Ribbit, ribbit

I'm at it again :-)

A birthday is just around the corner for a special boy, and I wanted to make something for him... but what to make? Pinterest and my favorite sites to the rescue! Check this adorable frog!
Naturally, because I just can't leave well enough alone, I made a few changes as I went along :-) (hey, that's just how I roll). My changes including making the feet and hands a little larger when I cut the pattern out. This was to accommodate the addition stitches I wanted to add for a webbed foot look. Once I turned the frog right side out and stuffed the feet and hands with fiberfill then stitched in the fingers/toes. For the stuffing there is a combination of plastic beans and fiberfill. I wanted him to be softer for the little guy! And for the eyes I made ribbon loops that I attached VERY securely. If I were making it for an older child I would have kept with their recommendation of cute beads, but I just want the possible choking hazard for our little godson!

Isn't he super cute! Here's another picture of the finished project... Oh he's just scrumptious!

Adios!

Don't run with scissors

Today as I was going through my new Pinterest account I wound up finding a few new things that I really wanted to try!

I saw this really cute bias tape purse from the Purl Bee (love, love, love that site!) and thought that it would be the perfect little bag to hold my large sewing scissors. They are usually just tossed into the bin that holds my machine. I used to keep them in a plastic back along with all the other bits and pieces I always need when I'm sew, but they were always punching holes in the corners and stuff would fall the the bottom of the bin... annoying... Anyway, I saw the post and thought that I could alter it just slightly and it would be the perfect bag for my need.

So here's my new little bag:

If you clicked over to the pattern you will see that I went with a more quilt style look with two of my favorite fabrics. Naturally I reversed the pattern on the back :-)!

I was shocked that I actually got it to line up, I was fully expecting it not to... and I had already decided I was going to be okay with that!

The other major changed I made was that I lined it with a fusible interfacing and then brown fabric. I want it to be sturdy so that nothing would poke through the fabrics or the seams!

It did take me a little while, oh about an hour or so... had I stuck to the original pattern it would have been a simple 20 minute project! For those who don't have a lot of experience, this was a really simply pattern to read and follow (and alter!). Give it a shot, it is worth it!

No, No, NO, earmuffs, earmuffs!!!!

As a parent, have you ever had that moment where your child goes to ask you a question and inside your head your screaming something like, "NO NO NO, I'm not prepared to talk about this RIGHT NOW (with your brothers sitting here staring at us), I can't handle the pressure!", or "we (your dad and me) said that HE was going to deal with this!", or "it's too early in the morning and I have a headache, if I try to answer this sanely... well it just isn't going to happen!"?!

Then just like that... as if your guardian angel went over and thumped his guardian angel and the head and said "wake up dude, not right now!", and the question concludes in a way you can deal with?! That's what happened to me this morning.

Here's what happened... this morning Daddio sent me a picture from one of his customers who runs a miniature horse farm. They woke up to a new baby even though they were assured the mare was not pregnant when they bought her. The baby is unbelievably cute. I shared the picture with the boys and told them that she had him some time in the night. Bobcat looks right at me and asks, "how did the Mommy give birth [my first thought is wow, good terminology, second though, HOLY CRAP HERE IT COMES! then he finishes] in the middle of the night by herself? Don't animals need help to have their babies, like human mommies?"

Yes, I did explain that really human mommies don't need as much help as they receive in hospitals, and that animals (all animals) can do it on their own (although some circumstances arise where help is more necessary to save all involved)...

Crisis averted, stomach put back in it's rightful spot, and life continues... phewwwwwww!

I'm casin the joint!

Last week I posted pictures of the sunglasses case, and phone case I put together... well, since I gave the phone case away (to my mom, because I'm so nice :-) and the fabric was still calling to me I needed to sit down and put together a new phone sleeve!

I've spent a few days thinking about it, trying to decide if I should make one exactly like the previous one or do I go for something different... DIFFERENT, I know, that's what I thought too!

After spending a great deal of time oogling at the great mug rugs over at Gwenny Penny's blog, I decided that was the direction I wanted to take my iPhone sleeve... cue inspiration music...

Front view

and the back!

Yippee... it came out so nicely. I ended up adding a seam down one side because I decided I wanted just a little more architecture to it... but when you make one, it isn't necessary for use!

Yarn Along

This is my first time linking to Ginny's Yarn Along, although I've followed it for some time now...
This week I'm working on reading blankets around here. I thought it would be nice if each of the boys had their own little blankets to cuddle up with when they read everyday (especially considering how even in the summer they are asking to turn off fans in the living room... something I will never understand!!). The current blanket I'm working on is based on a granny square motif. I'm quite surprised at how quickly it is coming along, and already have designs bouncing around my head for the blankets to come!

This week's book selection is Kids' Embroidery, by Kristin Nicholas. It is research material for the coop class I will be teaching in the fall. This is a great book, the pictures are spot on, and the detailed diagrams are great for kids and adults!

That's it for now folks, I have a few more things in hopper... stay tuned :-)

Speaking of VACATION!!!!

Vacation, what's there to say other than I LOVE VACATION! Our family loves the beach, we go every year, and every year we love it even more than the year before which is pretty darn extraordinary! This year we switched it up a little and headed to a new island... South Padre. The drive was just a little longer, but it was definitely worth it. The water was amazingly blue, the sea weed was scarce, and the temperature both in the water and out was perfection!

We rented a house for a week, as is our custom... it was a real beauty, in a neighborhood straight from the movies, just breath taking. There is something to be said for a gated community with a security guard and noise rules! Plus we had a private boardwalk down to the sand, on an area of the beach that DID NOT allow car access! This was by far the closest walk we've ever had as well. Need to run back to the house for something... less than five minutes door to sand... AWESOME!

So what do we do for 8 days and 7 nights????

A little of this-
A lot of that-
Practice our ninja jumps...
Mom and Dad hang out in the shade...
Oh look, two lovely ladies (Olive you look great with only a handful of weeks before the bundle arrives!)...
Oh, and the sand castles... lots of building this year!
My guys down at the jetty...
How could you resist a dolphin cruise... and a one week old baby!
Land ho!
Right across the road from our neighborhood was the Sea Turtle rescue and hospital!
It was an amazing trip, the food was awesome, it was an unbelievably large house (sleeps 14), and all of our friends and family who came to spend time with us and experience our kind of vacation seemed to have a great time!

Till next year...

A few new finished projects

As usual, I've had this fabric that has been calling my name... it was intended for a different project but the more I looked at it the more I realized that I wanted to go a different direction with it. So while we were on vacation 2 weeks ago I set to thinking about other things I wanted that this awesome fabric would work with (and that I would get to see regularly because I liked it so much). What I decided was a sleeve for my sunglasses and a second on for my iPhone.

Check it out:


Now, you will notice my phone looks like it is getting swallowed up by the case... well, this particular case I actually made and gave to my mom (it fits her slightly larger phone perfectly... and I'm always willing to give away my proto-type, my second attempts usually have the kinks worked out!).

And last, but certainly not least is a bag concept I've been thinking about and designing in my brain for a month or so. I wanted a mixed medium bag (crochet and fabric)... so I set to work. The only thing I don't like about this picture is that it looks like the yarn doesn't match... but what you can't see here is that the fabric has several shades of purple and I picked the yarn that brings out the redder shades!

This was also my first attempt at a fabric flower. I think it came out pretty well! If you wondering, at the moment I don't have an intended recipient for this bag. It was just one of those ideas rolling around in my brain that I just had to make. Alright... back to my fabric, my own phone sleeve is waiting to be cut, sewn and put into use!