One Down, Lots To Go

Well, I am done with one item that I can take to the bazaar in a couple of weeks.

It's not perfect (they rarely are), but I think it turned out pretty well. Those puppies are just so darned cute!

Puppy Progress

I am finally getting somewhere further than thinking about it with a sewing project...

I love these guys! And they are pretty easy, too.

Will I Ever Sew Again?

I started getting ready to make a quilt on Friday night when everyone was gone, but I am beginning to fear I will never sew again. For some reason I just have not had time to do it lately and I really miss it. I also need to get some done because I am doing a bazaar in November with my friend Sally.

everything is ready to go...

I made this quilt while we were in Rolette.

I am going to try to make another one for the bazaar.

It's one of my favorite quilts!

Last week I went to JoAnn's for their Columbus Day sale ( I won't do that again) and got some stuff that I needed, and some that I didn't. I picked up 4 patterns on sale for 99 cents each. Some of them were regularly over $15 each!

Well, we'll see what happens now that the weather is getting cooler...

Girls' Nite Out- Makin Soap

We had a girls' night at our church on Friday night and we made soaps. My friend Kate came up to help us make castille soap (olive oil) in the crockpot and I bought some melt-and-pour glycerin soaps from Michaels.

The olive oil soap turned out lovely! We made a batch of plain soap and a batch of lemongrass. By the way, lemongrass is a wonderful fragrance and an inexpensive essential oil.

Unfortunately, the melt-and-pour was a disaster! I chose the fancier Natural olive oil and goat milk bases rather than the basic ones. They even had a suspension formula so that your additives wouldn't all sink to the bottom of your soaps. Well, they could not have sunk to the bottom because the soap set up before you even had them added.

Although it didn't go as planned, we still had a great time! But it also meant I didn't take any pictures. :o(

But here is a picture of the soap that you SHOULD NOT buy if you want to try making soaps.

Here are some soaps that I made in the past that turned out great!

melt and pour

Castille soaps

Makin' Cards In The Kitchen

Today I went to my friend Sally's to make cards. It was fun to get to visit with her again (we've both had a crazy summer), see all her cool stuff, enjoy a nice lunch, and make some cute cards. I introduced her to SplitcoastStampers (check them out if you like to stamp) and she let me use her crop-a-dile (see "Leingangs Recommend").

I made 15 cards today, but better yet, I had a fun day with a great friend! Thanks again Sally! Oh, and thank your hubby for being so patient with our mess. :o)

this is my favorite one, I love the turquoise and orange together

Hooded Towel Tutorial

Here is how to make a hooded towel in about 30 easy, yet general, steps. LOL

If you have any questions or need more details, just ask.

1. First cut out strips of fabric to cover the trim on either end of the towel to needed length and desired width. The sides with the fabric trim will be the "front" of the towel.

2. Iron down a hem on all sides of the fabric strip. 1/2" - 3/4"

3. Pin and sew to the front of the towel. Repeat on other side, if desired.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the washcloth "hood".

5. Cut out a piece of coordinating flannel for the hood lining.

6. Pin hood to the flannel on 3 sides, right sides together.

7. Sew the flannel to the 3 sides of the hood.

8. Trim off the excess flannel from around the hood.

9. Turn hood inside out.

10. Fold right sides of washcloth together (flannel facing out) and sew together on short end, leaving the open end at the bottom.

11. Turn hood inside out.

12. Find the center of the long side of the towel and mark with a pin on the back side.

13. Match the center of the hood to the center of the towel and pin together with the open end of the hood lined up with the edge of the towel. (as seen in picture below)

14. Sew hood to towel using a 1/4" seam allowance.

15. Trim any excess lining flannel from between the hood and towel and then sew the seam together to finish.

15. Now you're done and it only took half the steps I thought it would. I guess it seems like more when you're making them. :o)

Hooded Towels

I have gotten back into the crafting mood again after a rather lengthy hiatus. My craft money envelope is empty, so I decided I'd better get back into making things for our etsy store. Since it's still swimming season, I thought I would try my hand at selling some hooded bath towels that are perfect for either the bath or swimming.

Here is the one I made last night...

And here is the one I made today...

If you are curious how they are made, you can check out my "hooded towel tutorial" post, or you can just go to our etsy store and purchase one for your favorite little kid. (they are a great deal and made with lots of love!)