Christmas - in July?!?!?

I'm nose down in a couple of projects at the moment, and none of them are completed yet, but it's been a while since I shared anything with you all, and SOMEONE -(who shall not be named...but, if you figure it out, it's ok) is bugging me to blog again about something new....so, I went back in time, to Christmas of 2008 and came up with this!




I made this for Amy and Ed for Christmas this past year. They had moved into their home, and it was their first Christmas on their own. Since they had done MAJOR renovations to their home over the previous months, they were not really ready to invest in too many Christmas decorations. Amy is a huge fan of "homemade" anything anyway..and this cute little craft seemed to fit them. She loves snowmen, and Ed is an "outdoor" kinda guy...so the woodland critters seemed to fit right in.

Let me tell you...when I bought this "kit" it looked simple enough, and everything was included, so I figured, why not? I have been sewing and doing crafts for most of my life, and this just didn't seem like a big deal. WELL, while it was fairly easy, and the instructions were pretty good, I did not anticipate the time intensive nature of the project. Not to mention, every time Amy and/or Ed stopped by the house, I had to run and quickly hide everything, (this was one of their gifts, after all)... Every stitch is done by hand. Every bead and sequin is attached, by hand, one bead and/or sequin at a time.

The end result is awesome though. When it's hanging on a wall or door, with twinkling lights catching each bead and sequin, it makes the thing sparkle and it seems to almost come to life.

I think it came out pretty good, but I do have a much better appreciation of anyone who does these types of crafts regularly. Amy and Ed were pleased, and it was immediately hung on the inside of their front door for all to see and enjoy. I swore I would never make another one...........

however....8-)

Amy's " Summertime Swap"...and I helped..

Amy participated in a "Summertime Swap" and was paired up with a cute girl named Jordan. It was amazing to me just how much these two girls had in common, even though they live hundreds of miles apart and had never met before, even in the blog world! Amy is here in the (not so sunny) Sunshine State of Florida, (I say this because we are full swing into our rainy season with rain and thunderstorms...every -- single --day ..insert sigh here..) while Jordan lives in Texas. They were paired up thru another blogger, Sweet Tea Diaries - Angela - (I dunno why, but, I really like that name ...teehee) who sponsored the "swap". Anyway, I gladly helped out with the "swap" by making a cute "beach/lake tote" and some co-ordinating koozies for Jordan. I had a lot of fun participating in this with Amy, and I gotta tell ya....there is something pretty cool about seeing pictures of your work on a someone else's blog, in Texas, and you've never met that person before. Here's a couple of pictures of the tote and the koozies, before they left the Sunshine State.

It seems Jordan like them, along with all the other cool things Amy included, and Amy got some really cool things in return. You can check the details of each of their swaps at their blogs...and also see pictures of my uhmmm..sorry...Jordan's tote and koozies, which are now in the Lone Star state of Texas. I just think that's so cool.

As for me, I'm off to start another bag....this time for Amy. She liked it so much, she asked if I would make her one too. I'm into 3 different projects at the moment...so stay tuned.

F is for Friday, Family Heirlooms and Fantastic Wedding Gifts

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my niece, Paige, got married last month. She has given me a lots of laughter and lots of love over the last several years and I wanted to do something special for her and her hubby as a wedding gift. Paige is not your typical expensive china, crystal, silver type of girl. Her tastes run to the more economical, useful type of stuff instead of the pretty's that so many of us like to display in our homes (but cringe at the thought of actually using...ie: china, crystal...etc, etc...). However, she is very family oriented and treasures things that have been passed down thru the family, so, with that in mind, and me wanting to be original and creative, I came up with what I felt was the perfect wedding present for her and Jason.




She seemed to love it, and is going to have it matted and framed to hang in her new home. She has promised to send me a picture of it when that is done and I'll share that with all of you when I get it. She now has a family heirloom all her own to pass on to future generations of little Orlando's.

(my husband asked me to post this picture so that you can get and idea of the size of this project)

It was a lot of fun creating this special gift for her and Jason. It was also A LOT of stitches with thread instead of yarn. It's called filet crochet, and other than some small snowflakes that I did this past Christmas to hang on our tree, it is the first project of this type that I've ever done. I was really, really pleased with the results and I can't wait to start another one.

Happy Friday!

"Dress in a Pinch"

I just wanted to share this cute little dress that I made for Amy recently.


As I mentioned in my previous post, my niece, Paige got married last month, and Amy was a bridesmaid for her wedding. About a week or so before the wedding Amy decided that she had "absolutely nothing to wear" to the rehearsal dinner. Well, actually, I'm pretty sure she had plenty of things she could wear, just nothing she really wanted to wear. Most of her cute little dresses were not "springy" enough for a May wedding -- according to her -- and there was absolutely nothing in the stores that she liked well enough to spend the money on. Even if she was able to find something, it would still mean alterations by Mom (me) for her cute, vertically challenged little self which would include, at the very least, shortening straps, taking in the waist (hers is tiny) and definitely hemming - 4-6 inches (did I mention she is vertically challenged???--I wasn't sure if I mentioned that...).

I had recently purchased a pattern (or two or three....) during one of my many, oh so seldom visits to the local fabric store that I thought said "Amy Dress" all over it. So, off to the fabric store we went. After wandering every aisle and pulling out several bolts of fabric to compare and narrow down the many choices available, she finally decided on a very cute bright green/blue/yellow paisley print cotton blend. Then, after finding the "perfect" ribbon color for the accent and grabbing a zipper we raced back home so that I could get started. I got the dress cut out and the bodice basted together for the first fitting in a day. After we determined that the fit was perfect, I was able to get the rest of the dress together in just a couple of hours.

Came out pretty cute, huh?

.....okay, okay.... I know Amy is cute, .....I was referring to the dress, silly peoples...

F is for Friday...Fun Fur, Flamingos and Flip Flops!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been sooooo long since my 2nd ever post....I've been busy, busy, busy...(and out of town for a bit - my beautiful niece got married and we spent a bit of family time with everyone in Kentucky) I've also been crocheting away...Remember this?...

Well, it's actually called "Fun Fur" and along with some pink yarn, a little smidge of black yarn, some polyfill stuffing and a couple of beads for eyes, I turned it into one of these...

and, then I used the rest of the fun fur and made a pair of these...

I did both of these things for my beautiful "Seester" who absolutely LOVES flamingos AND flip flops (in just about any style and color, I might add). I wanted to do something crazy and cute for her, since she was feeling a little "blue" 'cause her baby girl got married. Guess what!?!?!? It WORKED!!!! She was tickled "pink" --(all pun intended of course!)

I'm just finishing up another project that I've been working on for my daughter, Amy, who is participating in some kind of "Summertime Swap" thingy with her blogging friends....(yes, I'll post pictures when it's all finished) and then, I'm going to put down the crochet hook for just a little bit to work on a bag for her to carry her books in. She is back in nursing school for the summer and has books bigger than her (well, almost bigger than her...) and she could really use something cute, but durable, to lug them around in everyday. So, stay tuned...I'll be back with more stuff soon! Happy Friday!!

Amigurumi

Amigurumi, pronounced ah-mee-goo-roo-mee, is the Japanese art of crocheting small animals or toys in a single crochet in the round. Amigurumi are made up of parts that are crocheted, stuffed, and then sewn together. The parts are usually an oversized head, a cylindrical body, thin arms and legs, ears and a tail (if needed) and embellishments. They are quick to make (usually) and make cute little gifts.

Here is my very first Amigurumi - we call him Chilly -


Chilly went to live with his namesake at Christmas time, (my brother-in-law) who's nickname is Chilly (because his name is Clyde Hill a/k/a C Hill a/k/a Chill - hence the Chilly...did you follow that???) and his personal trademark has become the penquin.

Since Chilly, I have made several Amigurumi animals for many of my family members with the lastest being cute bride and groom bunnies for my niece who just got married this past weekend,

and a cute little frog for my step-mom, who has a thing for froggies...



So there you have it...what that strange word means, how to say it and what it looks like, all rolled into one post. With that being handled...I leave you with this to ponder...

My First Blog Ever!

Sorry Amy.. I stole your title.... (but you were my inspiration, so it's only fitting)

I have recently had the opportunity to explore something that I have always loved, just not always had the time to do. I am a sewin' and craftin' fool! My sewing machine and crochet hooks are no longer lonely and dusty!!!!

(I even have my own little place to do it in!)

I am learning new things, expanding on the things I've always known, and even going back and re-doing some of the classics. My daughter keeps telling me I'm mighty talented and should put it to good use (instead of giving it all away to family!) and she has suggested I start by sharing my talents with the blogging community. She says that everyone in the family has enough scarves, afghans, and random amigurumi's (for those of you not in the "know", stay tuned for my next post on what that is!) to keep our closets full for years! BUT she always seems to appreciate the clothing alterations I do on a regular basis for her vertically challenged little self, or the random dress that is needed in a pinch! (There is nothing like something made ESPECIALLY for you)

Anyway... I hope you'll stay tuned. Maybe you'll learn something new, maybe you'll see something you love and just have to have for yourself, or maybe you live locally and you need some alterations too!