scarves and stripes

I realized when looking back on this blog that is has been ages since I've written about craft projects, yet I've been making things at the same slow and steady pace I always do. I have not been taking pictures of projects much though, and just never seem to get to posting about them. But I do enjoy having this little record of what I've been making, so I will aim to slowly catch up some of the projects that have been keeping my hands busy over the past bunch of months. Above is the cut out pieces of a WIP for Dorian's upcoming birthday- waiting to be sewn into a warm winter scarf. And here are some woolly pants I made him from this thrifted sweater recently. These are made from the sleeves of the sweater, and I made a vest from the body for Ari, though I don't have a picture of the vest. I used this vest tutorial, which was great, but didn't choose a very good vest to trace from, so it doesn't fit very well. But I made them both in one evening and felt so pleased with myself to have a new garment laying out for each of them when they woke up in the morning!

I love these pants. They are so quick to make and I love turning old things into something new. They are the perfect thing over a cloth diaper and are so cozy and warm. I also love that they match our thermos! Not planned, but I couldn't resist snapping a couple pictures when I noticed.

I plan to make a few more of these for winter since since these are all Dori wears around home (when he is wearing pants at all!) and the ones I made him last year are starting to get a bit threadbare.
They look especially nice with Papa's shoes, no? Especially when the shoes are on the wrong feet! I'll keep digging up things crafty things to post about now and then when I think of it. There has been a lot of knitting going on around here, and I made my first quilt for my best friend's wedding this summer which I will post about sometime, after I remember to steal into her house with my camera to get a picture of it~

happy Wednesday!

ETA Thanks to my sister for pointing out that "scarfs" is not actually a word. Yes, it was a late night. ahem.

a few things

At least once a week when I go into town for a play date or visit with my mom I hit the thrift store. These are a few things I've gathered recently. These books are sort of like that invitation to the secret sewing society I was looking for. Tons of hints and ideas. I should have known that what I really needed was to read some books. I got a ton of patterns too, the ones shown and a bunch of old softie patterns. I especially love the one for doll clothes- it was well used and has a cut but still unsewn piece in the envelope. Gold weave panties. Eww. Probably best they never got sewn.I also dyed an old wool yellow blanket a few days ago inspired by mollychicken's woolyness and soulemama's love of wool. What fun!I used dylon dye- scarlet and havana brown- and just kept adding different pieces to the dyepot to get a bunch of different shades. I tried to choose colours that would work alright with the yellow and I'm pleased with what I got although the lightest shade of scarlet needs to be re-dyed because it came out blotchy. I'm not quite sure what my first project with it should be though I'm itching (ha!) to make some more softies soon.

clang clang rattle bang bang

Who needs toys when there are canisters to play with? I bought these at a thrift store awhile back and they have become a favorite. They fit inside each other, roll well and clang loudly when knocked together. What could be better? Please ignore the mess in the background. Tonight's project is a major cleaning session before Perry's parents come to visit. We are looking so forward to their stay (I am blessed with in-laws I adore!) and they have not seen Ari since the fall, so there will be much fun to be had. Hopefully I will be able to have time to sneak off to the craft room (craft room sounds so lofty- images of organized shelves full of cloth and craft supplies and empty tables to work at. The reality is a tiny back bedroom/storage room in our little cabin filled with filing boxes and overloaded bookshelves and my craft supplies spilling over all surfaces. But it is a place to retreat to none-the-less.) Here is a peek at a birthday WIP, any guesses?

chatter

Sometimes I don't get to this blog because I am at a loss for things to say. I'm still here, the snow is still melting, the babe is still growing, I'm still just crafting and being a mom and hanging out with other moms and going for walks in the woods. Of course there is lots else, all that other stuff that goes on in a life, all the details that are either too mundane or too personal to post upon a blog. And all these details fill up a life too and make getting down to the work of writing often difficult. Sometimes it takes me all day of popping onto the computer and then off again to actually get something ready to post. And more often I don't get there at all. I aspire to one day be a once-a-day blogger but following the above argument, it seems my life will have to get both more interesting and less busy, which is not altogether likely. In the meantime, I will post a few images of those details that fill the day...

Ari helping with supper, a nearly completed birthday crown (almost a year old! How did that happen?) and the rhubarb coming up in the garden.

my boy in the garden, bowl of fresh felt strawberries and some pumpkin millet muffins. Yum.

(And the phone was a recent thrift store find. I am usually anti-plastic, but something about plastic from the 70's is okay. And tell me this isn't cuter than a plastic cell phone that talks? This phone just jingles a little bell and rolls its eyes a bit. And Ari picks it up when it rings and hands it to me, so it is clearly promoting learning and early secretarial skills.)

small town thrifting

Thrifting in a small town is not what it is in the city. I remember the thrill (and exhaustion) of browsing those giant department-store sized thrift shops, pushing a cart and hording my finds. I still make thrift shop visiting top priority on all trips to the city. But small town thrifting is an altogether different world. Our local shop isn't much bigger than my livingroom- certainly no room to push a shopping cart between the crowded rows. And it is not uncommon to browse through every item in the store and not find a single thing that I want to take home. So I live in envy of all the wonderful treasures city-folk manage to drag home with them from their giant stores.

But there are advantages to small town thrifting. The prices are certainly lower. And the stores are less picked over. And when you do find a treasure, the thrill is all the greater for having worked so hard to get it. And there is something comforting about seeing the items you donated the week before sitting nestled on the hangers amongst all the other sweaters and baby hats.

These are some recent thrift store finds. A bunch of fabric- linen and cotton and silk maybe? And a huge bag of buttons, some very lovely (some not), for 1$. Not bad. And I am just waiting for my next city adventure where I can browse the endless isles and hoard my treasures into a shopping cart.