A Chain of Giving

I'm a fan of reusing and recycling. I have a tough time throwing things away when I think they could have a new and better purpose. I try not to be a junk hog, but I do hang onto things that I think could have 'a second life'. If I can't find a purpose for it, then at least I can donate to a local thrift store or give things away.

This past week I was the happy (Happy HAPPY!) receipient of a chain of giving. This may be a little tricky to follow: My friend's grandma's neighbor is moving and decided to down-size her fabric/craft supply. She asked her neighbor (my friend's grandma) if she wanted the stuff or if she knew of someone who could put it to good use. My friend's grandma accepted the stuff and decided to pass it along. I'm not exactly sure what happened next. From what I understand 'Grandma' was talking to here daughter (my friend's mom) and mentioned the craft supplies. My friend's mom thought of me and so I got a call a couple days ago to come pick up some free stuff!!! 'Grandma' called it 'craft supplies' on the phone, so I didn't really know what I was going to get. But I love all things crafty, so I readily and greatfully set-up a pick up time.


Peanut and I made the trip to see my friend's grandparents. We had a lovely visit. Peanut ate some freshly picked peas straight from the pod - he thought it was pretty cool :). I was able to poke through one of the boxes a little, and I was thrilled that 'craft supplies' meant fabric. Woohoo! I couldn't wait to get home and dig through everything.

Well, I got home, put Peanut to bed, and got to work...well, more like 'play' :). I couldn't believe what I found! There wasn't just fabric - there were tons of different kinds of trims and ribbons, a Tupperware full of buttons, some lace, finished collars, and - perhaps the most exciting find - some vintage patterns! Not only were there some cute patterns, I found an amazing apron pattern - I can't wait to try it! I've been looking for a vintage-ish apron pattern for my sister-in-law. I actually gasped when I saw the pattern because it is perfect. Yay!
The icing on the cake is that for the price of a little gas I was able to get all these wonderful treasures. Now I just need to think of some projects 'worthy' of all these great things. I'd love to get some ideas from you. Thanks for reading!

Baby Stroller Cushion and Quilt

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you have fun plans to celebrate. I'm just glad the weather perked up a bit after the thunderstorm and torrential rain yesterday! I'm not going to complain about that bought of rain because we did need it, I'm just glad it's sunny today :).

Here's my latest completed project. It's a custom order for a stroller cushion. My friend recently had a baby and bought one of those great jogging strollers. She loves the stroller but thought it didn't have enough padding for her baby. There is a metal bar right under where the baby is supposed to sit - poor baby bum! So she asked me to make her a cushion.

She picked out the fabric which is brown, maroon, pink, and lime green. I found a coordinating minky dot fabric in pink. The cushion has two sets of holes for upper straps and a funky hole thingy for the buckle strap. I made it this way so it would fit both the stroller and the car seat as well as be adjustable for when baby gets bigger.

What my friend doesn't know is that I made her a matching stroller quilt as well! It will fit the stroller nicely and not be too bulky for carrying around. I hope she likes it!

Hmmm...Mysterious...

Here's a crochet project I started a few days ago. It's not something I typically make (you know, an afghan or a sweater). I'm not finished yet, but I'm kinda excited about it. I just had to give you a sneak peek. :)

What do you think it could be?

A blog I love and a giveaway I couldn't resist...

I love Sandy's 4 Reluctant Entertainers blog! She has tons of tips for entertaining (not to mention gorgeous photos) - no matter your age, space constraints, or budget. Here is an exerpt from Sandy's blog:

"With the best intentions, many of us think about entertaining, but never get around to it. For many this blessing of gracious living for both the host and her guests never takes place because of fear … fear of failure, unable to cook, unwilling to share their lives with others, fear of deepening friendships … they are intimidated and think the meal has to be perfect, or … they don’t have the lifestyle that says, “welcome.” I believe in connection. I believe that Americans need to lower the expectations of perfection and open their homes to heart-warming dinners and in doing so, open their lives to LOVE!"

If that isn't motivating enough to go check out her blog, then you should also know that she is having a giveaway! Go check out her blog to learn more about how you could win a lovely Cheery Cherry Apron and more!

http://www.reluctantentertainer.com/

Diaper Bag for a Friend

Yippee! It's finished! My friend just had a baby and wanted a customized diaper bag. We looked at different pictures and designs and came up with this:

She wanted a sturdy bag that could hold its shape, so I used heavy duty stabilizer. The strap is adjustable and has some polyester batting inside for comfort.
It's a messenger style bag, so we took advantage of the flap and added a zipper pocket for extra storage.
The back has a large flat pocket and the sides have bottle pockets.
The inside has pockets lined with clear vinyl. The bottom has clear vinyl too for easy clean up and spills. I decided to add a zipper pocket, because my friend wanted 'lots of pockets' :).

I hope she likes it - I can't wait to give it to her!

Faith, Hope, Love

I think this quilt pattern by McKenna Ryan is gorgeous. I love the message, the colors, the design, ahhhh...everything. It looks like tons of work with lots of applique, so I don't know if I'm quite ready for this type of project. Also, the price tag isn't quite so gorgeous - about $100 for just the patterns!!! I think I'll just drool over the pictures for now :).

More pics here: http://www.pineneedles.com/SuperStore/SuperStore-Assortment.asp?AssortmentID=48

To infinity...and beyond!

I've always wanted to make an infinity dress. For those of you who don't know what it is, its a halter top style dress with very long straps that can be wrapped and knotted numerous ways. If you look at the pic below, the straps are attached at the waist and then come up over my shoulders, cross in the back, then they cross again around my waist and are tied in the back. It's fun experimenting with all the ways I can wrap this shirt.

Originally, I wanted to make a dress, but in my search for ideas, I found someone who paired a shirt with a skirt. This way, I have the option of wearing the top with pants, other skirts, or the matching skirt. Fun stuff!

Here's the tutorial I based my infinity shirt/dress on, but I did change a few things like the length of the dress as well as the length of the straps. I also added extra fabric in the band for modesty and I left the fabric square to get the hankerchief hem. http://rowena.typepad.com/rostitchery/2006/06/one_seam_conver.html



Here it is as just a top. The straps are quite wide so I can scrunch them up like a tank top or spread them out to get a cap sleeve.


Here is the infinity top with the matching skirt. I'm debating how often I will wear the matching skirt - does it seem a little 'too' formal to you? I was hoping to wear it to church, but I may save it for weddings or formal occasions. Hmmmm.

Thanks for looking, and I'd love to read your comments!