for one of my girls. It pretty much says it all.
All you need is...
True that. But some sunshine would be really nice too.
This was the scene at my house today.
SNOW!
Snow on the last day of April.
Seriously?
Vexation and exasperation.
Not feeling the love, Mr. Sunshine.
P.S. Here is a picture of the garland hanging in her room. She says she LOVES it. Yay!
This is a happy crappy post.
First up... The Happy...
I made FIFTY of these little flowers in all sorts of happy colors. Forty seven went on gift bags for my church-y girl friends who went with me on the New Hope weekend retreat. Three little flowers were sent to the recycle bin for one reason or another. It was fun to see these little flowers adorning shirts, hats, bags, and scarfs during the weekend. Happy. Very, very, happy.
Now it's time for... The Crappy...
Once upon a time I had a nasty tooth. Nasty tooth got a root canal. After the root canal, said tooth had a steel post surgically implanted into it. After the surgery healed, a shiny new porcelain crown was cemented over all. Nasty tooth had been redeemed. The nasty reconstructed tooth was shiny, new, and lovely (and more than a little $$$$$). Glorious.
Fast forward a few years...
Root canal failed.
Infection set in.
Shiny tooth looks happy, but feels crappy.
No options but to remove shiny, lovely, procelain-crowned tooth.
Tooth came out yesterday. NOT fun.
NOT HAPPY.
Crappy, in fact. Very, very crappy.
There you have it...The Happy and The Crappy.
I think I will now go ice my jaw and take a painkiller or two three.
I had a custom order for a wallet to match this purse. Out came my fabric friends. I dove in, mixing and matching patterns galore. Oh, bliss and heaven. Piles and piles of fabric dancing around me. When I finally crawled out from under the mountain of fabric, I couldn't make just one wallet. No. I made three. I made one to match the purse and two others just because I was in love with the fabric combos.
Here's the matching wallet, inside and out.
And here are the two that I couldn't resist stitching up. Introducing...
Who Gives a Hoot:
And, Little Miss Red:
I like to open these two wallets and find the little peek-a-boo friends inside. It tickles my fancy.
The two peek-a-boo wallets are in the shop just in case they tickle your fancy, too.
Happy September,
Cassie
Jingle bells. Jingle bells. Jingle all the way.
I hope that little tune didn't cause any of you to feel a wee bit o' holiday panic. I wouldn't want that. And really, I'm not singing about Christmas jingle bells. The jingle bells I'm loving are in this little jingle ball.
I tried something new when I made this ball. I cut the pieces for the ball on the bias. I don't know if I came up with this idea myself or if I read it somewhere and stored the info in the recesses of my brain. Either way, it was an Einstein moment. If you cut your pieces on the bias, the ball will be round when you stuff it, not something that approximates round but looks more like a giant kiwi. Genius!
I stitched this little jingle ball for my new friend, Austin. He entered this world facing a host of challenges that most babies never know. He is fighting hard and doing things no one thought he would. He's a scrappy little boy. It will be a treat to watch his life unfold.
That's all for now.
Have a glorious weekend --
Cassie
One more thing...In case you are wondering, there are 239 days until Christmas. Jingle all the way!
My birthing kits for the Craft Hope Konbit Sante project went in the mail today. To hold the contents of the birthing kits, I beautified some canvas bags that I bought at Joann's. I'm not in love with these canvas bags. I could not get the wrinkles out of them even though I rinsed them to remove the sizing. The next time I need a canvas bag, I think I will find a new source. I would like them to be softer, a more natural color, and I would also like to ditch the boxed bottom. Any one have a good supplier?
Somebody throw some water on me because I am on fire. This past week I...
...Crafted five shabby flower hair clips for my Valentine girls. As usual, I crafted them ON Valentine's day. Why do I always do this to myself? Deep down I must like the pressure.
...Made three receiving blankets for Konbit Sante delivery kits (Craft Hope Project 11). This Craft Hope project was very timely for me. Since Kevin and Hailey returned from Haiti, I somehow feel connected to the people in Haiti in a way I didn't before. It's kind of weird.
...Put the finishing touches on this Birdie Sling. I wish the snow and sleet and slush and mud would go away so I could use it. We seem to be caught in an endless cycle of snowing and melting, snowing and melting. We've had at least 60 " of snow this year. More snow is in our future this week. So very dirty. I am going through wiper fluid by the gallon. It is very hard to keep your coat, your bag, and your person from brushing upside the slush mobile that used to be a sparkly clean car. I miss you, summer.
...Replaced the zipper in this little black number. Paige (daughter #2) went to Snowball, a semi-formal school dance. She looked ooh-la-la divine.
...Patched two pairs of holey jeans. I think I like them better with these cute little patches than I did when they were new.
Up next...a new ironing board cover. The girls, all of them, were busy melting crayons between wax paper this weekend. They were doing it for no other reason but the pure joy that comes from such waxy, melty, smelly, wicked colorful goodness. Evidently each one of them was sick on the day they melted crayons between wax paper in grade school because they all claimed they had NEVER done this before. Are you kidding me? I can't believe I didn't do this with the girls when they were younger. Shame. Humiliation. Abomination. Tsk. Tsk.I think this is probably another black mark against me in my bid for Mother of the Year. Harrumph. (I'm only kidding. I was forever banned from the MOTY competion a few years back when I accidentally cut off the eyebrow of a certain 7th-grader during a bang trim. Not cool. But very funny. Shhh.)
Remember this little patchwork project I told you about? As Carolina pointed out: It's a bit on the small side if it's a really cold night. She cracks me up. She is right, though. It would be a small quilt for a cold night unless you were a squirrel. But guess what? I'm not a squirrel and this is not a quilt for the Nutkin family. No, it's not a quilt at all. Instead, it's a patchwork pillow. See...
I discovered another bit o' magic when I put this pillow together...the invisible zipper foot. Bernina magic. There is no other way to describe it. You simply line up the zipper teeth in the groove on the foot, push the power pedal, sit back, and let the feed dogs and the foot do the work. Voila. A perfectly stitched zipper. Magical.
Hello. Did you all get your fill of turkey and pie? I did. In fact, I had pie twice on Thanksgiving. Once at grandma's and once at my sister's. Don't tell any one. I don't want people to think I'm a pig. But any day that you have pie twice is a good day, no?
On the crafty front, I have been feeling kind of square lately. I am working on my first true patchwork project. The rules are simple:
1) All the fabric for the project has to come from my stash.
2) The fabric has to be cut into squares.
I used this doodle as the inspiration for my fabrics. Once I picked the fabrics, I cut them in to two-and-one-half-inch squares, arranged the squares in a pleasing-to-me fashion, stitched and quilted. I think I would have a love/hate relationship with patchwork and quilting if I decided to jump in with both feet. I love picking the fabrics, arranging them, and stitching them together. I hate do not love cutting all the squares or the straight-line quilting. I was wishing someone would poke me in the eye when I quilted this little piece. I was THAT bored. I tip my hat to those of you who quilt gigantar patchwork masterpieces. Did I mention that my little patchwork project is only 16 inches square? I didn't, did I? I guess the cat is out of the bag. Now you all know that I have the attention span of a flea and the persistence of a circus monkey.
Well, I'm off to find something shiny that will capture my attention and amuse me for a moment. :-)
Take care,
Cassie
PS-- I would never put a cat in a bag for real. I used to dress my cat in doll clothes when I was a girl, but I never put her in a bag. That is soooo wrong.
Have you tried to make Jessica Levitt's felt owl ornament? I highly recommend it. It's a hoot. Get it? A hoot! I know, lame-o. But I think it's funny. The only changes I made to her lovely pattern (found here) were to enlarge it by 25% and to use a little piece of fabric for the tummy instead of felt and ric-rac. It would be a shame for anything to leave the craft studio with out a little Full Moon Polkie on it, after all. Will I ever NOT be in love with the Full Moon Polkie? It's doubtful.
I'd like you to believe that I stitched this little hoot together snuggled into my couch on a peaceful Saturday morning with a symphony of lovely tunes floating through the air, a cup of cinnamon spice tea at my fingertips, and my kitty friend curled up by my side. But that would be a lie. In reality, I frantically stitched this little hoot together on a busy Saturday morning after I readied myself, but before Grizzly game day festivities began. While I was stitching it, I hissed at all who dared to interrupt me and growled at all who got too close. I needed to be focused. Attentive. Efficient. On task. This owl had to be put in the mail ASAP. If I did not successfully complete my mission, it would not reach my sweet mom on or before her birthday. There would be no handmade love in her gift. I couldn't have that! Yes, indeed, this was another of my infamous eleventh-hour stitching projects. Why, oh why, do I do this to myself? Can someone tell me?
I do plan on making a few more of these. Even in my heightened state of purpose, little hoot was fun to make. Hopefully the other owlies I make will be stitched in peace and tranquility. A girl can dream, right?
Have a lovely week,
Cassie
Just for the record--I did teach the triplets how to make these little owls the day before I made this one. There was music playing and joy abounding. I'm not all hisses and growls. Just sometimes.
Remember that magic foot I found and the ruffles I made? I really did put those ruffles to good use. In fact, I put them to good use clear back in April. Sometimes it takes me soooo long to take a photo of something. If it wasn't for photos, I'd probably blog everyday. I always think of things I want to show you or tell you, but I do not love photography. I want to. I don't. It is hard for me. There. I said it. I don't like to take pictures. Whew, it feels pretty good to unload that secret. Now back to those ruffles...
This little zippered bag/clutch was on my mind after that first enchanted moment when I fed the blue fabric strip under the magic foot. Even the pom-pom was part of the plan from the very beginning. Most of my projects evolve. This one was created complete from the very start. SHAZAM!
I'm so glad the weekend is here again. My triplet friends have been at camp this week. I miss them. We are leaving in a few minutes to get them. The order of my universe will be restored. Or maybe I should say the disorder of my universe will be restored. I can't wait. Life is good.
Happy day~
Cassie
