Cotton-Minky Blankets

I had a cotton-minky blanket order explosion - 2 boy ones, 2 girl ones. Just thought I'd do a quick photo share post. I keep thinking I'll be done with custom orders and can get started on some of my own projects - and then another custom order comes in. I have a hard time saying no!

And here is how I am able to get some of it done with Little Miss Cray-Cray toddling around:

....aaaaand here is how I cook dinner:

Maybe now I can get back to some "works in progress" (WIP's) that I stopped working on in November due to the holiday rush... and post holiday rush.... and spring rush... ?

Toodle-doo!

Ladybug Toddler Duvet Cover

I'm still finishing up some custom orders - one of which was a Ladybug Toddler Duvet Cover for a transitional toddler bed. I searched high and low for decent ladybug fabric, but all I could find were tiny ladybug prints about the size of a quarter - not really what I had in mind.

Enter: Spoonflower

Spoonflower is a lifesaver! I ordered up a yard of custom printed ladybug fabric from their fabulous site - I encourage you to check it out. I cut the ladybugs out into 10" squares, paired it with some complimentary fabrics from the fabric store, used ladybug buttons for the closure, and I think it turned out pretty dang good! Too cute not to share!

(we've had a string of cloudy / rainy days so I couldn't get a good overall shot with good lighting - sorry!)

(I put these on my Flickr photostream if you would like to see the photos in better detail as well)

February in Review

This month has flown by and with it came some changes.

I decided to put my Etsy shop on hold starting March 1, 2013. I'm no superwoman: I can't do it all and I'm not going to pretend that I can. I also have about 15 personal creative projects that I'd like to work on. Every time I start something, it gets put on hold to make something for someone else.

Paige turned ONE on Feb 10th and I still haven't finished her quilt that I started a year ago. Totally unacceptable. I promised all the women in my family that I'd make them an apron using my grandmother's fabric stash. It's been 2 years... totally unacceptable. I've never made a nursing dress that I have pattern for... and I'm almost done nursing. Sad. I have yet to make a dress for Paige. Bummer. And I'd like to sew more quilts, pillow covers, dresses, shirts, room decor, seat cushions... the list goes on and on.

Paige on her 1st Birthday

I'm also trying to eat better and exercise which cuts into free time as well. It's not easy to workout with a 1 year old wobbling around you. AND I need to start sorting through items, donating things, and reorganizing this house so I don't feel like I live in a crowded thrift store! So you see, something has to give and Etsy is taking the cut. I will only be using Etsy to sell my fabric stash off as I go through it.

We also took our annual ski trip back "home" in Colorado and every time we go back there it just breaks my heart that we aren't raising our kids in the lifestyle we love so much... hiking, skiing/boarding, snowshoeing, climbing, golfing, biking, rafting, backpacking, camping. Plus the weather is beautiful, the scenery is beautiful, the architecture is beautiful, people are athletic and healthy and so friendly, and they enjoy the outdoors all year round. [We need to get back there!] I guess I'm just not a big city girl.

Oh! And Parker was in another school play - man! I love watching these! They're so funny!

(Parker is all the way to the right)

So bye-bye bittersweet February! Here's to making it through that rough 1st year with a baby, getting back to nature, and re-energizing my creativity with some personal projects which of course I will document here on the blog!

XOXO!

Fundraising with Quilts

Why not do a fundraiser for your school with a quilting project, I say? I think it's genius!

I have a friend who's children attend a Catholic school and they do a fundraiser every spring where they auction off something that the children helped create. She had this amazing idea to do quilts with fabric Linocut* prints that the kids created - one with an ocean theme, the other with a bird theme.

Birdie Quilt - close up of Linocut

Ocean Quilt - close up of Linocut

She dusted off her sewing machine and made the quilt tops all by herself even though she had to do an internet search on how to thread her machine (that's how long it has been since she has sewn!). I think she did a darn tootin' amazing job as a novice quilter, don't you?

I was her little helper bee so I quilted and bound the edges for her to complete her creations. I am so proud of what she has done that I had to write a post about it! AND I thought that this is such a neat way to teach kids a new art technique AND raise funds for the school. Brava!

Ocean Quilt - loop-dee-doo (as I call it) quilting method, dowel rod pockets in upper corners on the back for hanging

Birdy Quilt - puzzle piece (as I call it) quilting method, also with dowel rod pockets in the upper corners on the back for hanging

Hopefully these very awesome quilts will bring in some much needed funds for her school.

     *[ART 101: A quick explanation of Linocut prints...
     Lino printing is a form of fine art printmaking where an image is carved into a piece of lino (aka: linoleum. Yes, as in the floor covering). The lino is then inked, a piece of fabric (or paper) is placed over the lino, and pressure is then applied with a roller by hand to transfer the ink to the fabric (can also be done through a printing press). The result, a linocut print. Below is an example done on paper]

Artwork by Carl Eugen Keel

How do you keep your house tidy?

Okay, this is totally not related to creativeness. Or maybe it is. But I have a question that drives me crazy every day and I'm wondering if you have an answer to it: How on earth do people keep their houses in order 24/7?

I only have 2 kids and this is how my house looks 95% of the time and it makes my skin crawl. I can't stand it! I want to light a match and blow it up sometimes:

Before kids? Organized. After kids? Hoarders.

I'm constantly picking up the house, doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, driving to and from school, running errands, making food, feeding and dressing little people, etc. I can barely squeeze in 2 showers a week (eh, TMI?) and some sewing. I can barely answer an email or even a text... or even write a blog post... or keep the house picked up in between it all!

So how on earth do you keep the house always tidy? Do you stay up till midnight every night organizing? I'm embarrassed to have people over because it's just a bomb all the time. Do you never sit down and constantly run around putting things where they belong?

I know we've outgrown our house - I've run out of creative places to stash toys (under the ottoman, in baskets everywhere, behind chairs, in the basement), the kitchen table is covered in stuff, I can barely close some of our kitchen cupboards because they're so full, there's barely enough room for the clothes to be put away in dressers, we don't have a linen closet - so all of the towels sit in stacks. Coat closet? overflowing. Bins for shoes? overflowing. basement stairs? stacks of stuff. It's horrible, horrible, horrible. But guess what? My sewing space? Organized. Honestly. It really is.

I either have too much stuff or not enough space, or maybe a combo of both. But I have to make it work somehow!

Most of my friend's houses? Tidy. HOW?      Mine? Not Tidy. What am I doing wrong?

It baffles me. I just. Can't. Figure. It. Out!!!!

Help! Any tips or tricks or ideas? ... and thanks in advance for any advice you have ;o)

How to Add Trim to a Lampshade

...or this post should be titled, "How to Fix Your Kid's Janky Lampshade".

Parker's lampshade totally came apart and hula-hooped to the ground in pieces. At first I thought I'd just buy a new one. But then I thought, "I can totally fix this. I'll show YOU, why you... you little... darn Mr. Janky Lampshade!"

What you need:

•  Lampshade
•  fun quilting fabric
•  needle and thread to match
•  hot glue gun
• double stick tape (optional)

1. Hot glue the top and bottom lampshade rings back onto the gol-dang lampshade.

2. Make double fold 1" bias tape out of fun quilting fabric (no cheating - actually make it on the bias, people!). You can do this with your iron & ironing board, or use the fancy Simplicity Bias Tape maker machine-thing (pictured below). Or buy double fold bias tape at the fabric store. Dena Made It has an excellent tutorial here on how to make your own: Understanding Bias Tape.

2. Cut it to size around the top and bottom with a diagonal cut on the edges (pictured above). The diagonal edges should overlap on the same angle about 3/4" on top of each other to close off the edge.

3. Hand stitch the bias tape around the top and bottom, making sure you catch the front and back edges on each stitch. I used hair clips to hold the bias tape in place as I went along. (Be patient, it takes a while to poke that needle through the lampshade over and over, but you can do it!)

4. I used double-sided sticky tape to hold the edges in place when I was done, and then stitched the overlapped diagonal edges together. I left the edges raw since it won't be fiddled with much.

5. Put the darn thing back on the lamp where it belongs and admire your craftiness while giving the lampshade the finger
for falling apart in the first place. Then watch your kid smile because you made his lampshade "fancy"!

Tah-dah! Done and DONE! Take THAT, Mr. Janky Lampshade! Ska-dooosh!

Traveling

So it's been 2 months since I've posted anything. Things got nuts around the holidays: FL for Thanksgiving, the flu, funeral in MN, Christmas insanity (16 batches of fudge, 6 batches of toffee for gifts), another cold, new years... and then here we are.

My immediate family: hubby Eric holding Paige; me and my sister, Kelly; Parker below; and my parents, Nancy & Tom

For those who don't know me well: I like to travel and I travel often. I thought my trips would slow down when I had kids, but instead, the content of the trip has changed from hitting up wine bars to hitting up children's museums.

Part of the reason for all of this traveling is that my Dad was in the Navy and we moved every 3-4 years... so I never have had a hometown - everywhere we lived was considered temporary. The other reason is that we're not from around these here parts. I'm not a native Chicagoan. I'm not a native anything, actually. But because I moved so much, my friends are all over: California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Georgia, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania. Therefore, I always have a trip in the works.

While I was pregnant with Paige, we went to Alaska, the Adirondacks, Minnesota, Florida, Vegas, and Wisconsin. Since she's been born, we did a 2-day road trip to NC for a week's vacation and a road trip to northern MN for a week's vacation... and Orlando... and Sanibel... and MN again!

I'm not telling you all this to say, "nee-ner, nee-ner! look at me! I'm a fancy pants travelin' machine!" I'm telling you this because that's why I haven't been updating my blog or my Etsy shop as much lately. I don't have a nanny, I don't have a bunch of family members nearby to help, I don't have a fenced in yard where I can send Parker off to play in, and my husband works 7 days a week, often times not coming home until 9 or 10 pm. So not only is it me and the kids 24/7, but I also do everything else for our house and family, AND try to squeeze in sewing if I can. In between all the travel of course.

For the past year I've felt very guilty about not blogging often and most of my Etsy orders have been custom work rather than sales from what I have in the shop. But being a present and involved mother and wife are #1 priority right now. Parenting is the most important and most difficult job I've ever had. Everything else fits in when it fits in, and that's okay - it has taken me a year to accept and be okay with that.

Next trip? Keystone, Colorado for our annual ski/board vacation. That is, until we move back there and can go every weekend like we used to! I keep pushing for the move... but the husband still isn't buying it. One can dream, though! The goal is to get all of the people in the above picture living in Colorado at the same time  so we can live happily ever after. Fingers crossed!