White Christmas

We had a white Christmas... at grandpa's house (not quite an hour and a half away). Snow for Christmas is rare here in the Puget Sound region. But in Chatterbelle's four year old mind, snow and Christmas go together...

We've had a busy month. We made little ornaments for everyone in Chatterbelle's playgroup...




This is a self-portrait of Chatterbelle that I scanned and printed onto cardstock then stitched onto scrapbook paper. The one in the center shows the back side. About halfway through these I switched to my teflon foot - it resulted in more even stitching. And I made extra ones for family members. Here is a close-up...




Each ornament was attached to a small bag of no-bake cookies made from good quality chocolate, coconut, pecans, and crispy rice cereal. We also made our gift tags...




It is a Christmas tree that Chatterbelle made from paper, glue, and buttons. I scanned, reduced, and printed it on cardstock.

During craft time at playgroup she discovered that she enjoyed stringing beads on pipecleaners. So we went to the store, picked out a bag of brightly colored pony beads and made these festive pipecleaner wreaths at home...




We had a winter storm earlier in the month. A few days later, Chatterbelle gathered up some fallen branches from the hemlock tree...




She brought them in the house and proceeded to remove all the needles. I gave her a large cup to store them in. It looked like we would have enough for a project. I found some cardboard and drew a design in glue. She sprinkled her needles on them...




I drew the designs on the bottom two, and she drew the two on top. These may get framed at some point.

I also did some sewing this month. Chatterbelle requested a Christmas dress for Esmeralda...




Esmeralda is a Disney doll from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame movie . We found her earlier this month at the thrift store. As is often the case with thrift store dolls, she was without her clothes. Since she is a gypsy girl I made her a peasant blouse and a Christmas print skirt per Chatterbelle's request.

And Christmas wouldn't be complete without Mr. and Mrs. Gnome made from Wee Wonderfuls pattern...

eyeglasses case

Glasses case
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

I recently asked Chatterbelle what she would like to give grandma for her birthday. Her enthusiastic response was, "eyeglasses"! Since eyeglasses are a difficult item to gift, I suggested we make grandma something to store the pair she already owns in. Chatterbelle drew the design and I embroidered it on felted wool. The color didn't photograph well, it is actually wine red, not brown. The case is interfaced and lined with cotton flannel. Embroidery is done with a chain stitch using orange, yellow, and green threads. The orange trim is wool felt.

I will do another post on our collaborative projects at another time.

raining cats and dogs apron

raining cats and dogs apron
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

The current theme for tie one on is Local Pride. It took me awhile to decide which way I wanted to go with this one, but in the end I chose a simple route and let the fabric be the focus. I'm calling my apron "raining cats and dogs in Seattle". We all know how much it rains here in Seattle.

This fabric was purchased at the thrift store last year. Compelled to buy it as it had so many of Chatterbelle's favorite things depicted on it - cats, dogs, and umbrellas! She looks forward to rainy days just so she can walk around outside under her umbrella and jump in puddles. And we have pets she helps take care of - two dogs and several cats. The contrasting yellow and white polka dot fabric was purchased on sale (end of bolt sale) sometime last year. I'm inclined to pick up small yellow prints when they are on sale since it is Chatterbelle's favorite color - always looking to add to my stash.

I used Simplicity pattern #3949. But I changed the pocket. I made a pocket in the shape of an umbrella and appliqued the handle with a satin stitch.




Thanks to Fluff for assisting me in the photo shoot. I prefer to photograph outside, but (no surprise) it's raining today. In fact it's raining cats and dogs...

Angel mini-bag

Angel mini-bag
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

The current theme for the Purse project is to make an amulet bag.

I'm not really into good luck charms, so I chose to make a small bag that would serve as a reminder of some of the character qualities I hope to instill in my daughter. Using the scripture passage 1 Corinthians 13 as an inspiration, I made a small angel with three large pockets in her skirt. One pocket for faith, one pocket for hope, one pocket for love. Angel is made from wool felt and stitched with embroidery floss. I used a black fabricmate dye pen to draw face, shoes and dress details. Because the pockets are open on top, there should be no hindrance to sharing the faith, hope, and love stored therein.

But pockets being pockets, they needed something placed in them. I chose tokens that symbolized the character quality of each pocket. The faith pocket has some tiny mustard seeds. The hope pocket has a small cross that belonged to my mother when she was a girl. The love pocket has a heart-shaped bead.




Angel measures 3 and 5/8 inches tall and has a gold ribbon to tie around neck. The angel design is from a vintage ornament pattern (which I have since mislaid) that I modified a bit.

But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Nature

IMG_2443a
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

Yesterday while in the garden, Chatterbelle had an opportunity to witness nature in action. Spots (the cat) chased after, then caught, and finally ate a grasshopper. Crunch, crunch, munch, munch. No more Mr. Grasshopper.

Bouquet

This is a little bouquet of flowering weeds that Chatterbelle picked yesterday. We don't have much in the way of garden flowers, so she makes do with what she has.

Cushion

This is a cushion I made back in March. I was prompted to make it shortly after Chatterbelle declared that she had outgrown the euro stye high chair I had purchased just three months before. She found a fat phone book to put on the kitchen chair and then climbed up to eat her meals. I quickly decided that the phone book was an eyesore and at next opportunity went to fabric store for supplies - no coupon, no sale. Paid full price for a 3" wide cushion and two yards of flannel lined vinyl. Completed project in afternoon despite an error in measurement, and placed on kitchen chair in time for dinner. But in typical Chatterbelle fashion, she refused to sit on it and pleaded for her phone book. I thought she would like it - it's yellow. So phone book was returned to chair and cushion was relegated to closet. Imagine my surprise when yesterday, out of the blue, Chatterbelle announced that she wanted to sit on the cushion. Cushion came out of closet, phone book returned to book shelf, and Chatterbelle appeared content to sit on the yellow cushion. It took her five months to decide that she liked it...

Beach bag

IMG_3225a
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

I made this beach bag from materials I had on hand. The sandy colored fabric was found at the thrift store a few weeks ago - I think it is a home dec fabric. The outside pocket is made from some fabric I've had for several years - I think it is Michael Miller. The print depicts two children playing on the beach.

The bag is lined with the same yellow gingham that I made the sun out of. Everything we make must have at least a bit of yellow in it since it is Chatterbelle's favorite color.

Train tote

This is the train tote I made last week for Chatterbelle to take to a Day with Thomas.

But by the time we figured out what day we could go, the event was sold out. So we had an outing to the fair instead. Chatterbelle was thrilled to come home with a balloon.

It's a nice sized bag for carting around her treasures - big enough to get more than a few toys in it, but not so big that she can't carry it herself. At some point we may use it to store her train toys when she is not playing with them.

I made it to be floppy on top so it would flop closed when not filled up. But when I see it carried around it looks sloppy floppy to me so I probably wouldn't make it that way again. The train is actually a pocket. And because I wanted to make it a bit more snazzy, I added the strip of patchwork pieces cut from mostly vintage fabrics and attached it with a satin stitch.

The train fabric was cut from a piece that Chatterbelle picked out at the fabric store a few months ago. Whenever we go shopping, she gets to pick something out. Usually it's stickers, sometimes it's buttons or ribbon, and occasionaly it is a 1/2 yard cut of fabric. At the time we bought it I didn't know what we would do with it, but then later decided it would make a nice pocket for a tote. So on our next outing we picked up the ivory denim (on sale) and beige webbing (Chatterbelle selected the colors for both). I had hoped to find some railroad stripe denim, but there was none to be found at the store.

Not sure how disappointed she was at missing the train ride with Thomas. But she has been giving us tickets and then escorting us to take a seat on the couch for a ride on the pretend Thomas train. We may try to get tickets on a regular train for a short ride - perhaps in the fall.

Lucy Locket apron

IMG_2963a
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

I decided to do a nursery rhyme apron for tie one on. The theme was pocket. Inspired by a vintage clothespin apron, it has one large pocket and three small pockets. Lucy Locket and Kitty Fisher both wear an apron with a pocket. And Kitty Fisher holds a working drawstring pocket (or purse) that Lucy Locket lost.

I used saral transfer paper to copy my design onto linen fabric. Then used a combination of embroidery and applique to complete the apron using fabric and thread I had on hand. Lucy's pocket is a small working drawstring purse that I tacked down. Chatterbelle has already put two beads and a button in it. The purse is yellow because it is Chatterbelle's favorite color and so most things we make have some yellow in it. I find that adding a bit of yellow to things quite cheering actually.

As soon as I finished the apron, Chatterbelle was eager to put it on. She promptly started finding things to put in the big pocket - leaves and flowers mostly as we were outside. But I expect it will be useful for gathering peas and other yummies from the garden.

Lucy Locket lost her pocket
Kitty Fisher found it
Not a penny was there in it
only ribbon round it.

Sling bag

I had so much fun making an apron for tie one on that I decided to make a bag for the purse project

But then blogger ate my lengthy post, time got away from me and I didn't get my photo emailed in time to be included... sigh. It was a fun project though, and I was pleased with how the bag turned out.

I knew from the get go that I wanted to use this pattern:




Although I have a few vintage tea towels stashed away, I wasn't ready to cut into any of them. I looked around a bit and finally found a maize (yellow is Chatterbelle's favorite color) colored cotton jacquard weave towel at Target and decided that it would be suitable.

The pattern is pretty simple - just two pieces - a front piece and a back piece. My intent was to use just one towel for this project. The two pattern pieces fit with only inches to spare. Even so, I managed to spend more than a few minutes adjusting and readjusting the pieces to get the best use of the floral design. (I've been told in the past that I tend to over think things...)

After I finished cutting out the pieces, I realized that the reverse side of the towel had a lovely design as well. I had a fleeting thought to sew up the bag with the wrong side out. Then I decided to just make an inside pocket and stitch that into the lining with the reverse side out. This photo shows the inside pocket after it had been stitched to the lining, but before the lining had been turned.




The lining fabric was purchased for another project. But when I found it serendipitously hanging out with the maize colored towel in the laundry basket, I knew they were destined to be partners in this project. I think the multi-colored stripes add a bit of zip to the soft tones of the towel.

While this bag was fun to make, it's been more fun to watch Chatterbelle fill it with treasures and carry it around on her wrist just like in the pattern photo.

Spinning top and bunny twins

Chatterbelle spotted this Smurfs spinning top from 1982 at a garage sale yesterday. It came home with us. Gotta love those little blue Smurfs. And doesn't every child need a spinning top? My intent has been to fill the toybox with more of the classic type toys than the plastic ones, so it was a good find.

And when we returned to the house after our evening visit to the garden, we saw our friend bunny nibbling on a dandelion stalk. While we were talking softly to him, I happened to glance over at another part of the yard and was surprised to see bunny's twin looking about anxiously. As soon as he realised I had seen him, he sprang into the tall grass to hide. So there are two bunnies. But I think I have been photographing bunny number one, as bunny number two seems to be too skittish to let me get close enough to take a photo of him. My guess is they have a warren somewhere in the underbrush. Wonder how many bunnies there are?

More bunny hop

Bunny was nibbling his dinner in the backyard last evening while I happened to be outside with the camera. This is the closest I've ever been able to get to him. But then he hopped away.




Gotta love that little white tail...

Bunny hop

First thing this morning we went outside while still in our pajamas to watch a little bunny eat his breakfast of clover and dandelion. It's about the fourth time I've seen him in our yard this spring. And the first time I've been able to get a halfway decent photo - with the zoom of course. Past attempts have resulted in the self-directed query, "Why did I take a picture of the yard and what is that little brown spot?"

So I was pleased that my little chatterbelle was quiet and composed while we cautiously approached bunny. But when we got too close, he hopped into the thicket to hide.




Can you find the hidden bunny? Look close, he's peeking out at you...

Bunny apron

I recently discovered tie one on and was inspired to make an apron for my daughter for Easter. My original intent was to make a pinafore style apron from this vintage pattern:

But time contraints dictated I change course and make something more simple. In hindsight, it was a better choice to make the half-apron as it is something she can wear every year. The pinafore would have been worn once and then outgrown.

Introduction

My original intent for this blog was to document the things I make for and with my daughter. But given my limited time to make things, and my varied interests, I suspect some other topics will appear here as well. Stay tuned...