and myself all up in his face eager to show him all the AMAZING things we've made, and when he asked about dinner...oops...we got busy.
So as I was saying, so proud, I had dinner ready complete with a peach crisp in the oven (peaches from our tree) and that poor guy got a call 2/3 of the way home and had to turn around and go back to work and deal with an emergency!

It all ended well.  That sweet man of mine made it home to enjoy tostadas and peach crisp, we showed all of our goods, Molly moved on to a gorgeous embroidery project, which of course meant Corey and I needed to start some too, we had a bit of snuggle time as a family and all hit the hay exhausted.
All in all, a great day.