Quilting Anyone?

I have been pondering starting my very first quilt for my soon to arrive little girl and I ran across this inspirational wonderland.

YUM!!

Update: Create Your Own Oilcloth

So, remember how I tried to make my own oilcloth with this tip?

I think it worked fairly well for what I was doing.

I used it to line the inside of this toiletry bag I was making for my man. (I used this and this tutorial for the bag.) I think it could have stuck a bit better to the fabric, but I am not sure it matters so much after it is all sewn up. Perhaps next time- especially if it is an outer fabric as opposed to a lining, I'll try this iron-on vinyl?

Slippers

Just about to try out this cute slipper tutorial and free pattern from the Creative Maven for a dear friend who could use a little TLC. I hope mine turn out as cute as hers (or hers)!

japanese sewing

I am completely smitten by Japanese books about sewing for children. Anyone else?

I just recieved this one in the mail from an etsy shop called JapanLovelyCrafts.

Supposedly, I will be able to figure this out... I can't wait to try it!

White Christmas

It was a lovely white Christmas...

cheep, cheep

Success!

Well, I finished the littlest chick's Christmas present just in time!

She lovedit. It is from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book...

a little mother hen and her baby chicks- they stick with velcro underneath momma's wings :)

Come Let Us Adore Him

Merry Christmas Everyone!

more gifts!!!

So here's what I did with some of my winnings!
this one is a mystery until after Christmas ;) any guesses?

and a dollhouse from this tutorial (from UK Lass in US) is a gift for my precious eldest girl...

It's crunch-time now, and much more sewing to go!

Nap-time = sewing time... I'm off!

Honor Someone!

One type of gift I've noticed growing more and more popular each year is the gift of donating to a cause in someone else's name. I LOVE this idea! Many sites will even send a notification by email to the honoree... In my opinion, this is the perfect last minute gift. I suppose you could even do this Christmas day and have your gift be perfectly on time!

My current favorite place to donate: Love146.org - working toward the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation

Gift Ideas

More great gift ideas from Prudent Baby yesterday...

"A little handmade + a little store bought = Perfect Gift"

and today:

"Last Minute Handmade Gifts"

12 days of sewing!

Join the fun! Free tutorials and patterns at Sewing in No Man's Land!

Care Wear

Just discovered Care Wear.

Care Wear is a nationwide group of volunteers who knit, crochet, and/or sew, providing handmade baby items to hospitals. All Care Wear items are given free to infants, children and their parents.

Included on the site are sewing, knitting, and crocheting patterns to use for your donation!

Anna Maria Goodness

Are you thinking valentines yet? Anna Maria Horner is offering a free pattern download of her beautiful patchwork Love Emblem!

Check out her lovely blog.

Create Your Own Oilcloth!

Just about to try out this tip from Burda Style...

Hopefully I'll have my very own cheap and cute version of oilcloth for a little Christmas gift I've got in the works.

i think i can, i think i can...

10 days to go and here is what my Christmas gifts look like... cut, bagged, and labeled fabric. Now on to the fun part- sewing it all together!

Another beautiful giveaway

Also, be sure and leave a comment on this post at the lovely I Believe In Love to win notecards, prints, or a necklace!

Giveaway Day!

Giveaway day is here at Sew Mama Sew! Check it out! You could win handmade items or supplies and materials for your own genius crafting. Gotta love Sew, Mama, Sew!

currently loving...

Take a peek... it won't take you long to see why!

Mompreneur? Maybe...

Interesting article: Attention Aspiring Mompreneurs: 2011 Might Be Your Year at Fox Small Business Center. If you are a mother with small business aspirations, you are not alone.

Gift Ideas

Needing some handmade gift ideas? There's got to be something for you here, or here, or here.

It's So Cold!

When I was out driving this morning I passed a number of homeless men on the streets in the freezing cold, and the forecast on the radio... it's supposed to snow this weekend.

So I decided that probably the best little piece of love I could craft throughout the rest of the year would be to stick with the idea from November's post. The idea was to make a hat, scarf, or blanket and drop it off at the local homeless shelter or take a walk or drive and give it to someone in need. There are so many great tutorials out there for easy scarves, hats, etc. The No-Sew scarves sound great to me as I am running short on time and my Christmas crafting list keeps getting longer and longer! Make it long and wide and you've got one that can wrap around the head and ears as well.

Try this Easy Fringe Fleece Scarf Tutorial from Make and Takes,

this quick scarf tutorial at I heart linen,

this easy fleece stocking cap and no sew scarf tutorial at Squiggly Twigs Designs

or a fleece hat from Mountain Mom Report.

Holiday Treat

YUM!

We needed a little something to take to a Christmas party for a dear friend. I wanted to do something the kids could help with and this seemed like the perfect little project.

Pretzel sticks, melted milk chocolate and white chocolate chips, and to make it festive- sprinkles... Delicious!

It's a bird, it's a plane...

Because every super hero boy needs a cape...

Happy Birthday Zach! We love you!

Advent

So every year I want to make some sort of advent calendar and every year it gets later and later until... well- it seems a bit late to start the week before Christmas, doesn't it?

But this one at I Am Momma- Hear Me Roar has me inspired. I love the "good deed" theme and the list of daily actions is so sweet- perfect for a house with little ones.

The Tree!

It smells like Christmas at our house! I love it!

If you are longing for something new to decorate your tree, there are some fantastic tutorials out there...

The half-eaten gingerbread man at Noodlehead, a kid-friendly creation at Raising Olives and a whole pile of cute ideas at Elsie Marley, including my favorite- Felt Dove Ornament

It's Here!!!

I just got my prize in the mail from Fabric Worm and the Prudent Baby Fat Quarter Apron Contest! Does it get any more beautiful than Innocent Crush Fat Quarter Collection by Anna Maria Horner? Just seeing this little pile of fabric fills my mind with so many endless variations of projects that I have no idea where to start!

Gifts and More Gifts!

On with the holiday crafting!!!

Gifts for some very special little girls. :)

These are such fun and so simple to make. I love to think of the little ones who will play and sleep with these.

Inspiring Women: Who Cares?

Lisa Sertin, Aiyana Ehrman, and Jennifer Brubacher formed Who Cares? in 2006. Their goal: connecting people who care with others working with poor and marginalized around the world. All three are busy wives and mothers (among other things) but they have done beautiful work around the world.

Christmas Gift #1

I finished my first Christmas gift today! 1 down- only about 15 more to go! Ha!

I used this zipper pouch tutorial from Skip to My Lou and

This travel tissue holder tutorial (though I added a lining) from Vacuum Queen.

Make It and Love It!

Thanks to all of you brilliant blogger seamstresses, the list of gifts I want to make for Christmas is getting OUT OF CONTROL!

I am currently loving...

If you haven't seen it yet, you won't believe all the goodness. You have to check out this blog! So many great ideas and tutorials. First thing on my list is to make all of my daughter's too-short tees into the Ruffled Dress. Ruffles... of course!

Out of the Cold

The project for this weekend:

Make a hat, a scarf, or a blanket for someone who needs shelter from the cold. Drop it of at the local homeless shelter or simply take a walk downtown and give it to someone in need.

How about sewing a Deep Pocket Scarf with this tutorial from Delia Creates, or a warm Fleece Hat from this tutorial at Mountain Mom Report?

Create something with us? Be sure to add it to the Patchwork Collaborative flikr pool!

Our Thankful Tree

So, here's how our version turned out...

Thankful for the idea from Delia Creates!

Hope your thanksgiving was as wonderful as ours.

Thankful Tree

I have been searching for the perfect Thanksgiving craft for our family this year.

I think I found it today at Delia Creates. I love this!

For Pleat's Sake!

This completely wonderful (and free!) For Pleat's Sake bag/purse pattern from U-Handbag would be perfect for almost any woman on my Christmas list! I love the cute and practical shape.

Micaela Connery

Our inspiring woman of the week is Micaela Connery! Motivated by her cousin Kelsey's disabilities, Micaela founded Unified Theater, a high-school theatrical progam that involves people of all different physical and developmental abilites.

cute, cute!

What a darling gift set (with tutorials!) from Dana at MADE!

Also, at Blue Cricket Design, a great idea for an advent calendar that could be portable and won't take over the kitchen!

Hooray!

I am so thrilled! I won the Fat Quarter Apron Contest at Prudent Baby!!! This is such an encouragement to a novice like me.

And I can't wait to get my little prize in the mail! Thank you to Jacinda and Jaime at Prudent Baby and to Cynthia at Fabric Worm!

National Tie One On Day

How fantastic is this? An easy and thoughtful gift.. Let's do it!

From the Apron Memories website:

National Tie One On Day™ has nothing to do with purchasing anything special or even driving!

Participation is simple. On the day before Thanksgiving, November 24th this year, pause in the preparation of your own meal, wrap a loaf of bread or other baked good in an apron, tuck a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket, and tie one on…an apron, of course! and deliver the wrapped bundle to someone without your bounty… a neighbor, friend or family member in need of physical or spiritual sustenance, a bit of recognition or just a kind word.

I know it to be true that whether you live in a high rise apartment building or on a quiet block, no matter which direction you walk out of your own front door, someone deserving of a gesture of kindness is close by.

Care to make your own apron to give? Check out this great tutorial from Prudent Baby.

Sewing in No Man's Land

Have you seen this blog?

Kelly is making "No Man's Land" a seriously beautiful place. And she is helping others do the same- offering all of her patterns free! Check her out!

Dreaming

I want to wear this... and spend all day coloring...

This beautiful creation is from Sam at Babaloo. Aren't her fabric choices perfect? And check out her beautiful shop here. Find this pint size tutorial here or at Prudent Baby.

Pillowcase Project

Got a little time this weekend? Sew a pillowcase for a sick child in the hospital. Sew one or sew ten and make somebody happy. Instructions and a drop-off location near you can be found here.

Create something beautiful that makes the world a better place? Be sure to add it to the Patchwork Collaborative flikr pool!

Inspiring Woman: Jessica Posner

Have you heard about Jessica Posner? This woman is incredible. As a college student, she visited Kibera, a slum in Kenya. Shortly thereafter, she moved herself in and, along with the equally inspiring Kennedy Odede, co-founded the first tuition-free school for girls and a community center: The Kibera School for Girls and Shining Hope Community Center

Hear about it from Jessica and Kennedy:

Craft Hope

I love Craft Hope! Need some great ideas to get you giving this holiday season? Check out the Craft Hope website for tutorials and donation ideas.

Today's Project

To get into the spirit of the Holidays, today my eldest and I are packing a box for Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan's Purse. Care to join us? More details here.

So far, our box only has one occupant.

Thanks to the Black Apple Doll tutorial from Martha Stewart. Are these not the cutest? And the perfect gift for a little girl.

Feel in the mood to send some handcrafted goodness to a little one around the world?

Try one of these tutorials...

the Black Apple Doll from Martha Stewart

the ever popular 90 minute shirt from Dana at MADE

a lumber jack hat from Delia Creates

a toddler backpack from indietutes

Now, we're off to fill up our box!

Create something with us? Be sure to add it to the Patchwork Collaborative flikr pool!

Knit for Orphans

Knit or crochet and donate to help keep an AIDS Orphan warm.

Find out more about Knit-A-Square here.

Time to Vote

Jo-Ann fabric and craft stores is hosting a Craft for A Cause contest. The organizations that received the most donations were Project Linus, Operation Write Home, and American Cancer Society.

It's now time to help choose the charity that will receive $50,000. Voting begins November 7 and ends on December 4, 2010.

More at joann.com.

Hope in Kopila Valley

Maggie Doyne, you are one inspiring woman.

Kopila Valley Children's Home from maggie doyne on Vimeo.

Meet Jessie