A Valentine

While surfing the net one evening, I came across this really great tutorial for Valentine’s pillows over at How Does She? I didn’t have the Valentine’s tea towels they suggest using, but I did have some red fabric and some pretty scraps lying around.  And so I set to work making a Valentine’s Day gift for my biggest girls.

As you can see, one side is plain and the other side has a pocket.  Every day from February 1st – February 14th, I will put a note into the pocket telling them something I love about them.  Something that it is so important for children to know.  What wonderful confidence boosters these pillows are!

I guess this means I should make something for my toddler too.  It looks like my list might have already grown longer!

(Please ignore the fact that the pillow looks dirty!  My kids caught me sewing them and wanted them early.  I had to sneak this one out of one of their beds while they were at school just to get a picture!)

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On The Sewing List

I’m attempting to put together a bit of a list of things I am hoping to sew over the next little while.

1)  This is about half cut out and I think will be the next thing I sew ~

I cut up a pair of my husband’s old dress pants and am using a pretty floral quilting cotton for the lining.   DMK has some super cute patterns for kids clothes. She also has patterns for felt toys and women’s clothing. You can find her shop here.

2)  I’d like to make my toddler a Busy Book.  My older kids are in a fair amount of activities and so it would be nice to have something like this to bring along to amuse her.  I’m really excited to try making one and hope to get a chance soon.   If you want to make one too, Serving Pink Lemonade has templates available (for free!).  Thank you!

3)  Although I seem to have a fear of sewing knits, I really want to give it a try since it is one of my preferred choices of fabric for my active kids and even for myself.  I am thinking of trying to make this skirt from over at Sew, Mama, Sew!

I actually cut out fabric for it, but I am not sure how well cut it is.  You see… I have a toddler… and I decided to cut the fabric when she was awake… and I laid it out on the floor… and yes, she kept stepping on it and it kept stretching and sliding around.  I quickly cut it out as best I could and then folded the fabric and set it aside.  I haven’t dared to pull it out and look at it yet!

4)  The Classic Wrap Dress from the book Chic & Simple Sewing.  I have this great white and red fabric picked out for it already.

5) Another dress from Chic & Simple Sewing.  I hope to make it for fall.

6)  I have this really fun red Hawaiian themed fabric that was passed on to me.  I had no idea what to make with it though.  When I came across this dress tutorial at From An Igloo, I knew the style would be great in this fabric.  I plan on making it for my oldest daughter.

7)  Also from the From An Igloo blog, this reversible top.  I don’t know which of my kids to make it for though.  Maybe all three!  Or I wonder how it would look in adult size?!?!

(Isn’t her daughter just so adorable?!  What a great model!)

8)  For next fall, I would love to make my youngest a little jumper out of this John Deere flannel.

9) And then there are the Christmas pajamas for my three girls.

10) A fancy skirt for my 7 year old who loves all things fancy (including Fancy Nancy).   Something like this skirt from Gock’s Frocks on Etsy.

Or maybe with more vertical gathers to make a scalloped edge.  I guess I will decide when the time comes.

 

On top of all that, I would also love to learn how to sew in a zipper and maybe try a quilt (although likely a small one to start with).

It’s quite a big list and I’m not really sure I will get through it all!  A girl can dream though…

 

 

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Backseat Organizer

I am a minivan mom.  My van is a constant mess – except for the day I clean it.  The next day it is a mess again!

It is amazing how much stuff ends up in the van when you have three kids, 2 adults and a variety of guest riders.

So I made a couple of these…

It will be great for out-of-town trips and hopefully will at least give them a place to keep books and pencils that always seem to fill the van on a daily basis.

(Don’t look too close!  I whipped these up super fast with not much attention to detail and didn’t even have matching thread!)

 

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The Stash

Over the past year, I have acquired a decent sized stash of fabric.  Most of it was stuff I picked up from local freecycle ads, some was passed along by friends, and a little bit was bought by me.  As it is with free things, most of it is in smallish pieces (1/4 – 1/2 meter for most of it) and it is not necessarily something that I would have picked.  I am thrilled to be blessed with so much fabric to learn to sew with.  It has saved me a lot of money and I am so grateful for that.  But I am finding that I see all this pretty fabric and I remember all the fabric I have at home and all the storage totes overfilled with it.

It is time to start sewing my way through this stash.

I will show you some of what I have in my closet ~

These are all Barbie clothes patterns and pieces. Some partly sewn, some only cut.  Given to me to figure out.

These I just bought new recently.  I needed 2 – 3 meter pieces to make some of the clothes from the sewing book I got for Christmas.

And this is felt…

There is even more buried deeper in those boxes, but that is most of it.  I have 3 large pieces of knit fabric – dark blue, black and red.  I am not sure exactly what kind of knit they are, but I will need to learn to sew with knits if I am going to use them!

I do have plans for some of the fabric.  The red and white floral fabric in the fabrics I bought new is for a dress.  The pink John Deere flannel I hope to make into a jumper for my youngest.  The rest?  Well… maybe you have some ideas for me?

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A Toddler and Her Loveys

If you’ve ever had the pleasure (and challenge) of having a toddler in your life, you almost certainly know how particular they can be about some things.

My youngest is one of those toddlers that has to have a lovey. In the beginning, this sweet little guy was her lovey.

This is “Lambie”.  She has had him since her first Christmas and started sleeping with him when she was about 9 months old.  He very quickly became the lovey.

This past Christmas, we put up our tree with the usual decorations.  Our toddler loved the tree, but noticed a little hockey player decoration hanging from a branch.  She asked to hold it…. well.. she whined to hold it actually!  We let her hold him and it was love at first sight.  She instantly had to carry him everywhere and bring him to bed with her.  Don’t worry, she didn’t toss aside dear Lambie, she just added another lovey for us to hunt down every nap time and bedtime.  This is “Hockey Guy”.

Then along came Mickey.

One day last week, our little toddler was enjoying a bath.  She had her bath toys in with her and was having a great time splashing.  When it was time to come out, she insisted that Mickey come out of the bath with her.  That night she wanted to have him in her bed too…. then the next day at nap time… and again at bedtime.  And now she has three loveys.

This is proving to be a little on the challenging side.  For one thing, she only has two hands.  Holding more than two things can be very tricky for a toddler. Inevitably, one will drop to the ground.  She gets frustrated and I have to help her hold all three loveys.  Also, every nap time and bedtime we have to track down all three of these little guys.

It’s a good thing we have a few kids because we often have (and need) four of us looking for these loveys.

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Puppy Love

My oldest daughter got a HUGE stuffed dog for a Christmas gift this year. She absolutely loves it.

It completes the dog family she has been trying to put together. This big guy is the Daddy dog.

At first, she was sleeping with him in her bed. She would be under the covers and her dog would be on top of the covers and on top of her. We could hardly see her under there!! I think she is finding him a bit on the big side though and she has been leaving him in our living room on our real dog’s bed.

As it turns out, there is someone else in the family that absolutely loves this stuffed puppy.

Ahh… puppy love! Such a wonderful thing!

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The Apple Hat

I know you were all wondering what I have been making with that yarn I pulled out.  I won’t leave you in suspense any longer.  Here is the Apple Hat!

I had to pull it apart and restart it three times before I got the size right, but now it’s done and it is so cute!  I was hoping it would fit my toddler in the fall, but it fits her right now.  She loves it and walks around with it on her head saying ‘Ah-O’ (apple) over and over.  Maybe it will stretch out a bit and fit her in the fall too.

 

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And Now For Something Completely Different…

Look what I pulled out this weekend!

 

It’s been a long time since I crocheted anything.  I’m actually still very much a beginner.  I have made some scarfs, some half-sucessful hats and a really beautiful, warm blanket for my husband.

I have this box of yarn that sits in my closet and it was looking pretty lonely collecting dust in there.  Time to dig it out and make something!  With any luck, I will have something to show you within the next couple of days.

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Baby Shoes: Take Two

I took apart the baby shoe I had made.  Ironed it all nice and flat and tried again.

Hooray!  It looks great!

 

Oh no!  Upon closer inspection….

*sigh*  Where is that seam ripper?  It looks like I’ll be trying this again…

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Favourite Recipes

Do you have some favourite recipes that you make again and again? I’m determined to make up a cookbook of all my favourites this year. What are some of your favourite things to eat? I would love to hear!

Here’s a few of my favourite recipes ~

Whole Wheat Ginger Snaps

Butter tarts (A Christmas favourite of mine!)

Crunchy Orange Curried Chicken

Japanese Grilled Chicken

Crockpot Mexican Chicken (SOOOO yummy!)

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kebobs

Hot Tortellini Salad

Salmon Chowder

Some of my other favourite things to eat are Chef Salad, Taco Salad and Chicken Souvlaki.  YUM!

I look forward to hearing about your favourites!

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