Almost There

I have been trying to take it easy on the Holiday making front but as always, I have gone and bit off more than I can chew. It seems like JoAnns is perennially out of the bamboo stuffing I need to finish this and that toy, that I have misplaced my scissors, bobbins and brain on every occasion possible, and oh yeah, that thing called work? It is being terribly pesky and will not let up and let me be. It seems like people really prefer to wait to get sick just before the holiday. Sorry, that sounds horrible, it is just this can be a really busy time at work, right about that time one would wish it is not.

So, the making? It is going. Little stops and starts, but going. There are some textured knit mitts working their way off the needles. And a slew of hats that need to be packed and shipped North (they are going to end up being New Year gifts instead of for Christmas/Boxing Day ... but I am pretty sure the snow will still be on the ground up there in Canada).


This sweater which I finished some time ago is meant for a new little one that lives in a cold climate. It is a hybrid version of the Placket Neck Sweater from LMKG. I used the raglan shoulder decreases, but changed the neck line to this cute shruggy ribbed collar. I like it.

Though I do tend to knit really looong arms on all my bebe sweaters. As a mama, I should know better and stick with 3/4 sleeves that stay free of all the muck and guck. Note to self :: 3/4 sleeves next time.

Lately my knitting has been all about the simple 'sans pattern' project. It is nice to be able to visualize something I want to make, do some quick math and come out the other side with a pretty piece for someone.

This hat just makes me happy, nice colors and some comfortable earflaps to keep someone warm. This was knit top down which makes it super simple to size; just increase until it feels about right, knit until that feels right, switch to a edge stitch you like and wa-la! A hat.

The machine sewing has stalled lately but I anticipate a few hours this week to power through the planned projects. I was totally sidetracked by the wonderful felt ornaments over at Posie Gets Cozy. I always love her attention to detail and I could not resist downloading the latest ornamanet directions. Then my hands just started cutting felt and stitching bits which quickly became the sweetest little coat.


This ornament is going to one of my favorite friends. She is that friend, the one that makes the most perfect handmade Christmas cards and looks like she walked out of an Anthropologie advert and yet is so sincere and lovely and wonderful. Hard to buy for but this will be just right for her to hang on her tree.


So, the all the plans may or may not come through. I did a lot of prep work this weekend and plan to watch some holiday movies with sewing and knitting needles in hand. There are a few boy dolls that need limbs and eyes, another little inchworm in the making and some Christmas pants. Wish me luck.


And happy holidays, however they are shaping up for you and yours.

Why Owen wants a Doll

Finally, finally some of our closest friends are having children. It was iffy there for a bit. Tim and I were some of the first to have babies and then we went and had two and for a long time we were like pariahs, not because they did not want us around but because friends without children don't quite do the same things friends with children do. But now (cue evil laugh) they are coming over and it makes me supremely happy.

I have decided to reward my wonderful friends by making their children things...sewn things, to be exact. The latest gift went to a sweet baby girl who went from newborn to one like a race car goes from 0 to 60. At least that is how it felt to me...I am sure that is not so for the parents. Here is the little sweetie (her Mama made that bday hat. So cute).




I wanted to make her something girl but not too girly because her dad is really cool and punk rock and I wanted to skip the whole tutu thing. I used a pattern which I found at Bolt in Portland. (I can't find a link to the pattern but here is the blog of the pattern maker and her etsy shop).


It was designed by a mama local to that area and Owen fell in love with the sample dolls at the store. It is a great pattern, simple and enjoyable with a little bit of hand sewing and a little bit of time at the machine. I also found that JoAnn's now stocks bamboo stuffing for her insides so this little girl is as wholesome inside as out.

I highly recommend this pattern for anyone that would like to try a doll...the biggest challenge was picking out her 'clothes' and then stuffing her evenly so she did not look too lumpy.


I had to switch out the feet for a custom pair of Chucks as I have never seen any other pair of shoes on her Daddy. Isla was actually the recipient of all the the outgrown pairs we had sitting around here. But on her big birthday she was wearing....wait for it....pink ones. Guess her Daddy caved like every other one out there eventually does.

During the making I had a little guy named Owen at my elbow requesting that I sew one up for him.


He very specifically asked for a 'girl with yellow hair' as in the picture included with the pattern. I am not sure if I should be thrilled that he wants me to make him something or a little worried that he is already requesting a tall blond to carry under his arm. What a ladies' man.

Nothing quite like sewing for littles that I know I will be seeing around for years to come. Makes me all giddy inside.

Much more to come as babies are popping up all over the place around here. Yippeee.

On the Topic of Mojo

So, I have realised an important fact. My craft mojo is directly correlated to the weather.

Not conducive to mojo = 100 plus weather with ash raining down from the sky and ending up in my eyes every time I walk outside.

Not conducive to mojo = Small children trapped inside for many many days due to weather conditions.

Not conducive to mojo = Not getting enough sleep. Scratch that, I have not gotten enough sleep for years now.

But you know what can bring it all back? A few days of cooler weather, the rolling in of the marine layer that signals a chill in the air in the morning and hold the beating hot temperatures at bay for a bit, just enough to slip a few new project ideas into the mix.

This weekend I decided to bite off a new house project, that of taking a blank and scribbled wall in the kitchen area and giving it a new purpose. That of gallery.

It is intended to hold all of the projects that I know will come home soon, that of self portraits and trees made from small hand imprints. I want a special place to showcase these pieces, pieces more valuable to me than any Picasso. So the latest project includes some magnetic paint (actually 5 or 6 coats as the 3 I laid down barely hold a light magnet).

And some new hand made magnets that I plan on using to teach the boys a little bit about something called the Alphabet.

So far we have paint on wall (needing a few more coats, of course). And the start of the letters, simple felt layers that I am whipstitching together, magnets to be glued to the back.

I decided to start with their names and a few sight words. I did not want to make the Alphabet as you really cannot spell many things with that. So names it is.

But I did get a bit distracted by the finishing of their school bags.


I am not really sure how necessary these are...they each have a cubby holding diaper changes and water bottles. I think that these will be more like comfort items, something they can carry in with a precious rock or car tucked into the front pockets, a special card for Mrs. B or valentines, etc. There I go again, with the idealistic visions of school. No, but really, just something or them to hold onto. They already like them a lot, wear them out asking for their 'purses' as we get ready to go. And it satisfies the Maker?provider part of me. Their toenails might not be clipped and clean, hair messy and shirt a little too small. But, dammit, my kids have handmade bags with their names embroidered on them. Now that is a good Mama.

And one very important knit has graced the needles now, just as another unphotographed one receives its finishing. This lovely bit is for my soon to be sister in law, a light a silky shawl slowly taking shape. There is such joy in knitting for a wedding, especially for a bride.


On this evening, still sultry but with some cooling in the night air, we sat outside, smoke free air, breeze blowing, and I played a bit. Some nice red wine, my bag of embroidery floss, my favorite scissors (Owen absconded with them to cut grass, a definite no no...he might dull them, bad boy)(Oh yeah, might cut off a finger too, those suckers are sharp). The rising of mojo feels good.


As does knowing for the next three hours I will stitch as dancers and singers and cookers take hold of my flat screen and I make the minutes count.

I have yet to find my cleaning or laundry mojo, but at least I am doing something that matters. Ahhhh.

A Sale and A Plan

Hi, Wednesday. You make me feel good. You make me feel like having a sale. A few weeks ago I put a few items in the shoppe. I was happy to see a few go to good homes and I asked for some feedback. Now, I know I have fellow Mama of toddlers reading here because we all follow along this path together in some ways. So, I am totally planning on getting some toddler sized t-shirts in the shoppe with a few unique 'Jon' characters. I promise they will not be white. But that will have to wait. You will see why.

Anyways, I have two wee onesies in the shoppe geared towards the upcoming Easter holiday and I would love to see them go to a place where they can be worn before that Sunday passes. They are on sale now for 10 bucks and free shipping.


Snatch them up if you like, give them to a friend with a little one. Or if you have a little one tuck them into it. One is 0-3 months, one is 3-6 months. Now, go and get 'em.

See, I am clearing the slate for a few weeks to focus on my boys. You know, those ones I never write about any more. Those ones turning two in a few weeks. Those ones driving me batty and alternately making my heart melt. Mostly batty though.


Two is gonna be hard. As long as I can steal kisses and hugs, I think I might make it.

I saw an awesome project over at Woodcraft. I know half the world reads Sweet Juniper for the wonderful eloquent writing and stellar photography. But I was totally hooked in by Wood's new crafty blog. So, this project started spontaneously, gathering scrap, using some precious fabric pieces, digging deep into a box I scored from Jennifer's destash efforts. I love it so far.

My plan is to make the birthday banner to be used for the multiple family members residing here, just a special touch to a not-so-ordinary day. And make a personal 'name' banner for each person as their birthday comes. This project is simple a fun and you can read the process Wood used here. So far I have changed a few things...


:: My triangles are cut from 9" by 10" squares
:: I am using wool felt for the letters
:: I plan on using 2" ribbon and folding it over each pennant.

There are a few other things in the works, I am trying not to get too distracted by all the pretty shiny objects popping up all around. I did finish the second hat, just in time to catch a few Spring time rays lakeside.

Looks like we are going out of town for awhile on an impromptu vacation, but there is a post office in our little town and I promise to send out the onesies stat.

Now, back to work. I might be meaning this literally. More on that later. For now, I have projects and a sewing machine to pack.

Shoppe :: Open

Oh, Friday, you mean so much to me. This one is a good one. A few goals accomplished and the end to a very crazy roller-coasting ride of a week.

A few small things pulled me through this week. They are named Fred and Trogdor the Dragon. Say Hi.

These are my new little friends. Little folks that came by and stayed a bit. Designed as always by Jon, my uber talented brother. The biggest kick is in showing him his sketches realized on the little onesies and listening to the boys call them "babies".

Craft is my savior, hope it becomes your gift. To your little one, or a friend with a little one coming. When I make these for my own little ones, I always smile when I dress them in one, remembering the joy of the stitching, seeing them move about in something I made.

Please look and let me know what you think. I would like to entertain any custom requests if possible, these onesies are sized for the wee ones (0-6 months) but I may expand the line to include some of those terrorizing toddlers. As long as they earn it.

Cheers and happy weekending. Ours shall include stacks of buttermilk pancakes, my gorgeous niece Kayda, bbq's and healing families. Loves, A.

F4F :: A Good Cause

Getting to F4F this week has not been easy. We have been mired in some sort of sickness since the New Year, Tim is going on his 6th week of respiratory complaints, the boys are in competition for which can fever/cough/drool and need the most carrying around,

and Mama woke up feeling just a bit off kilter (yoga was interesting this morning). But in spite of the challenges, I completed a few things that required completion. I find I turn even more so to creating when times are rough, helps pull me through and gives me a focus.

These all came about in increments, a pattern piece drawn and cut here, a few minutes at the machine there, moments with needle in hand.

I find myself pretty happy with the end result...especially as they are going to a good cause. I mentioned in a previous post that a blog friend, Matthew at Childsplayx2 is having an online auction for his YMCA. You can read a bit of the background story here. He put out a request for donations to auction and my first thought was, of course, I will knit something. But I could not decide on a pattern, then I realized time was rapidly dwindling, so I turned instead to my sewing/embroidery skills, meager though they are.

The result is something I think I can be proud of. Two little bebe outfits, one boy, one girl, to be auctioned off separately. Sized to fit 6-12 months (I think).

The pants are made from stash fabric, some of my coveted Heather Ross and a little contrasting (clashing?) binding hem. The cotton is so so soft and light, perfect for warmer weather to come.

The onesie is the coup de grace though. My youngest brother Jon is an amazing artist and has a knack for character creation. The little monkey is named Fred and first debuted in a small childrens book Jon wrote and illustrated for his French class. I love Fred,

he is impishly cute and a little spacey and will steal your heart. Someday I am going to find a publisher for the booklet...if you could just see Fred with his bananas. Here he is depicted diapered and happy. So, thanks Jon, for lending us Fred for a spell.

The Friday finish was important as Matthew wants to have the auction up and running by February 16th. He plans on keeping it open for two weeks and I am excited to see what else shows up. The blogging community is so diverse with so many interests, so I am sure there will be a little something for everyone. I plan on posting a link in the sidebar once the auction is up, I will be sure to let you know.

I sent out another little love package earlier this week for a family. In it I included these toddler socks.

They are a simple sock pattern, ribbed leg and your basic heel flap/gusset construction. I used stash sock yarn, a bit of Cherry Tree for the leg and Koigu for the foot. I love how they remind me of Spring. Like a flower coming up.

I just used the boys mallet feet for reference, cast on 32ish I think and went from there. The boys hated them on, but I am holding out hope that the toddler on the other end might not be so averse to their wear. And if they really are intolerable for toddler feet, well, at least they are really pretty to look at. (Horrid indoor lighting on the pictures though. Does not do the color justice.)

Ah, Friday. I see a Valentine's of cough and snot and little romantic endeavoring. No worries, I never really took to the holiday itself. But I am planning on making some cupcakes, both for family and friends. I have a recipe from Orangette for a perfect white cake...oh, so delicious. And then SK posted these car bomb cupcakes that must be made because the husband loves Guinness, chocolate and cake (in that order). And the whiskey might burn the sick out. Right?

And by Sunday, when I gather with my knitting friends, with plans of (them) divesting stash yarn and (me) taking it all because they will be lulled by the sugar coma from the cupcakes...well, I will myself to be better because what better way to end a weekend?

I hope your Valentine weekend hearts you and leaves you sick with love and not the flu. Hugs, friends and happy V day.

Christmas T_Shirt Tutorial

While up at the Cabin I spotted a sign for pictures with Santa. They had set up a really nice little tableau for kids to sit with Santa for a photo and get this, they were charging a whopping 5 dollars for the opportunity. My original plan was to take them back to the Santa we met last year at the local large cool shopping plaza, but for a single picture they charge around 18, so we decided to see how it went here.

The only problem was I had no ‘holiday’ outfit for them and you know how I really hate not having something homemade for the boys. We had to put the boys down for nap and our plan was to see the Big Man in the afternoon. Back at the ranch I had a few things that I was working on for holiday ornaments.

Some simple felt, floss and sequins were all lined up to become puffy homemade ornaments. Then I realized I had two plain white shirts in their stuff, and wah-la! We had a quick and easy Christmas shirt.


Here is what I did:
- First cut some green felt with pinking shears into a nice little tree shape. Then sew a sequin with a pretty shiny bead at the center all about the tree to make it truly festive.

- Take your t-shirt and place the front in an embroidery hoop and pin the little tree in the center (you could use stabilizer to set it but I had none on hand and the straight pins worked fine).

- Use cheery red floss (three strands) and a running stitch to sew the felt to the shirt. I started at the bottom right, worked up and made a three wrap French knot at the top. Important : leave the bottom open.

- Gather some yarn or tiny fabric scraps and stuff the tree to create a bit of a puffy effect. Finish by sewing the bottom closed.

- Add a brown fabric trunk if you like, I did not have any brown to work with so I left our little tree(s) trunk less.

Holiday shirt Ta-da!


So fast and quite fun. Too bad the babies did not have much fun while wearing them. This year Santa was a very scary man indeed and we had a bit of a struggle getting them to stay in a one foot vicinity. After bribing with a tiny candy cane, we got a few good shots including the one I posted a few days ago. Here are a few more.


Notice the considerable distance from Santa? Any closer elicited screaming. And Santa loved them so much and just wanted to hold them. Oh, well, next year.

And yes, they got candy cane all over the pristine white shirt and Mama will be working with some oxiclean to get out the stains.

I do not think this shirt will survive a washer, let’s face it, the shirt did not even survive the pictures. But it is super fun. Try it if you like. Take some holiday photos and let me know how it goes!


Happy Holiday crafting, friends. I say, let us take Christmas from consumer corporate to heartfelt and handmade.

Making New Traditions

We broke with tradition this year and left for the cabin the day before Thanksgiving. This is the first time we have spent the holiday apart from my gigantic family and it was due in part to Tim’s work schedule.

And as odd as it felt in some ways, it was also quite refreshing. A few of my brothers and sisters could not make it this year and we are planning the big gathering on Christmas, so it was a good time to get away. We did miss my lovely almost sister-in-law’s 30th Birthday (sorry, Jeanette). But in all, we found the ‘family’ time to be just what we needed, time for the four of us to bond and play and for Tim and I have to have time to reacquaint after some crazy working time.

And now we are actually thinking of trying to get the California spread out family to come up here together for the next Thanksgiving .

There was some relief in not having to be responsible for feeding thirteen or so people. We came up with a ham that required an hour in the oven and I made some of the traditional sides and we spent the days hiking rather than cooking, then eating and drinking too much because somehow the cooking seemed easy when it was only for four.

And then we spent the rest of the time reveling in the magic of the Sierras and not sleeping well at all. Does travel have to be synonymous with sleep disturbances? Ack.


The hiking with the boys is turning into our favorite time.

They actually walk with us on the trail, delight in holding our hands and alternately guiding us and being led, and they make it further than I thought those sturdy little legs could carry.

We are talking an hour of hiking here, and with only a few minutes of carrying. My favorite thing is when they ascend a hill they breathe hard on purpose (probably learned that listening to their Mama when she carried them up hills) and when they go downhill they say ‘woah!’

I have some great recipes I tried out this weekend and some new crafting and knitting in the works.

I want to share so I might do a few posts over this week to share the new discoveries I made and a few newish craft things I tried out. Stay tuned for a tutorial on these little seasonal shirts.


And we even got a picture with Santa.

Need an opinion...check out this photo. Cuteness personified. Should we use it for our Christmas card? If not, do you see why? And nope, I do not have photoshop. Maybe someone knows an online site where I an remove the offensive strap...any recs?

Turkey Stitch Pattern : Free!

Sorry folks, this was a big fat fail....give me a day to get a picture and then I will just upload that and you can have that instead of this confusing little thing called pdf sharing. Oh, and if anyone has tips on how to do this right or can direct me to a tutorial that will, throw me a bone.

Um, confession, I really have no idea what I am doing, but I made a little pdf for you to use if you would like to stitch up your own Thanksgiving shirt.

Here he is: Mr Gobble I think he is only there for a few days, as I am trying out Adobe's pdf thingy. So get him while you can. And let me know if this is working. I question the fact that I am a graduate of an esteemed East Coast college (well, NYU, not terribly esteemed, but terrible expensive), but clueless as to the things like pdf publishing and the like.

And reminder, this is Jon's work and he is awesome to let me share. Please use it for your own use and let others know... we are planning on some cute Christmas designs, think abominable snowman and working elves...have a great time stitching!