Finished Baby Quilt

I was showing Miss Mia the blog this morning and realized there were no finished pictures of the baby quilt we made for our friend!

Here is one . . . sorry the pics aren't as good as normal.  My favorite squares are the blue clouds with yellow stars and pink hearts. 

The friend said this quilt was THE gift at the shower!

YAH!

She also said her hubby tried talking her out of giving it away because it was so soft and cuddly!

DOUBLE YAH!

We're now on our next project . . . hope to have pics soon!

Homemade Play Dough

Miss Mia's store bought dough finally crumbled into nothingness this past weekend, so I promised her we'd made some new dough tonight when I got home from work.

This recipe is easy and makes a good sized batch.  After the dough is cooled, split into 4 balls and add favorite food colors!

Homemade Play Dough

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 T oil
1 1/2 tsp cream of tarter

Mix all ingredients in large pan over medium heat.  Stir until dough pulls off side of pan.  Remove from heat and let dough cool.  Kneed four or five times.  Split dough into (at least) 4 balls and add food coloring if desired.

Keep in airtight containers.

Baby Quilt Preview

The front and back of a burp cloth made from same flannel as the quilt I'm currently making.

My friend has requested a baby quilt for a baby girl who will be making her debut in January.  Although the burp cloth is all girly, I'm only doing some pink.  The flannel is so soft and so warm.  I am loving it . . . but I'll be good and let her have it.

Baby and Toddler Legwarmers

The story behind this project follows how I made these cute legwarmers.

Items needed:

~ One pair of women's knee highs

~ Sewing machine (could hand sew, but that's work)

~ Self-healing mat

~ Rotary Cutter (could use scissors, but that's work, too)

~ Pins!

Start with one pair of women's knee highs.

Cut off the heels and toes. I cut both socks at the same time in the hopes I'd be able to keep them a relatively similar length.


My socks instantly began to roll at the cut areas. Instead of just tossing them together and sewing them, I actually *gasp* pinned them!

Evidence - I do use pins!

After they were pinned, I slid them over the sewing machine and did the basic stitch the entire way around the sock.

My finished projects!

For some reason, our power company is having a really hard time keeping the power on in our area. We aren't having bad weather as yesterday was actually a beautiful day (although, very cold, in the high teens). Unfortunately, we were without power much of the day AND our wood burning fireplace is currently not in working condition until the manufacturer sends us some replacement parts.

Add into the mix an almost potty-trained toddler who refuses to wear pants of any sort over her "big girl undies". I needed some baby legs or other type of leg warmer, but didn't have any. As a child of the 80s, I remember my drawers being full of them. WHY did I give them away??? To help with the situation, I grabbed a pair of women's knee highs and whacked off the toes. I flipped them over and slid them on Miss Mia - using the heel of the sock to cover her knee.

They worked until the electric came on.

Then, I went to my sewing machine.

I decided to whack off the heel part as it was droopy around my skinny gal's knees and just sew 'em back together sans heels and toes!

I like how they came out.

Although next time, I may decide to actually pay attention to the pattern (see the V pattern socks final result - I accidentally reversed it on the one side and just now noticed).

The gals will be getting these under the Christmas Tree! I can't wait to see them wearing them!

Fleece Scarf

The husband watched both girls today, letting me get in a complete day of crafting. I was so excited. I was able to finish piecing together Miz Aise's quilt (that I plan to give her for Christmas). I also finished an impromptu project . . . . featured here! A fringed polar fleece boa! I LOVE how it turned out. I'd searched all over the internet and couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I just imagined the finished project - and this is what came out of my initial attempt!

My only problem - metallic thread doesn't seem to agree with being sewn through 3 layers of fleece. So, I had to put the boring old quilting thread back in and use it.

I used 3 pieces of fleece in our school colors. I cut the fleece 8 inches wide. Then, I placed all three pieces together and just did a quick pass down the middle with my sewing machine. After that, I used my rotary cutter on a self-healing mat and cut into the middle (making certain to stay away from the sewn portion) every inch down one side and then up the other.

The hardest part of the project - getting Miss Mia to pose for the picture!

Miss Mia's New Dress

The other day, we picked up a dress for Miss Mia. It's adorable and will look great on her when she finally grows into it (in two years!).

Until then, I decided to copy it and let her wear the version I made.

I used some of the green panne I had left from the bridesmaid's dresses from my wedding.

She seems to like it. She wears it daily.

Not too bad for my first attempt at an article of clothing - and no real pattern!

Pretzel Wreath Project

One year, in elementary school, we made pretzel wreathes for Christmas gifts for our Mothers. My Mom has kept this gift all these years, and it still hangs in the kitchen. Miss Mia is now getting to the age where she likes to make things, and I thought - what better Christmas gift than something made by Miss Mia????

So, today, we made pretzel wreathes! Miss Picky came up to help.

How cute are they??? I cannot wait to add the rest of the ribbon to the wreathes. I'll be using Christmas ribbon on some.

And to think - we only needed pretzels and glue!