This is NOT my TEAM! lol ... so I might as well give it away

If you want to know the real reason I did this one first

is because I didn't care if I mucked it up :) hehe

So I purchased a NHL sheet a long long time ago to make something for my then-baby-boy ... he's now 3 and I'm finally doing something with that sheet ... The sheet itself isn't close to being new, but I just couldn't waste all those lovely LOGO's ... so what to do what to do ...?
OH - patches!

The finished patch is 6"x6" - The biggest back piece is Felt - mostly for stability & stiffness, the middle colour is flannel, then the Logo itself feels like a poly/cotton blend ... I quite like how it turned out so I'm gonna do a bunch more ... maybe even give a few away :)

Post a comment here and what team is the favourite of the house and you just might get a nifty one for yourself (I'll mail it to you so don't worry)

Kids BOOKS! such wonderful art ...

So - I loving collecting *cough*hoarding*cough* old children's books ...
I just had to scan some of the pages ... I think I will try to do an iron-on transfer
and use some as quilt blocks ....



the 2 pages above are from a book called 'Rosebud' by Ed Emberley

the 3 pages above are a great little book called 'The Bears of the Air' by Arnold Lobel (famous for Frog and Toad books)




This one is hard to see the detail - but it's an amazing book called Rain Makes Applesauce

Little know fact - Rain Makes Applesauce is the book that started my *collection*cough*hoarding*

My Spidyman

Yes - I made it ~~~ from scratch ~~~ almost no pattern ....
It was just 2 pieces of broadcloth, a big dream & high, high hopes ... :)

Turned out pretty good (well the mask was purchased at a craft show)
but I can even say I was pretty impressed with the rest.
Even though I had to make the boot covers & wristbands twice because apparently taking a measuring tape and seeing how big I should have made them to begin with was too easy :)

I am going to make another one for a friends spidy-crazy son, so maybe I will try my first real 'tute' and post it

A Cake for a 3 year old 'Big' Boy

Of course it had to be spiderman .... the black/red icing turned all of our mouths and teeth purple, but he LOVED it :)

Two Quilts for two little boys ... Matt & Zack ... :)

Just finished these baby gifts ... I love making these little crib quilts.

Find of the week - a 100% preshrunk Cotton Bat for $3 (brand new) at a Thrift Shop that was big enough to use in both little quilts :) Gotta Love that!

I was going to make them identical ... but the little boys aren't identical ...
plus even if they were - they're two different people right?!

Sew Easy Butterfly Mobile ...

First of all - Full credit for the inspiration for this to Missie Krissie - SO gorgeous!!

The hoops are wooden Embroidery hoops covered in pink fabric strips wound around and glue-gunned into place. Then I tied Embroidery Floss 'x's so I would have something to fasten the strings of butterflies to. Attached the hoops together with about 5" of ribbon
Glue gunned ribbon trim on the inside & outside of each fabric finished hoop.

To make the Butterfly Strings you just sew with thread only on your sewing machine to create an intertwined chain then add a butterfly (you end up sewing through the middle) and then chain some more then another butterfly and on and on until you get the length you need. Then tie them on were ever you want them .... voila

Running for Boobies!!

I haven't stepped foot in my sewing room this summer ... I have been too busy - outside in the garden and flower beds mostly but as the temp drops, I am finding my way back inside :)

One of the things I did for the first time was the Run for the Cure ... It was so much fun that I can't wait for next year!!

Toddler Bed quilt & pillow

the newest creation hot off the machine .... I went 'craZee' and added a ruffle *gasp* to the pillow and it turned out quite well ... I miss making these simple little quilts that just take a few hours ... those rag quilt are so time consuming!

Just a few new rag quilts that I got done this past week.

Super Soft Baby Booties

I am so pleased with how they turned out - my initial inspiration was buying the re-released Simplicity '48 pattern for Felt booties. I tried making a pair, finished one and thought they were pretty BLAH! They needed to be softer and prettier ... VOILA

Soft pink plushy-fleece (lining in the bottoms)
Cream polar fleece (exterior)
Pink Flannelette (for the lining)
Brown suede for the soles (recycled from a ripped jacket)
Blanket stitched soles to upper with Pink Embroidery Thread

Canning and how not to be afraid

I know the time of year for canning is now long gone but I got to do some last weekend. It's a good thing Zucchinis seem to last forever! Well, mostly anyways ...

So without allowing myself to waste perfectly good ENORMOUS zucchinis I scoured my canning book for a recipe. I won't bore you with the details but I want to tell you why you don't need to be afraid of canning. Think of it as 3-4 easy small steps depending on what you're doing.

1) Prep ~ Usually for relishes means something is going to be cut up and sitting in a pot with pickling salt overnight & then rinsed off the next day. ~~ So you cut up what you need, throw it in a big stock pot or something stainless steel that will fit it all - sprinkle & mix in the recommended salt & go to bed. SUPER easy right!!

2) Sterilize Jars ~ The next day ~ The recipe tells you how many jars you need - make sure you have them cleaned then set them on a cookie sheet & throw them in an oven set on about 200'F - They can sit in the oven all day if you want to - I just do it first because once I start cooking whatever is in the pot, my mind is on other things. Meanwhile take the snaplids (just the thin round metal part that seals to the jar) and throw them in a saucepan on a back burner on low, just to heat them (no need to boil) - again these can sit there all day as long as there is water in the pan. Oh ya & fill up your canner (the BIG black pot with the wire rack in it) with water and put the burner on medium heat - this sucker takes a while to boil.

3) Cook your mixture ~ If you soaked it overnight make sure it's rinsed well and most of the water has been squeezed out. Add additional ingredients such as sugar, vinegar & spices. Cook for length of time recipe suggests.

4) Pour into Jars & Process ~ Take jars out of oven about 5-10 minutes before cooking is finished to allow them to cool a bit. ~ crank up the heat on the canner to get a boil going~ Once jars cooled slightly (you'll know they are cool enough if the mixture doesn't sizzle when you pour it in) ~ fill jars - remember to add enough liquid to cover the solids ~ wipe jar mouths ~ fish snaplids out of the saucepan and put in place, tighten snapring into place (only handtighten) then place in canner & 'process' as suggested - processing just means boiling them for 'x' amount of minutes.

When processing is done take them out of the canner and let them cool upright on the counter. As they cool the jars will start to 'pop' which means they are sealing - This is a good thing - it means you & your family won't get salmonella poisoning when you finally try whatever you just made.

HaPPy CaNNiNg

Kitchen Spray ... homemade

Fruits & Passion is a weakness of mine ... their soaps, lotions all of it ... Canadian MADE - biodegradable all the good stuff ... but you pay for it ... so I found a recipe for homemade kitchen spray
What you need:
Distilled H2O
Spray Bottle
Essential Oils
For the essential oils I picked Lavender, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree & Lemongrass; the first 3 for their antibacterial, anti fungal properties and Lemongrass because I love the smell.

Fill the bottle 3/4 up with distilled water then put about 20 drops of Lavender oil, 5-7 each of the Eucalyptus, Tea Tree and 4-5 or so of the Lemongrass - whatever suits your nose.

Shake the bottle before each use - I use it to clean my counters, table, floors and even just as a room freshener throughout the house. To do the floors I set the spray to 'long' (I have no idea - the opposite of mist I guess) and use it after I mop with vinegar & water - the oils give the floors a nice shine without causing anyone to die - like when my brother used to think it was hilarious to Pledge the floors ~ and the house smells great - I use one of those 'Blue Mops' that soaks up the moisture really well.

My son Loves to help me spray and I feel like I can let him (yes he's 2 - child labour rules!) because it's just water & essential oils ...