Keep Calm Craft On:: Kid's Clothes Week

This week I'm joining Nicole's KCCO link up, and participating in Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes Week Challenge. I'm a bit behind on sharing my photos so you get two projects today. The first is a baby onesie for a sweet new baby in my sister's family. I used a purchased onesie with double sided fusible web to make the little bluebird applique. It's really so lovely to use and dresses up simple simple things so quickly. The skirt was sewn onto a circle of elastic first, then stitched onto the onesie so it would retain it's stretch. Very very simple but oh so cute in the end!

Next up we have two pairs of "Big Butt Pants" for Mr. Nomi-no. I LOVE this pattern! I have two more pairs cut out and ready to go and I'm hoping to get to them tomorrow. I will be making this pattern *a lot*. Be sure to check out the links above for lots of great inspiration!

Keep Calm and Craft On

This week I learned that it is very hard to photograph a shawl...I'll have to work on that! This shawl is a special one, knit for a friend who is going through a lot right now. I don't think it's my place to share her story, but I did want to share this shawl. In knitting terms I'm rather proud of this one...I haven't done a big project like this one before, and I think I can now say I'm comfortable working off of a chart which is exciting! 

The pattern is the lovely Terra by Jared Flood. I think (as have others) that the yardage is off on this, my gauge was right but I ran out of yarn after the first lace chart, with just enough to finish with a few rows of garter stitch...no where near enough to do the second lace chart. Next time (and there will most certainly be a next time) I'll make sure to have something closer to 700yds instead of the 600 the pattern suggests. 

I really REALLY love this yarn. I think it's my most favorite that I have ever knit with! It's from Sweet Basil Fibre Works, and is so yummy. It is smooshy and bouncy and so soft. I'm obsessed and could talk about it for hours so I'm cutting myself off and that's all I'm going to say about it. If you haven't tried it yet, do!!

I'm making good progress on Nomi's new shirt. It's a little slow going because of life right now, so it might not be finished for his birthday, but I'm pretty sure he wont notice or mind. :) I am also really loving this yarn, "Anne Shirley" in the sunny skies colorway. A bit of an impulse buy one very grey day, but I am glad I did! The colors remind me of fluffy chicks and that lovely time between Virginia's spring weather and summer weather. It just so happens that this is exactly when his birthday is so it seems perfect for him. The pattern is great, interesting enough, but not so much so that I have to keep notes. The overlapping shoulders was a bit of a mental stretch but the pattern is clear and the designer is brilliant to have thought of it!

Next week I wont be on here much but I'm hoping to set up my posts over the weekend. I'm going to be busy enjoying the Hubby's two weeks at home (yes, for the year...sigh) so I'll just be to busy to be on much! Next week is the always exciting "Kid's Clothes Week Challenge" so I'm working on that this week and will share my progress with everyone else next week! So look for lots of sewing updates :) 

{this moment}

Joining Soulemama today...in her words-


{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Six

Happy Birthday to my sweet "baby" girl! I can't believe it's been six years...looking forward to the next six!! (Off to get ready for a make your own pizza party, chats with Daddy, and lots of six-year-old snuggles! More on the outfit and crown in the next few days!)

{A Day In The Life}

Good morning! I'm guest posting today at my sister's blog. You can go Here to check out my Day in the Life post!

Keep Calm and Craft On

I'm so excited to finally be posting with Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On! Check out her link up for other crafty goodness! This week I don't have any finished items to show off...but those top two are very close to finished...they are blocked and drying now and I'll share some finished photos next week. The bottom photo is of a lovely yarn that is destined for Nomi's first birthday gift. I hadn't planned on knitting him anything because it's already pretty warm here in Virginia, but I started thinking maybe a little shirt would be just the thing. I'm going to be knitting the Baby Shell pattern by Carey Huffman...with his dark brown eyes and dandelion fluff hair...I think it will be perfect. I have two weeks to work on it, but part of that time will be dedicated to some crafting (it's not last minute because I still have two full days *wink*) for Miss Jenny's birthday. It's getting tricky to work on surprises for her because she is ALWAYS around. I think I've out smarted her this time by setting up a little play time with her cousins. Simple plans this year, just a special outfit for her big day, and I hope I will finally be able to start that birthday crown tradition! How is she six years old? I had grand plans to work on her new doll as a surprise, but the lack of secret project time just didn't let that happen. I need to get busy with this list if it's going to happen...with the kick off of birthday season you can be expecting a lot of projects in the next few weeks!

Easter Pictures...and nothing much to say

Keep an eye on Jenny posing in the background ;) 

{this moment}

Joining SouleMama today...remembering the grand opening of our back porch for the year!

In her words... {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember

Beeswax Edition

Don't you just love beeswax? The way it smells, and feels and that beautiful golden yellow...there is just something special about it. I think it's on my list of top ten favorite things. It was really just a matter of time before I started utilizing it as a (yet another) crafting medium. First up was candles. I wanted to make my own wicks, and after a bit of time spent with google, I learned that in order to get our cotton yarn to burn cleanly (as apposed to just kind of smoldering), I needed to to a bit of prep. I didn't get a picture of this next part but it was pretty straight forward. I cut the yarn into lengths about 6" long, and soaked them in a solution  of 1Tbsp salt, 2 Tbsp borax, and 1 cup warm water. I let them soak for a few hours and then let them dry on a dinner plate. These hung around for a day or two until my sister was able to come join in the fun, but I would plan on letting them dry overnight. 

I got our beeswax (and other supplies below) from Mountain Rose Herbs, we went with the pastilles, because those blocks looked fairly hard to cut...and they are a little bit less expensive which is always nice. 

The beeswax took a loooong time while to melt, but it was wonderful to watch, and smelled delightful. The whole thing was pretty trial and error based, but a few things we did seemed to make it easier. First, know that even if you are super careful beeswax will get on things. Don't use your favorite anything, and it's probably best to plan on the things you use becoming your beeswax gear. We covered the counter with wax paper which made clean up a breeze, we were even able to peel the larger bits off to melt down again next time. 

The pencil was useless, I'm not sure what I was thinking actually...and I think next time I will get some tabs or paperclips to help anchor the wicks. We tried our hand at dipping candles too...I think the one I made will adorn a certain Little Man's birthday cake. 

Okay, so the pencil wasn't quite useless, but it certainly didn't serve it's intended purpose! It was so much fun to watch the wax cool, it kept us guessing about the final color, the kids really liked this part. 

Next up was some lip balm (or lip boom as Jenny calls it). We used Amanda Soule's recipe (found Here) as with everything else we've tried from her blog (and books) it is wonderful! It came together really quickly and this batch should last all of the girls around here for a while. Even my boys don't mind it, which is good since a certain middle child has developed a lip licking habit that is taking a while to break. Oh, and yes, this is a very real life kitchen picture, but that's just how we roll here. It's a pretty active space and it's rare that the counters are totally clear and bare of beans soaking or dishes drying, or other dishes stacked and waiting for their time to shine, and then there are the cookbook and the compost bowl and all those other kitchen-y things...I'm rambling but you get the idea!

Oh, and here's one "To Daddy Love Jenny" ;)