Christmas ornaments!

salt dough hand and footprint ornaments (recipe here):

pictures via instagram

Jett's Quilt

I made the boy version of this "Cheater Quilt" for my little guy thanks to the idea from over at Prudent Baby. It took no time at all - literally one evening...well, it would have been one evening, but just as I was about to finish the last edge of the binding, guess what? My last needle broke!

Anyways, it was so quick and simple and I am so, SO happy with the results:

Totally worth the amount I spent on the topside fabric (the backside, interfacing, and binding I all got on sale at Joann's). I think the results are so cute that I might even splurge again to make Callie the girl version (seen here) for Christmas.

Fuzzy, White Newborn Hat

Photo by: Angel Wilmoth of Angel D. Photography

I wrote up this simple newborn hat pattern about a month ago and have never posted it.

So here it is:

With Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair yarn in White Solid, cast on 44 stitches onto US size 10 knitting needles. Divide however you please.

K2, P2 for 5 rows.

Stockinette stitch for apporximately 5 inches.

3 needle bind-off (Good tutorial found here).

Add pom-poms to corners.

Weave in ends.

If you aren't a knitter and would still like to own this hat, I am also selling it in my shop.

P.S. I don't mind if you make this hat to sell or give to family/friends, but please just be sure to link back and give credit to where credit is due. Thanks!

Fingerless Mitts

Little fingerless mittens for Callie:

Guess I'm just anticipating the cooler months ahead :)

Free pattern found here.

Bow-Tied Bolero

For Callie's Sunday dresses, I knit this little bolero:

The heat is too intense here in the Ohio Valley right now

...but once it starts to cool off, it'll come in handy :)

Pattern found here [via Ravelry]

Red, White, and Blue

Using this pattern, I made a little 4th of July dress for Callie with some fabric I bought on clearnce at Joann's:

I need to adjust the length, but overall I think it's really cute on her.

PJ bottoms

Using this tutorial, I made Callie some summer pj bottoms. I purchased 1 yard of a lightweight knit fabric for 50% off at Joann's and was able to cut out two pairs of capris and one pair of shorts. They were very simple since I used a pair of pants that already fit her as my "pattern" and just shortened them. I made this pair in under 30 minutes: Two more pairs to sew up :)

Half and Half Skirt

Using this tutorial, I made a new little skirt for Callie:

Super easy and super quick. I'll definitely be making more! :)

Lazy Days Skirt

Using this tutorial (via Prudent Baby) as a guide, I made a cute little skirt for Callie using leftover fabric. Here's how it turned out:

The Everything Bag

Hot off my sewing machine is Amy Butler's "The Everything Bag".This pattern was the most difficult thing I have sewn in my limited experience, but it was well worth the time and effort I put into it. This picture (although blurry) gives you an idea of how roomy it is with 2 pockets lining each inside panel:

Amy Butler pattern from her book "Little Stitches for Little Ones"

THE quilt

It's DONE! When I first started working on this quilt back in February, I had the help from some older ladies at our church who met every Tuesday afternoon to work on various crafts (sewing, knitting, crocheting)...but we stopped getting together once summer hit.I had only gotten so far as to cutting my squares and had just started sewing them together... so by the time it came to putting it all together, I was on my own...and I just kinda winged it. I supposed I could have asked one of the ladies the next step, but I was too impatient to finish...and it ended up being fine. Patchwork quilts aren't supposed to be perfect anyways, right? :)If I ever make another quilt like this again, I'm definitely going to need a Rotary cutter and one of those clear measuring boards thingys.

Camera Strap Cover

Last night I hung out with friends (and fellow bloggers) Beth and Alicia; each showed me sewing projects they have been working on lately. It made me want to get my sewing machine back out and finish up my quilt! That may take another trip to the fabric store for some batting, so I'll have to wait...BUT in the meantime I made this handy-dandy-super-cute camera strap cover to add on my new camera! :)

Tutorial found here via Design Sponge.

Cupcake flags

Another idea I had for the shower I'm throwing for my soon-to-be sister-in-law:
Cupcake flags! I've seen them before and thought they'd be cute and very easy to make myself with scrapbook paper, glue, and toothpicks.Yep. Super easy, and will look great atop yummy cupcakes!

Shower Invites

All supplies purchased at Michael's and the best part was that both the card-stock and the cute flower stickers were on sale! I only spent $8.42 total...well that's also due to the fact that I already had envelopes from another time I made invitations for a party.

Font from Fonts for Peas. It's called "Pea Amiee".

"O" is for Owl

This was a relatively quick project that requires little fabric. I made it for a baby shower for my friend April. She's having a girl at the beginning of May, I believe her due date is May 1st.

I thought this little guy would be a great addition to her nursery :)

Pattern found here via Craft Gossip.

*Note: He's supposed to have feet, but I decided against them...errr, I messed up on them :)

Baby Legs

I've been wanting to get Callie a pair of those cute leg warmers or "baby legs", but could never justify spending $15 on something that I could easily make from a pair of knee socks! So I did just that...with the help of a great tutorial that I found online. I ended up making three pairs - all in different sizes as she grows.

Now please, someone needs to come over and stop me from cutting up the rest of my socks! :)

Leg warmer tutorial found here via craftgossip.com

Projects!

I've had alot more free time lately (since quitting my job! lol!) so to show that I have been somewhat productive with my time, here is a post of some of the projects I've been working on...of course besides keeping the apt. clean, making dinner every night, being able to hit the gym more than 3 times a week, etc. etc. etc. ( I watched The King and I last week). So basically this is a "look what I can do" post. Sorry if it bores you, but I'm proud of myself...plus, you probably wouldn't be reading this if you weren't bored already anyways!

Ok, well my first project to show you started with these:Old, scrap fabric that I cut into about 1 1/2" strips. Then I crocheted into this:An adorable rug that would look so cute in a little girl's room...I'm still deciding weather I want to sell it in my etsy shop or not.

Next is SOCKS! Yes! I can knit socks...well, I haven't made the twin for this one yet: It's actually not as hard as I thought it would be...although, I did have to watch a few YouTube videos when I got stuck on some stitches that I had never done before. Here's what it looks like in progress, yarn and needles everywhere! : )And lastly, the blanket that I am crocheting for Grandma Mary. Her favorite color is blue, and I swear everything in her house has some shade of blue on it...so why not add some more! : )I'm hoping to finish before it gets too warm outside...if not, she'll have it for next season.

Guess that's all for now! : )

Update: Idea for rag rug here, knit sock pattern is from a book I got at the library called "Easy Knitted Socks" by Jeanette Trotman, and the blue crocheted blanket pattern here

apples everywhere!

Apples, apples, apples! All day on Sunday I stayed busy making apple butter and canning it. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. First you take the apples:

Peel, slice, core:
In a large pot add apples with cider, sugar, cinnamon, and some other spices: Simmer for several hours, until it looks like this: The canning process was the hardest part, but well worth it:I've also made apple bread, which I highly reccommend! It's soooo good! I've already made 7 loaves. Don't worry, we're not eating all of them....I'm sharing with people at my work.

Right now the last batch of apple bread is in the oven...my apt. smells so yummy! Oh, and I still have MORE apples...I guess next it'll be apple crisp, or apple pie....apples, apples, apples!