Taggie Blanket

This is my favorite thing to make for babies. You can make them any size, with basically any type of fabric, and any kind of ribbons.

Here's my latest version of a taggie blanket -

Craft of the Month

I accidentally started typing "Cake of the Month" with this post and then without thinking changed it to "Craft of the Month". Is this a sign? Should I start a craft of the month? Dare I? I am thinking it's a good idea. And I actually have one for this month. So why not start and see what comes of it!

One of my dear sister-in-law's birthday was this month and it didn't take long to think of what to make her. They are the greatest hosts around and are always having family and friends stay with them or having people over for dinner. So, it was easy for me to decide to make her placemats and matching napkins.

I jazzed up the placemats a bit and made them reversible -

The nice thing about making these is that you can cut them to whatever size you want. Once the fabric is cut, fold over each edge a quarter inch and iron all around. Pin and sew! So easy.

Family Art Table Runner

My very first (craft) post featured a scarf from Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule. Now today, 4 months later, I have another sewing project from Handmade Home! I love this book and I encourage all you avid sewers out there to purchase it.

This project was made in an afternoon and easy to do.

Materials Needed
50" x 14" piece for the top
50"x 14" piece for the bottom
(6) 5" x 5" pieces for the patchwork
Up to (3) 8 1/2" x 11" printable fabic sheets
Child's (or adult) artwork

• Pre-wash all material before sewing. This will help keep the shape when you need to wash and dry your table runner.
• Piece together the two patchwork strips. Use three squares for each.
• Place the two strips of fabric pieces 4" in from each short side of the runner top. Pin in place. Stitch these pieces to the top fabric piece by sewing 1/8" in from the edges of the pieces.
  
• Lay the bottom piece right side up on a flat surface. Place the top piece right side down, on top of the bottom piece. Pin the pieces in place and stitch around all four sides of the runner, stopping 4" before your starting point. Trim the corners.
• Turn the runner right side out through the opening. Press. Topstitch around all four sides of the runner, 1/2" in from the edge.
• Print artwork on fabric paper and iron onto the top of the runner.
  

This would make a great gift for Grandparent's Day and you have until September 12 to do it!

A Crafty Day Off

I had Monday off work and was in the mood to craft. I was inspired a couple of weeks ago to make a cake stand and decided it was time to try. I was at Target and came across these cute plastic plates and glass goblets. I bought one of each, brought them home, and turned them into a cake stand -





I'm happy to report that this was under $6 to make! I'm looking forward to going thrift store shopping and seeing the different kinds of plates and glasses I can find.

I also had time to sew! Which I have been in the mood to do a lot of lately. My sister-in-law Becky gave me some extra material and I decided to make a half-apron out of it. Do half-apron's have a proper name? Either way, it was easy to do and I love to wear it!

Vintage Scarf

This past Christmas I received my new favorite "crafty" book from my sister-in-law Beth. It's called Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule. She also wrote The Creative Family which I hope to be purchasing soon.

After pouring over this book several times I decided to make the doily scarf first for my lovely friend Jennifer, who had a birthday at the end of January.

This time, I only have photos of the finished product. Next time, I will document each step. My favorite blogs are those that post photos that show me what the product is supposed to look like along the way. It just helps.

Doily Scarf



Materials:

Fabric 1: (1) 6.5" x 63" for the scarf front - I used wool

Fabric 2: (1) 6.5" x 63" piece of cotton for the scarf back - I used a stretchier material because I loved the look of the fabric (yes, I am an amateur sewer!) but I did find it was hard to keep it from puckering because it was so stretchy. I will try cotton next time.

Doilies: (4-6) no larger then 5" in diameter

Buttons: (4-6) of any size

Embroidery needle and embroidery floss

Working with the scarf front, place the doilies evenly across the length of scarf. Pin the doilies in place. Machine stitch the doily to the scarf piece by stitching 1/8” in from the edges of the doily, keeping the fabric taut and flat as you go. I found this to be much easier then I thought. Just keep turning the fabric as you sew around the doily and it’ll be done in no time.

Using embroidering floss, sew a button to the center of each doily, tying off the floss on the wrong side of the fabric.

Lay the scarf front flat, with the buttons and right side facing up. On top of this, lay the cotton back, right side down. Both right sides are now facing each other. Smooth the cotton piece over the wool. Use pins along sides every 4”-6” to hold the pieces together.

Beginning in the middle of one long side of the scarf, begin to stitch a seam. Continue around all four sides of the scarf, stopping 4” before you come to the original starting point and leaving an opening for turning the scarf right side out.

Trim all four corners, being careful to avoid cutting too close to the stitching. Turn the scarf right side out through the opening. Use a chopstick or pencil to gently push out the four corners until they are distinct points. Press. Stitch around the entire scarf, ¼” from the edge, closing the opening of the scarf.