Art Roll-up

Don't you just love free online tutorials? I am always amazed by the generosity and creativity of folks out there who are happy to share patterns and ideas with the world. One such tutorial posted on one of my all-time favorite blogs, Mr. Monkeysuit (I'm so sad it's no more!), is that of the traveling art show. We call it the Art Roll-up around here.


I've seen similar art roll-ups for sale at craft fairs, but always thought to myself, "oh, I can make that!"... and yet I never did. I guess I just didn't want to go through the trouble of figuring out the dimensions necessary to fit in all the goodies inside the pockets. So when I came across this tutorial, I was thrilled.


I love that there's room for a new box of crayons or markers or pencils, stickers, and a little notebook; it's always a thrill to get new art supplies. This particular roll-up was made as a gift for a very special little girl who turned 4 last month. I used some really cute Japanese house fabric I was saving for some project that I now can't recall. And since our little friend loves pink and purple, I decided to use pink grosgrain to keep it secure.


Our little friend is a girl that loves her princesses and anything sparkly, so I thought I'd add some pretty beaded barrettes to the roll-up as a special treat. These are incredibly easy to make; the instructions are from an older Martha Stewart holiday special issue. Will have to dig it up to make some more... Wouldn't they make cute Easter basket treats?

Boy Coins

Right before we went away on our trips back East, I managed to finish this stacked coins quilt for our new nephew. I used the prettiest fabric, which must now be out of print, because I can't find it anymore. The day before we headed out on vacation, it was awfully rainy and overcast, so forgive the awful photos I have today. They're the only ones I managed to take before giving the quilt to its recipient.

I decided to keep it light on the quilting, because I wanted it to be soft and squishy... just right for a baby to do lots of tummy time on it (and because I hadn't mustered up the courage to try free hand quilting yet!). I ended up just quilting about 1/8" to the inside and outside of each stack of coins. It seemed like a great idea: keeping it simple and allowing me to spend the extra time hand-stitching the binding.

In hindsight, though, it really wasn't a good choice for this sort of quilt, with the long and narrow stack of coins. I'll blame my poor choice in my lack of quilting experience. You can see in this bottom picture how, once washed, it just wrinkled up to look a little like little ruffles sewn together. It was soft, which is what I was going for, but I really didn't love how it turned out. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to rip it out and hand-quilt it, but I guess that's alright.

I ended up using some really pretty, dark blue "marbled" fabric for the binding, which I think works well as it frames the quilt. I'm a big fan of really dark binding... and it worked well with the darker blues and purples of the coins.

The backing is, perhaps, my favorite fabric of all the ones I used... Those froggies just melt my heart and make me smile. I only had a yard of it on hand, so I had to piece the backing and ended up adding a strip of deep marbled purple in there. I don't have a picture of it, but I promise it looked good. Since the quilt was about 32"x44", I just barely had any froggy fabric left over. But you better believe I saved even the tiniest of scraps, and am hoping to use some of the larger pieces in an "I Spy" quilt for the Monkey.

Despite the awful quilting, I was really happy with the baby quilt and especially happy to have made something for our newest family member. Another bonus? All fabric used was from my stash!

Painting

I find it somewhat ironic that almost immediately after writing my last post, the weather changed in our corner of the world. It went from the unseasonal, yet gorgeous, Spring weather we'd been enjoying back to our typical grey, rainy days. And cold, very cold (well, after 65 degrees, 40 feels very cold!). And so we're finding ourselves spending more time indoors, entertaining ourselves.

There's lots of time pretending to cook or clean or "driving" his cars. There's also lots of time reading and lots of time dancing. But lately there's also been lots of time painting. We got Baby M finger paints for Christmas, but he had absolutely no interest in getting his little fingers dirty at that time. Little by little, he's been getting more and more interested in the paint, though.

He's still not a fan of getting his fingers dirty (thus the paintbrushes). But now that he knows his colors, he loves to request each one by name as the little cups get a little squirt of color in each. Always the little helper, he's keen on opening the bottles to help Mama squeeze out just the right amount. I always worry he might burst with excitement if I take just a little too long getting everything ready.

And this apron? It has made a fun little addition to our painting routine. The Monkey now knows to put on his apron before we can paint, and he helpfully hangs it up after he's done. It came together very quickly using Meg's tutorial found here. He and I love it so much, in fact, we might have to make a couple more for each of our messy indoor activities!

Last hat of the season

We have been having some really warm, mild weather around here. So mild, in fact, that our trees are in full bloom and looking gorgeous. I guess that means no more hat knitting for me (so sad!).


Before the weather got this warm, though, I did manage to squeeze in one last hat for Baby M. No wool this time, which is good, so it can be his spring hat. I saw this lovely hat on the Tot Toppers blog (she's SO talented!), and I had to giggle because I had the exact yarn in my stash. I'd purchased it shortly after my Mom left after Thanksgiving, because I wanted to make a hat for Baby M that matched his new fleece from his Biti. I hadn't thought of what pattern to use for his hat, though, and it sat untouched until January.


Once January rolled around and I realized he would soon outgrow his orange and gray fleece, I knew I had to get cracking. And I immediately thought of the Tot Toppers hat. I loved the pom-pom. the predominance of the gray, and the simplicity of the Fair Isle pattern. But I knew that I didn't want ear flaps, as this was to be a Spring hat. So I kind of made up a pattern as I went along, using Amanda Keeys' book as inspiration (best purchase EVER! I've used it so much!).



I totally love how it turned out, and so does Baby M. Every time we go out now, he requests his "bam-bam" hat, even if he's not wearing his orange and grey fleece.

February Project: Finished just in time!

February has been full of travel, family time, and togetherness, all things that help to revitalize one's soul. Our little family traveled to other coast to visit some very loved family members and to meet the newest addition to the clan. He's just precious, and I cannot believe how tiny he is. How quickly one forgets how tiny babies are when they are first born! Baby M and I continued our trip further south, to visit even more family members and help him connect with a part of his heritage I hope he never loses. It was such a wonderful time for all, but it went by much too fast.


We are now back home, trying to get back into our old routine and trying desperately to get Baby M back into the right time zone. I've also been working hard to complete February's project: the bunny from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Toys. This was my first time knitting a toy, and I was surprised at how quickly it came together. I did most of the knitting while on our trip, as we enjoyed our relatives' company, sipping some good coffee, and watching the Olympics on tv. Much to my surprise, it didn't take more than 3 or 4 days to have the bulk of this little guy knit up.


A dear friend is expecting her 2nd child this Spring, and Bunny will be a gift to the expectant Mom at her shower in a few weeks. Because I wanted to use yarn I already had in my stash and because I wanted it to be washable, I used Reynolds Play Time yarn (1.75 skeins of the white and just a touch of the pink), which is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. It's got a nice feel to it, but in the future, I might use something softer (especially for babies!).


I didn't even consider keeping Bunny for Baby M, since he is into all things boy: trucks, dirt, balls, dirt, trains, dirt, dinosaurs, dirt... oh, and did I mention dirt? While I was cleaning the living room this morning, he found Bunny, and wouldn't give him up until I promised to make one for him. His response? "Bue. Bunny. Pease." I just melt when he requests Mamma-made anything, especially when it's followed by a please.

Quilt in progress

Last summer, when Baby M was a newborn, I ordered a pack of charm squares from the Boy Oh Boy line (cool blog post about the design process here) hoping to make him his first baby quilt. The second I saw this fabric line, I immediately fell in love with the colors and the artwork, and was especially happy to see the various shades of blues, greens, and purples included in the line. Sadly, I only got as far as cutting the squares in half, as my plan was to make a stacked coin quilt for him. Then the fabric sat, untouched but not forgotten, in my pile of WIPs.

Now this fabric just doesn't seem at all right for a little guy who likes trucks, trains, planes, and dinosaurs, so rather than let it sit untouched much longer, I thought I would use it to craft a gift for our new nephew. It makes me so very happy to know that another soft, cuddly newborn boy will get to do tummy time on this fabric that was so lovingly chosen for a project that was never completed!

The quilt came together surprisingly quickly, and now I've got a completed quilt top I hope to baste, quilt, and bind in the next few days (we leave at the end of the week to meet the little guy!). I tried my best to get a good shot of the completed quilt top, but Baby M decided it was the perfect place to sit and read a book, so I had to settle for this shot. Not the best, but such a perfect snapshot of our lives right now, so I've got to laugh. I'm off to baste... wish me luck!

Still Bending-the-Rules

Ok, so I know that I should be picking my February project, but I've been a little distracted. I haven't yet started on my second set of coasters, but I did make our little guy a few placemats from Bend-the-Rules Sewing in hopes that having a more attractive place at the table would lead to a more open mind regarding food. So far it hasn't worked so well. But isn't it cute?

I made 4 placemats, all different, using some super adorable flannel I had lying around. This is probably his favorite ("Boo Vroom!"), but I'm hoping he'll grow to love the chinese food boxes just as well. Maybe if I keep hinting there's noodles in the boxes? :)

I love how absorbent flannel is (didn't need a middle flannel layer), but it sure is stretchy. It's either that or I'm pulling at the fabric as I sew... not sure. See how the edge kind of curls? He doesn't seem to notice, though, so I guess it's ok.