You Go Girl!

On Fire...

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.) 

 

Loved Deeply

Kevin (husband) and Hailey (daughter #1) just returned from a short stay in Haiti. They traveled with a Hope Alive! team. My nurse friend, Heidi, organised the team.

my friend, Heidi

Although neither Kevin nor Hailey have medical training, there was plenty for them to do. They fed hungry people.

Spread joy to orphans.

Assembled vitamin and medical packets that would sustain life in the days to come.

see the medicine in her hand...

Did they change the destiny of Haiti in eleven short days? Probably not. But a mighty river starts with a single drop of water. They worked hard and loved deeply. Can anyone really do more than that?

Pillow Talk...

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.

A Purse with Hips...

I was the queen of lame gift giving this Christmas. It seems like the only handmade-with-love gift I gave that was truly complete was Emily's hat. One of my sisters received a baggie with a half-sewn ornament in it. Instead of a lovely purse, I gave my mom this packet of fabric with a promise to make a purse out of it. Lame, huh?

I did not finish the purse before she and my dad returned to their winter home in Arizona. Lame again. But it is finished now.

This is the Teardrop Bag found in  Amy Butler's new book. It's a cute purse, but there is another reason I HAD to make this purse. See the fabric sewn to the sides of the purse? They are called hips. 

Yes, a purse with hips. HIPS! I felt an immediate affinity for this purse. When sweet Jesus was passing out hips, I thought he said lips. I asked him to make mine full and round. He did. A gal with hips. A purse with hips. It was meant to be. 

Tootles,

Cassie

If you decide to give the pattern a try, there is one correction for the large Teardrop Bag on A. Butler's website. Just saying. I found out the hard way. Not fun. ;-)

Yes I Can...

My sweet Emily wanted a hat for Christmas. Not just any hat. She wanted a hat that she spotted at Rockin' Rudy's, a groovy little store full of lots of fun and sometimes quirky things. The hat was the bomb. I even thought so. It was crocheted in a lovely woolen yarn. It had a scalloped edge and an amazing crocheted froufrou flower that was stitched to it in just the right place. It was cute, and jaunty, and perfect. It also had a $42 price tag. OUCH!! Forty two dollars for a hat that may or may not find its way home from school each day seemed like A LOT. What's a girl to do? Of course. Why didn't I think of it sooner? I could make one...maybe...perhaps...hmmm, I don't know. My original enthusiasm for the plan was dulled by uncertainty and doubt. After all, I only kind of know how to crochet. It seemed a wee bit risky. I shushed the voices in my head. "Breath deep and carry on," I told myself.

One skein of blue yarn, a little ball of magenta yarn, the tail-end of green yarn, and some determination...Yes, I can. I can crochet a hat with scallops and a froufrou flower. Tah-Dah...

Sweet Emily told me it was better than the one at Rockin' Rudy's because I made it. Awww, shucks. Stop it already, Emily. 

Breath deep and carry on...I think that will be my mantra for 2011. It works for so many different situations. Try it.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2011.

Breath deep and carry on, friends~

Cassie

 

Fabulous Felt...

Hello friends. Just a quick post to say hi. I hope your Christmas happenings are merry. I am smitten with felt and ornament making right now. I promise I will show more of these felt friends later. I might even write a tute.  I love them that much.

Feeling warm and fuzzy~

Cassie 

Hip to be Square...

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.

It's A Hoot...

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.

Keepin' My Head Above Water

I had a comment on my last post that just cracked me up. Go ahead. Read it...

Sue said:

Okay so you posted this on October 18th and now it is October 26 does that mean you went into your room and haven't made anything yet so you can't come out?

No. As delightful as a week two weeks stuck in my sewing studio sounds, it didn't happen. I did go in and make something like I said I would. See...

I made this little felt pin cushion, but it didn't take two weeks, only an afternoon. I've also hemmed four pair of pants and painted the shelves for Hailey's room. Now I'm itching to make the patchwork pillow that danced through my dreams last night. I think I will cut the fabric this afternoon. 

We have been very busy with life in the land of You Go Girl. Dance and volleyball. Piano lessons and homework. Choir concerts and jazz band rehearsals. Birthdays and holidays. Work and play. Life...it's kind of like a river. If you don't jump in, it will pass you by. I think I am in up to my chin. Sometimes the current feels swift, but I'm keepin' my head above water and enjoying the ride. I hope you can say the same.

Happy day,

Cassie

Make Something. Anything! Sheesh...

I am like a hamster on a wheel. I keep running and running but I'm getting nowhere. Does this ever happen to you? I have so many plans for loveliness zipping through my brain. There are bits and pieces of started projects scattered everywhere I look. Little voices in my head keep saying:

"You should make a skirt. Oh, craft a flower fairy. They're sooo cute. Hey, maybe you should stitch something out of knit fabric now that Jezzie is your friend. Winter is coming. Crochet some mittens, would you? Don't forget to start a doodle stitch. You're spending tons of time in the car. Wouldn't it be fun to hand-craft some felt ornaments? And, don't forget to learn to knit. You know you want to make that gorgeous felted bag you saw. Mr. Handsome's shirt needs a fix. You better hem your pants. A gal can only wear capris for so long in Montana. Are ever going to paint the shelves for Hailey's room? She is a senior, after all."

Stop it! Stop it! Creative schizophrenia. I have it. I go to my little studio to do something and I end up crying uncle. I leave my creative sanctuary and opt to do something totally mindless like changing the litter box or vacuuming under the couch cushions. The other day, I even made a batch of cookies. Yes. Me. In the kitchen. I'm telling you, it's bad, people. I've decided that today is the day to end this insanity. I'm going in and I'm not coming out until I've made something. Anything. Sheesh...