Switching things up, (and a giveaway!)

Well, I know it's been a long time since I posted, and I'm sorry about that!  I've actually been quite busy lately.  For one thing, I started up an Etsy shop!  Please, check it out!  It's called Wing Strings, and I'd love for you to visit it! 

At Wing Strings, you'll find lots of cute bags for yourself, your littles, and your littles' littles!  And hopefully I'll find some time to put some more of my crafts up there as well... I have so many ideas for it that my brain is just bursting! 

And of course, my Etsy shop has a blog... I hope to post about new products, and other things I've been working on there, so check it out too!  Especially if you read this soon, because right now on the Wing Strings blog, the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway is going on... UNTIL TOMORROW at 5:00pm EST!   So check it out and you could win this fabulous prize, lovingly handmade by me!! 

a few little things...

I know I've been silent a long while, but my craft room, (yes, I now have a whole room to myself at our new house!) has been bustling! I've now sewn three patterns from my new "little things to sew" book from Oliver and S. I love this book!

Both my kids have new hats, (they are admittedly flawed - a bit gathered in places), but they fit great. I will add straps the next time I sew this pattern though. Seems like every day we've worn them has been windy. I also want to size up the pattern for myself and my husband!

I've also sewn the adorable bear carrier. But I unfortunately gave it away before getting a good picture.

And the last thing I did was this bento box carrier. I had to adjust the dimensions to make it the right size for a standard rectangle gladware container, and it works great!

The next time I make one of these, (and there will be a next time - everyone who saw it today wants one), I'll make it even a bit bigger to allow for two containers stacked, and maybe an apple or two on top. This was a "three scissors" project and sure enough the curved edges were a bit beyond my skill level, but it still came out great, and I'm sure each additional one will be better! I used some flannel-backed vinyl I had on hand to make a splash mat for the wipeable inside instead of clear vinyl over regular fabric and it worked great. It probably took me 4 hours total including adjusting the pattern.

I can't wait to make some of the other projects in the book - there's a great vest for hiking that my little girl needs, and a messenger bag too. Check it out!

finally finished!!

My I-Spy quilt for Natalie's 2nd birthday, (last March!) is finally done! I'd had all the squares done, then stalled at the sashing, then stalled again at the border, and then stalled one last time at the quilting! But it is done, washed (I almost stalled there too, but bit the bullet and just made sure to use a bunch of color catchers!), and in use on her bed. I loved the idea of this quilt, and the finished product, but the next time I do it will be on a smaller scale.
I quilted each colored square with a border and bubbles. This quilting technique is also something I will only attempt again on a small scale. I couldn't believe how much thread I went through!
Natalie loves it, and it seems nice and sturdy, so I'm happy with the results!

Baby Shower Gift

Almost every mom I know is pregnant with her second baby right now, so a bunch of us got together and did a group, secret Santa style baby shower. I drew a friend of mine who isn't finding out what she's having, but luckily loves the color green, which is pretty gender neutral, so I went with it.

I quilted her a quick, cotton-chenille-lined stroller blankie.
Knitted a tiny cotton hat, (my fave!)
And tried my hand at terrycloth-lined bibs,
and burp cloths.
Top the whole thing off with a cow, and it was quite a popular gift! Phew!
Now on to all my Christmas sewing and knitting!

Birthday Party favors

Natalie's birthday was last month, and in keeping with my handmade gifts goal for the year I made handmade party favors for her little friends.

The little crayon/paper holders ended up going together pretty quickly when done in bulk. And one would really take only about half an hour or so.
Sewing the slots probably took the longest, (after choosing the fabrics from my stash!)
I personalized each one which was actually pretty easy after getting the hang of it.
Pretty cute, huh? And perfect for little toddle hands I think!

quiet book page, G and H

I recently began the huge task of creating an alphabet "quiet book" for Natatlie. It should be done by the time she's out of college. Here she is playing with the first page: G-H, (H is on the other side). I have since put button holes on the flowers in the garden.

Some parts of this project are going very smoothly. The applique letter blocks for example are much easier than I expected and are improving my applique skills and my sewing machine confidence. Other things will change in future blocks; more raw edges and felt will make appearances for one thing!

travel sewing case

I wanted a little something to carry my needles and hooks for just a couple projects, so I made this little carrier. I used some hoarded Amy Butler fabric that I ad a very tough time cutting into. It came out very well, and though I used it for knitting projects on my last trip, in the future I think it will be more for crochet and embroidery/hand sewing that I plan on taking on. It will hold floss and thread very well in the elastics under the flap. And though it folds and is functional, it doesn't look quite right when the flap is folded over the longer knitting needles!

I've been quiet, but busy!

I'm going to try to get all these pictures organized so that I can share these projects with you! First I'm going to try to get all the various handmade Christmas gifts out of the way! We'll start with just a cute little tutu I made for my niece for Christmas! Nat is modeling it for me. And here is a reversible superhero cape I made my little nephew! My DH is modeling it for me.


So that's that! I've been wanting to share those for a while now. Theres more to come. Knitting and sewing galore.

felt finger puppets - bat, owl, and cat

I know I'm a bit late posting these Halloween themed finger puppet ideas, but I chose these guys because they are really just animals so would probably transcend the holiday.

These are really easy to make. I used little mini pompoms and beats for the eyes, and other than that this was all just felt and running stitch.
I tried to keep the faces simple and silly.
I sewed the faces and other extra parts on before sewing the puppets together... I tried to sew the wings on when I sandwiched the fronts and backs together, though I did reinforce with some extra stitching there a bit.

Here are the pieces I cut out for the craft playgroup I was hosting. The puppets were a hit!

I'd love to see any similar puppets you guys make... I think I'm going to have to start a little collection!

Hallowee costumes - Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood

I've had a couple late nights sewing this past week! My 19 month old dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, so I had to make that up, (super quick project!), and then my husband wanted to be the big bad wolf to go with it. Not so quick.

He had a vision of the Muppet version of Big Bad. So I designed a version of the puppet that would fit over my husband's head, and he would look out through the mouth.

Here's the start of it. In a different fabric this could be another super easy knight costume!

After a bit, there were ears to go on that! I put them on by hand... there was a lot of hand work attaching pieces since my sewing machine isn't all that big.
I'm especially proud of the nice doggie nose. I think it came out really well. They Eyes are stuffed balls made from white fleece, and felt pupils - I think the fur eyelids really make them work. The teeth and tongue are felt.
There's also some pieces of old milk bottles in the nose for structure.
Just before we went out for the day I sewed the ribbon on Little Red's hood,
And made the wolf some mits.
Here they are checking out the snow leopards at the zoo.
And doing some trick or treating at grandma's house.

felt carrot tutorial and a birthday felt food feast

My daughter's best friend celebrated her second birthday today. I made her some delicious felt food. All healthy, with a couple sugar cookies for dessert.

Here's the quick and dirty method I used to make the carrots!

First I cut some rounded out triangles. Two equal sides. About 7" X 5".

I also cut a few narrow green rectangles... about 1/2" X 2. I folded these in half longways and sewed them up with a running stitch.

I sewed some lines in the carrot felt with embroidery floss.

I'm sorry but I didn't take pictures of the next steps. Then I folded the carrots, right sides facing, and sewed up the long edge with my machine. You end up with a narrow funnel. Turn it right-side-out. Stuff the carrot, and then string all three green stems on a thread, and then used the same thread to sew a running stitch along the open end of the carrot. Tuck the sewn ends of the stems in the top of the carrot and cinch it closed. Then just sew it together at the top for a sturdy finish.

Here are some close ups of the other veggies. Strawberries follow the same principle with a stubbier triangle to start, and different greens.

my cousin's baby shower gift

My dear cousin's wife is pregnant, due in December. The first of all my cousins to have a baby. This little girl will be my niece, (my cousin and I are both only children), and I am very excited.

I made the new little girl an eye-spy play/stroller quilt. It is 44" X 44". I'm so glad I added the patchwork border... this really adds to it I think!

Here is my favorite square...
And here is my daughter's favorite one - Dora of course! She's going to get one of these quilts, only much larger, and with many more things to spy, for Christmas.
Here is the back! I loved this fabric. Got it for a great deal at a quilt shop that was closing. So soft and bright.
The binding.... Most of the fabric came out of my stash - except for the sashing and the back.
And what baby shower gift is complete without a hand-knit hat! I've been making this pattern a lot lately. It's from the 101 Designer One Skein Wonders book. Very easy and quick.