Purrrrfect!

My little girl had a birthday in October and I crocheted her a little stuffed cat. I always make up my own patterns though this little cat was inspired by something I saw at Joann’s fabrics. I can't remember the name, but if I find out I’ll let you know. This one took me a few weeks of working here and there on it. I started crocheting animals when I was expecting my first child. I made a little blue dog but it came out looking more like a pig. This one, the cat, looks more professional.

The dog/pig Is still one of my sons favorite toys though, and he will always know that I made it with love. You should never feel like you're not good enough to make things for your kids. That is how you learn, and they will want to create by your example. One thing I learned with this project is that you cannot substitute toy stuffing with regular pillow stuffing. I thought I was saving money but the toy just goes limp with pillow stuffing. They cost about the same anyway.

Each part is stuffed individually. I made the body the same way as the dog, adding and subtracting stitches to get the right shape. On the face I just stitched lines for eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth. For the ears I made little cone shapes and stitched them on flat. The arms and legs are strait cylinders. Long enough for the cat to cross them. The tail was not easy. I did a really thin cylinder(hard) and then I stitched sightly along one side of it all the way up to get it to curl and then I stuffed it.

 My daughter loves it. She holds it in her chubby little arms and rocks it like a baby. crocheted toys are great for children but it is time consuming. I personally would save it for very special gifts for my family. Happy crafting.

Second Stitch to the Right and Straight on 'Till Morning

I have always loved Halloween. Even as an adult I hope for a party or an event to dress up at. As a mother of small children I like to find fun ways to dress up together. For my sons first two Halloweens we went as a big mouse (me) and a little lion (him). Last year my daughter was only a week old and my plan was to go as the princess and the pea. (I’ll let you figure out who was who). I made a little pea costume out of the same green fleece that I used for Christmas last year (as was mentioned in My Handmade Christmas) My son wanted to be a frog and that fit.
This year we all agreed we want to go trick-or-treating as Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Wendy. So, the first thing I did was go to goodwill and had a look around. I found a dark green ladies top with little brown beads on the collar, light green kids stretchy pants(meant for a girl I’m sure) and one big square satiny scarf with pink and green flowers. Now here’s how it all came together.
I cut out the back of the green Shirt between the back of the sleeves and sewed the ends together. With the spare fabric I sewed a little pointy hat and cut zig-zags around the ends with pinking shears. The kid pants flared out on the bottom so I sewed them tight against the leg. Add a braided belt, a little autumn leaf garland and a dollar store gold knife and I’ve got myself the cutest little Peter Pan this side of Neverland.
As for tinkerbell, I simply cut holes in the scarf for her head and arms, put a drawstring around the collar and added dollar store fairy wings. When I loop the elastic straps of the wings around her waist it holds the scarf together like a whimsical fairy dress. I may or may not fluff it up with some tulle. Either way it would be perfect for any fairy baby. Now I just need an adult size nightgown and we’re set. Then again, I might just skip that part.

My Handmade Christmas

Ah, autumn. Orange leaves, cool winds, thunderstorms. Southern Oregon is one of nature’s garden spots. In September you can actually smell the sweet harvest of so many different fields and orchards all at once. You need only to slow down and breath. It’s also the time I get started on handmade Christmas gifts. I know, most people are so annoyed to see red and green on the shelf this early but I prefer it. I want to have all my gifts made and stowed away by the time I’m trimming the tree. That way I have the time to enjoy all the bright eyed child-like wonder of Christmas with my family.

Last year I found myself in a situation where I either had to make toys or Santa got stuck in the chimney. I made a stuffed frog and a striped scarf out of fleece. I painted an ABC block toy box and purchased blank thermal pajamas, ironed on a photo of Thomas the tank engine and drew silver and gold tracks all over them. It was a success. My two-year-old loved it.

Making gifts is a wonderful way to treat your young children and to teach them the value of creativity. But don’t underestimate your older child’s appreciation for your hard work. A handmade gift from Mom or Dad can be cherished for a lifetime. Combining Christmas with handmade skills is a wonderful way to create family heirlooms to last generations. And all the more fun if they get to watch you make it.

This year I plan to make a blue plaid teddy bear, a black and yellow road sign scarf and maybe a stuffed monster. And that’s just for one child. My daughter will get a stuffed toy (like a bunny or a cat) and a new crocheted Christmas dress. I also plan to make scarves and shawls for extended family. Canning is a really fun way to treat your friends. I like to do sweets like jams, syrups, and pie fillings decorated with a piece of festive fabric under the ring.

So have fun, get creative and don’t wait 'till carolers are singing to get started. Make the season last. If you’re looking for patterns or handmade gifts on line, check out my etsy shop. It’s here on the blog. There’s more to come so keep checking. Peace on earth and good will toward men.

Work In Progress

This is a little quilt I'm working on for the Bazaar.

Oh yeah, and Kate reminded me that it is called "Jacksonville Celebrates the Arts". So this will be a baby quilt and it's taking forever, the only time I have to work on it is when the kiddos are napping. But it's coming along nicely and I think I will have the top and basting finished today. I'm so excited, this is the first quilt I've done completely on my own without help and it's turning out really nice. I'm finding out that my projects work out a lot better when I plan them our before I start cutting a sewing. It also makes for a lot less wasted fabric. More pictures to come when it's a little more together.

Love

Looks like it’s Syrup

Hi, I’m Kate. I am so glad my awesome sister Sarah had the idea to make this blog. I can’t tell you how many times I have been taught, guided and inspired by my sister. Now this blog gives us both a chance to do the same for the world. They say that the best way to learn is to teach. I think it goes both ways. So maybe as we try new things, you may learn from our success and likely my failures. Well this is my first time blogging ever, so I’m more than a little nervous. Today I also happen to be canning strawberry syrup (or jelly. We’ll see how it turns out.) My friend Shanna, who will be at the Jacksonville celebrates the arts bazaar with us, inspired me with her delicious strawberry freezer jam. Well, I’ve blended the strawberries with my hand blender and I’m about to put it on the stove. The kids are entertained. Thank you Thomas the tank engine. Uh…

strawberries…sugar…corn starch… Here we go!

Ok, I think I’ve got it. 6 cups sugar. 2 TBSP cornstarch. I’m not sure how many cups of strawberries I used but it was 2 lbs. I just mixed all the ingredients in a sauce pan (don’t do that. Mix the sugar and corn starch first. That was heck getting the clumps out.) and cooked on number 6 or 7 on the dial (can you tell that I’m new at this). I continuously stirred it till it just seemed kind of goopy. I ladled it into jars (one at a time) wiped the edges, put on new Kerr lids and bands, sat them in boiling water for about 20 minutes (my mom says 30, I think it depends on the size of the jar) and removed them when the tops were popped up to were I can’t push them down easely. Now this is not the same as they will be later. As they cool they will loosen and eventually pop down and be sealed. I figured this out last month while canning blueberry pie filling. Give them a day to do this before you remove the lids. I like to put a decorative little peace of fabric under the band (above the lid) to give it a classic flair. I’m still not sure if it will be syrup or jelly. Either one could sell at the Jacksonville farmers market. I’m also going to have breakfast shortcakes, chocolate chip cookies, bran muffins, cornbread muffins and banana bread all made from local southern Oregon grain from the butte creek mill in eagle point Or, eggs from stage farm on Hanley road Or, Oregons Umpqua sweet cream butter and honey from Freeburne’s Honey in central point Or.

By the way. It looks like it’s Syrup.

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Sarah. Welcome to our new blog. This blog is dedicated to my sister, Katie, and My adventures in craftiness. And what better way to start off our new blog than to tell you all in blogland about our first big event. We'll be holding a booth at the Jacksonville Oregon arts Bazaar in September. Yay! I'm so excited for this. Our friend Shanna will be joining us. Here's the link to some info on last years bazaar. More info to come on what kind of items you will see there.

Loves to you all.