The Advent Tree: A Year in the Making

Over a year ago I began a lovely project with my friend Kristine. I think I'm finally finished. Today it went up on the wall. As pictured, the kids hadn't yet visited to hang day one of the Advent Season.

Stay tuned for the end of the month when all of the handmade tree ornaments are on the tree. Merry Christmas season to you. With our dusting of snow these past few days and the shiver-inducing weater, it's beginning to look alot like.....

Lulu and Luna

Our nieces from Charlotte visit every summer with their family and I try to find time to sneak away with them for a little craft time. Ron's sisters are both very good at making time for each niece and nephew, so I've joined them in this tradition. This year I had promised Ingrid and Annika that we would make stuffed animals or dolls or something they could hold. Last year we made tote bags.
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After seeing the cute dolls on Black Apple when she appeared on Martha (thanks to Layla, who brought this to my attention!), I decided these dolls would be just perfect to make with the girls.
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The girls dug through my fabric stash and found remnants of my past projects to integrate into their dolls. As a team, we ironed, traced, cut out, sewed, turned right side out, stuffed and sewed Lulu and Luna together. Such fun!
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Ingrid and Annika got to spend time with their other auntie later that evening and made a trip to Michael's Crafts to work on making faces and accessorizing them.

Birthday Sewing

For Louise's birthday this year, I really wanted to sew her a birthday dress and continue a tradition I began when she was one. A week before her birthday I found the perfect fabric and although I knew I had no time to be attempting such silliness, I decided to go ahead. The fabric was only found at faraway fabric stores or even a local store in NE Mpls... but that meant packing up three kids to a fabric store and hoping for the best. Instead, I found a terrific resource here in my own backyard, almost. An online fabric store called Cia's Palette is located just over a mile from here and... she delivered my fabric! I wanted to kiss her when she arrived at my door! Not only did she deliver it, she also consulted with me over the phone about which fabric would make the best contrasting fabric and mailed me some generous samples in the mail from which to compare.

I finished the dress after her birthday, but at least I finished it within a month of the date. Next year, my sister warned me, I had better get started after Christmas.

I love... Sewing

On Valentine's Day morning, Louise finally got the robe I was planning to sew for her for Christmas. Just a few months late, she didn't seem to mind. Two years ago I sewed the same pattern (Mc Call's 4283) for the boys for Christmas. They still fit, albeit a bit shorter.

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After Louise tried on her new robe (which was missing a trim piece at the photo shoot--eek!), she insisted that her brothers put on their robes. I went to the closet to get out Ron's robe that I sewed for him when we were first dating and the kids were thrilled to see that he had a very similar handmade model to theirs.

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I was wearing my favorite of my (ahem, five) robes and realized that it was time to either toss it to the rag pile or do something about the right armpit that was looking like a bomb went off in it. The beauty is pink and made out of this amazingly thick and heavy terry cloth. I was sixteen when I got it for Christmas from my parents and that makes it, well, embarrassingly old for a robe. I've repaired both of the armpits several times and was feeling like if I tried to fix it one more time, I would have ruined the sad thing. Fortunately my parents came over on Sunday night and I gave my mom a little wink wink and passed the poor robe off to her. Aren't moms the best at clothing repairs? Don't moms always come to the rescue when we need them?

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Do you have a story about when your mom came to your rescue? Do share!

Sewtropolis

A new little fabric store/ sewing studio has come to my neighborhood. We were sad to see the demise of Auntie Em's, a cute kid's book store, but also welcome this little gem. I attended their grand opening a week ago and am looking forward to seeing their stock when it is complete. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid trips to Joann Fabrics for the little things I need and instead skip a few blocks down street and support this local business. Check out their website and class listings.

A thank you

I've been in a sewing funk lately. I think it has been a full six months since I've done any sewing. I was thinking it was burn out after Christmas projects. But now I think it may stem from a giant to-do list that includes such fun tasks as cleaning my desk, vacuuming the basement, finishing several massive garden projects and all that stuff... clutters my brain. To me, sewing is one of the most fun, rewarding activities I do and therefore, always is a low priority. I did some cleaning of my piles on my desk this week and my brain felt clearer. Louise was napping, the boys happily playing Legos and I made a dash for it. I had a project in mind and just decided that it was time. Time to make a Gratitude Wrap, as seen on Soule Mama's blog many moons ago.

I needed a thank you gift for Carl's amazing teacher Toni, the bilingual wonder who has finally shown Carl the light in terms of Spanish. Coming from someone other than his mother, Spanish is finally his thing. I wanted to thank her with something cool, handmade if possible. I had already bestowed upon her several loaves of my bread this year, so that was out. The ideas I've seen on other blogs looked fun, but replicated a few things I've already done or were a bit too cheesy for my taste. Anyway, the gratitude wrap came to mind and I hit the fabric bins. Here's what I came up with:

-a vintage table cloth with a few bad spots looks beautiful when trimmed into a rectangle

-tan linen from the Textile Center's annual fabric garage sale

-white bias tape from my late grandmother's stash

-the $1 bin at Michael's for note cards and a funky orange notebook with a T for Toni

Voila... I love it!

And you? Are there any tasks on your mind that block you from doing the things you love? Does your mind work that way or am I crazy? Also, any good tips for other teacher gifts? Stop lurking and share your thoughts... we'd love to hear from you!

Feeling Crafty:: part two

It is my niece Annika's birthday today. She lives far away and we don't get to see eachother as often as we'd like, but I wanted to send her a little piece of me for her birthday. While lounging on the beach in Puerto Rico with her mother a few weeks ago, I learned of Annika's passion for being a teacher, in her bedroom. Apparently her whole bedroom is set up to resemble a classroom, with a white board, clip boards with important papers, and hand sanitizer.

I sent a package full of school supplies for a good teacher, including this little felt roll-up for some funky new pens we sent. Ahhh, if I had only had one of these in my desk when I was teaching. I could have protected all my favorites from the students who needed to borrow a pen from my desk drawer. I used two colors of felt from my mom's felt stash, most likely vintage 70s felt. It feels thicker and higher quality than craft-store felt is now. Two days later, I made another one in pink and brown for another birthday present. Now, the boys think they need one. Under the Christmas tree, perhaps?

Happy Birthday, Annika!

Feeling Crafty

The other night I was up late working on Christmas cards, nearly falling asleep at my desk, ready to roll into bed and suddenly, I realized that this idea I had been toying with for about six months HAD to be made. Tonight. Now. Wake up, Jenn! The slumber quickly left me as I rubbed my eyes, scissors in hand, and began cutting.

This past summer we spent a lot of time with the Minneapolis Nature Kids group. One of the girls in the group practically shares a birthday with me and I wanted to celebrate her 5th. I didn't get a card in the mail, so I decided to really celebrate, with a bag. A stick bag, that is. Maddie has a love of sticks and frequently finds beautiful specimens on walks. Usually her Mom winds up carrying them so Maddie will have her hands free to look for more. I determined early on in the summer that there had to be a better way.

I sketched it in August, but it came off the paper this weekend. Here it is. A pink, fleece bag with an over-the-shoulder carrying strap, a drawstring of vintage striped ribbon, a zipper to reach into the depths of the bag to find the teenyist pieces of bark on the bottom, and some embroidery to verify its purpose. It felt great to knock it out... in 45 minutes. Now, why can't I get the rest of these ideas out of my head and into someone's hands?

Vinny

In the midst of all these holiday preparations, I found a little time to sneak in a birthday present for my niece Ingrid. Her sister got one last year, but Ingrid casually mentioned to me this summer that she might like a traveling monkey too. Annika has LuLu and now Ingrid has Vinny. Here's his story, which was handwritten and placed into his photo album and tucked inside his traveling case:

Hi there. My name is Vinny. I'm a monkey, but I don't have a tail. You see, one time I was looking for termites ina log near a river and I fell in the water. A giant alligator grabbed me by the tail and well, I'm just lucky to be ALIVE! I don't mind at all. I was rescued by a group of scientists that brought me to an animal hosptital in the US. I fell in love with Italian food like pizza, lasagna, spaghetti and risotto-- so they named me Vinny.

I'm pretty easy to take care of, in case you'd like to keep me. Just cuddle me (like my mama monkey used to) every night, share some food with me, and take me to the bathroom when I, well, toot. Ok? Introduce me to other monkeys too. And, take my picture when I travel. The scientists in Minnesota will send you some soon for my photo book.

Hugs and kisses xoxo, Vinny

Vinny and Lulu on vacation in Puerto Rico, with their "Grandma Katie."

The Cutest Skirt

Please take a look at the skirt on Grosgrain, a fabulous blog with beautiful photography of a mom's sewing projects that just happen to include adorable girl skirts. She's opening up an online store in November.

I think Louise would look adorable wearing one of these with the pocket designed to hold birdseed. Love it! Hope I win the contest giveaway. If not, just in time for Christmas!

In the meantime, I've been doing a little bit of sewing myself. A certain friend of mine who shall remain nameless recently turned 40 and deserved a bit of recognition. Here's her new purse... same design as my sister purse.

A Little More Sewing

I pulled the sewing machine out of the depths of the basement (we're sort of remodeling and it is a MESS!) to the dining room this weekend. Since it is out, I figured that I should get some use out of it.

I purchased this shirt recently at a garage sale for $.50, thinking it would be a fun shirt to go out in. Let's just say it was a bit too tight and way too short. I guess I was shopping with two children, so maybe I overestimated the size of the shirt. Instead of tossing it into the GoodWill bag, I wondered if it could be turned into something for Louise. With a little snip and some other found clothing around the house headed for the trash, a new twirly skirt was born. I felt like a woman out of the Depression, reusing every tiny bit of fabric on hand. Even the elastic was reused. Later I'll post a picture of her in it, doing her new favorite thing: twirling.

I don't have a serger, so I zigged it. Rustic yes, but very fun.

No sewing for this mama

Arrrggghhhh! I am on a self-imposed hiatus from sewing and most other crafting for this summer. Most days I enjoy the fact that I'm not racing off to the basement to do a few stitches or clearing a spot from crafts off the dining room table.

But today, when I saw that SouleMama is actually offering instructions on how to do her gratitude wrap, I'm beside myself. Oh my. Since I saw her first one, I've been playing around with ideas about which fabric from my stash that I'd use. I had even sketched out a little idea on how I'd put it together myself. And now, she gives me the pdf file. September, can I wait?

Ok, off to dance with this little dancin' queen, who incidentally, took her first steps today! She has been holding on to things while she walks and today, I caught her doing it unassisted.

gettin' started on the birthday dress

Louise turns one in a week. ONE! Where did this year go? I mean, I haven't "worked" at my job in a year and I'm wondering where my year went. The fastest year yet, I believe.

Here's the start of Louise's first birthday dress, hopefully the first in a long line of mama-made dresses for her birthday. Since her birthday is in May, she'll always have a fun sundress of sorts to wear during the summer, made with birthday love.

The fabric was purchased from Crafty Planet, who had a booth set up at Craftstravaganza a week ago at the State Fair Grounds. Man, was it COLD!

I'm going to make the little red one... with the ruffle at the bottom. Vintage pattern thanks to Mom!

Purse update

We finished! If you remember the sisters-in-law sew-athon, here are the final results!

This is mine, with the addition of a button from my Grandma J's button box. Helps prevent things from falling out. I reversed the bottoms so they are mis-matched on purpose.

Krista's lovely Amy Butler fabrics.
Tonya's botanical selection. So adorable!

And here are all the girls hanging out together.

Up next? We still have to decide. But the project after that is quilts. I've got a Denyse Schmidt one I want to do, for a summer coverlet.