simple Analogy

A New Kind of Fruit Basket

Isn't it exciting to come across a tutorial that you feel you MUST make immediately?  Isn't it even better when you don't have to run to JoAnn's to get the supplies but are able to use your scrap stash?  In other words, you can make it for absolutely free! Then isn't it even better if it's something you actually need at the moment?   All of these were the case with Freshly Pickled's Baby Hats!

 I saw them on Thursday at noon.

In about 45 minutes I had an apple.

About an hour later I had a strawberry.  Could have been shorter if I would have had pinking sheers.  I had to snip my leaves by hand.  Ugh!  Can I borrow yours next time, Mom?

The next morning I had a pineapple.

To tell you the truth, the pineapple is my favorite.  I L-O-V-E the texture.  The only thing I'm not happy about with mine, is that the green at the top is a little too short and skinny.  Next time I'll use a longer strip of fabric and cut chunkier leaves.

With such a cute hat on their noggin', a mom might not even mind if someone calls her baby a "pineapple head"!  Well, maybe...

***Disclaimer:  No, I didn't make these because I have NEWS to share.  Actually the ladies at church have been sharing a lot of NEWS lately, and I'm trying to get my stash up.  Also, I think they'd be great for the littlest of warrior heads over on Craft Hope. 

Piggy Bank Bash

On July 2, 2011, a tragic car accident in West Texas changed one family forever. Robin and Joshua Berry were killed in a head-on collision when an automobile veered into their lane as they traveled home to Houston from a family vacation in Colorado. Two of their children, 9-year-old Peter and 8-year-old Aaron, suffered spinal injuries in the accident and are paralyzed from the waist down. Willa, the Berry’s 6-year old daughter is recovering from a broken arm and leg.

News of this accident quickly traveled through the community, across the nation, and around the world! There have been countless fundraisers and outreach to support this family, as the cost to provide physical and emotional rehabilitation for these three children is unfathomable.

Those of you in the Houston/Clear Lake/Bay Area are invited to the Piggy Bank Bash 4 the Berry Kids.  Two of my necklaces will be auctioned at the event, along with lots of other great items.  There will be music, food, fun, and best of all 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Berry children.

I've learned that the blogging community is such a generous and caring group of people.  If this has touched your heart, you can read more about the event, sponsorship, and donations at the Piggy Bank Bash website!

Fleece Blanket Round-Up

 
The Craft Hope project this time was just a little beyond what I was comfortable with.  I just couldn't get past the word "razor".  Instead I made no sew fleece blankets as a part of my church group.  The fleece was provided, so all I had to do was cut and tie.  A snap!

 
Then I got to thinking about some other possibilities for these.  What about reverse applique?  

 
image from Noodlehead

This scarf is very simple, but I can imagine a more sophisticated design for a blanket.  Hmmm...  

 
image from craftstylish

Or an argyle? 

 
image from Purl Bee

How about a shot cotton/rick rack one? 

 
image from Make It Snappy

Then I saw Megan's patchwork bound blanket.  That does it!  I'm putting fleece blankets on my Christmas list for the nieces/nephews.

That's a Wrap

Are we there yet?  Yes!  We're done with our Craft Hope Project 10!!!!!!! 

Megan and I dyed these on Thursday, and tied all of our hats and onesies into sets on Friday.  Delivery takes place as soon as we can find a spare moment in our schedules. 

Thirty-six sets in all.  No more onesies or hats for quite a while!!!

Meet Angie

 
Angie is helping Megan and I with our Craft Hope Project 10 hats and onesies.  Aren't these hats adorable!  The flower is a barrett that clips onto the cord on the front.  Clever!

 
 
She made several plain hats and I added leftover fabric from them to make matching onesies.

 
And a few of my fabric flowers to some of the hats.

 
Her little boy onesie with a tie is precious.  There was a vagrant blue hat in my stash that didn't have a onesie to go with it.  I just happened to have a scrap of the same fabric she used for the tie to add a little tag on the hat so that these two could make a set.

You've got to go take a look at her shop, The Sparkle Baby!  The diaper wipes cases are the cutest I've seen!  Plus there are tutus, diaper bags, wipes wristlets, burp cloths...  Perfect gifts for a baby shower!

Thanks for helping us, Angie!

More of the Same

Yep, more girl onesies!  Each combo has a story of it's own.  These came from a toddler size dress from Target with a scalloped hem.  I didn't know how that would work for a hat, so I just cut strips, ruffled, and bannered.  Can you tell I'm really liking the banner for the girls?  I just "happened" to have a mint green shirt in the donation pile to use for the hat and, so it wouldn't look odd, added a patch of the same ruffle to it. 

If you're getting tired of seeing these, there's a new variation in the works.  I have a stack of whitey tighty onesies and hats that are awaiting the dye bath whenever Megan and I can re-schedule.  And tomorrow's post will have nothing to do with onesies or hats.  I promise!!!

Days of the Week (tsh, tsh)

 
My niece is in kindergarten this year.  Every now and then she busts out in a song they are learning at school to see if I know it as well.  I knew this one (sung to the Adam's Family tune only instead of snapping they make a "tsh, tsh" sound)...

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

It's Sunday and it's Monday,

It's Tuesday and it's Wednesday.

It's Thursday and it's Friday,

And last is Saturday.

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

 
My favorite day of the week is Thursday.  It's more relaxed than any other day and the day I sew.  Yes, I try to fit sewing time in other nooks and crannies during the other days of the week, but Thursday is my only really long stretch of sewing time.  Uninterrupted sewing is how I can make seven hat/onesie sets in an afternoon.  Plus the fact that I have older children who don't have to have an eye on them every waking moment.

 
 
 
Most of the shirts gleaned from the donations at church so far have been boy stuff, but this girly one turned out mighty cute.  The girl sets take more time because I have to want to add a few extra things to them - like ruffles and a little hand stitching.  Maybe that's why God blessed me with boys.   He knew I'd go overboard if I had a girl of my own.

P.S.  I like Friday too!  Have a good one!  And take a peek at Megan's robot set.  So cute!

Kisses for the Girls

Doesn't that look like a Hershey's Kiss?  Originally I thought the brown hats would be for boys, but when I saw the "kisses" in them I opted for making them into a girl version.

 
I immediately cut white tags and wrote "KISSES..." on them.  I added a little pink garnish to the tag and tacked them on by hand.

Now for the matching onsie-

 
 
A little ruffle on the front and adorable brown and pink ruffles on the bum.  It pretty much screams of girly chocolate! 

Hats of a Different Nature

 
Don't worry, I'm not giving up on the ear flap hats.  I'm just sidetracked by another project...  The Craft Hope project this time is to "craft for a cause" by make something out of the Craft Hope book, which I got as an early birthday present from my boys.  Thanks guys!  One of the things that I really like about the book is the encouragement to create and dontate items to local organizations.  In other words, make a difference in your own community.

Megan and I have talked for a while about making baby gifts for our local Care Net Pregnancy Center.  This center counsels and assists those with unwanted or crisis pregnancies.  The Craft Hope project has spurred us into action.  We, along with our new friend Angie, are making baby hats and onesie sets for shower presents that Care Net distributes to the newborns and their mothers.

 
We are using the Simple Knot Baby Hat in the book for our basic pattern.  With the boy's and a few of my own purged t-shirts, I made 12 hats in about 1 1/2 hours.  A boy's extra large or a women's medium yields two hats per shirt.  The un-knotted hats above are being saved for a dying session, but they give you an idea of the general shape.

I put out a call at church for old t-shirts, so that we can repurpose them to make even more hats.  With the leftover fabric, we are embellishing onesies to match the hats.  Here are a couple of my boy versions:

A little argyle...  I couldn't resist!  There's nothing cuter than seeing a little boy wearing 80's argyle.

 
 A couple of stripes...  These are very sporty and my boys think they look cool.

Girl versions are in the works, but I've got to make a run for hot pink thread and more onesies.  Any one have a cheap source for onesies?

Fabric Flaw

I am flawed when it comes to buying fabric.  I buy just what is needed for a project.  If I do an impulse fabric purchase, which are few and far between, it is usually for half a yard or under.  I use up what I have with very little left over, and my fabric stash can fit into a small drawer.  This may not sound like a flaw to you.  But when I went looking through my stash for yardage for Craft Hope pillowcases, I was only able to come up with enough fabric for two pillowcases, and that is only because Megan gave me two soccer cuts at the beginning of summer to make a case for Noah.  That was hardly enough yardage to fulfill the quota I wanted to make.



I went to JoAnn's with Noah Friday morning.  Of course we were pounced on by everyone, especially one really irritating man, asking how he got out of school.  Even though the guy was rubbing me the wrong way, to save the delicate and precarious reputation of homeschooling moms everywhere, I politely smiled and answered all the "socialization" questions and such like.  Anyway, I came home with lots of pillowcase yardage.  I used this tutorial to make the cases. 

 
for the Craft Hope cancer kids

I decided that from now on if the Craft Hope project is something for kids, half of what I make will go to the project and the other half will go to the missionary closet at church.  It's only fair that the kids of missionaries get something to show them that they are loved too!

 
for the missionary kids

You might be wondering what steps I'm going to take to remedy my fabric flaw.  I will just HAVE to buy more yardage to keep on hand!  You know, just in case I need to make a batch of nine pillowcases again.  I did make nine, even though only eight are pictured.  There is a soccer one on Noah's bed.  Thank you, Meg!