A Sprinkle of Stitches

I'm notoriously bad for not having a protective cover on my phone. My biggest excuse is that I've just never found one that I liked enough to cough up the cash for. Until I came across these awesome cross stitch phone covers. I found mine on Amazon for a mere $8 and am extremely pleased.

And not only did it come with the eco-friendly silicone case, but it included some embroidery thread, a needle, and a little pattern booklet.

But like a total craft nerd I had to find myself a unique pattern to stitch up on my phone case. So I did a little online search for vintage cross stitch patterns, and fell in love with the Art Nouveau patterns on the Antique Pattern Library (and yes, I stayed up way too late looking through them). 

And here's what I came up with. A little different, and far from perfect stitching, but definitely me.

How to you sprinkle your stitches throughout your everyday life?

This Time Last Year

I've been super busy with a project I can't wait to share with you, but it's not quite ready to be revealed yet. So, since my other crafty projects have been put on hold, I thought I'd take the time to look back at what we were up to this time last year. Like I've mentioned before, I like to look back from time to time just to be able to reflect, remember, and appreciate the growth life brings. 

Looking back at my photo library, I found this set from a daytime date my husband and I took to our favorite little Mexican restaurant here in town. My husband brought me here when we were first dating, and it's been a favorite ever since.

I'm one of those people who tends to order the same thing over and over. And I always get a Mexican Coke to go with it. Always. I'm making myself hungry (and thirsty) just looking at these pictures.

And to make it even better, you get a free sopapilla with every meal. We got ours to go this time and didn't get to enjoy the sweet honey drizzled on top, but I think we were trying to make it back before the babysitter had to leave.

We couldn't pass up a stop at the nearby Half Price though (another favorite). We keep our dates pretty simple, but it's nice to have your favorite places to go--especially without kids--it becomes a sort of haven to kick back and relax in, to regroup and reconnect together every once in a while.

What are some of your favorite local spots? What are your memories from this time last year? I definitely see some Mexican food in my future!

Upcycled Fingerless Gloves

We actually had a (kind of) cool day this week and found myself dying to knit up some fingerless gloves from a pattern in the fall issue of Craft Sanity magazine I recently downloaded. Of course it was mid-morning when I got the urge and I was smart enough to realize there was no way I could get away with a new knitting project with the girls up and running. But my hands were still cold, and I remembered an old sweater I had laying around and decided to make my own simpler version. It only took me about thirty minutes (with photo-taking), so if you have an old sweater you could whip some up to warm your hands today!

So, get your sweater. And something to keep your little ones busy for a bit. I put this project together rather hastily so the house was in complete disarray (hence the empty laundry basket).

To keep sewing to a minimum, I decided to use the sleeves, leaving the folded side uncut. Trace around your hand, making sure to leave some room for seam allowance.

Here's how my tracing looked (I used a water-soluble marker).

Carefully cut it out--you can use pins to hold the fabric together if you want.

Before you start sewing, I highly suggest using ball point needles made especially for sewing knits, otherwise your fabric will likely bunch up.

Pin the edges together and sew as close to the edge as possible. And make sure not to close up the finger and thumb holes! You only need to sew the "V" between the thumb and fingers and the outer edge beside the thumb.

You'll get something like this. I snipped off a little extra on the thumb because it was a bit snug.

Before you cut and sew the second one, try the first on for fit and comfort. You may need to trim the seams to keep them from rubbing against your hand.

Now, instead of awkwardly trying to trace your drawing hand, just flip your first glove inside out and trace it on the other sleeve. If you trimmed the seam allowance previously make sure to account for that in tracing the second.

Sew the second one up and there you have it! Some cozy little gloves to keep your hands warm while you go about your day. The pair I made is definitely not high-fashion--you could pretty yours up with a little embellishment or just find a cuter sweater to begin with.

Now go clean up the mess your littles made while you were sewing away!

But, hey, at least your hands are warm! And you still have the rest of your sweater to do some fun things with. Check out these other upcycled sweater ideas:

Upcycled Sweater Cowl Scarf from Ruffles and Stuff

Baby Sweater Blanket from King Soleil

Sweater Pillowcase by Midwestern Sewing Girl

Recycled Sweater Vases by Under the Table and Dreaming

Recycled Legwarmers from A Bit of Sunshine

Any other favorite recycled sweater projects? Hope you're keeping warm (I know I can't really complain down here in spring-like San Antonio).

A Good Day

Sometimes life just hands you a good day. Yesterday we all had an extra day home together, the weather was just right, and so was everyone's mood...

...So we took to the outdoors and soaked in the life growing in our garden...

...and discovered the seeds we had planted oh-so-long-ago, had grown in silence during our oh-so-busy days.

When you take the time to plant the seeds, life will always flourish. Whether it's in the food that grows from them or the family that's nourished in the attempt.

What "seeds" have you seen the fruits of lately?

Knit Baby Socks

I finished the little baby socks I started knitting back in November--hooray, my first pair of socks! I feel like super woman, I can do anything if I can knit a pair of socks!

Granted, they're just tube socks and don't exactly fit my baby, but I made socks!

Never the less, I'm proud of myself for sticking to it and finishing the pair (I talked about all of my unfinished knitting and crochet projects earlier this month). You can find the details for the pattern over on my Ravelry page.

Have you finished up any projects lately? Started any new ones?

Giveaway Winners

Good morning! I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. It was fun hearing how everyone enjoys music with their family, whether it's listening, singing along in the car or bathtub, or even teaching yourselves to play the piano! I never would have considered ourselves musical, either, until I read this book. We listen to and sing songs all the time, and it really is a backdrop to our day. The Nield's book has given me confidence that we can consciously use music to better our days, too. Well, enough of my blabbing and on to the winners! The number generator at random.org chose numbers 3 and 16:

#3: silly eagle books said...

What a great book! I'd love to win. We have a collection of songbooks (picture books with songs in them) that I sing to my girls.

#16: Pea said...

Pea, who is also Pansy, is spreading the word on FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=779172852

Congrats to Vanessa and Pansy! I'll be sending you an email to collect your addresses (or you can email me first at makermama[at]gmail[dot]com).

I'll be having some more craft-centered giveaways in the coming weeks, so be sure to stop back by often! Thanks again to everyone who entered, and I hope to see you all around and get to know you a little better. If you haven't already, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Flickr and keep the crafty conversation going! Have a great weekend!

Vintage Sewing Patterns

One of the good things about friends and family knowing you're a crafter, is that they often think of you when they want to declutter their own stashes. (I'm also a bit of a craft goods hoarder, so I have to be careful with how much I take in.) This week I was fortunate to receive the remnants of one such stash and found a handful of vintage sewing patterns I couldn't resist sharing with you.

All Together Singing in the Kitchen Giveaway!

**GIVEAWAY CLOSED**

 
Today I am excited to host a giveaway of not only one, but two copies of the wonderfully amazing book, All Together Singing in the Kitchen, by Nerissa and Katryna Nields from Roost Books. Roost also published Made to Play! and The Rhythm of Family, two more favorites of mine that you may already love, too.

As you may have guessed, All Together Singing is all about how to become a musical family. And the Nield Sisters, although musicians themselves, are very down to earth when they say you don't have to have any musical experience at all to appreciate music as a family. 

The book begins with a foreword by children's music icon, Dan Zanes, and I was immediately drawn into the transformative power of music. In Zanes' own words:

When we play music with each other and for each other the world begins to look like a different place. Petty cares and fears fall away. Priorities become shaken and realigned, jokes become funnier and there are more of them, food tastes better and more people are willing to help clean up, differences fade away and similarities appear in unexpected ways, and we begin to experience a new sense of life's best possibilities--musically, socially, creatively, and spiritually. Music remains the best deal in town.

Who couldn't use a little more music in their lives?

The Nield Sisters start the book off with simple tips on finding your own singing voice, keeping beat on small percussion instruments, and move all the way through dancing, playing musical games, writing your own family songs, and also include different methods of musical education, learning to play instruments, and creating your own musical family traditions. 

One of my favorite chapters is Everyday Songs. In it, Nerissa and Katryna talk about how they grew up with and used music to get through everyday tasks and emotions, from bath time, to clean-up time, to cheering-up songs and how to choose the perfect lullaby for you and your baby (you're the one who'll be singing it ten thousand times, after all!).

Sprinkled throughout the book are songs (both classic folk and originals) and personal stories of their own childhood and experience in creating music with their children. Katryna and Nerissa are musical mothers, and as such, know just how to inspire parents to make music themselves in the midst of diapers and dishes, as well as how to help you bring out the music that's just waiting to bubble up out of your own little ones.

The book has not only inspired us to create our own musical renditions of songs like Do You Know the Muffin Man? and Row, Row, Row Your Boat (Skyler came up with Do You Know the Cyclops Mama? just this afternoon), but it's also encouraged me to pick up the guitar and try a little music-making myself. I briefly attempted to play the guitar during high school, but never felt as motivated as I do now. The kids love hearing me play (no matter how terrible the player or simple the song), and it's been great to practice with my son who's also learning, and even enjoy a late-night "jam session" with my hubby.

This book will be a long-time inspiration in creating our own family music, and to make it even better, it includes a CD in the back with 30 songs all talked about in the book. You can listen to all the songs here, or purchase your own copy of the book and CD at Roost Books or on Amazon. There is also a wonderful interview with Nerissa and Katryna on the Shambhala website (Shambhala is the publishing house that oversees Roost Books).

A big thanks to Roost Books for their generosity and such an inspiring book!

Two lucky Maker Mama readers will each receive a copy of All Together Singing in the Kitchen!

How to Enter:
Leave a comment telling me how you share music with your family.

Extra Entries: (You must complete the first entry before the extras, and leave a separate comment for each entry.)

• Preview the book on the Roost website and tell me which chapter you'd most like to read.
• Follow Maker Mama publicly through Google Friend Connect (leave a comment if you already follow).
• Leave a comment for following Maker Mama on Facebook.
• Share this post on your Facebook page and leave the link. 
• Follow @makermama on Twitter and tweet this giveaway, leaving a link to your tweet in the comments. 

The giveaway is open worldwide, and only one winner per household. You must complete the first entry in order to enter ("I want to win comments" will not be considered). And be sure to include your email in the comments if it's not on your profile.

Comments will be open until Friday, January 13 at 11:59pm. The winners will be chosen randomly and announced on Saturday. If I don't hear back from the winners within 72 hours I'll choose another.

Good luck!



Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. 

All text and book images
"Excerpted from ALL TOGETHER SINGING IN THE KITCHEN by Nerissa Nields and Katryna Nields, (c) 2011.  Published by arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston.  
www.roostbooks.com."

On Hooks and Needles (Part 2)

Back now for part two of my yarn addiction confessions! Yesterday I shared my unfinished crochet projects and today we're on to knitting. I only started knitting about a year ago (many thanks to my mother-in-law who helped me learn). I think the only thing I've actually completed in that time was a door stop from Debbie Bliss's The Knitter's Year, oh, and a scarf that was too short. 

I really do like knitting. I think it has a cleaner, more classic look than crochet, but I'm still getting used to how much longer it takes--especially when I have to unravel and redo half of my work!

I was fortunate to receive some very generous gift certificates to my favorite local yarn store from my mom and Oma for Christmas, and an awesome new set of knitting needles (I'll share more about them at the end of the post). So it looks like I'll have to get my act together with knitting this year! Here's a closer look at what I've been working on (and neglecting):

First up, legwarmers. For some reason I fell in love with the idea of making myself some legwarmers during the fall. I found this sweet pattern and started right away. Knitting lace was new to me so I made plenty of mistakes along the way. And after I finally got into the gist of things, I realized I probably should have made it bigger seeing how I'm an adult and the pattern was for a child. Yeah. There's definitely a learning curve in being sure to think about all the aspects that go into knitting. 

Next up, socks. A logical progression, right? I found a great book on sock knitting at the library, The Big Book of Socks, and along with a ton of patterns, it explained how to knit socks with circular needles. That sounded a lot more appealing that using a confusing handful of double pointed needles. So I started off on a pair of simple baby-sized tube socks. I finished the first one pretty quickly, but then I messed up in starting the second one and lost momentum. 

Am I starting to sound like a total yarn flake yet? I should add that I didn't buy any new yarn for the socks or legwarmer, which made it less of a deal not finishing them. I do want to finish the other sock though. I'd really like to get the hang of knitting socks, and I think they would make a nice little baby gift.

And saving the best for last, my latest project is a ribbed lace bolero for me. It's a beautifully simple pattern, a rectangle with the sides seamed together to make the sleeves. I have had to unknit my work a number of times, but this time I did buy new yarn for this one, and it hasn't been too difficult fixing my mistakes. I picked out some of Debbie Bliss's Cashmerino Aran #20, which is a light, almost neutral lavendar, and I can't wait to wear it!

I'm working this one on a pair of circulars, too, and it's something I look forward to everyday. I have high hopes of finishing this one and then making two more smaller ones for the girls in time for Easter. I've found with knitting you really do have to plan months in advance if you want to have something done in time for a certain season or occasion. So, we'll see if my ambitions are too high come Spring!

That's it for my knitting projects. But before I finish, I wanted to share this wonderful set of needles I got for Christmas. They're the Knitter's Pride Dreamz Interchangeable Circular set, and I absolutely adore them! It comes with nine pairs of needles and four different cables that you can attach to all of the needles.

The thing that makes them really great is the key used to tighten them. The yarn slides off smoothly, and you can hardly tell the cables are removable. If you're looking for a set of circulars, I highly recommend this one!

So there you have it, my little knitting adventures. Hopefully I'll be sharing some finished projects before the end of the year! What do you have on your needles?

On Hooks and Needles (Part 1)

As many of us are still thinking of New Year's resolutions, the thing that keeps coming to my mind is my chronic yarn addiction. I almost always have more than one project going at a time, and am often guilty of not finishing them, or at least taking a very long time to do so. So, as kind of a New Year's confessional, I thought I'd share my collection of barely started, abandoned, and miraculously recently finished (or almost finished) crochet and knitting projects. There's quite a handful, so I'm breaking it up into two posts. Today I'll share my crochet undertakings: 

I had all intentions of finishing this project, honest. It was going to be a pillow cover for for Eleanor's birthday back in September. The pattern is from Cute Crochet for Tiny Tots. I even succeeded in crocheting a robe for Eleanor from the same book about this time last year.

But I didn't start it early enough. I ended up on a crazy crochet marathon right before her birthday and in the process ended up with extreme wrist and elbow pain which lasted on and off for almost two months (beware how you hold tiny hooks!). Needless to say, it still isn't done...

And here's a ripple stitch blanket I started in December...2009. Ever since stumbling across the blog Attic 24, I've been head over heels for her neat ripple pattern. The only excuse I have for this one is that I don't work on it regularly enough. I always have something else going, and this one gets pushed aside. I have daydreams of snuggling under it's ripple-y goodness one day...

And in the next exhibit you'll see a very short baby legwarmer from a pattern in Linda Permann's most recent book, Little Crochet. After stitching along for a few inches I realized I was screwing it up in the back, and then I wasn't too sure I loved how the colors were turning out, so, yeah, another orphaned project...(although I'm a huge fan of Linda's and it's a fantastic book!)...

Now what do we have here? A finished hat, por moi? Well, almost finished. I just have to weave in the ends. I've been obsessed with making myself a hat (all I have is an old black one with a giant bobble on top). I had a little bit of yarn leftover from my cowl and thought I'd make one from that. I found this pattern and eagerly started it, only to find I didn't have enough yarn. And when I went back to the yarn store for more, of course they didn't have any. So I picked out a different color and pattern, went back for more yarn again, and finally finished it up the other night! Now if only it actually felt like winter here in spring-like San Antonio...

And the pièce de résistance is this sweet little coin purse I whipped up all by my self! Okay, I did find some tips here, but I pretty much made it up as I went.

It's not perfect, and I would definitely tweak it if I had to make it over, but I think it's cute. I sewed in a little lining and just need to attach the clasp top. I would love to work more on designing my own patterns, and this was a fun little first-step in that direction.

So there you have it, a personal confession of my all-over-the-place crochet habit. Stay tuned for part two on knitting. 

How about you? Are you loyal to each project from start to finish, or do you have others hiding in dark corners? What motivates you to finish your own craft projects?