Wishing For Pine Needles

New Pants for my Girl

Today our Lena Jane is six months old.  

(Gasp!)

And to celebrate her half of a year with us, I thought some new pants were in order.  I have owned Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings for some time now and finally got around to opening it up and trying my hand at the quick-change trousers.

And I love them!  I just love getting to pick three fabrics from my stash to make these clever little pants, which by the way, are completely reversible.  What a bonus!  This fabric is from Sarah Jane's Children at Play line from Michael Miller fabrics. 

And as for this baby girl who is affectionately known around here as "the great bean", well I am genuinely head-over-heels for her.  We all are!  So far she seems to be our social butterfly who loves everybody and is always quick to flash her big, happy, adorable, toothless grin.  Sometimes I am quite certain that she is the most joyful little human on the planet. And she makes it seem so easy!

I truly don't know what we ever did without her.  Happy six months, Miss Lena Jane!

Aprons for my Sisters

I'll use the new baby excuse for not having done a whole lot of Christmas sewing this year, but I did sneak in these matching aprons made from this book for my two dear sisters.

Anyone who has sisters can attest to the sweet and simple, yet immensely complicated relationships that they bring about.  (But we wouldn't trade them for the world, would we?)  WIth one of my sisters living out West, and the other getting ready to move out East, I have been rather sentimental about these two great ladies lately.  It's sometimes hard to believe that the three of us girls, who lived so closely for so many years, will soon be spread out all across the country.

But we'll stay close, albeit not physically.  Sisters don't really have a choice - there is just some crazed force of nature that makes us love each other to pieces no matter what.

(And matching aprons help some, too!)

Today I'm linking up with Gracelaced for her new Monday series!

The Easiest Table Runner Ever: A How-To

Tablecloths.  Hmmm.  I've never been quite sure how I feel about them.  On one hand, finding a beautiful,vintagey floral one while thrifting is just the best!  I can always picture it on our patio table blowing gently in a summer breeze with a big bouquet of hydrangeas right smack dab in the middle.  Pretty dreamy, huh?

But on the other hand, I love the look of a wood table and how easily they wipe down after a meal.  And sometimes, honestly, I see a tablecloth as nothing but a big, giant article that will be added to my laundry pile.  After each meal.  No thank you! 

All of this being said, over the Christmas holiday I discovered how much I enjoyed our holiday table runner.  It created a perfect mid-table space for the napkins, salt and pepper, trivets, and dishes.  It added a warmth to the meal as most linens do.  And because it sits in the middle of the table and not directly under our plates, we managed to keep it mostly clean and therefore out of my laundry!

Soon after the Christmas decor was boxed up, I realized how I missed that table runner.  So right then and there, I decided to make a new one.  I raided my fabric stash and found a piece leftover from a botched attempt at a baby sling.  It fit nicely and who doesn't want llamas in the center of their table?

Table Runner How-To:

1.  Choose a piece of cotton fabric that fits nicely in the center of your table. Cut it to any size - just how you like it best.  The heavier the cotton, the straighter and flatter it will lay.  Make it fun - it's so easy you can make one for every day of the week!

2.  Press the fabric and then press under 1/2 inch to the wrong side of fabric.  Once fabric is pressed under 1/2 inch all the way around, turn and press under another 1/2 inch around. 

3.  Stitch 1/8 inch from the edge all the way around and you're done.  Wasn't that wonderfully easy?

Now arrange your new runner on your table for some added loveliness!

Linking up with Crunchy Catholic Momma on Thursday, January 12th for her stash bash!

Our Twelve Days of Christmas.....A Baby and a Tree

I've discovered that one of the joys of having a Fall baby is having a Christmas baby!  (I think Lena is smiling here because she loves her mama-made dress so much ;)

And the countdown continues.....11 more days!

The Makings of a Prairie Girl - Part 2

Hours after Lena's arrival into the world, my oldest girl got to spend a day back in prairie time.  And being the fantastic dad that he is, Dan left me and our new babe to go and spend a couple of hours with Rylen and her classmates...with explicit instructions to snap a few pictures for mama!

Her grandma packed her an honest to goodness lunch from the 1800's (thanks, mom!), complete with a leather satchel that Rylen made herself.

(You may have seen the first part of her dress here, but I finished the pinafore and you can get a small glimpse of it above even though she is sitting down.)

The children spent the morning at an authentic pioneer cabin....

 

 

...and then after lunch headed back to school for a prairie sing and dance a-long, a corn husk doll craft and some good, old-fashioned butter making.

So glad my girl could have this day to experience and learn, and to live out her inner prairie girl.  Don't we all sometimes wish we could?!

 

 

 

 

The Makings of a Prairie Girl

Next week, this oldest girl of mine will celebrate the reading of Little House on the Prairie with a day of good, old-fashioned fun.  Her class at school will visit a log cabin, play games and make crafts from the pioneer era, sing prairie songs, and even eat lunches of corn bread, bacon, cheese, potatoes and other Little House fixin's. 

So, of course, she needed a new dress for the occasion! 

After blowing the dust off of my sewing machine (ahem), I set out to make a prairie girl dress using McCall's 9424.  I was thrilled to come upon a couple of quiet hours to myself which resulted in some speedy progress.

I'm pleased to say that the first part of the dress turned out just fine!

(The best news is that she really likes it!)

I still need to add a button here and there and then move onto making the pinafore.  Stay tuned for the completed costume and other goings on from prairie day festivities!

 

Handmade Gifts for Special Gals

Somehow I managed to get a little sewing time in before attending two recent showers.  So I was able to give my favorite kind of gifts....the handmade kind!  (If you've been reading for a while you may remember my sentiment regarding handmade gifts from this post...)

First, I made some easy kitchen towels for a special bride-to-be from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. 

This couple is getting married in September, so I went for some appropriate Fall-ish looking fabric.  I always use a homespun cotton when sewing kitchen towels because I find it to be slightly more absorbent.

These towels, when packaged with some new cleaning supplies make a nice little gift for a newlywed kitchen!

The next shower was for a sweet new baby boy who is the son of Rylen's beloved teacher, so I had the chance to make a set of one of my all-time favorite baby gifts to both give and receive.  It's amazing how a simple yet colorful ribbon can transform a thin cloth diaper into an adorable and useful gift...a set of fresh burp clothes!

(And, yes, sewing these burp clothes really put me in the mood to make a batch for our new little bundle who will be here soon!)

 

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

It's A Girl!

We've known for a while now.....since June 3rd to be exact.  After having not known the gender ahead of time with our last two (of three), we decided that this time we really wanted to know.  All of us. 

Only Hans complained the slightest bit.  He had been planning for a brother, you see.  But that only lasted a couple of minutes (thankfully) and he quickly joined the ranks of the rest of us who are just plain excited about this baby girl.

So preparations are officially underway.....room swapping and repainting and a wee bit of baby girl sewing!  (I made this dress in just a couple of days using the very simple McCall's 8574.) 

The sweet giraffe fabric was a gift from this gal, and the star and moon shelf was a barn sale find for $2.  It still needs a bit of polishing, but I think it will be a darling addition to this baby girl's room. 

So we're having fun here, and quite certain that there are few things better in life than prepaing for a new baby!

 

Flour Sack Friday - a new skirt, Repurposed

This week brought us sniffles, fevers, chills and tummy aches.  But the good news is that we are mostly recovered...well, all but the girl in the middle who we pray is at the very tail end of this little bug herself!

Because we spent a lot of time here at home this week, I tackled a fun, little project that made me feel somewhat 'productive.'  (I guess one could achieve 'productive' by cleaning one's house, but that's not nearly as fun, now is it?)

I rescued this jumper from a church clothing swap a couple of years ago.  I never intended to wear it (um...not really my style...), but I absolutely loved the thick, red cordoroy fabric and knew it would be a perfect addition to my fabric stash. 

 

I'm happy to say that I finally tackled the project of repurposing of this lovely jumper.  (And it was so fast, easy and fun!)

 

I simply cut out the mid-section of the jumper because I loved the pockets and the buttons.  I made a casing for 3/4 inch elastic at the top, and trimmed the bottom with some left over quilt binding that was a perfect match.

 

And, wa-la,  my big girl has a new skirt!

  

Rylen, who loves all things homemade, was delighted with her new red skirt.  (And what do you know?  Just in time for Valentine's Day!)

 

Flour Sack Friday - Crafting with Scraps

One thing that we never seem to run out of around here are scraps.  Of fabric, that is.  I find it very hard to throw them away after finishing a project, espcially when I have a crew of young crafters who always seem to find something interesting to do with them.

On this day, it was a needle book.

Rylen chose the project from the Klutz Book of Simple Sewing.  This is a great book for beginners.  It has several easy-to-understand sewing projects that are actually written to do completely by hand.  (But to save time, we often use the machine.)  We found our copy at a used book store, but I belive a new copy comes with a handy collection of notions and thread that would get a young crafter off to a very good start.

Rylen chose some wool felt from the scrap basket and a coordinating ribbon for the tie.  She followed the instructions and completed the pattern almost entirely by herself - I helped her only with the sewing machine.  We to sew a decorative stitch around the edges instead of the recommened running stitch...well, why not?!

 

This project was perfect for a quick lesson in cutting around a pattern, pinning and basic machine stiching.  It only took about 45 minutes from start to finish!

After the needle book was complete, Rylen still thought it needed a finishing touch.  So out came the button tin.  I think she was right, don't you?

Not only was this an entirely free craft, it was also a great way to spend some time with this girl who just keeps getting bigger and busier by the minute.  This, of course, is always priceless!