Hooded Towels {and some kid-free hangout time}

So I have a BFF, a "bestie" if you will, Jess.  We met in college when we were the wise old age of 19 and since then have acquired college degrees, husbands, careers, a few kids, mortgages, responsibilities I didn't even know existed, and all the other crap that goes along with becoming an adult. Needless to say, our care-free days of getting a Starbucks, doing a little shopping, and bar hopping most nights of the week are long gone. Now we have to plan... WAY in advance... to get any sort of kid-free/husband-free girl-time fit into our lives. (Can I get an amen?) One such Saturday we decided to use our rare hangout time to sew. (Yes, I would have balked at this in the college days and called us lame... it's still a little lame... but we had a good time, don't judge.)


Jess wanted to make some hooded towels since her little man was in the too big for infant towels, a little to small for big people towels phase. I loaded up the car with all my sewing crap and headed over.  This is the tutorial we followed. To make one hooded towel you need a bath towel, half of a hand towel, and an hour or so.  Any embellishing or lining is up to you.


First step... gather supplies... for us, this included coffee. The addition of Kahlua is optional. (Note: The estimation that this towel can be completed in an hour or so assumes you are sober).

Next, read tutorial and bitch about work.

I worked on my Summer Beach Quilt (yep, still working) and bitched about work.  I think this is the 3rd time I've re-mentioned that quilt in a blog post since I started it.  There may be some rule about procrastination posting I am breaking. Maybe I should just finish it already.

Jess' son is "the third"... you know, the one after junior.  So she added a Roman numeral "3" to his towel by cutting out strips of coordinating fabric, ironing under, and sewing on.

One fun afternoon while the husbands took all 3 kids to the mall (why the mall?) we got one towel done. Well, Jess got one towel done. I was there for support and coffee. With less gossip, you could easily finish a few towels.

When the crazies got back, we made the kid try it on... and walk across the yard.

Until he tried to rip it off.

And then make a break for the lake.

Enjoy your "hangout" time!

Let's be friends!

Quilt Update

In the world of blogging, I'm small peanuts. After all, this is not my job, just a hobby and I do it because I like doing it.  "It" meaning both sewing (a little crafting) and blogging.  I enjoy reading other sewing blogs and getting ideas from them, so I thought maybe somebody might like to get some ideas from me... the point of blogging, right? I don't know why it still surprises me when I find that people are using my blog to make their own creations. But it does!

Reading the comments on Pinterest about things I've sewn could eat up several hours for me. Seriously addicting.  My husband says, isn't it weird that you and our kids are all over the internet for people to comment on? Maybe. But so far it's been a positive and encouraging experience. Could my kid's image be on a billboard in some foreign country selling something sleazy? Maybe. However, 99.9% of the feedback I've seen has been positive and seemingly helpful to fellow at-home sewers. Which brings me to the point of this post...


Remember the quilt I made for my nephew Levi?

Apparently it was pretty popular in blog-land and inspired a few to try it. Awesomeness!


I found Kelly on QuiltingBoard.com.  Check out her blocks!  Love these fabrics and everything looks so crisp. Last I asked, she was 22 blocks in. Can't wait to see the final product.

And then Michele emailed me her finished quilt.  She made this for her aunt's 80th birthday and hand quilted the whole thing! Love green and pink together and the green binding. Perfect meaningful gift for a person who has everything.

Thanks ladies for showing me your stuff and great job!  You actually inspired me to get going on my Summer Beach Quilt.  Yep, that one.  It's still in the works (and taking up a good chunk of my dining room table). Maybe it will inspire a few more.

Let's be friends!

Entry Table Makeover

So I'm kind of in a house funk. Ever been there?  We've lived in this house for 7 years and out grew it about 3 years ago (understatement).  We've been ready to move for a long time and it finally looks like that dream may be within reach by next year (we'll see). Because I am over this house and already planning my non-existent dream house of the future, I'm not excited about putting any money into current house projects.  That said, my foyer was drab and dark and bugging me. I had $20 bucks and 1 nap time. Let's get crafty.


Here's what I started with. A cute little foyer table from Target my parents bought me as a house warming gift when I bought my first tiny house way back when. The knobs are already removed here.

The frames (from IKEA) and pictures were already there. Well, not already there as in, there when we moved in. Those are my kids, I put the frames there. But I put them there a few years ago, before the great house funk of 2011 started. Glad we're clear. (That baseboard could use a touch up, eh?)

I took the table outside (on the coldest day of the year I might add... we live in Florida, it wasn't that cold... but still, I had to wear a jacket).

Sanded the whole thing with fine grit sandpaper. (I did put a mask on shortly after this)

Then it looked like this.

After the sanding, I wiped all of the dust off and got some paint. Gloss... oooohh, shiny.

Then I gave it a light coat all over.

And then the top did this...

Ummm, Houston, we have a problem.  The legs and sides were fine... the top went all crackly on me.  The only thing I can think of is that I clean the top often with a furniture spray... and not the sides or legs.  Maybe there was a lot of residue left on the top and I should have sanded more? Hmmm, what to do?

Get coffee.  Helps with the thinking.  I decided to let crackle-tastic coat 1 dry, then re-sand the top before applying coat 2.

I did that, and after 3 coats, it still looks like this.  I've decided to name it the "rustic finish" and call it a day. :)


The colorful frames are from TJ Maxx clearance (I think they were $5 and $6), I had the lamp (which I think originally was from Home Depot), the vase was an anniversary gift, and most of the branches are from my yard. So for less than $20, I revamped my sad foyer... even if it is a little more "rustic" than I planned.

Let's be friends!

Valentine's Day Cards for School Friends

Happy Valentine's Day!


After 30 takes and 2 trips to CVS, I made it (errr, them) in time. The kids will have Valentine's to give out to their friends today at day care.  I'd love to take credit for this super cute idea, but I found it on Pinterest. When I first saw it I thought, "easy, I can do that".  Then I tried to take their pictures.  Not easy.

First, you have to get the kid to look at you and smile (challenging enough and most of the time you look like an idiot... it's all good... other parents understand).  Next, you have to make sure their hand is far enough away from their face so the lollypop won't be on their face when it's all done. You also have to make sure you leave enough space around their hand so the lollypop isn't hanging off the picture. Combine all of that with a good expression, no sun in their eyes, no boogers/dirt on their face and you get 30 outtakes and one salvageable picture. Phew! My advice would be, start taking the pictures in early January.


To get my 2-year-old to cooperate, I told him to hand me imaginary things... "Do you have Dinosaur eggs for me?!"  Which seemed to hold his attention for 30 seconds while I got some shots.  Most of the time his hand was over his face so I'd run around him to get him to turn.  The 4-year-old was much easier and understood "move your hand over".


I had the prints done via our local CVS and did 4x6's for their friends and 5x7's for their teachers. I cut little slices near their hands with a razor blade and let my 4-year-old help me put them together.  She loved sorting the lollypops into "boy colors" and "girl colors".


This took effort... more effort than just buying the princess cards or the Mickey Mouse cards at the store (which I'm not knocking.. I was close to getting them) but I'm glad I did it. After all, my little loves are growing up quick. Pretty soon they're going to be getting real Valentines from their boyfriend or girlfriend (eek!) and I'm going to miss the days when they sat at the kitchen table with me sorting lollypops.

Let's be friends!

Baby Boom!

Wha... what?!  More baby stuff?  Yep. Having a bit of a boom lately. Happened to me with weddings... I was in 3 in one year once... Now everyone is having babies.  This time, my brother and his wife are expecting their first boy, Blake.  Baby Blake is due any week now too... just like Lexi... who, as of today, is still baking in her mama's oven. Can't blame her... warm and cozy in there.


So what'd I make?  All kinds of stuff.  First up, a "BLAKE" blanket just like I made for Alexis.

I did everything exactly the same except there is no strip of fabric behind the name. I saved the stripe fabric design for blanket #2.

Cute receiving style blanket with rounded corners this time.  I think if I make this style blanket again, I'm going to try and make it reversible.  This one is just folded under twice and hemmed.


Then I made some burp cloths.  Why didn't I have an interest in sewing when I had kids?!?!  I could have made so much cute stuff.  Probably because I wasn't sleeping and breastfeeding 24hrs a day.... yep, that's probably why.  Never mind.

No Heat N' Bond on these.  Just washed and dried everything before I started... Burp cloths shrink and shrivel up a lot when you wash them.  Just press everything before you start sewing.
Blake's nursery theme is Lion King so I was excited to find a fabric that had little lions on it. I used a blanket stitch to hold him on.

And the last thing I made, which is a GREAT first time quilter's project, was a changing pad.

I used the same flannel from the blankets and cut it to size (about the size of a baby?) using cereal bowls to trace the rounded corners.  Then I cut a piece of batting the same size.  Pinned everything together and did some meandering or free-motion quilting.  I used the same technique in the quilt I made for baby Levi. It's really not hard!  And, this is so small it's the perfect thing to practice on.  After all, the baby is going to poop all over this... does it really have to be perfect?

 See the quilting?  So soft.

Last thing to do is add bias tape. 


I played with all of the decorative stitches again.  So simple and makes it look so finished.

Done. Cant wait to meet my new nephew!

Let's be friends!