Quiet Book UFO (Part 2)

In Part 1 of my Quiet Book posts I mentioned that most of my pages were someone else's idea.  Most of the gumball machine pages I've found teach colors, but since I already have a colors page (see Ice Cream page, below), this gumball machine teaches patterns!  Stripes, swirls, checks, plaids, polka dots, and spots, oh my!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar counting pages (I want to add more "texture" to these pages, though they are quite busy...).  I love that I can use up some scraps that were gifted to me.  Makes it more precious to me!

Ice Cream Scoops (teaches colors)

Like I said, the pages are not finished.  This page is a maze, with a car and two "parks".  Sunshine is trying to get the car into the pocket, and the page is too flimsy at the moment for her to have much success.  Hopefully it will be much easier when the pages are finished.

Picking Veggies from the Garden

And here is the rocket in space page.  Spunky, my sweet creative 5 year old asked if I could make the moon into a pocket.  (Great idea, Spunky, but you'll notice that the moon is smaller than the rocket.)  He asked if we could make a comet, but since I didn't know what a comet should look like, he drew me one:

He picked out the fabrics and the trims, too.  Creative little thing, isn't he?  I love working with my Spunky!

So now the rocket has a comet to explore!

Which leads me to an observation.  I am not sure about anyone else's experience with Quiet Books, but Spunky was NOISY when playing with this page.  Anyone else out there have that kind of a kid?  He is a chatterbox!  I love him to pieces, noisy or not, but the irony was not lost on me.  Come to think of it, Sunshine had all of her 2 year old self in the middle of the floor saying "BUCKLE UP!" in her loudest voice.  Makes me want to re-think the "Quiet Book" title....

Can you imagine THAT at the doctors office, church, or (yikes!) at a funeral?!!!

Blessings to you!

:) Caren

Quiet Book UFO (Part 1)

When I was about 7 months pregnant with my youngest child, I started "nesting".  Most pregnant ladies nest by decorating or cleaning up for a nursery (or so I've heard).  Not me.  I started sewing.  Or at least, I started dreaming of ideas for "after the baby comes".  Ha.

Sprout

Here's my "baby".  He just turned one year old this month.  And this week he started walking (for real), and drinking regular milk!  And this week I have finally started my Quiet Book (it is not anywhere near being finished, hence UFO, or UnFinished Object).

So here, my friends, is a sampling of my un-finished pages (so far):

Matching Shapes

Yep, I let the kiddos play with the pages - raw edges and everything.  I love that I can see Sunshine's binky in this picture.  It will remind us of how "long ago" this book was made (assuming it ever gets finished, of course!)

Picking Apples (unsnap & put them in the basket)

Ohio State Tic Tac Toe page teaches a little Ohio history, too!)  I love the ladybugs vs. buckeyes instead of X's and O's - they turned out exactly as I had envisioned them.  That little flag was a LOT of work, but on the bright side, I learned how to make French knots!  Added the state motto: With God all things are possible, and our state bird (cardinal).  That's a lot of learning on one page :)

Generic "Build-a-Burger" page

Most of my pages were made from someone else's idea.  I can't give credit because there are so many different variations floating around the world wide web, but I'm grateful for the start in the right direction!

Lace & Tie the Football page has the scarlet and gray (scraps from my Buckeye Princess dress) for the Ohio State Buckeyes, a subtle hint of what college team our family is affiliated with.  Now if I could only find those shoelaces I stashed away for this project a year ago....

Have any of you, dear readers, made a quiet book?  Do tell!

:) Caren

My Buckeye Princess

I was invited to be a pattern tester.  And for some insane reason I said yes.  I mean, my work with clothing is limited for a reason, folks!  I see a pattern and I get a headache by the time I get to the measurements and cutting list (yep, same reason I don't quilt).

So anyway, after a couple weeks(!) of thinking over the possibilities for fabrics, I decided to make my little princess dress for a Buckeye - an Ohio State Buckeye, that is.  Yep, we live in Ohio.  And Sunshine's daddy (aka - my husband) is a Buckeye fan.  So I went for the best scarlet and gray I could find.  (Pretty sweet scarlet & gray, though, right?!!!)

So back to the whole pattern testing thing.  I figured out a lot of things through this adventure:

1.  I like to embroider, but only if I know it is actually going to be used/seen (i.e. - on a dress that won't ever fit - why waste the time?).  ps - my embroidery was not complete along the lacing in these pictures).

2.  I get nervous trying to figure out colors/fabrics.  I really can not seem to "picture" fabrics in other contexts.  Funny, huh?  I'm not a "visionary" with regards to fabrics and colors.  I guess that's got an "up" side, too - I get surprised with the end result!

3.  I get REALLY nervous cutting into "good" fabric.  You know, the kind with a designer label.  The kind you can't find at the thrift store or the remnant bin at JoAnns.  (If you're wondering, my fabric is a combination of Rendezvous and Nature Elements that I got from Julie at The Intrepid Thread.) 

4.  My designs typically come from a random idea, story, need, or even a fabric.  Not a pattern.  I am NOT a by-the-book creator.  I'm messy.  I color outside the lines.  I don't measure unless I have to.  I use "whatever" seam allowances.

5.  I get REALLY REALLY nervous about using someone else's pattern.  Especially if I know they're counting on me to follow it faithfully.  My insecurities abound, because I want to do things right.  I know the person who wrote this pattern is wanting my honest input, and I want to give it (and not screw up something she has worked hard on!)

6.  And though I knew this one before: I am only marginally better than  I used to be at sewing in a straight line!

So I struggled a bit with this pattern testing thing.  It is a sweet pattern - and it really did turn out beautiful.  And in the end, it was a good (growing) experience for me.  It gave me confidence not to shrink away from future projects that might involve patterns, exact measurements, and/or cutting into really GOOD fabric!  

Who knows? Maybe I'll try tackling a quilt one of these days...

                                                      

                                       ... but not today ;)

Here's a smile from my Buckeye Princess to you!

:) Caren

Chair Name Tag Thingies

(honestly - I have GOT to find a better name for these things!)

Hallelujah!  My chair name-tag thingies are finished!  (Remember this post?) They are basically like pillowcases that go over the back of my sisters dining chairs.  I finally finished all 12 of them.  Mom, Dad, seven children, and three guests are all going to have their own unique chairs!  

My brother-in-law ("DAD") is not as conservative as my husband, but still, I'm hoping he doesn't look at these and get dizzy.  Or shield his eyes and run away.  That's some crazy fabric, huh?

Rosalie, on the other hand, will really like them.  I'm hoping they all will.  I mean, that's 6 months of work so - yeah, I'd like them to be appreciated.  But then again, they're kids (*sigh*).

I didn't want to put individual pictures of all of them, that would make this post really long, and honestly, I didn't think anyone (other than myself) would want to see each of them.  So here's my collage.  Fun, huh?

All of my letters are hand-cut and appliquéd in some fashion.  I stitched around the edges of all of the letters as well as all of the shapes, including the critters so that nothing would come off without some effort.  And they're all made with some amount of reverse-applique.  And vinyl.  And love - lots of it!

So now they're in the mail.  I'm praying that they are big enough (I never got an exact measurement on the chair backs).  If they're not big enough, I'm practicing my speech to my sister: "Look on the bright side - you can always stuff them, then everyone will have their own little pillow!"  (Who knows - maybe God will stretch them in transit?!!)

:) Caren

Space Blanket: Experiment in Minky

I found this adorable space themed minky fabric in the clearance bin at Joanns - it was super cheap and so soft I couldn't resist. It was a long and skinny piece, so I had to chop it in half to make a normal(ish) shaped blanket.

I ended up cutting up some fleece blocks to make the middle (can you believe I had navy AND bright orange to match the minky?!!!).

My goodness, that minky fuzz gets everywhere! Can I get a witness?!!

I really wanted to use it for a couch throw - I absolutely LOVE the feel of minky fabric!!!  Unfortunately, it's too small (more like crib-sized), and since it's more suited to boys I'll let Spunky and Sprout fight over this one!


The other side was made from an old cotton sheet.  Honestly, I'm not sure that I like it, because cotton isn't as immediately warm as minky, but I don't think the kiddos will notice.

This was a really quick job, I have bunches of stuff on my "to do" list, so no applique on this one (yet - ha!).  I've never made a blanket before, but for $2, it was worth the experiment!

:) Caren

Odds and Ends

I've just been working on my sister's chair cover thingies but the machine I'm using keeps snapping the thread.  I gave up in frustration after the fourth time I had to re-thread it. Some day I will own a sewing machine - one capable of doing at least a zig-zag stitch.  But what right have I to complain?!!!  My friend loaned me (indefinitely) her grandmother's sewing machine.  What a dear, sweet, trusting friend.  

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things". (Philippians 4:8)
This verse gives great insight on keeping positive, and how to stay that way.  I could grumble and complain, but I'm not going to.  And since you are reading this, I'm going to let you see a bit of my thinking about "such things".  In pictures!

 First off, this past year I was thinking about a "label".  I kind of like this one.  It's my own design and a professional could probably do better.  But for now, it will work!

Then there are the many embroidery designs I've done.  Like this one.  I kind of like it, too. Here's how my first attempt turned out:

Not the greatest (I was trying to figure out which way I liked to wrap the letters).  But it's a fun start, right?

And then there's fabric.  Does fabric make you happy, too?  Well, these gems are from my quilting friend Brooke, and I made this piece of loveliness with some of them:

(And my Sunshine looks so adorable in it.  I love this fabric - thank you so much, Brooke!!!)

Here's a UFO from my pile: a quiet book.  These are the pieces for my OHIO TIC TAC TOE and PLANT THE VEGGIES pages.  The tic tac toe pieces are buckeyes and ladybugs (state tree & insect) and velcro on/off.  The Veggies are carrots, potatoes, and beets and are inside pockets.  If any of you have made quiet books before, you know how much time they take.  I really do want to show you the finished pages, but that will have to wait for a bit.  


And still keeping on the "such things" theme, here's some more:

A sweet "Mermaiden" I made (from Hilary Lang's book Wee Wonderfuls).

And a couple of pincushions.  The one on the left is a porcupine (I made his nose a little too platypus-ish, but he's still cute.) 

Alien Blobbies (another cadamsCREATIONS original)

And here's the robot I made for Spunky when Sprout was born.  He actually designed it (pretty great for a 4 year old, if you will pardon my bias!)

And the "E" bag I made for my sister.  I was so impressed with how well this bag turned out.  It was one of my first bags!

OK, I know this blog is about my crafty stuff, but here's a little randomness about me:

I love big fat fluffy squirrels.  (These were in my back yard.)

And last (but not least) for the day:  I love my Sprout, who just recently turned one year old.  He's grown so much!  I remember when I found out I was pregnant he was about the size of a blueberry, so we called him "baby blueberry".  Then he was born and had to be in NICU for a little bit, and when I took him home he shrunk.  And kept shrinking.  On his 23rd day (after losing almost 2lbs) he was hospitalized.

Oh yes.  Look at those eyes!  He's beautiful.  Anyway, he's better now, and growing like a weed (hence the name Sprout).  He started standing on his own on Christmas day, and just took his first step (toward me!) today.

This was at his birthday party - after he devoured his cake (though I'm not sure how much of it actually got IN his mouth!)

Oh, writing this post was good for my heart.  I am so amazed at the things that my hands have made in the past year (that's about how long I've been sewing) and grateful for the friends I have (new, old, creative, and not-so-much). And just thinking about the growth and development of my youngest child (and my other two as well, but that's for another day....) makes me smile.

Hope your life is full of "such things" to think about.  I encourage you: keep those good things in your remembrance.  It will do your heart good!

Blessings,
:) Caren

Will this project EVER get finished?!!!

Do you have projects like that?  I usually tell people to start small so they don't get overwhelmed and quit before completion.  On this project, however, I did not take my own advice.

So what is the project?  Well, this is a little in-process photo I took.  It is the applique for a chair cover.  Not just any chair cover, though.  See my sister has seven kids.  And she asked me a while back if I could make something that gave each chair a name (assumedly so there were not so many squabbles over who sits where).

She has 12 dining chairs total, and if my math is correct, that's 9 family members plus 3 guests.  So I'm putting names on 9 and the other 3 will be different creatures.  (A frog, a cat, and a lizard - they live in Florida).  A while ago I scored some discounted vinyl at the Joann's in town.  Since most of the family is under 15, I wanted to make sure these were fully machine-washable and would stand up to a lot of abuse.

So I made most of the names out of vinyl with reverse-appliqued letters.  Praise God they turned out pretty good!  That was a LOT of work.  See, here's how it went.

First, I printed out the names.  Then traced them onto Freezer Paper (I love that stuff!).  Then I ironed the freezer paper right to the front of the vinyl. Beneath the vinyl is a fabric (fabrics for all of the names were different).  Took it to the sewing machine and stitched around each letter (like I said - a TON of work - most of it was hand-cranked instead of using the pedal).  Then for the fun part!

I took my itty bitty embroidery scissors and cut out the inside of each letter, to reveal that fantastic fabric underneath!  See how the vinyl makes those letters POP?!!!  Super coolness!!!

My sister is in town right now on vacation, and this was supposed to be her Christmas gift, but as you can see, it's not finished.  So I took her to dinner last night (thanks to husbands who took care of the kids!) and showed her first the fabrics, then each of the name/creature plates.  She was astonished.  Loved them.

So now, I just have to add the plates to the fabrics, make all 12 into pillowcase-style chair coverings, and hem.  No biggie, right, now that the hard part is over.  Should take me a bit less than the 6 months I've already been working on this project.  No problem - what are sisters for!
:) Caren