When Jenni and I were in Pottery Barn Kids a few weeks ago, I snapped some photos. And then I lost my memory card, which is why I'm just getting around to showing you the pictures.
That's just fabric and/or paper on canvas boards. Doesn't it look so good? Y'all, we could totally do that ourselves, and for a lot less than the wads of cash Pottery Barn charges. Somebody try it!
I have been itching for a good sewing project lately. Positively itching.
It seems that half of my friends are pregnant right now, and baby sewing is my favorite sewing. The times was right to hole up with my sewing machine and temporarily let the housework go to the dogs.
I sewed up seven--SEVEN!--batches of burp cloths. I never get tired of making these things! I remember, with my own baby daughter, how handy they were. And the fun fabric combinations keep me from getting burned out on each project. Here are the finished products--click on any one of them for a larger look (each set is either five or six cloths, folded and tied together with a tulle bow):
These next ones are my favorite. Gingham and strawberries--yum!
(This is the point where you say, "MY WORD, is she actually going to make us look at ALL of them?" And the answer would be, "Yes.")
Every time I've posted about making burp cloths, I get requests for the pattern and instructions. I don't have a great track record with tutorials, but I'll give it a try.
1. Each burp cloth set makes 5-6 burp cloths, depending on how your flannel washes up (and how accurately the lady in the fabric store does the cutting!)
2. You'll need 1 yard each of two coordinating pieces of flannel. I usually pick a pattern with a coordinating gingham or stripe. Watch your fabric stores for half-off sales and stock up!
3. First, make your pattern. Use whatever paper you'd like to make a 11x17 rectangle. Using a plastic cup, trace rounded corners onto your pattern.
4. Wash and iron your flannel.
5. Place your two pieces of flannel, RIGHT SIDES FACING EACH OTHER, together. Lay it out on your cutting surface.
6. For speed, I prefer tracing my pattern onto the flannel, instead of messing with pins.
7. Cut! You should have five or six double-thickness flannel rectangles now--RIGHT SIDES STILL FACING EACH OTHER. It will look like this (click on any of these pictures to enlarge):
8. Sew it together (pin together in a few places first). I use just over a 1/4-inch seam. Leave a 4-5 inch opening, so you can turn it right-side out:
9. Next are two very awkward photos of me trying to turn it right-side out with only one-hand. Um, please use two hands.
10. Flatten the seams. You can either do this very quickly and neatly with an iron, or you can do it SLOWLY using your fingers and pins while sitting on the couch watching American Idol (guess which one I chose?):
Be sure you pin up that 4-5 inch opening especially securely.
11. Now, back to your sewing machine. Using just under a 1/4" seam, sew all around the edge, including the opening. If you're using that tiny seam, it will close the opening up for you--no hand work!
12. Your finished seam is going to look something like this:
14. Here's each side of a finished pair:
13. Fold them up all pretty, alternating between which patterns are on the outside (see pictures at beginning of this post), and tie them up with a bow.
I've learned this project seems to go a LOT faster when you sew several sets at once. And it feels good being set for baby gifts for a while!
...how many of you went shopping at an ungodly hour on Friday morning? Before this year, I'd only done it once, and I swore that I'd never do it again.
Until, that is, I saw the sale flyers. Four a.m. doorbusters! 75% off! These words speak to me. Especially when two of the items I was already planning to buy this season were on sale to a degree so spectacular I couldn't not go.
And so, Friday at 4:30 am, my alarm went off. I hit snooze twice and still managed to be out the door by 4:50, which should tell you a little about how I looked.
First stop was Wal Mart, and there weren't quite as many cars outside as I expected. I stood in the Wal Mart parking lot for a moment, pondering our nation's economic prosperity, and whether the slow retail environment might force the Federal Reserve Board to lower interest rates.
Actually, no. I believe my exact thoughts were something like, "Dang, it's cold."
Inside, the store was moderately crowded but courteous--I saw no pushing or arguing or body-slamming over the Hokey Pokey Elmo.
I did, however, see a sight that still has me scratching my head. While I was there wearing a thick sweatshirt thrown over my pajama top, there were many women dressed to the hilt. High-heeled boots, chunky jewelry, bright red sweaters. At five in the morning. "Show off," I muttered, as I shuffled past. Okay, not really, but I thought it. Evidently I am not an overflowing fount of Jesus' love before the sun comes up.
Next stop was...well, I can't tell you, because my brother reads this blog, and if I say where I went, he might guess what he's getting. But again, I scored a fantastic bargain in an surprisingly non-crowded store.
My third and final stop was where the real business was taking place. Between 5 am and noon, JoAnn's had their flannel for 99 cents a yard. It's regularly $5-$6 a yard. For those of you who don't sew, you may not know how craft lovers are about their fabric bargains. It's a little like getting between a momma bear and her cubs. Picture a bunch of bleary-eyed seamstresses heaping bolts and bolts of flannel into their carts, hardly stopping to examine them first. The funny part came as we all stood in line, eyeing each other's carts, casting irritated glances at our fellow shoppers who HAD THE NERVE to load their basket with twenty bolts of fabric. They should have been much more restrained, like me, who only had EIGHTEEN.
So cutting were the glances that when I came back home and crawled back into bed (oh yes I did), I fell into a deep sleep in which I dreamed that a little old lady and I were in an all-out fight, whacking at each other with fabric bolts like they were light sabres.
Did I mention that I bought enough flannel to make 22 pajama bottoms?
TWENTY-TWO.
Can you even begin to imagine why any family would need 22 new pairs of pajamas? Neither can I. But when the bargains call, I answer, even when it makes no sense. I guess I'll just have to insist that this family sleep a whole lot in 2008.
What about you? I'd be interested to hear how many of you braved the crowds and cold to do business on Black Friday. Just for fun, fill in the poll below.
My youngest child started preschool two days on Tuesday--she'll be going two days a week. She's younger then her brothers were when they started, but there is NO HOLDING BACK my social little spark plug. She walked into her classroom with all the confidence in the world, never even glancing back at her sniffling Momma.
And, as promised, I took some pictures of the nap mat I made for her this weekend. Here it is all rolled up:
I'm especially proud of the buttons that keep it closed--getting them just perfect took FOREVER:
I embroidered her name on it by printing her name in a cute, large font on my printer, then tracing the font onto the mat fabric. Then I just stitched right over the pencil marks--easy peasy. Wish I could show you her real name all stitched up, because it really turned out cute.
Here's the mat unrolled, and let's all just pretend that this pillow is smooth and even, instead of appearing to have body parts stuffed inside. Pillows are hard, when you don't use a pillow form. And I was trying to do this project on the CHEAP:
The irony is that the mat went basically unused. When I arrived at pick-up, there were sleeping little bodies all over the room, and then there was Corrie Dryer, flitting around from child to child singing "wake u-u-u-up!"
I'm taking the day off to recover from the most labor-filled Labor Day I've ever had. Saturday I tackled a dozen projects that had been sitting un-done for ages (sort of an I've-been-violated-but-oh-yes-sir-I'm-taking-back-the-power kind of thing.)
And then I remembered that--oh,yes--Corrie starts preschool today and I probably should finish that nap mat I've been meaning to sew all summer. And y'all, it's cute. If my muscles weren't all so achy, I'd take a picture for you.
And then Monday, my parents kept the kids so Hubs I could "look around but not buy anything" at the home improvement store, and instead we came out with a receipt that had a comma in the grand total.
And THEN a "quick job" in the kitchen that would just involve a little patching up and painting ended up with some wall demolition. Took one little break in the action to go to a movie with Melanie.
And then, to wrap it all up, I had to sit down and write a post about the fact that I'm not going to write a post.
I am the queen of unrealistic expectations.
And I need an Advil.
See you back here tomorrow, and in the meantime, don't miss the sweet giveaway up over here.
I had to post a picture of my finished red-work kitchen towels--they're finally done. The vast majority of this stitching was done in the car on the way to and from Colorado in July, an effective means of distracting myself from the fact that my husband was driving SO FAST across the plains of Oklahoma that he actually ran over two birds AT THE SAME TIME, but that shall be a post for another day.
Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh yes, the towels--
Here's a close-up of the embroidery of each towel. I plan to do a binding (probably red and white toile) around each one, but it may take me a while to get to it. Plus, I'm shuddering at the thought of actually using these in my kitchen, home of muddy hands and melted Velveeta. These babies may be getting framed.
That last one was the hardest--the little strawberry leaves on the Sunday towel were quite tedious. If anyone is looking for an easy and satisfying handwork hobby, I highly recommend giving simple embroidery a shot.
*UPDATED TO ADD*
To answer a question a couple of you e-mailed, Heavens no, I didn’t do them in freehand! I transferred them onto the towels using an iron-on set I got at Wal Mart. The towel set cost, I believe, $5; the iron-on pattern was around $2. Embroidery thread is so cheap you could pay for it by searching your couch cushions. My kind of hobby.
It's giveaway time!
I've written about my wonderful new hobby, embroidery. I love all aspects of it, but particularly "red work"--red stitching on white fabric. It's simple, clean, and it has a great vintage look. And it's incredibly easy, even if you've never stitched a thing before--all you non-crafters stop moaning. No patterns to follow! You can put your brain on auto-pilot.
I'm giving away this little packet of supplies that's just enough to get you started on a red work project. Included are three white flour-sack dish towels, iron-on embroidery patterns, 
a pack of needles, an embroidery hoop, and three packs of red thread.
If the winner of this set is a beginner, I'll walk you through the how-to's via e-mail.
To be entered in the drawing, leave a single comment (duplicates will be deleted) below. You must provide a valid e-mail address, but you do not have to have a blog. International participants are welcome. I'll close comments at 12:01 a.m. this coming Friday morning, July 27, and I'll draw a random winner from the list. I'll announce the winner sometime on Friday.
Now, see how painless that was? If you want to host your own giveaway at your blog, and link up with our fun little carnival, please read through the guidlines here. You can see the entire list of participants here.
Thanks for playing!
Anytime I write a post like this, or show a non-sewing friend something I've made, I often get the same wide-eyed response: "Oh, I could NEVER do that." Or, "I wish I could sew."
Here's the thing: YOU CAN.
Sewing is a hobby that appears incredibly daunting to those not already doing it. I know--I've been there. My mom sewed my whole childhood, and I have many memories of sitting next to her sewing table, talking with her as she worked (usually on something for me). I was glad she enjoyed it, but I didn't have much interest in learning to do it myself.
It wasn't until after I was married that the sewing bug bit me. For some reason, I just decided it was time to learn. I've never looked back.
I tell you all this to encourage you that if you're thinking of learning to sew, please know that it is a skill that can be learned. Rather easily. By someone as impatient and clumsy as I am.
Before I started, I thought seamstresses (I would say "sewer", but ew!) were these perfectly meticulous people who hunched over sewing machines, doing and re-doing until they got it just right.
And the truth is? The good ones are. I'm just not one of the good ones. But I'm good enough. You DO NOT have to be painstakingly precise to learn to sew. Just like in cooking, you improvise and find short cuts that work for you.
Maybe you have no interest in making clothes. That's okay, I don't either. I sew for my daughter sometimes, and I make pajama pants for my boys. As a whole, though, apparel sewing is not my favorite. But craft sewing? I could eat it up. If you haven't flipped through a pattern book recently, you'll be surprised to find out how many fun things there are inside! There's home decor like this and this. Purses? Easy, like this. Craft sewing like this and this and this (which is actually what I plan to tackle next, when I clear off my current stash of projects). That's just a taste--there are hundreds more patterns like this. It's an endless supply of Christmas/birthday presents and teacher gifts.
Here are a few other points in my effort to convince you:
There are many book resources out there, too. I haven't personally used any of them, but I've heard that this one
I would love to hear more thoughts on this from you other sewing lovers--beginner through experienced! What helped you learn? Why do you stay with it? What's your favorite part of this hobby? Help me try to perpetuate the addiction in a whole new batch of "converts"! ;)
I CANNOT SEEM TO GET MYSELF INTO GEAR THIS WEEK. Maybe it's a case of the post-vacation blues, but I'm finding myself all addle-brained and grumpy...and wandering room-to-room in my messy house, looking at the piles of stuff, shrugging, and walking on.
And creative blog content? Not a chance.
So, in lieu of anything profound or funny or entertaining in any way, I thought I'd post a picture of something I made right before our trip. I'm pretty proud of it, actually--it's the first time I have managed to sew a piece of clothing WITH gathers that did NOT end up looking like a potato sack.
And while I totally intend to don't mean to brag, can I just tell you that this whole sundress for Corrie--fabric and pattern--cost $3.50? It pays to learn to sew, my friends.
In the meantime, head over to someone who is managing some creative thought--Mary at Owlhaven has a lovely idea brewing for a blog carnival next week. You can see the the details here.
I'm learning to embroider--I absolutely love it. This is this most peaceful little hobby I've ever found. Here's my first completed project, done in "red work" (named thus for obvious reasons--you can read more about it here).
I have a terrible hunch that the first time I wash it all that red thread will bleed onto the white hand towel, so I figured I'd better preserve it for posterity here, first.
(And by the way, no, I did not do that original artwork. It's a pattern that I ironed on the hand towel before back-stitching over it. Since there are, unfortunately SIX MORE days in the week, I have a bit of the project yet ahead of me...)
Update: I washed it, and there was no bleeding! But next time I'm soaking the thread in the vinegar solution first. Thanks for the suggestion!
Another update: Here is a great blog for learning the basics of embroidery!
