curtains

proof that I have been working

so this is not a great picture, and these curtains are not only pinned to the wall, for the sake of a picture, but I need to make two more, and put them in the actual room they will go in, rather than this room. But I am loving how they turned out. I saw this blog post a while ago and thought "those are exactly what I have been wanting for my bedroom" (without really knowing what I wanted, does that make sense? so I logged on here and thought, there is no way I can afford those, considering I would need to buy four. Then I checked out this and thought, hey I could buy just two of those, cut them in half and hem them up, only paying half the cost. However, that was still too expensive. So I searched google images for anything similar, with a better price and I found this and thought, hey I could do that for some curtains. I was still debating if I wanted to put the work into it, and then my MIL gave me this. I had to do it, for the sake of learning how to use my new serger. Although I could have used a rolled hemmer foot, but I thought I would rather just serge, than hem. so this is what I did

1. I bought six twin sheets for $4 each at Walmart (you could use muslin, but I chose sheets becuase all the edges are already hemmed)

2. I marked how long I wanted my curtains and cut off the bottom (I wanted to keep the bottom the original width, so I could use it for ruffles)

3. I cut each curtain in half and serged the edges

4. I cut 6" strips with the remaining fabric and serged both edges. (I found out that a serger can ruffle and serge at the same time if it has a differential feed. I was so excited, so I serged one side and then on the second side I ruffled and serged, well, at least until I messed up some setting and it stopped doing it, and I wasted three hours trying to undo my mistake and make it ruffle again-I gave up, but am still determined to find out how I did it for the first part, anyone want to give me a tip I followed this advice for the first part).

5. once I gave up on doing my remaining ruffles with my serger I got out my trusty ruffler foot (yes I caved and bought one) I used this on a 3/4 of a curtain, and then it started acting weird too (again I do not know what I did to make it work great and then not so great, and again I wasted a few hours trying to get it to be so helpful again, and again I gave up. Again I ask, any advice?)

6. I finally did it the old fashioned way, ruffling by hand, it did not take as long as I thought it would and was far less frustrating then trying to figure the other ones out.

I still have two more to make, but I am getting faster with each one. I

As you can see I really owe my inspiration to a lot of people here, and I also own my know-how to good old google. I think you can learn how to do anything on the internet. So far I have learned how to sew and to crochet. I am currently trying my hand in carpentry so stay tuned)

I will post a better picture when they are all done, and in there final home

Still here

and still working. I haven't posted any projects lately (although I have started many) because this has been taking all my time. We are making our basement the way we want it, and it is taking all my time. I will be back with more pictures and more posts when we are done.

Can you believe it?!?!

This is a horrible picture, but I currently do not have access to our good camera, so I had to settle for our not so good one. However, this is not a horrible gift. Can you even believe that I was given this serger? No catch, no questions asked, just given to me (okay so I may have been asked "Do you want a babylock?" and once I realized she was not talking about an actual lock for my actual baby, I was on board.) My mother in law gave it to me, isn't she sweet? I am so happy she thought of giving it to me. Apparently it was given to her as well, by a neighbor who may or may not have used it one time. Can you believe two people were willing to give this beauty up? (So it may not look like a beauty in this pic, but trust me, it is). It even came with thread, however it was not threaded, at least not properly. It only took me two hours to figure out how to thread it correctly, and what the heck to do with it.

I am so excited to own this. I have already started a project that I am VERY excited about (so it better turn out the way I imagine it, or I will be VERY discouraged). Stay tuned to see the big reveal

check it out

My good friend Barb is doing a great giveaway this weeks, to kick start following her dream. Check it out, I admire her for diving right in a making it happen

baby boy hat

Found this free pattern online and made this baby boy hat for a neighbor. It was really easy, I decided to use all one color, and omit the monkey ears.

mittens

I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I saw it on another blog. I have looked everywhere to find where I first saw this brilliant idea, but I can't. If I ever find it, I will give credit where credit is due.

My daughter's mittens do not stay on her hands, I am constantly putting them back on. They also get snow in them easily. When I saw this idea, I knew it was for me. The best part is that it cost $2 and took no more than five minutes for two pairs of mittens.

I bought two pairs of socks at the dollar store and cut the feet off

Put right sides together

sew

and there you have it. The socks extend the gloves, and are elastic enough to hold the mittens on. They are stretchy enough to go over the coat, or under the coat. no more falling off mittens, and no more snow inside the gloves. Hopefully no more cold hands. Thank you to the brilliant mystery blogger for this simple idea

tablecloth

I have been looking and looking for four years for a tablecloth long enough to fit on my kitchen table, with both extensions in (110"), not only are then hard to come by, but if I do find any, they are EXPENSIVE!, and usually not my style. I saw this and it inspired me to do the same thing, but for a tablecloth. I really want to get a ruffler foot, but for the sake of saving $30 (that is how much they are at Hancock fabrics, they also have a "hemmer foot" (see below)for $20) I made do without, and it turned out OK

I bought the painter's drop cloth at Ace hardware. It says it is Canvas, but it is really lightweight material, and easy to sew, it looks kind of like linen. Make sure to get the canvas one, some of the other ones can lock in moisture, which would ruin your table. This one is HUGE, but that is because I wanted it so long, I still have enough to make about two more, average size cloths. Since I bought the biggest one, it was $30 , but that's not bad for three tablecloths

I measured the top of my table and cut the cloth +1" on each side (for seam allowance, you could probably get away with only 1/2"). I did not pre-wash it, and I may be regretting that when I wash it and it doesn't fit my table with both leaves, but it should still fit with one). I would recommend pre-washing it.

Then I cut 5" wide strips to make the ruffle with (I think I will do 6" strips next time). I cut about 2.5-3 times the length of my perimeter. My little sister Beth let me borrow her "hemmer" foot and it was a lifesaver! I must get me one of these. I ran both edges through the hemmer foot so it would not fray when I washed it. (if you don't have a hemmer foot, you could hem it the old fashioned way (you may need to cut a wider strip though, the hemmer foot did a rolled 1/8" hem) You could also just cut your strip twice as wide and fold it in half, with the folded edge on the outside, if that makes sense, then it would still have a clean, non-frayed look, it would just be 2x as much fabric. or you could serge it if you are lucky enough to have a serger

Since I did not buy my coveted ruffler foot I just eyeballed the ruffles by hand, I did not pin, I just did it as I sewed.

I used some of my left over ruffle strips to rolled up these flowers, there was no rhyme or reason (sorry, I just finagled them until I like them) and I sewed them in place

I am happy with my finished product (those are not stains, those are watermarks from ironing it) I am going to make a much shorter one (which should be easier to cut and maneuver) for my outdoor table. It took about three hours to make, but most the time was hemming the ruffle strips.

mittens

I bought this pattern, and after making a pair, I was inspired to make the following mittens

I changed a lot of things, like I used a single crochet instead of a half double crochet, I did a different number of rounds, I did a different number of stitches in each round, I made them have the option of being fingerless, and I added the flower to the back. However, I would not have had the idea, or know where to begin if I did not make the ones I bought on Etsy. I have not written down a pattern for these ones, but if anyone wants one, I could post one. I am not going to do a tutorial on them, unless someone asks me for one in the comments

pj pant tutorial

well, I said I would write a tutorial the next time I make p.j. pants, but I found this tutorial and it happens to be exactly how I made these. so now I don't have to write my own tutorial. Now go make yourself some p.j's

crochet scarf tutorial

okay, so I will do my best to explain how I made this. I have never written a crochet pattern, so someone familiar with following a lot of crochet patterns may think I did it all wrong, but I will try to at least help you get the end result, without too much confusion.

I used a size k crochet hook, but you can fiddle with it, I probably wouldn't go smaller, because the flower will get smaller as you go to a smaller hook. I have not tried a bigger one, it may produce a fuller looking flower, but it may have too much "empty space" if that makes sense.

you can use any yarn you want, I always thought the fuzzy yarn would look cute, but I have a hard time seeing one crochet from the next when I try, so I took the easy way out. (By the way, I just used 100% cotton, worsted weight 4-ply yarn)

First, ch. 5 and slip stitch to form a ring

ROUND 1:ch 1, work 9 sc into the ring, join with a sl. st. in first sc to form a ring

ROUND 2: ch 1, 2 hdc into each sc around (18 hdc), join in first dc

ROUND 3: ch 1, sc into each hdc around (18 sc), join in first sc

ROUND 4: ch 1, 2 hdc into each sc around (36 hdc), join in first hdc

the end result should look like this

next, ROUND 5: ch 1, sc in same hdc as joining, *ch 6, sk next 5 hdc, sc in next hdc; repeat from * 4 times more, ch 6 sk next 5 hdc, join with sl st in first hdc (6 ch 6 sps)

it should look like this

ROUND 6: in first ch 6 sp, (sc, hdc, dc, 3 tr, dc, hdc, sc), repeat in all 6 ch 6 sps, join to first sc

Next, I don't really know what this is called, but I slip stitched vertically down until I reached round three (about three sl sts)

ROUND 7: ch 1, sl st around post of sc on round 3, *ch 3, skip next 2 sc on round 3, repeat from * 4 times, ch 3 skip next 2 sc on round 3 join with a sl st on first sc (6 ch 3 sps)

in first ch 3 sp (sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, sc) repeat in all ch 3 sps, join and fasten off

your flower should look like this

I make 10-12 flowers (you decide how long you want the scarf, try it on and tie it how you like to decide length) on the last two scarves I made, I just got a needle and matching thread and sewed the flowers together, petal to petal, by hand. On the second one I made, I crocheted the flowers together, petal to petal, usling a slip stitch (this worked fine, but took a long time). On the first one I made, I crocheted a back piece (by doing rows of 8 hdc, ch 1, and turning). Then (having left a long tail in each flower) wove the flowers onto the back piece with my crochet hook. I liked the fullness of the first scarf the best, and since it looked more full, I only made a single layer flower for each flower, rather than a double. However, this took me a really long time to make the back piece, and a lot of yarn, so that is why I have by passed it on the other three scarves. I made 12 flowers on the first scarf too, 11 on the 2nd and 3rd, and only 10 on the last one. I also did 7 petals on the first 3 and only 6 on the last one (I am still trying to figure out the best pattern, one that looks good, but doesn't take forever to make). I can make about 3 of the flowers shown in this post in one hour, to give you an idea

this is a very forgiving pattern, it doesn't matter if all your flowers are slightly different, or if one of your rows ends up with more crochets than it should, just adjust your pattern and keep going. Once the flowers are all hooked together, you can't tell where mistakes are. Also, it doesn't really matter if you can, because the flowers don't need to look exactly alike. Just use this pattern as a guide line, figure out what works for you, where I made mistakes (or where I wrote the pattern confusing) and just dive in a try.