Design Sponge does it again!!!
My favs: personalized mug set, vintage book cord caddy, knitting needle organizer, oh, so many lovely things…it’s not too late to pick up those scissors and or thread!
http://www.designsponge.com/2011/11/diy-best-of-handmade-gifts.html
My niece, Emma, came to visit recently and she is my go-to gal for paper crafts. She has so many origami kits! This time, she brought a kirigami kit so we could add some cutting into the crafting mix.
She taught me to make these large snowflakes out of six attached petals. Fun!
The Paper Place (formerly the Japanese Paper Place) has an amazing contest on right now…I’m entering, so like, don’t enter, but how can you resist?!?
While Luke and Tim were busy making monsters (yup, I’ll post those, too), I went to work on pages for this little book. It’s still missing a cover, but it’s filled with textures, tabs, flaps, and pockets so there should be enough fun for a while. It was fun to make, and easy, too, even though I figured things out as I went along.
Just so you know…Stay-at-home Papa has discovered the sewing machine and there are many monsters coming our way!
When I was visiting Kate and Tim in Winnipeg, we happened upon a great little knitting shop (Wolseley Wool) where design-minded Tim and I set about choosing some good colour combos for projects.
This yarn was Tim’s choice, the colours, too and we wanted to design a hat for baby Ruthie (who was sleeping for the whole shopping trip). He sketched out a design and I made it happen. Here is the result!
Unfortunately it’s too small for RJ, but Bear loves it!!
Pattern notes to be added soon…for a good version!
Ever heard of Raincoast Crisps? They’re really good, but also cost, like, $7 for fifteen or something.
THESE are just as good – maybe even better, and are SO EASY to make! I do two batches each weekend, put them in the freezer after the first cooking stage and cut them right from the freezer on the day of eating. mmmmmmm!!
My mom found this recipe on Cookstock. After a few modifications, here’s how I’ve come to make these crackers:
Rosemary Raisin Walnut Crackers
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dried fruit (cherry raisins and apricots are my favs)
1/2 cup nuts (walnuts, sliced almonds, chopped almonds)
1/2 cup seeds (poppy seeds, pumpkin, sunflower, honey-coated sunflower seeds)
1 Tablespoon flax seeds or chia seeds
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced or 2tsp dried
3/4 cup yogurt
1 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon molasses, unsulphured
1 teaspoon baking soda (scant)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Mix first 7 dry ingredients in large bowl.
In measuring cup, mix yogurt honey, brown sugar, molasses, baking soda, and salt.
Combine wet into dry ingredients.
Pour batter into two mini loaf pans or freeform batter into two logs on a baking sheet (use parchment paper).
Bake @350°F for 35 minutes.
Cool, wrap, and store in the freezer at least overnight.
Without defrosting, slice very thinly, about 1/8-inch.
Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment, sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.
Oven dry @225°F for about 1 hour.
Turn off oven and leave to dry and cool; store airtight.
We’ve stumbled upon a bird theme in Ruthie’s room…starting from little birds that Luke bought from Moss before she was even born and was added to by Grandmere and Grandpa who brought a birdie mirror to greet the hours-old Ruth at home. Since then we’ve collected cards, paper, a paper bird from Stratford and a glass one from Winnipeg and even some green tin ones from the Yukon! What a lucky girl.
What we have pictures of here are the birdie name tag we got at a new fav store, Little Peeps on Queen St. East and a RUTHIE sign designed by Lauren Tennant. The sign shows the letters of RJ’s name ‘hidden’ in bird-inspires settings.
I was thinking about this blog (yes, yes, and not posting much, I know…) and so did a tour of my home with the camera to capture all the handmade goodness that is part of our everyday lift. Pretty satisfying and special to notice things that are in use and to think of the time put in either by myself or someone dear who has created each item.
First on the agenda: The Country Bride Wedding Quilt
This was created by my grandmother, Jean Taylor and quilted by the team of women – The Thrifty Quilters – from our home church, St. James Presbyterian near Belmont, Ontario. I received this on my wedding day, a warm, rainy day in August 2007. It wouldn`t be right to say that Grandma wasn`t there…I think, as my Aunt Jessie said, that it was Grandma who nudged the heavens into raining just for the 45 minutes that the ceremony lasted so that we`d move indoors to St. James church to be married in the very spot that another Jessie Taylor said her vows decades before. I love the freshness of the colours and the white-on-white stitching of this. I also love that there`s another one just like it waiting in the attic of our farmhouse for my sister on her special day.
Our baby girl, Ruth Jeanetta, is named for her great grandmothers: Ruth Cleminshaw and Nancy Jeanetta “Jean” Taylor. These little, tiny, baby leg warmer/socks are knit to match a pair that GG (Great Grandma Ruth) has.
I just used the pattern stitch from Kumara Bed Socks (ravelry link), with some ribbing at each end. So cute and we can still see her litle toes!
Okay, so this will be the first of many, many baby-related posts…because, well, when you’ve got a baby as cute as I have, you’ll have to make things for her…and her room…and just because…so bear with me.
This post is in the category: Jessi Linn’s Friends Do Making. At a beautifully chill baby shower my girl friends threw for me in January (see, lots of catching up to do!) the “game” portion of the afternoon was a craft-as-you-will card making project. The organizers provided cards, magazines, and trimmings and guests were to create letter cards to make a set for my baby girl.
In the words of my deliciously blunt and temporarily understated friend Jess, “I thought this idea was going to bomb, but actually it was really great and people had a lot of fun.” And the cards are so lovely!
Thanks, ladies!!
This is the cutest thing!
The Aviatrix cap knit from 100% Organic Cotton in a gender-neutral green. Super soft and I can’t wait to put this on a little head! You can get the free pattern here on JustJussi.com.
I’ve been loving my Handmade Beginnings sewing book by Ana Maria Horner.
One of the first things I made (honestly, I’m surprised I finished this even though the piecing of squares wasn’t so time-consuming as I’d first suspected) was this Sleep Sack! Check out these others from the flickr pool.
Whew!
Scarf for Mom;
Pink Sophisticate scarf + hat set for Sus;
Headgear for Mer;
Hat with flaps for Andrew;
Wintery Blue mitts + headband set for Tara;
Fabric Gift bags for the girls;
and I BOUGHT mittens for Luke.
So much making, but I didn’t take pictures because I wanted things to be a surprise, then in the wonders of gift-giving, I forgot to get photos with the lucky recipients! I’ll have to go on a family photo search….
This one was whipped up over a weekend at Sandra and Pete’s house, in the midst of second-trimester energy. It’s the same softie cotton as the Aviatrix Helmet I made…and I’ve got some orange of this to do something with as well…maybe a tunic or something? What can I make with one skein?
This hat is sadly no more. I had been wanting to try the Shroom hat pattern (available for free from knitty.com) and had brought home this very, very, very nice yarn from Knitomatic. BUT it was too thick to be a slouchy hat. Something else must be made from this yarn!!
Yarn: Malabrigo Rasta in a super-bulky weight
I couldn’t resist getting this bright print on sale from the Fabricland. Matching it with this pink (so it’s totally reversible) was fun and the thing I tired for the border seems to have worked. I just cut a square of the pink larger than the print square and just folded, pressed, and sewed to hide all rough edges. Fun!
This is now in the sunroom, which is almost exclusively the tea and tutor room. Lots of math to be done on this tablecloth!
I want, I want, I want to make these mittens, but I just can’t find the right combination of things to make them great. I’ve honestly started making this pattern about 5 times. Sigh.
Pattern: Chevalier available on Ravelry or on the Made by Me Myself website
It’s been so fun playing with the Jellyroll of Robert Kaufman fabric. 42 different colours of 2.5″ strips. SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. Here are some (terrible photos of) combinations I’ve thought about…
These reversible pants are made using the oh-so-cute pattern from Anna Maria Horner’s Sewing for Baby book. I’ve now put in the elastic and am so excited for when baby can put these on and crawl around!!
Fabric is a combination of Lizzy House’s Castle Peeps and some Monaluna red patterny stuff. Look for more from this fabric order!
I’ve been making and making…quilts, sleep sacks, the cutest little pants…but we can’t get the photos off of our card!!!
Oh, soon, soon!!! fingers crossed!
Oh the possibilities!!!!
Thinking about quilts today…I’ve got a small one on the go, and some small quilted placemats, but maybe, someday, I can go for the real deal…morning browsing on Etsy came up with this bundle from the Freebird Collection by Momo for Moda Fabrics
Eggs in Melon
Butterflies in Daffodil
Ovals in Melon
Balls in Ivory
Leaves in Melon
I have been searching and searching for something to do with this Rehue Multy yarn…and decided upon a hat. Great since the yarn is light, very warm, and so luscious to work with.
I’ve lost the pattern for this one, but will search it out!
Anyway, I got tired of knitting this as a hat so, just cast off and voila! I have this fabulous band that is warm on the ears but doesn’t crush a ponytail or lots of curls. Wonderful!
Following in my tradition of making only one of everything, here is a single mitt. Made from Manos del Uraguay yarn, I’ve forgotten which pattern I used for this…need to find it before I continue. This mitten is perfect for my long fingers and is quite tight-fitting. Lovely! If only there was another one…maybe by the time fall rolls around I’ll have something!
This was made from the Charlie bag So lovely and cute. It’s a going away present for my dear friend Kate. She’s moving to Winnipeg and we’ll miss her so!
(fabric, both, from Ikea)
Oh, I am so happy with this!
It was a bit of an invention, but I found something to use my applique bit…so lovely! The brown bit of fabric is from some old pants I gave up to the cause…There is a pocket inside perfect size for some notes and my cell phone. Inside fabric is Amy Butler Martini.
This was so easy to make and has brought me so much joy! Strip of fabric sewn together then turned inside out, the ends were turned in, each sewn together nice-like and that was that!
Hooray!
Here I am, not making anything, but enjoying the garden that Luke has been making with his school. It’s been three years now, working on the school garden and after this year’s Earth Day, it looks great! Ahhhhhh!
As part of a gift for Sandra’s birthday we got her some delicious loose leaf tea from The Tea Emporium on the Danforth and got her some tea to put into this little bag.
Based on an ithinksew design, I made this little guy. Embellishment fabric used was from Ikea, the rest was quilting cotton.
My first attempt at a wallet. I’m not sure if there was something wrong with the pattern or with me, but the pockets seem too shallow to hold the cards securely…I’ll keep working, though and for now, this is a nice little first attempt!
The good news, this pattern is free from VeryPurplePerson.com, so y’all can try it and let me know my mistake!
I’ve had these for a long time and love how soft they are, how great for around the house, and the colourway!
I finally finished these with an improvised design. Pattern to come, but I HAD to share this picture. Love, love, love these!
I made this in hopes of doing some sort of applique project…haven’t found the perfect home for it yet, so it’s sitting on my wall…any ideas?
My sister came over a couple of weekends ago and we filled some time creating a bag similar to one I already had that was much worse for wear. Using fabric left over from the curtains – there’s so much more, too! – we cut out pieces for this bag and sewed it up. Not bad for a first attempt!
I love the combination of the lining fabric and the polka-dot exterior!
It’s about time that we covered up a bit…all the late night computering has been a neighbourhood event. But no more! We’ll shed a bit less light into the night since I whipped up this curtain! I like how the sunlight glows behind the white dots!
We have a new baby in our extended family! And to welcome baby Zack into the world, we made some cupcakes to take to the Easter celebration. Using Karen Richardson’s (sometimes annoyingly too” adorable”) book, Hello Cupcake, we had a few rough starts before getting the hang of the decorating. mmmmm!
I didn’t make this delicious fresh salad, Luke did at my mom’s , and boy oh boy it’s good and easy, too!
{My MOM made this salad when we came to visit and Luke took note. Thanks Mom, for posting the recipe!!}
I was drawn to this too, too cute pattern I came across on Etsy and so started working on this Princess and the Pea design by kloin. It takes a long time! but is good tv work, and nice for spring. Now what the heck do I do with this sort of thing?
