You Go Girl!

Ready For Battle...

The weather is a changin'. Those glorious, golden days of sixty degree temperatures have packed up and moved on. [stifled sob] In their place is a wind with a bite, swirling leaves, nearly naked trees, and temperatures that make you reach for your puffy coat.  But I am ready for battle this year!! My power shield of protection against Ol' Man Winter blowing his stinky frosty breath at me are these cozy RAINBOW MITTS that are flyin' off my crochet hook this week.  How could I possibly be cold with rainbow mitts on my hands? I'll admit that they might not protect me from everything winter will dish out, but their magical, sunny cheerfulness will keep my heart warm. Now if I could just find a unicorn to ride throughout the short dark days ahead, my punch-out-winter plan would be complete...Unicorn? Anyone?

Rosie Posie Headbands for Sale

Hi friends. I just listed six new headbands in my You Go Girl shop. Whew! I always forget how much work it is to list items. The photos...gah...I think it is exhausting to take the photos. My footsies are near froze off. It is a beautiful sunny day in my neck of the woods, but the temperature was 12 when I took my photos. The snow on the ground looks like glitter and makes a little tinkling noise when you walk through it. Magical, but oh so frigid.

I'm thinking Libbie, my very lovely headband model, is a very good sport! I wonder what else I can get her to do for a bag of Skittles. Thanks darling Libbie. You are my rockstar today.

A Happy Crappy Post

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.

Baby Bloom Hat

I sure wish I had a model for this little crocheted hat.  My picture doesn't do it justice, I'm afraid. I am dying to see what it looks like on a real baby. I'm telling you the truth. This Baby Bloom Hat is sweet as sugar and soft as dandelion down. I'm sure a wee little chick-a-bee baby girl would look like a delicious gumdrop wearing it. Who doesn't love a gumdrop? 

I had no one in mind when I made the Baby Bloom Hat. It's just that my divine Baby Bunny yarn wouldn't quit calling my name...Look at me. Look at me. I am so soft and yummy. You know you love me. I finally gave in and grabbed a hook. Now I have a very cute hat without a home. It's living in my shop right now. It is sized for a baby, probably 3-6 months old. Hat, anyone?

I just read what I wrote in the first paragraph. It sounds like I think I am all that and more. Not so. It's just that this hat is all aqua and red and little and sweet. I just want to eat it up. The cuteness makes me want to squeeze something. Hard. I feel like Agnes on Despicable Me...It's so fluffy sweet I'm gonna die. Watch Agnes at the end of this clip. That's how I feel.

 

But any one could make a Baby Bloom Hat. Truly.

Brought to You by the Color Orange, the Letter H, and the Number One

Today's post is brought to you by the color orange, the letter H, and the number one. Brings me back to the days of Sesame Street. You?

One. One little orange onesie. This delicious orange onesie was dyed in my kitchen many moons ago and stored in a drawer for such an occasion as this. I put a little H on it for my new friend Hope. Hope's mommy used to babysit my girls when she was just a girl herself. My how time flies.

One. One Ruby Bloomer. I paired the little orange onesie with another set of Ruby Bloomers. I really do love this pattern. Since Hope is just a wee one I cut the pattern down by a generous inch on all sides. By doing so I made the bloomers so they would fit 0-6 months instead of 6-12 months.

One. One orange-a-rific Daylily. I like how the Ruby Bloomer and the delicious orange onesie look together, but no one does orange better than the Creator. Look at this Daylily. It's the most glorious color of orange. In real life, the color of this lovey defies description. Yes, it's orange, but it is sooo much more than that. Deep. Stunning. Affecting. It makes me do a little gasp when I look at it.

That's all for now,

Cassie

Elastic Thread. Yeah, Baby!

I've fallen hard for Heather Ross' Ruby Bloomer found in the Weekend Sewing book. Not only are the bloomers super cute and super easy, but they use one of my new favorite tricks...elastic thread on the bobbin. Elastic thread is another bit o' sewing magic. Right up there with the gathering foot and the invisible zipper. Seriously. Here's how it works. You wind the elastic thread on to the bobbin (by hand), slip the bobbin into your machine and sew as usual. After you are done with the seam, spray it with a little water and...MAGIC. A perfectly gathered stretchy leg hole. No casing. No threading elastic with a safety pin. No hassles. Blissful, really.

The top for this set was stitched with an old pattern I have in my collection. I used it on this top, too. Very cool and summery for baby during these warm months. Or it could be worn over leggings and a long sleeve shirt when cool months come upon us again.

Look who came to visit when I was trying to take a picture. This is one of the horses that lives in the pasture behind my house. When the girls were little they used to feed the horses apples from our tree. They would put the apple on a roasting stick from the fire pit and dangle it over the fence. The horses would eat the apple off the stick. Quite amusing. There hasn't been a lot of apple dangling lately. The girls seem to have bigger fish to fry. The horses are always hopeful, though. They come over when we are out in the yard, just in case. I try to give them a treat every so often. I figure that nobody likes to get the snub all the time. Not even a horse that belongs to the neighbor.

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

 

Food. How I Love You...

Edit: I am rewriting and moving this post that I wrote a few days ago to see if it will show up in reader. How I wish I was a computer genius, or married to one! :-)

I haven't had the words to blog lately because all the words that flow from my grey matter to my mouth are about food. A diet will do that to you! Since this isn't a blog about food that whispers your name, tempts your palate, wafts through your olfactory system in your imagination during your waking hours, and dances through your dreams while you sleep, I've had nothing to write about. This preoccupation with food hasn't kept me from crafty endeavors, though.  I've been in the studio stitching up felt cupcakes and wistfully making purses out of candy wrappers from days gone by. Just kidding. Actually, I've been busy drafting the perfect clutch pattern, assembling and painting a shelf to contain my ever-growing collection of odds and ends in my sewing space, stitching up a few Posh Pillowcases, and making this little honey pie out of some Little Red fabric designed by Tasha at A Little Sweetness.

 

I was going to make a little polka-dottie diaper cover to go with the dress. Since autumn is knocking on the door, I opted for some snazzy jeans instead. I hope sweet little Amy Lynn likes her new clothes. Congratulations to her mom and dad, Erin and Corbin.

Well, I better go run a lap around the neighborhood, or something. Only five pounds to go. Would it be wrong to celebrate by gorging myself at the The Pearl once I reach my goal? Probably.

Fabbity-Fab-Fab Felt Flowers

Fabitty-fab-fab fast felt flower fun!  Say that ten times fast.  Your tongue will be tied in knots.

 

The triplets were looking for the perfect accessory to adorn their apparel for a piano recital they played in on Friday.  Instead of making a trip to Claire's House of Crap (that's what Mr. Handsome calls it anyway), I decided to do a whip-up. Enter the felt flower pin.  These little flowers packs tons of crafty fun and eye candy in a quick and easy project.  Wanna see them up close?  Please hold your applause until the end. LOL!

Introducing....

 Ms. Rosie Posie,

 

Lady in Red,

 

 and, last but not least, Madame Azul.

 

I'm not even kidding.  It only took about 45 minutes to make ALL three of these.  That's a serious power-craft in my mind.  Tutorial anyone?

Happy Day,

Cassie

PS--The winner of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway was Kathleen.  She left comment number 271.  Thanks for playing. I had 427 comments. WOW!

Ottobre Nirunaru Pinafore Dress (and a little Old Navy)

This is my second Ottobre attempt. (You can see my first attempt here.) I think the hardest part about an Ottobre pattern is tracing the pattern pieces from the master sheet. All the intersecting lines are dizzy-ing, no?  This pattern is from the Spring 2008 issue.  Yes, I know it is fall. I am not in denial. Really. I just think this is a dress for all seasons.

It has taken me a while, but I have finally learned that when I am combining store-bought clothing with things I am making, it is important to start with the store-bought piece.  It's much easier to coordinate a piece of fabric to a store-bought item than it is to find an item that coordinates with something you've already made. That has been my experience anyway. The little shirt for this outfit was an Old Navy special($5).  The fabric is Lucien, Amy Butler, and a little Kona cotton.

This little set is a gift for a friend. Her sweet baby girl needs 100% cotton clothes.  Synthetic fibers do not agree with her super soft and sensitive yummy baby skin.  I made the dress and pants/capris (Butterick B5017) in a 12 month size. The dress seems about right.  The pants/capris appear mighty roomy to me. Fingers are crossed that they will fit. 

That is all for now. We are having the most amazing run of Indian summer. I'm off to power wash the deck. Tah-wan-duh! I love using powerful tools.

Toodles,

Cassie

Progress Report--I am pleased to report that I have one lunch box cut out and ready to sew. Let's see...that's one of five.  I'm not sure that counts as progress. LOL!  At least I'm headed in the right direction.