Ice cube soap

I saw these ice cube soaps on marthastewart.com a while back and wanted to make them, but didn't really want to do it for the guest bathroom in our rental house. Mostly because of the weird colors. Now that we have our own house with a bathroom just for guests and a color scheme I like... This turned out way better than I thought it would! And it only took an hour from start to finish.

Julia Skirt - Finished!

I love this skirt! The pattern was simple and the directions were clear. This is an excellent beginner project. Unfortunately, this picture does not do it justice. (My daughter thought this was a waste of her time and only let me take a couple of pictures.) I used taffeta and satin to make it a little dressier for her Christmas concert.

I can't wait to try another pattern from Modkid. I think I will try Penny...

or maybe Maddie...

Julia Skirt

This is what I am working on:

Isn't it adorable? I can't wait to show my version to you! I originally bought this pattern with the intention of making it for my daughter's first day of school, but then we decided to send her to a different school. This school has horribly masculine uniforms. Just before Thanksgiving break, the school sent home a letter telling us there is to be a Christmas concert and the kids will NOT be wearing uniforms! I am so excited! Silly, I know, but I just love cute little girl clothes.

This, I am sure, will be an adventure, as I have never made a skirt from a pattern before. I have made skirts, just never with a pattern.

I better get busy!

Velvet Grape Socks

Did you have a good Thanksgiving? I did. It was so much fun to be with family and friends.

I have been wanting to show you these socks for a while now. I made them for my sister and finally gave them to her. They are made with Malabrigo Sock in Velvet Grape. The colors in this yarn are stunning. The picture doesn't even begin to show all the beautiful hues. Plus the yarn is so soft. This is my current favorite sock yarn for adult socks. I can't wait to make more socks with this yarn!

The pattern is Adirondack Socks. It was in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet. I have never crocheted socks before, and I was very happy with the outcome. The pattern was easy to follow, which is the key to success in any project.

If you ever decide to knit or crochet a pair of socks, make sure you use a good quality yarn. It really does make a difference!

Cosmetic Bags

OK, I admit it. These are not exclusively cosmetic bags. They would be great for storing any small stuff that you want to carry around. Like chocolate. The blue one is going to be filled with legos and given to an adorable little boy. The girly ones are going to be filled with girly stuff. I knocked these out in just a few hours. It would have been quicker if I hadn't been constantly interupted... I love these little bags and now I need to make a few for myself.

A picture - finally!

I finally got it together and took a picture of my finished wrap. Unfortunately, this is as good as it gets since the only help I was getting was from my dogs.

Lacy Wrap - Finished!

I finally finished the wrap pictured above. It took me nearly a year to knit it, because every time I made a mistake I ended up ripping the whole thing out and starting over. Believe me, I tried to fix the mistakes without starting over, but I just couldn't do it. I literally started this thing over 12 times! So a year and a few months later it is finished (blocked and button sewn on, too!)And today is the perfect day to wear it!

I tried taking a picture of me wearing it, but the lighting is no good today (totally overcast). And I'm too excited to wait another day and try again.
The pattern is SAVOY Lacy Wrap. The yarn I used was ZARA in Midnight Blue.

Broken

Last year, I saw this super cute wreath on Ducks in a Row. (This is her picture, I did not get a good one of my own.) :(

I loved it so much I made my own. It looked terrible in our rental house, so it was hung in the laundry room. In the post about my wreath, I hoped for a better place to display my wreath this year. Well, I have a better place, lots of them, actually. I hung it up and it looked all cute, for about 20 minutes. Then it crashed to the floor and the styrofoam base broke into a bunch of pieces and the candy corns went flying. That was the end of my wreath.

I am undecided as to whether or not I will make another.

For a Birthday Girl

Our family was invited to a birthday party for a little girl in our neighborhood, and I don't know the family that well. What I do know is the little girl is always dressed in very cute girly outfits, so this is what I came up with for her gift:

Do you ever second guess yourself when making a gift for someone? I do. Every. Single. Time.

I don't remember what line this fabric came from, because I've had it so long and only have scraps left. I wish I had purchased more of the cherry fabric as I do love it so very much and have used it for several projects. Maybe this should be a lesson to me when buying a fabric I love: Buy a few yards.

I made the fabric flower based on this tutorial from Wise Craft.

I am linking up to this link party:

Banned Books Week, Sept 25 - Oct 2

I just read a post on a friend's blog about her commitment to writing. She is also going to read all of Ernest Hemingway's works, which got me thinking, "How many of his works have I read?"

So I started looking for a list of his works, when I was reminded that later this month is Banned Books Week. (Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises have been challenged or banned, as have some of his other works.) I had seen something at the library advertising this earlier this week, and thought, "I should read some of the books on the list they have." Instead of allowing this to be a passing thought, I have made a list of banned/challenged classics I would like to read.

Banning books is a slippery slope. It seems to me that most people try to have books banned in order to protect children. Instead of attempting to ban books, have an open and honest discussion with your children about why you think a book is inappropriate for them to read. It is the job of the parents to teach them. Dictating what a child can and can't do doesn't work anyway.

To learn more about banned/challenged books go HERE. If you want to read one of the most frequently challenged books of 2009, most of you will be able to find it on your very own bookshelf. The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer was #5 on the list.

If you don't like to read, get an audio book. I love audio books and frequently listen to them in the car or on my iPod.

I am going to try to read classics that I haven't read before. I am going to start with Ulysses by James Joyce. What are you going to read? Leave a comment.

What to do when it's too quiet?

This is the first week of school. I don't like it. With my little-girl-who-isn't-so-little-anymore in Kindergarten, I have found myself counting down the hours until I can go pick her up. This also makes me realize, I like my house full of people and noise (even though the noise part makes me crazy sometimes). At least I have my new little man who will eventually start filling the house with noise and activity. But until then...

I have a few sewing projects I am working on. I am only going to show you one today. The others will make appearances as they are completed.

I am particularly pleased with this BOM I am doing. It's Tonga Nature by Wing and a Prayer Design. This is the first month and I waited to start my block because I was worried that it was way beyond my skill level. To my surprise, this block came together nicely. Future blocks may be more challenging. And the fabrics are bold, beautiful batiks.

Matching PJ's - Sort of

OK, so this is only 1/2 of the matching PJ's. Since I am going to be away from home for a few days having a baby, I made matching PJ's for my daughter and I. I thought it would be fun for us to wear matching PJ's while I am in the hospital.

Mine just aren't as cute due to the fact they aren't little like my daughter's, so you only get a picture of her PJ's. You may or may not have noticed I make my daughter a lot of PJ's. They're fun, easy and best of all she loves them and tells me so.

Car Seat Canopy

I love the car seat canopies that everyone seems to have these days. I decided our new little one will need one when he arrives.

I read through a quick online tutorial and then adjusted it to fit our car seat. Super easy.

The best part is, I don't have to buy a new sun shade!

Explosion Box

I love explosion boxes. They are time consuming to make, but I think they make really fun gift boxes for small items. The one I made this weekend for my husband might be my all time favorite. It didn't turn out quite as masculine as I hoped (I know, too many hearts and flowers for that.) I love it anyway.

All paper is from Close to My Heart.

From Ratty Jeans to a Cute Skirt

I have been so tired from the many goings on in our lives that I haven't been able to finish a project in ages. I am hoping that will change now that things are settling down a little.

My daughter loved these jeans and was not about to let them go. So, I got online and got busy. They went from this:

To this:

Much better.

But don't ask her to hold still for a photo.

This is a project that can easily be completed in an evening. There are plenty of tutorials online that will show you how to make a skirt from a pair of jeans. Go find one and have fun!

Birthday Girl

Every girl needs a new outfit to wear on her birthday, right? I thought so.

This year I got this crazy idea to make my daughter's outfit, complete with a matching purse. She loved it. The fabric is Clementine by Me & My Sister Designs for Moda. This is one of my favorite fabric lines for little girls. My daughter has a pair of pajamas from this and I still have a layer cake of this fabric! Sorry, there is no pattern for the skirt.

This is the matching bag. She loves purses and has many. The best part is she uses them all. By the time I got around to taking a picture, she already had her bag filled with the essentials: chap stick, lotion, coloring book, a box with her Polly Pockets and toy ninjas.

The pattern is Quilts Illustrated Deli Desk Tote.