A Useful Baby Gift

Some time ago I found a lovely tutorial by Made by Marzipan for an "All-in-One Changing Mat."  I made one for Buddy when he was little and found it to be wonderful!  For short trips to the store or the park I could just grab it and go instead of lugging the entire diaper bag.

Well, some friends of ours recently had a baby shower for the new little one that they are expecting in a few months.  I knew just what to make them!

The handy pockets hold diapers and wipes so that they are easily in reach.

And the best part is that it folds up so nice and neatly!

Making Christmas, Week 9

RED ALERT! PANIC MODE! PANIC MODE! RED ALERT!

There's less than a week and a half left until Christmas and I'm only halfway done with my to-do list!  I've been working on messenger bags this week as they are the biggest item left on the list.  They are taking longer than I had anticipated... and on top of that Buddy has decided that he doesn't need naps anymore which has cut down on my crafting time.  On the plus side he now goes to bed much more willingly and a little earlier.  I've finished one messenger bag so far.

I'm afraid I can't show you much more than that because it will be a Christmas gift.  :)

The other messenger bags are coming together nicely and I'm hoping to have them done by the end of the weekend.  That will leave me with a solid week to finish the rest of my projects. 

...so again, here are the (not so) updated lists:

The To-Do List:

     [X]  finish crocheting one scarf
     [X]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers
     [  ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [X]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging
     [X]  finish one paper-pieced pattern
     [  ]  crochet two amigurumi birds
     [  ]  sew four messenger bags--PROGRESS!  1 done, 3 to go
     [X]  sew two six fish pencil cases
     [  ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [  ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

Bonus Achievements:

     [X]  sew a small zippered bag
     [X]  decorate the porch for halloween
     [X]  make candy favors for halloween
     [X]  make a baby shower gift

Making Christmas, Week 7

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

With all of the preparations and anticipation of today, I had very little time for crafting this past week.  I made some progress on one of the amigurumi birds that I am making as a Christmas present, and I will probably get to work on it some in the car as we drive up to visit family!

...so here are the (not so) updated lists:

The To-Do List:

     [X]  finish crocheting one scarf
     [X]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers
     [  ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [X]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging
     [X]  finish one paper-pieced pattern
     [  ]  crochet two amigurumi birds--PROGRESS!!
     [  ]  sew four messenger bags
     [X]  sew two six fish pencil cases
     [  ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [  ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

Bonus Achievements:

     [X]  sew a small zippered bag
     [X]  decorate the porch for halloween
     [X]  make candy favors for halloween
     [X]  make a baby shower gift

Making Christmas, Week 6

I finally finished the scarf that I have been working on (off and on) for nearly a year now!  I tried a new technique called tunisian or afghan crochet.  It's kind of a melding between crochet and knitting... you use a super long crochet hook (called an afghan hook) and pick up stitches like in knitting... but then you pull through loops as you do in crochet.  The end result is a scarf that looks like it was knit in stockinette stitch, but it is much thicker and stretches differently.

Tunisian crochet is quite the interesting crafting technique and I think I will have to explore it some more!

I also finished this little guy:

This is Greep, the 3rd and final Rainbow Monster!  Don't let his annoyed expression fool you, Greep is really quite pleased to make your acquaintance!  His siblings Plurp and Orango are already available in my Craftsy Shop and he has now joined them there.  The Rainbow Monsters were originally sketched by my brother-in-law Elliot and I translated them into fabric.

...and finally, the updated lists!

The To-Do List:

     [X]  finish crocheting one scarf--DONE!!
     [X]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers
     [  ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [X]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging
     [X]  finish one paper-pieced pattern--DONE!!
     [  ]  crochet two amigurumi birds
     [  ]  sew four messenger bags
     [X]  sew two six fish pencil cases
     [  ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [  ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

Bonus Achievements:

     [X]  sew a small zippered bag
     [X]  decorate the porch for halloween
     [X]  make candy favors for halloween
     [X]  make a baby shower gift

Making Christmas, Week 5

After all of my productivity last week, I hit a lull this week!  I made some small progress on my crochet project, and I did sew up a gift for a friend's baby shower, but I can't show it to you yet!  Otherwise my time was eaten up by laundry and cleaning up after Buddy.  Oh well.

...so here are my lists, rather unchanged:

The To-Do List:

     [  ]  finish crocheting one scarf--PROGRESS!!
     [X]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers
     [  ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [X]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging
     [  ]  finish one paper-pieced pattern
     [  ]  crochet two amigurumi birds
     [  ]  sew four messenger bags
     [X]  sew two six fish pencil cases
     [  ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [  ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

Bonus Achievements:

     [X]  sew a small zippered bag
     [X]  decorate the porch for halloween
     [X]  make candy favors for halloween
     [X]  make a baby shower gift

A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart

Now that Halloween is over it's time for Christmas, right?  That seems to be what all of the stores want us to believe anyway because they are playing Christmas songs and setting up their evergreen trees.

But wait!

There is another holiday that comes before Christmas!

...it's actually a unique American holiday... one that we should be very proud of.

Thanksgiving, anyone?

Thanksgiving was always a special holiday in our family.  First, we would be visited by the Great Turkey who would leave us a treasure hunt to follow in the morning.  Then we would all drive over to grandma's house for a huge meal.  After digesting we would then have a second meal... of desserts.  It was always a day of love and family and togetherness and I think it's a day that deserves a little more attention.

So this year I am going all out on the Thanksgiving decor!  Beginning with a new wall hanging!

I actually started this wall hanging last year by getting the top pieced together.  This year I just had to quilt and bind it!

The pumpkin and maple leaves are paper-pieced patterns designed by Jennifer of Sewhooked.  The "Thankful" block is a brand new paper-pieced pattern designed by me and available in my Craftsy shop!

It is a relatively simple block to piece, but it makes a bold statement!

What are you thankful for this season?

  Visit Doodle-ee-doo's Craftsy Pattern Store »

Making Christmas, Week 4

I managed to check not one, but TWO projects off my list this week!  I'm on a roll!

First, I finished half a dozen fish.

Then, I finished a wall hanging that I started working on last year.

I always get somewhat annoyed that Thanksgiving is practically ignored by our commercialized culture, so I decided to make an extra effort to decorate for the holiday!  I had finished the pieceing of the quilt top last year so I simply had to quilt, bind and finish it this year.  The pumpkin and maple leaves are paper-pieced patterns designed by Jennifer of Sewhooked and I designed the "Thankful" paper-pieced block myself.

I am super excited about this wall hanging and it's going to get its own proper post next week!

...and here are my updated lists:

The To-Do List:

     [  ]  finish crocheting one scarf--PROGRESS!!
     [X]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers
     [  ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [X]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging--DONE!!
     [  ]  finish one paper-pieced pattern
     [  ]  crochet two amigurumi birds
     [  ]  sew four messenger bags--PROGRESS!!
     [X]  sew two six fish pencil cases--DONE!!
     [  ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [  ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

Bonus Achievements:

     [X]  sew a small zippered bag
     [X]  decorate the porch for halloween
     [X]  make candy favors for halloween

Rainbow Fish

I finished half a dozen fishies!

Some of them will be Christmas gifts this year and some of them will be birthday gifts for this coming year.

These little guys proved to be a nice "stash busting" project!  I had a lot of fun finding coordinating fabric scraps for their fins.  I used the same pattern that I drafted up for the first fishie pencil case, which was inspired by minnebites' shark pencil cases.

Now who's hungry for sushi?

October Birthdays

During the summer I have a small break from making gifts and it's a great time to start planning my projects for the end of the year.  October marks the beginning of the birthday season in our family as both my dad and my sister both have birthdays during the month.

My dad wanted a new hat this year, so I crocheted him a nice warm one!

I used Nancy Smith's "Reversible Strands" pattern from Ravelry.  It's a lovely, simple pattern that uses a ribbing technique that adds just enough stretch and character.  I made my dad a hat with straight ribs and I made myself a hat with spiraling ribs!

With my sister off at college it's hard to think of good things that I can make her.  Since she is quite the extroverted, life-of-the-party type (unlike the introverted, stay-home-and-sew type like me) we decided to get her a restaurant gift card so that she can go out with some friends.  But instead of just putting the card in a boring envelope, I made her a fun zippered pouch.

I used the same tutorial by kelbysews as I did for my other sister's graduation gift.  This time I decided to use different fabric for each side to mix it up a little.

Fun times!

Making Christmas, Week 3

I was quite productive this week! ...or at least I felt productive.  I worked on a lot of projects but I still haven't finished many.

But I did end up making nearly 70 little "goodie ghosts" for halloween this week.  (...and they weren't enough!  I'm going to have to make even more next year!)

They helped me hand out candy while I went trick or treating with Buddy!

I also made good progress on the fish pencil cases.  I have all of their little fins ready to go!  (I made the first one over the summer and it was so cute and fun that I'm making more!)

...I got a little carried away and I'm now making six... Hopefully I can get them finished by next week!

So here it is...

The To-Do List:

     [  ]  finish crocheting one scarf--PROGRESS!!
     [X]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers
     [  ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [  ]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging--PROGRESS!!
     [  ]  finish one paper-pieced pattern
     [  ]  crochet two amigurumi birds
     [  ]  sew four messenger bags
     [  ]  sew two six fish pencil cases--PROGRESS!!
     [  ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [  ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

Bonus Achievements:

     [X]  sew a small zippered bag
     [X]  decorate the porch for halloween
     [X]  make candy favors for halloween

Goodie Ghosts!

For children, halloween is simple.  You simply get dressed up and go from house to house trick or treating for candy.  But things get much more difficult once you become an adult and even more so once you become a parent.

Do you stay home and hand out candy to kids or escort your own kid around the block so that they can get candy?  Give or get?  ...Can you ever do both?  Well that is what I will attempt to do this year!  I can't be in two places at once... so I decided to make some little helpers!

Some Goodie Ghosts!

While I'm out with Buddy the Dragon collecting treats, these guys will be sitting on our porch ready to hand themselves out to the trick or treaters passing by.  Unlike just leaving a bowl of unsupervised candy out, each ghost contains an equal assortment of candies in a cute, single-serving sized package.  Hopefully these little guys will be large enough that the kids will be content with taking only one each.  And because the candy assortment is a "surprise" it will discourage the "picking and choosing" that leaves you with a bowl of unwanted milk duds and butterscotch dum-dums at the end of the night.

These little guys were also pretty easy to make!  Here's how to make your own Goodie Ghosts:

First, cut some white copy paper in half to make 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" sheets.  Also, cut some tissue paper into 12" squares, roughly.  Feel free to be approximate with the tissue paper and crinkle it thoroughly for best results!

Roll the copy paper sheets into tubes by wrapping them around a large dowel or an empty paper towel tube and use masking tape to secure the seam.

While the paper is still wrapped around your dowel or tube, fold over the top inch of the paper towards the center to close off one end.  Secure the folded end with some more masking tape.

Dilute some white Elmer's glue with water and paint onto the top half of your paper tube.

Now place your paper tube, closed end down, in the center of a square of tissue paper and crumple the tissue paper up around the tube.  Paint the top half of the tissue paper with more diluted glue to help smooth it onto to the paper tube and then let it dry completely.

Once your ghost is dry, draw a face on it with a sharpie marker.

Now for the fun part!  Turn your ghost over and fill it with candy!  Staples work well for closing the bottom end of the tube.

And there you have it!  An army of ghosts ready and waiting to evenly distribute candy to the little monsters!

Trick or Treat!

Shelob's Web

Halloween seems to be a big community event here in our village.  The week before the big night, there is a huge parade of costumed kids marching around the neighborhood led by the high school marching band.  So I thought that I should have a little fun decorating our front porch!

It was a pretty fun little project.  I started by stringing 3 pieces of yarn from hooks in the porch ceiling to the bottom railing.  I made sure they crossed in the middle and then I looped yarn around and around from string to string to create the web.

The finishing touch was a large, intimidating spider!

Arachnophobes, beware!

Making Christmas, Week 2

It's time to update my to-do list!  I managed to make some good progress on things this week and I finished one item on my list!  Can you guess what it is?

The To-Do List:

     [  ]  finish crocheting one scarf--PROGRESS!!
     [X]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers--DONE!!
     [  ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [  ]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging
     [  ]  finish one paper-pieced pattern
     [  ]  crochet two amigurumi birds
     [  ]  sew four messenger bags
     [  ]  sew two fish pencil cases--PROGRESS!!
     [  ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [  ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

...and then I accomplished some other things that weren't on my list.  So I'm going to start a list of those things too!  Who doesn't love crossing things off of lists?

Bonus Achievements:

     [X]  sew a small zippered bag
     [X]  decorate the porch for halloween

Posts and more pictures of these are to come!  So stay tuned!

A To Do List...

Our computer is back up and running smoothly... just in time for me to start panicking about all of the projects I have lined up for the end of the year!  And it turns out that I'm not the only one with a monstrously long to-do list...

Welcome to "Making Christmas 2013!"

Thanks to Rebecca of Making Rebecca Lynn and Janine of Rainbow Hare, a whole bunch of us crafty bloggers are counting down the days until December 25th and ticking off our to-do lists as we go!  Kind of like a virtual accountability group... for craft-a-holics.

There are dozens of things that I would "like" to get done before the holidays, but realistically I have very limited crafting time and I need to prioritize.  Some things on my list simply need finishing... and theoretically they shouldn't take very long.  But then I also have quite a number of gifts that I need to start and finish before Christmas. Since the gift items on my to-do list are for family members and people who may happen to read my blog, I'm keeping my descriptions vague and cryptic.

Here is the list:

     [ ]  finish crocheting one scarf
     [ ]  finish crocheting one pair of hand warmers
     [ ]  finish one embroidered ornament
     [ ]  finish one harvest-themed wall hanging
     [ ]  finish one paper-pieced pattern
     [ ]  crochet two amigurumi birds
     [ ]  sew four messenger bags
     [ ]  sew two fish pencil cases
     [ ]  sew one stuffed aquatic invertebrate
     [ ]  sew a surprise for Buddy

Hopefully I can get it all accomplished without pulling too many all-nighters the week before Christmas (which is what usually happens!)  But hey, go check out some of the other blogs that are "Making Christmas" and feel motivated to tackle your own to-do list!

Technical Difficulties

Hello faithful readers!

This is just a heads-up to let you know that we are experiencing some techinical difficulties with our home computer at the moment so there won't be any posts for a few weeks as we work to fix things.  Hopefully I'll be super productive without having Candy Crush and Facebook as a distraction and have a dozen posts ready to go by the time things get back!

I hope you all are able to enjoy the last days of warmth before the chill of autumn sets in!

--Doodle

Not All Who Wander Are Lost, Part 7

It's time for the seventh installment of the Fandom in Stitches "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" block-of-the-month quilt!

Here are my finished blocks:

"Treebeard" designed by Lilja Björk Sigurdórsdóttir

"The Ring"  designed by Breanne Cremean

"Shard of Narsil"  designed by Lilja Björk Sigurdórsdóttir