The Year Of Quilts - Starting With Dr. Seuss!!!

I adore handmade quilts.  I drool over them on the Internet and sewing shows.  I oooohhhh and awwww at all the gorgeous quilting fluffy goodness.  I want to make them, I just don't.  I'm not one for perfect points, lined up seams, etc.  Quilts take a lot of time and need more attention than I can usually give.  However... I am a fabric hog.  I have a weakness for quilting cottons.  I buy them constantly.  Mostly for things like purses, toys, clothing, etc.  I have bought some fabrics specifically for making a quilts. Specifically the Dr. Seuss collection from Robert Kaufman.  I bought these at Boardwalk Quilts over a year ago.  And, have recently purchased the Grinch Fabrics too.  I've also been hoarding some vintage inspired 1930's fabrics for almost 3 years!

I decided after the new year that this year would be the year of the quilts!  It's time to actually get sewing with those yummy fabrics and make something that my family can snuggle up in.  And, first up is the Dr. Seuss Quilt.  I am sooo taken by the colors of these fabrics.  I knew this was a good one to start with because nothing about Dr. Seuss is straight.  All his books are curvy, ripply, and fun.  And, so is this quilt.  I had very little actual Dr. Seuss fabrics, so I pulled a few prints from my stash that worked as well as some Kona Cottons in co-ordinating colors. I made the pattern up as I went.  I wanted it to be warm so I used a high loft batting.  I won't do that again unless I'm tying a quilt.  It was a bain to quilt on my machine.  However, I'm very happy with it and so are the kids.  Even my oldest loves it and wants to cuddle in it.

Some closer up images.  I did scrappy squares and stuff to fill in the quilt.

For the back I used up my leftover fabrics.

Bonus picture of my son pointing at all the fun images.  He loves Cat In The Hat.  And, he loves this quilt.  It'll go on his toddler bed when he's ready for it.  Until then, it's just a throw.

Cael's Cardboard Boat

My hubby and I had a hard time thinking of something for Cael for Xmas.  He really didn't NEED anything.  But I wanted Santa to bring him something cool.  Something that he would absolutely love and play with.  My hubby kept saying that he would just as happy with a cardboard box, so we might as well save our money and just get him a few small things.  During a strong discussion, I yelled at him that he might as well make him something out of that darned cardboard box then!  Funny enough, we both kidna looked at each other and stared thinking.  The next day I told him to make a boat or a car or a train or, or, or.  But, he simply said... "A Car".  That same week he got to work.  What I thought would be a very simple cardboard boat turned into something really amazing.  Just look at this thing.  I think it would probably float across a large body of water before falling apart.  It's held together my hot glue and two corrugated layers of cardboard.  It was painted and then gorilla tape was used on all edges so it would be nice and smooth.  I added felt to the bottom and he added a rope to pull him around the house.  It slides beautifully on the hardwood flooring.  It's also got a little seat with a back rest, a steering wheel that turns, some knobs on the front dashboard, two drop holes up front, side rope with beads and two cute anchors in back.

 

 

 

This thing really goes to show you that you can make beautiful gifts for kids with cardboard.  As, he grows we plan to change things on it to keep it new and awesome.  We might even add a sail to it someday.  I need to get better pictures of him in it.  He really laughs when he's being pulled.  He loves to just sit in it and play.  And, his sisters and daddy all agree that they would totally play in it too if they could fit.

Boy, do I love that husband of mine...  He is continually surprising me.  I never thought he would put so much love and work into something like this.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised though.  He never does anything halfway. And, he would do anything to make his children smile.

My Last 3 Months

I can't believe it's been 3 months since my last post.  I got so caught up in making X-Mas gifts that I kinda lost track of things.  I thought I should honor all those long hard hours of work and post some pics of those gifts.  I'll start with the knitting.

Machine Knit Socks:  I used fingering weight and sock yarns.  Some from my stash and other bought.  I made my own pattern for these.  I basically made two sizes... women's and men's.  The women's are between 8.5" and 9.5" long and the men's are between 10" and 11" and are slightly wider.  11 Pairs total.

 

 

 Next I made a machine knit Clapotis for my daughter.  I guess it's not technically a Clapotis because it's not knit on the bias, but I used the basic pattern of drop stitches to make this.  6 stitches in use and 3 stitches "dropped"  I used a yummy self striping yarn... I'll have to look up which one.  It's very soft and comfy.  I stitched the ends together to make it a mobius.  She absolutely loves it.  Wears it all the time wrapped around her neck twice.

 

This next one is mostly sewn.  But, I did knit the "February Lady" sweater that the doll is wearing.  I made a 15" Waldorf doll for my youngest daughter.  It was certainly a challenge.  I'll post more about my Waldorf doll making later on.  For now, here is the doll and her clothing.  She loved it and sleeps with it and plays with it.  Even now, it's sitting next to me... she brought it down to play on the computer with her last night.

 Next is the Waldorf sacky doll that I made for Cael.  He liked it, but mostly wanted to play with other things.... oh well... maybe he'll enjoy it later.

 I made both girls new bags using the Joy-Nicole pattern.  Loved this pattern.  It would be more of a purse for me, but for them it's perfect to as a large purse or overnight bag.  Both bags are fully lined with pockets inside.  Alaina's bag is first up.  I just love the button I found from my stash!  Rachel's bags is all about cats.   And, they are doing yoga!!

 

 

 

 

 

 Last, but not least.  I made some boxy bags for all the recipients of the socks.  Each person got a bag with the socks in it.  No wrapping or anything....  Everyone seemed to really love them.  And, I got to use more lovely tags to help make opening the bag easier.

 

The only thing that I'm haven't pictured is the boat that we made for our son.   I'll do a separate post on that one.  Otherwise I think that's all the gifts I made....

Edit:  Totally forgot about the XMas jamies!  I made pants for all the kids and bought the shirts.  The flannel was upcycled from a flannel sheet.

 

Tutorial - Sleep Sac To Sleep Suit!

Now that my son is standing he no longer wants to sleep in a sleep sac.  During the summer that was fine, but it's starting to get chilly and he needs something to keep him warm and toasty at night.  Looking at his sleep sac I decided to just add some ankle holes to it so he can move all over his crib and stand without getting All Twisted Up.  Here's what I did.

To start you'll need a sleep sac.  Pictured is a fleece one in size 18-24 months.  But, this would work for any size.  Ribbing fabric or any stretchy fabric for the ankles.  And, basic sewing supplies.

Step 1:  Take baby and place him inside the sleep sac.  Mark with a pen where crotch is and let baby roll away and get back to playing.  (no photo of this as he was way to wiggle to photograph and mark at the same time!)  My pins are on the inside back of the sleeper.

Step 2:  Place another pin 3" BELOW where the crotch pen mark is.  You can go further down if want to.  I wanted there to be plenty of room to grow and be loose enough for any jamies underneath.  Then lay the front of the sleeper on top and mark your zipper where your lower pin is.  This is where you will sew closed the zipper.

Steps 3 & 4:  Now you are going to sew together the zipper where you marked it with the pin.  Make sure your zipper is all the way open before you sew it down. In image 4 you can see that I've tacked it down good.  You don't want your zipper pull to come off when you unzip it.

 Step 5:  Now your going to mark where to cut to make the new legs.  I made a rounded top and slightly angled it down the sides.  It's 3" from the zipper on the top and 3.5" from the zipper on the bottom.  I just eyeballed the rounded-ness.

Step 6:  Cut out on your line.  Then cut the very bottom so that it's now open.  Then turn the sac inside out and sew along your legs as shown below.

Step 7 & 8:  Cut out two 6.5" X 6" squares of cotton ribbing.  You could use any stretchy fabric.  Just make sure it's supper stretchy.  Add.5" to the width if it's not super stretchy.  Fold your fabric in half and sew.  Then Turn it half way up so you have a cuff.  Do this to both pieces.

Step 9:  Sew your ankle ribbing into the leg openings to finish.  This was tough to stretch all the way around.  But, it did to and it fits great!

Step 10:  Turn it right side out and admire your handy work.

I also tried this with another sleep sac.  This one had minky on the outside and a layer of jersey on the inside.  It worked great with this one too.

He now has room to move around and still stay warm!

 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds and Yummy Puree

I went to the grocery store wanting to get a few cans of Pumpkin puree to use in some recipes.  I usually have a few cans in my pantry, but last year pumpkin was hard to find and pricey, so I didn't have any.  My jaw dropped when I saw the price.  The bigger can was over $3.00!  And, the little one was close to $3.00.  There was no way I was paying that.  It's soooo not in my grocery budget.  I went home thinking maybe I could can some myself.  And, sure shooting... you can!  But, I would need a pressure canner which I still don't have.  But, I can freeze it like I do my butternut squash.  In the end I got just under 4lbs of fresh pureed pumpkin.  I immediately made some yummy pumpkin bread with it.  It was amazing!

 

Down at the grocer store yesterday I saw some sweet pumpkin / pie pumpkins for $1.00 each.  I bought 2 and brought them home to cook em up.  What fun we had!  I wanted to use the whole pumpkin, so I decided to try making some toasted pumpkin seeds too.  I sliced up the pumpkins and took out all the seeds.  Roasted them in the oven at 400' for about 40 minutes.  As they were cooking and cooling I asked Rachel to help with the seeds.  She had so much fun getting them cleaned and ready.  After cleaned and dried they went into a 400' oven.  I cooked them a bit to long so some of them were very brown. (I was distracted by the canning of asparagus) Hubby loved those, but next time I'll watch closer.  I sprinkled them with some kosher salt and we all loved them.  Even the kids.  They were eating them by the handful.  You can bet I'll be using seeds from all my squashes from now on.

 

Oh, The Canning Love!

I finally got brave enough to try my hand at canning.  And now I'm addicted!  I look at all my fruit and veggies in a new light.  I wonder....  " How can I can that?"  I don't have much canned yet.  But, as the apples come into season here, I'll be canning more and more.

In the above photo I have applesauce, salsa, and pickled dilly beans.  Blow are some pickled asparagus I made yesterday.  (I'll post that pic in a few minutes) My favorite thing to do is pickle.  I want to pickle everything! 

Canning is one of those dying arts.  I know it's coming back a bit due to the economic issues all of us are facing now.  It just seems silly to me now that I've started canning that this was ever something that lost popularity.  When did preserving food for your family become an unimportant thing?   I guess canning goes hand in hand with long term food storage.  Something that almost everyone I know does not do.  Most of the families I know have only a few days worth of food in their pantries.  I'm hoping to spread the long term food storage love by handing out some home canned goods during the holidays.

As my supply of canned goodies grows I'll post more pics.  Soon to come (hopefully) will be canned meats, beans, and other pressure canner needed goods.  We haven't bought one yet, but I think we will be very soon.

Turning One!

Oh my little man.  How fast you've grown.  I can't believe we've had you for a whole year.  You've changed so much since the day you were born.  So tiny and fragile.  You've filled our lives with such joy and happiness.  You've completed our family in a way that even I can't describe.

The day you were born you had barely any hair.  Invisible eyebrows, and one eye that wanted to stay closed more than the other.  You were always hungry and wanted to be held always.  So soft and tiny.  Sweet and cuddly.  Your sweet wrinkly baby skin and smell had the whole household kissing and hugging you.

Health wise you were having troubles.  You were a snacker which was causing sleeping troubles. Our pediatrician was encouraging as much nursing as you could takeso she wanted us to tickle your feet and play with your tummy to try and get you to eat more at once. But, by day 15 you were in the hospital because you were projectile vomiting.  Thankfully it turned out to be nothing that they could find.  Daddy and I both decided that a to full tummy was causing the vomiting because once we stopped trying to get you to eat more at once, you stopped vomiting.

As the months ticked by you grew and changed so much.  By month three you were so much more aware of all around you.  You recognized your sisters and dad when they came into the room.  You started making noises and smiling.  You loved to look at toys and lay on the floor watching your sisters try and play with your.  Still not sleeping at all well, but other than that you were such a happy and content little man.

At 6 months you were rolling over and smiling at everything. You learned to sit up by about 7 months. Laughing and co-oing.  You always wanted to be right at the action, so you were sitting in your highchair a lot so you could see everything.  It was one of your favorite spots to sit.  I put one of those cart covers on it and hooked on toys.  You could play and be comfy.  Still not sleeping well, but you were starting on some very basic solids which made you very happy.

9 months and growing fast.  By now you were rolling to get to new places and getting up on all fours.  No crawling yet. But, you could go up the stairs...And, you loved it!  Slithering/Crawing happened around 10 months.  You would slither like a snake.  We called it your slither... or your amy man crawl.  You were very very efficient at it.  I think that is why it took you so long to actually crawl.  You got efficient at crawling by closer to 11 months.  You loved table foods.  Baby food did nothing for you.  You want to do it yourself or have us give you chunks of things.  No teeth yet so this was tricky.  I switched you to formula (my milk gave out) and you began sleeping a bit better.  Instead of being up with you 8 times a night, your were now only up 3!  You sleep on your belly with your bum in the air.  Soooo cute!  And, you sleep everynight with your bunny.  Grandma Vicki gave you this bunny for Easter and you won't let him go.  Oh... you love balls.  You would push them, watch them roll, and slither after them.  Below is daddy's favorite picture.  He calls this one "Dr. Evil"

12 months.  One year old!!  I still can't believe it.  Your cruzing around the furniture, climbing everything, and crawling so very fast. You love to be chased and climb the stairs.  You babble all the time, and love to look outside.  Playing outside is your favorite.   You love to explore and touch everything.  Not much goes into yorur mouth (thank goodness), but you do love to wipe things across your mouth.  Your sticking your fingers into any hole in your head.  Your mouth, nose, and ears.  Your fingers are always in your ears.  It seems like it's just a good resting place for your fingers.  Very cute!  Your loving fruits, veggies, and dairy.  Especially yogurt and cheese.  Your sleeping better.  Up maybe once to feed.  And your taking nice 2 hr naps during the afternoons.  Your such a sweet and loving little man.  You love to sit and cuddle and watch movies.  Your favorite right now is Cars.  You can't seem to get enough of that one.  Your favorite toys are your wood stacked toy.  (the kind with the rings that go on the pole thingy) You also love this car ram that you put a car on and it goes back and forth down the ramps.  Your favorite stuffed animal is still your bunny.  It's getting very loved.

Every day you grow and change and I just love watching you learn.  We love you more than you know!!!!