Quick Change Trousers

Maura gets a lot of hand me downs. Most of them are from her own brother, which means that she often gets mistaken for a boy. I'm ok with that. Even if I never had a boy, I'm sure my girl would wear lots of naturals and browns to begin with. A few flowers help her out just a little bit!



I started making her pants in the winter. I used the pattern for the Quick Change Trousers from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby and I honestly can't say enough good things about this pattern. I LOVE these pants so much! They are so easy to make, they hold up well, they wear well over cloth diapers, and gosh, they look cute too!

Wee Folk

On a recent trip to the library with Patrick and Maura, I spotted this book:



I hadn't heard of Salley Mavor before. Where had I been? Of course, we took the book out and I fawned over the pages for days. It was just beautiful work! As a textile major, I could certainly appreciate the beauty in all that she did. The little details were just spectacular. And the acorn people! Oh, how cute they were! I could certainly make use of my acorns this way!

So I gave it a shot...



I could do this! I could make more! Before long, this little guy had a whole bunch of friends!





Each one a little more detailed than the one before it, I continue to make them. They are addictive! As you can see, one of them even has a hand knitted sweater! They take on their own personalities as I go along.

Now I see that Salley also has a book with directions! I'll have to check it out!

Aren't they sweet?

The First Gift of Christmas!

My little guy is a huge fan of the Polar Express, as you might have guessed with his love of trains. So it's no surprise that I have much of the book memorized and when I thought of this post, these words came to mind.



Maura receives physical therapy every other week. Susan comes to see us and does play therapy with her then. She's been coming now since August, since just before Maura's last batch of seizures. She's been helpful in giving us ideas to guide Maura along in her development. So naturally, being a part of our life, we have a small gift for her as well.

This knitted cuff came together very quickly...It's called the kindling coffee cuff and I found it over at Ravelry.



I pulled it all together with a coffee cup from Wawa and a gift card for Susan! You see, Susan travels from child to child. I'm sure she occasionally stops for a beverage. This will surely come in handy in the brisk winter. I'm sure she'll just adore it, don't you agree?

M I C - K E Y

{come on! sing with me! }



Mouse - Mickey Mouse! Mickey Mouse! Yep, Patrick was good old Mickey Mouse for Halloween. He really got it this year....the whole dressing up, "taking out" Halloween (decorating!), trick or treating, Thompson Street...he GOT it! Of course, this made it all that much more fun!



Normally we are a pretty themed family. In fact, when Patrick was just one, Joe and I dressed as Mickey and Minnie and Patrick was Pluto! But alas, he is now a strong willed 3 year old who told me just what he was going to be.



I tried so hard. I wanted him to be a pirate! After all, Maura was a mermaid, and Patrick could just be a pirate! We could all be pirates! But that wasn't to be. He insisted on Mickey! So...I made him some Mickey shorts, and found Joe's old ears that I made when Patrick was one, and got him some Minnie Dress Up Gloves, and look at that...he's a real, genuine Mickey Mouse!

Taking on Etsy!

Well..I know I've been thinking about it, and I finally did it! I opened my shop on Etsy! I've got a few cute things up there right now, including some checkbook covers, camera straps, and wall hangings and more is coming! I'm glad I finally took the leap! Please stop by and lemme know what you think!



http://www.etsy.com/shop/rivergrl

Making Memory - The Game!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Patrick is loving playing games...so I thought it would be fun to make him one!



The project was super easy. I cut out a variety of shapes from different colored felt - two of each - and then I mounted them to corduroy rectangles before sewing them up and finishing them off.

The result? A lot of fun!

What started out as a simple "memory" game has turned into colors, shapes, and even patterns! Patrick loves his new game. We've even thought up a few shapes that I need to add to this particular batch!

Acorns!

Every year around this time, it seems I start an acorn collection. Something about them just fascinates me. So simple, yet so complex. I never had an oak tree in my yard growing up so we never had any acorns.



With Hurricane Irene rolling through town this weekend, it left a flurry of old tree branches down, many of them from oak trees covered in acorns. It was literally a field day for collecting them!!



So this year, I plan to do something with them, but what? A frame perhaps? Maybe a mirror? I’m sure I’ll find some great inspiration over at Pinterest, but in the mean time, what do you think I should make with them?

Train Crayons!

Look! It's my first tutorial! I'm not one for giving away crap as gift bags at parties...loot bags? goodie bags? But a little something is nice....so this year, I had this grand idea! Crayons! But not only regular crayons - TRAIN CRAYONS!

Patrick loves trains so much...but as you can see, the first batch came out REALLY wonky...Yeah, I had this old pot...and I tried to melt it all down and make swirlie crayons...didn't work so hot!



Then I figured out an easier way! Here is what you need:

-Crayons for melting
-cupcake cups
-cupcake pan
-oven
-candy mold - shape of your choice!

First, heat your oven to 400 degrees. You are going to be melting your crayons in cupcake cups! I found that you should double up, the crayons do leak through!! Take the paper off your crayons and put them in cupcake cups in a cupcake pan....



Put it in the oven for about 10 minutes and watch for them to melt.



When they melt, pour them into your molds. I used train candy molds I found on Amazon.



They cool rather quickly, and then you can pop them out. It makes it really easy if you put your mold in the freezer for a few minutes to harden them up and make them pop easier.



I wanted them to be visible, so I bought treat bags from Michaels and put them in the bags with hand made labels on the top! I'll put these together with some coloring pages and send the kids on their way! Patrick will have fun setting them up to color too!!

River Stones for the Garden

I don't know what took me so long to actually finish these. I'd collected the stones forever ago, and they just sat around waiting. I actually did three of them last week, but then I left the others until just yesterday and today I added a quick coat of polyurethane to them to keep em nice and shiny in the pots!



I got my inspiration from Kerrie over at Sea Kettle. Last year, she had done this project, and I loved it so much! It fit into my new herb potted extravaganza very well!



Now I won't forget what I've got in there! What do you think? How do you keep track of your gardens?

Little Tootsies!

Back in February, when I started the knitting group at Beanwood Cafe, never did I realize how important it would become to me. I vowed to learn something more than making scarves for the rest of my life, and put my efforts into making booties and hats for my baby to be.



The first paid I made were too big! That's fine, I thought, I could just keep them for the fall. They are a nice deep teal green....and when I showed them to people, they'd take a good look at them and assumed I knew the sex of the baby...it must be a boy!



Boy were they all wrong! I just happen to like teal ;) So much that I picked another teal, a lighter shade, to make a smaller pair. I started to feel like The Three Little Bears. This pair, I was sure, were too small!

But I was surprised. They fit Maura perfectly. They were made for Maura's little tootsies...hugging her little feet in a time when she can't really wear much more than these booties! And I'm so glad that I learned how to make them!

Don't you just want to eat them up!?

More than Scarves

So in starting this knitting group, I decided I needed to learn how to do more than knit back and forth. I needed to learn how to read patterns and make NEW things...I needed to be able to cast on and off without youtube in front of me! Well, I took on a big challenge with this one. I learned how to really do knitting in the round using double pointed needles! Boy is this fun! It's really not nearly as hard as it looks. You knit one "side" and when that needle is empty, you start on the next "side"! It's actually been quite rewarding!

This is a hat for the new baby. It will compliment the matching booties I've already made but haven't posted about yet! I've been working on this for over a week. I know, I'm slow! It will get there in time! I hope!

Patrick Paints! (and likes it!)

I had wild dreams that my child would love crafting as much as I do. I wanted him to be artistic and draw and paint and all that goodness...so it quite took my by surprise when Patrick came out all OCD.



Paint? You mean, GET DIRTY? No way, not his style. The kid doesn't like to do art. I'm thankful that he'll at least sit with me at my sewing machine, hitting the appropriate buttons and wanting to know how it all works, but get messy art? No way!



We still do try to show him the joys of art once in a while. The other day, he took to painting and really enjoyed it! Thank goodness for rainy day activities, besides trains of course...

A Package In The Mail!

Have you stopped over to The Pomegranate Chronicles yet? Sara just revamped her whole blog and it just looks fabulous! She recently held a giveaway for some awesome star crayons and we were the lucky winners! Patrick and I were both very excited when they arrived in the mail yesterday!



Of course, I let him open the package. He stands there and tells me, while patting his chest, "For me?! For me?!" and it's just so cute.. Of course buddy, they really are for you!



Stars! A shape he knows! He was more than happy to share that with me. Of course we had to take out the drawing pad to try things out! He wanted to put them to use!



Thanks again Sara for the great giveaway! Really, if you haven't stopped over there, you really should! She's got some great stuff going on!!

Wacom!!

I got a new toy this week! I ordered a Wacom Bamboo Tablet. I figured if I really am serious about doing something while I'm on maternity leave to try and make a job, this would be a good investment!



Did I ever mention I was a Textile and Design major in college? I know...I teach..you'd never know..but really, my love has ALWAYS been with fabric. I remember when I was in college, I thought I don't want to student teach! Who does that? You don't get paid!! And there I was...with my love of art...making it work...

Then I came out and realized that I really DID want to teach! What had I done?! Oh, what a mistake! So I went back and got my teaching certification and thought Art is my hobby. Why would I want to do art for a living and get burnt out?!

Oh life is so conflicting! Here I am, 10 years later, thinking maybe art isn't such a bad choice! It's what I love after all!

So for now, we'll see... but in the meantime, I'll be honing my skills digitally and playing with my new Wacom!

Handmade Christmas - Day 4

My dear friend Elise once made me a table runner for Christmas. It is red and green and comes to a triangular point at the ends and has little bells that dangle from little ribbons. I've treasured it for many years as it finds its spot on top of an old chest that we have each year at the holidays. It really is stunning! So when I thought about what to make for my Aunt and Uncle, I knew they'd very much appreciate one!



This one is very different than the one my friend made for me. The color scheme seems appropriate for all of winter's woes, and not just Christmas. I also used a classic chevron pattern to create the depth and design of this runner!



I'm excited to go visit in the coming months to find this adorning their coffee table. I'm sure it will look just as good there as it does on our own! Perhaps this should be on my agenda for home now that the holidays have calmed down a bit!

Handmade Christmas - Day 2

She lost her first tooth fairly recently..so it didn't take me long to think that Emma might like a little something special to leave her teeth for the tooth fairy!



Everyone needs a cute little tooth fairy pillow. It will keep your teeth safe and sound until she makes a visit to you! This one is made of wool felt and features the tiniest little pocket on the back to hold your tooth AND treasure! Of course, it also needed some character as well!



I'm sure it will serve Emma well as the remainder of her teeth begin to fall out! Perhaps she may even pass it on to her brother!