Dirt Ball

I must admit, my baby is dirty. He likes to eat dirt. He likes to play in dirt. And most of all, he likes to kick around in dirt. And not only that, he also likes throw all things dirty.

And what is dirtier than toddler milk? Uck, nothing.

So after 14 months of rear-facing car seats. Papa removed said car seat to give the boy a better view.


Oh, the view. The view of 14 months of crackers, pretzels, grilled cheeses & dried milk. I couldn't ignore it anymore, so I went to Target. For $20 we could have purchased an Eddie Bauer seat cover. But, Mama don't buy much for $20.

So we came home, put the baby down for a nap. Pulled out some 5-year-old corduroy that I bought on sale in Johnstown. Beautiful stuff. Brown cord with old cars & trucks. For the backing I used the only bath towel that wasn't in the sleeping baby's closet. Cut them up. Sewed on a pocket. Vacuumed the car. And there we go.

The pictures are horrible, but just know that I am in love.

Measuring Tape Bracelet

A while back I saw this ruler tattoo, and thought, as I have with every ruler I've ever seen, "I need that."  I mean, how many times have I been at the store and thought "if only I had a ruler with me..." or on the bus wondering if this or that section of my knitting was long enough yet? So I told my loving BF that a forearm tattoo was in my future, and he got that look on his face.  He didn't say no (he never does), but his hatred of tattoos, spending money, and the english measuring system were all there in his eyes.   

I was still thinking about getting the ink when I saw a spool of ruler-print ribbon on clearance for 49 cents.  (Cue angels singing.)  A bracelet was born.

If you want one, you'll need a spool of a similar ribbon, some clear quilting thread, a needle, and two D-rings (the size will depend on your ribbon).  Cheap, right?

You'll need to cut the ribbon an inch longer than the circumference of your wrist, half an inch on each side.  My wrist is freakishly small (about 5.5 inches), but a ruler smaller than 6 inches is ever so useless.  Seven inches (clipping at 11.5 inches and 6.5 inches so my bracelet would start at 0 and end at 6) did the trick.  

Roll the ribbon down a quarter inch on the wrong side, then roll it over itself another quarter inch.  Sandwich your D ring on the wrong side between this little nubby and the ruler and pin it for sewing.  Repeat on the other side.  You can use regular pins, but when hand sewing, I use safety pins to keep my fingers from looking like pin cushions.

See how the rings line up with the "start" and "end" of the tape to allow for precise measuring?  Is this going to be perfect or what?

Then, we sew.  You don't have to be a perfect hand sewer because you're using invisible thread, but try to keep things at least close to straight so your ruler is still useable. 

After you're repeated the process on both side, you can just slip one D ring into the other and your bracelet is done.  Because you don't thread the ribbon through the hooks, your ruler will stay straight and wrinkle free.  Happy measuring!   

DB & the BB

Let's assume DB isn't spending the evening before her super-awesome baby shower checking JB's blog...

So, as long as she isn't looking, let me show you what I've made her little baby Liam.

You know, the usual: a taggy ball & blanket.

Hopefully, little baby Liam likes 'em!

Hasta manana Brizown.

A Seat at the Table

On the first bright sunny day in Wild & Wintry West Virginia since... well, since... a while, we decided to take full advantage & head to Ikea in Pittsburgh to buy the little man his own little table & chair.

Great success. But, well, it was awfully white.

So, after 3 snow days to consider my options, I decided to save some paint, use up a few fabric scraps & make a seat cushion. You noticed I didn't say cushionS? Yeah, with a $12 price tag, I didn't figure the baby could sit on two chairs at once... so I just bought one. I mean, one chair before I saw the cute little, and even more expensive Rattan chair on the top Ikea rack. So, technically, the kid has 2 chairs, they just don't match...

So, when the baby finally took his first nap of the week, I quickly pulled out the sewing machine & got to work.

I used some full-price white cotton fabric that I bought last summer with JB @ JoAnn Fabrics for the purpose of curtain-making-that-would-never-happen, to make a small pillow stuffed with fiberfill that JB left behind. And I used some wonderful blue dandelion fabric to make the cases. I'm in love.

So, I made a second cushion for the babe's Rattan chair.

And I still have just enough blue dandelion fabric left over to make another cushion, if I ever decide to buy another chair...

Baby it's cold outside

But the back seat couldn't get any cozier!

The fabric was 60% off seasonal clearance @ JoAnn Fabrics. The orange is so snuggly, I wish I would have gotten more!

Mama Tried

"My mama tried to raise me better, her pleading I denied..." OK, she wore me down.

Years ago (living in Louisiana, while the hub was away on "business") I made my mama a little pink change purse. Those were the days. Home alone with a box of wine and a portable sewing machine. And my love, the Hobby Lobby just up College Drive. But I digress.

When I was home for Christmas, my mama put on a big smile & told me how every time she opened her purse & saw that bright, happy change purse, she thought of me & smiled. I'm not sure the smile is directly related to the thought of me, or married to the money hidden inside...

She talked about how it was lined with a satiny white material with a delicate, soft feel; she didn't mention the shiny round coins clinking below the zipper though...

I'm pretty sure my mother doesn't need another zipper purse, but she asked for one anyway. No matter the size, she said, whatever size zipper I have in stock will be fine. With such a vague request, I'd bet granny's trying to motivate my craft a little more than house her pennies.

But, I aim to please. I had a 22 inch zipper, but I didn't think my mama had a purse big enough for that much change, so luckily, I found a repurposed 1o inch-ish jean zipper.

And I had a little bit of pretty brown/pink clearance fabric left over from the swaddling blanket I made for Baby Green.
And Voila. Happy Granny.

Three Little Holes

Ugh, my favorite hoodie, which I've had for years upon years (E -didn't you try to steal it?), developed three tiny little holes.  I thought, I'm crafty, I can fix this.  I remembered seeing a tutorial on fixing this very thing, but instead of looking it up...I just started cutting. 

My brain kept saying "measure twice, cut once."  But three cuts later (two free-hand hearts and one stenciled star) I have this little beauty.  And I had the good sense to look up the tutorial by the insanely awesome Sister Diane at the also awesome Craft Stylish.  The BF is modeling here - can you tell he's happy from the way his shoulder are hunched (maybe he realized the star is crooked)?  But you also get a shot of the awesome Home Sweet Home sign E made for me the first time I moved to Oklahoma. 

Also this week, I bought 50 skeins of yarn for $42. My defense - it is my favorite yarn and it was on clearance, and I had a coupon, and...shoot, that's all I can think of.   I'm so excited to jump into it!

And last, but not at all least, finished another Calorimetry.  Yes, I said the previous one was the last one, but that was before the loving postal service lost it!  Ugh!  It's probably a soaking wet ball of wool now stuck between late letters to Santa.  Tear!   

This one is Rowan Wool Cotton (leftovers from gloves for BF and Leanna's sweater) and has little pink vintage buttons.  I'm almost glad me mum is getting this one, because I like it so much more than the black one.  Maybe I'll keep it a little while, just to prevent the Postal Service from losing it.  Yeah, that's a good reason.

Another Man's Baby

Technically, the baby belongs to a totally different family. I can't take credit for everything, no matter have adorable it turns out!

I bought the fabric for a fleece loopy ball & blanket and a summer swaddling blanket last fall off the JoAnn Fabric's clearance rack. I made a bucket-full of loopies last year while I was prego, and since my babe loves 'em, they all should!

After a last minute dinner invite @ the expecting couple's house last Saturday, I couldn't put the crafting off any longer. So while my Russian busied himself with Netflix, I cut, pinned & sewed the babe's nap away.

I was super-happy with the colorful blanket. So happy I figured I'd iron the loops & the seams. Something I never do. And that I will never do again. Someone should put a label on that fleece, letting sleep-deprived Mamas know that it burns. Easily. Cause it does. Errr.

But, anyway everything was a big hit. Especially the monkey JB stitched up for the baby girl.

If only the motivation will keep rollin'. I dreamt up an awesome glass-etching baby bank idea last night...

Block Heads

Magazines are the best medicine for my sleep-deprived creative slump. They tell me everything the little munchkin has to have to fit in... in... in to his swine flu induced solitude. I rip out the page. Fold it up on the high shelf where the little monkey won't eat it. And whenever there is an un-characteristically long nap... snap, craftin' with no brain power required.


I want my baby to be super-smart, and since JB left town, I figured I'd have to help shape his little mind. So, I figured I'd make some puzzle-type animal blocks that spelled out the babe's name...


Do you know how long that nap would have been to make enough 6" x 6" blocks to spell out that oh, so long Russian name? I fear the worst when kindergarten rolls around...


Anyway, so I skipped the letters & just made some puzzle blocks. I used some of the left over flannel that JB left for just such a project, and made up my own little safari animal patterns.

And, yes, my darling, that is a string hanging from the corner. How would anyone know I made it if it didn't have thread hanging all over the place?

I was going to stuff the little creatures with fiber fill... but the lumps, oh the lumps. I almost just threw them down to the basement for JB to finish next time (if ever) she comes back. And then I headed to JoAnn's to check out the foam... And at $57/yard, I again figured they were headed to OK.

But after a 50% off coupon & some remnant haggling, and I got enough foam to make at least a dozen blocks...

If only nap season begins... Gotta go, I think he just woke up...

It's official - I'm starting a Facebook Charity Project

Poor Amanda had all her towels stolen from her apartment's laundry.  I felt bad and made her a towel with her name on it - OK, I didn't make the towel, I just added the name.  But won't that be embarassing for the little robber next time?  Can't you just see him with a stocking over his head, toweling off with this girlie "Amanda" towel?  Hopefully he doesn't look too closely at the stitching - this was my first try at such a thing, and it was so-so.

So who is Amanda?  Another facebook friend.  And so it's on: The official: the "Facebook Charity Project" begings. I learned about Amanda's predicament through her facebook status, same way I found out about another friend's separation from her husband (look below for the resulting monkey present).  It just seems like the perfect way to determine who gets presents.

Wanna join in?  Feel free to tag your Flickr photos "facebookcharity" so we can see what you're doing.  But don't feel pressured or anything - I'll still do it regardless. 

Sack Suki

Although JB had a crafty West Virginian summer, I got very little crafting accomplished. Actually, I did a bit of de-crafting.

After a nasty baby-related incident, I had to put Zander's Monkey through the wash. Unfortunately, he jumped from the sanitize cycle much worse for wear. Of course, Zander still loves him!


But today, after a lovely hike around a moss-green lake, the babe took a 2 hour nap, the hub was out building a garage and I pulled out my sewing machine. JB sacrificed her sleep the night before she left WV & stitched up a stupendous sack for herself. I loved it so much, she left it behind. The best purse ever has been pathetically hanging on the basement door ever since she left, waiting for a liner. Because Queen Brown forbid me from carrying it until it had a liner.

Today, it got a liner.

I believe JB found the crochet pattern @ the Future Girl Craft Blog, http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/no-time-for-love-dr-jones.aspx.

And I definitely found the liner pattern there. I used to hate pattern sewing, and to a certain extend I like to think I still do. But with time limits & baby-induced insomnia, patterns are the best thing that ever happened to me! http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/1/tutorial-sew-lining-for-crocheted-bag.aspx.

The fabric came from JB's private stash. I can only dream of finding fabric this fine on the clearance rack!