I fell in love with the Japanese knot bag. This morning I made three more and “donated” them to the boys. No matter what they hold, I think they are ingenious. No zippers, no buttons, just one long handle threaded through one smaller handle to seal. Fabulous, functional, fun.
Here is the wonderful pattern I used. Each bag only uses two fat quarters. They are totally easy and downright awesome. Hurry, go make some knot bags!
This was my first attempt at the dresden block, a small gift for my mother. My father has a flea market obsession (like parent, like child!) and small table love. My mother is usually a sucker and keeps most of them. I know there is a little table waiting for this topper easily.
I made a sturdy template by printing off a paper one and taping that to thick cardboard. (There are plastic rulers, but I’m working hard at not buying and using what I have on hand. Frankly, my cardboard one worked just fine.) It was exceptionally fun using such a variety of fabrics and it turned out downright springy. I think the dresden would lend to an adorable round pillow which shall be next on the list for me.
I’ve also seen the dresden used to form a line, instead of a circle, by inverting every other piece. That looks fabulous to me too. I think I could use up a huge amount of scraps this way. Either way, I’m a fan.
Finally, to make the inner circle I used this video by Missouri Star Quilt Company. Oh my, I could watch their videos and make for hours and hours!
“There’s no snow today.”
“We are getting close,” (upon sighting of frost.)
“When is it going to snow?”
These are the common first phrases I hear these mornings. At last, this morning I could respond with, “Well, the pond is frozen.” Really it’s just a thin top layer, but it’s still pretty and one step closer to the snow they are hoping for. It will come. Winter has just begun.
The boys took over the living room floor with markers, cardboard, tape, and ideas. In a favorable moment, they were friends (as opposed to enemies, it goes back and forth all day long) and were chipping in to make a Minecraft board game. Younger fella recruited Dear Husband for cardboard detail. I was put at the computer typing cards and finding matching photos online. The boys, were sprawled across the carpet designing. And then is was complete. They did it together, happily. And we played. And it was fun. And now Minecraft board game has a little space next to our other board games. Not all moments turn out so well, but it’s pretty darn great when they do.
My recent Konmari education has re-infused my dreams of less stuff. In that spirit, I happily searched for a paperless calendar for 2016. You know, try to do more with less, no paper on the wall, use what I have sort of thing. So, I came upon this site that generates calendar wallpaper for your phone or computer in mere moments using your own photos. It was fast, free, and functional. I already own and have displays on said electronics, so two birds, yes?
The longest part was picking the darn photo. (And I figure it’s easy to switch out if I want to.) With little snow here, the evergreen wins.
Hoping this new year brings you closer to your goals one tiny step at a time.
I scored a few yards of vintage holly fabric for $2 this summer at a sale. When working on holiday gifts, I grabbed it out and thought I’d make a quick table runner for our kitchen table. Turns out I made a lap quilt instead! While searching for a pattern idea, I found this Herringbone Quilt tutorial and was hooked. In one quiet evening, the boys were playing with the neighbor and Dear Husband was on the computer, I pieced the entire top out of scraps I had on hand.
I tore apart an old quilt (a Kmart poly one, not some keepsake or something) for the batting. It has a high loft, not my usual preference, but it was free. I even hand sewed the binding on. All firsts for me.
With Christmas looming, the desire to finish this quilt was so huge. I would spend some minutes in the morning and evening quilting to get it done. And I did! In one swoop, I attacked this thing and made it.
Yet, all the while I was making this quilt, I kept shaking my head thinking how crazy I am. This quilt will only be relevant maybe 6 weeks a year? It’s so bizarre of me to do that, but so I did, and it was fun. I guess that’s my walk on the wild side…. I’m cool with that.
This week I wrapped the gifts Dear Husband and I got for the boys and tucked them under the tree. They started poking around them and I told them to be careful while I migrated to the kitchen to load the dishwasher. My seven-year old sidled around the corner and looked at me seriously.
“Mom, is your present…handmade?”
“No,” I said shamefully. In truth, this year I really struggled with a useful handmade item. When I finally got an idea, it started raining craziness around here and I just never got to follow-up on my intentions no matter how hard I tried.
He put his hand to his forehead, wiped away and let out a huge, “Phew.”
Enter my agape mouth! Well, my oh my!
“What about that double-sided knit light saber you want?” I chided.
He turned around and looked at me and said, “Well, That is something I really want.”
Ah ha! Gotcha. Double sided knit light saber delivered for Christmas baby! Handmade! I’m frantically working on double saber number two for my older boy. Must…get….it… done.
I hope you have the most wonderful Christmas with your family. I wish you peace and joy and smiles, handmade or not.
Every year the boys make an ornament to put on the tree. This year I saw these sweet mice on Martha Stewart’s website and thought they’d be ideal. I cut the template out (oops, you are supposed to print it out at 150% – I just did 100%) and lay it on wool felt sheets. I cut. The boys stitched the ears on. I stitched on the eyes and noses.
I then put candy canes on the grocery store list. Dear Husband took the boys to the toy section to browse and asked my older son, “Why does mom want candy canes?”
His response, “I don’t know, to stick up some mouses’ butts.”
There you have it. We have candy canes up mouses’ butts on our tree this year and for many years to come.
This past weekend I took the boys to Stones River National Battlefield near Murfreesboro. My main motivation was to shoot the wreaths, but the weather was scary beautiful, so I brought their bikes and we hiked/biked first. We finished up at cemetery for a half hour or so of wandering.
It was only when I got home that I realized that Wreaths Across America supplied the wreaths, not Stones River. It is such a touching tribute. I saw several families bring their children to walk among the wreaths and shoot their own photos. I even saw a dog posing stone-side. I’m not the type to like to linger at cemeteries, but this cemetery just feels so peaceful.
What better new wreath, than a knitted one? Right?
To make this wreath I stripped down my old wreath for the metal frame. Then I just knitted (a K2, P2 seed stitch) a long rectangle (really a short scarf) to pull over the frame after I fastened the started and finished ends (the short ends) together.
Wanna make one? Here’s what I used. (Please don’t go out and buy yarn or needles to make one. Use up the bulky/chunky yarn you have and the biggest needles you’ve got.)
Gather:
1 metal wire wreath frame (Note: You may want to spray paint it a color that will match your yarn.)
Scrap bulky/chunky yarn (I had Oatmeal color Lions Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick on hand.)
Size 17 needles
Knit:
Holding two strands of bulky yarn together, cast on 7. (Or more or less depending on the size of your frame. My frame measured 1 1/4″ wide. My knitting measured 3 1/2″ wide.)
Row 1: K2, P2, K2, P1
Row 2: P2, K2, P2, K1
Repeat rows until you have enough length to fit around your wreath VERY snuggly (definitely do some tests as you go). Tightness ensures no need to affix besides slipping it on and creates a nice roundness.
Bind off when you reach desired length. Sew the two short ends together and pull over your frame. Celebrate!
Pail and Pie 