Blast 45 :: Chew toys, join me?

another chew toy for teethers....
not too psyched about the head (a little too puckered) but do love the soft cotton terry that little miss will be chomping on.
maybe.
see, she hasn't quite warmed to it yet.
in fact, she just drops it when handed to her unlike her other 
toys which she totally loves to attack with gusto.
little miss's pickiness aside, i'm thinking of making a bunch of these to donate to a place where some little gummy mouths could use something made with love and BPA free.
i'll be making a tutorial button in the next few days along with a couple of organizations that would put the dolls to good use. if you know of any orgs that might benefit from these, please share in the comments :)
anyone want to join me in crafting some love?

Blast 36 :: Another shark toy ~

of the wool felt kind....

One of the biggest things I am finding with this 365 crafting challenge is just how tricky it can be to find moments to craft in. For anyone who seems amazed that I am able to craft something daily - I tell you, I wouldn't be doing it if  I hadn't made a commitment to it! While I am totally loving it (I haven't hit that wall of 'what to make' or the joy being sucked of out the creating process because I had to make something - thank goodness!), I will say that I am completely floored by just how busy life can be and how one must literally carve out time each day to do something they love (or, at least I do, lol!). Whether its waking at 10:30pm and stitching together a new infant toy or working on something piecemeal throughout the day; I grab the moments when I can. Balancing house work, 6 kiddos and their oh so varied needs and challenges and then retaining something for myself that is aside from these commitments is a learning process and shifts daily indeed. As I was telling my husband...this challenge is really about so much more than just crafting....

So while the littlest one did not need a new toy,  I was looking around through a haze of sleepiness and found my sewing basket with just the right supplies. And a new toy was born. She is completely hand sewn (I don't like to run the machine at night...) and made from felted wool interlock, cotton 'skin' and cleaned and carded sheep's wool. Good stuff all around.

Tell me, how do YOU find time for what you love? I would love to hear your stories....

Blast 25 :: Jingle, Jangle, Jingle...and a winner!

We have a little someone teething in the house. Truth be told, I think she arrived teething. Still, these days the teething has become so much more intense so I thought some new little teethers would be fun!
These are made from some upcycled felted wool sweaters, filled with a jingle bell and stuffed lightly with cleaned and carded sheep's wool from West Earl Woolen. Love that place!

and now for our wiinnnneeerrr!
The Magic Mixing Bowl has spoken and the winner of the little bird bookmark is....Leah!
 "Kelly, your gems are truly and magically delightful! : ) Thanks so very much for this truly wonderful giveaway! "
 Thank YOU Leah for playing along! Send along your address at writeus4@yahoo.com and I will send this little bird flying off to you!

Hope to see you ladies playing along again next weekend!
xoxo

Blast 10 :: Gone fishin'

and so, apparently, has the battery charger for my camera ...bummer.

But it is here somewhere, right? One would think....

I have looked every stinkin' place I can think of - guess that's the problem. It must be one of those "how did it get there?!?" deals. Oh well, after contemplating not posting since I lacked a pic, I thought, 'now, how dumb is that' and am posting anyway. I will pop the pics in as soon as the charger magically reveals its hidden location to me. Now,  back to our regular scheduled programming....

As I was saying...fishing! I have been wanting to make a fishing game for ages. Literally, since my almost 11 year old was little. This was one of those situations where I wanted it to be perfect - and never did it. This time? I let go a little and here I now stand, rod in hand...fishies just waiting to be caught.

The fish are just simple ones, a hint of fish if you will...made from wool felt. Each are cut free hand so they're all a bit different from each other (love that) with a smallish round magnet sewn in. Same deal with the worm; only this time with a  ribbon sewn in as well. The dowels are from Casey's - their lot assortment to be exact. You can purchase a whole bulkbox of seconds that are a mix of everything. We've had a bunch of fun checking those pieces out and imagining what wonders they could hold...

Super sweet. Super simple. And done. Why on earth did that take me so long? That's okay, its still in time for a little one's birthday in a few weeks. We have 2 this month so the crafting around here will be pretty much birthday oriented 'til the end of the month. Oh yes, and then we have one more in September...so maybe just a bit longer.

Completion time: 1 hour and 15 minutes (all that hand sewing does add up!)

Now, if only I could find my charger....

(Charger found! Monday afternoon :)

Blast 5:: Tag Blankets - otherwise known as shark toys

Lest one think that life is all about napping babies, lazy berry picking, movie watching and crafting goodnesss...I give you cleaning. An entire day of it in fact...because all of that creating sure can get messy (those little paper snippets manage to migrate all over the house if left unchecked). And, while the cat's away (or busy crafting) the little mice will play...and play...and play some more (and the dog will shed, and kiddos need to be fed, and dishes washed and.....you get the picture).

I also told myself when I started this challenge that I wouldn't.let it take over our home (as in hiding from the windows when friends arrive unexpected because the house is a disaster or realizing that it's 3 o'clock and no one has had lunch).There had to be a balance. Like...sweet little tag blankets for unassuming little baby sharks. That kind of balance.

Speaking of, someone is turning 5 this week...five months that is. Now, where that (almost) first half year has gone I can't say but, I can safely say this seems to have been the fastest babyhood we have seen. Too fast.

In celebration of this 5 month anniversary I thought the time had come to finish the tag blanket that I had started a few weeks ago. Well tag blankets, but I figured she only needed one so that was my goal for the night 

With all three of my machines (2 vintage Kenmores and one newer Viking - the Kenmores are actually my faves...good little work horses those gals are, well, when they're working) all in various states of disrepair (missing bobbin, belt issues and tension trouble), hand sewing is where its at these days. So, it was another night of movie watching  (Whip It) - this time with a little (actually a whole lot...) of stitch accompaniment. And can I say, that movie almost made me want to move to Austin and get my derby on. Almost....

My roller derby dreams aside, I was reminded of how much I love hand sewing - a lot. I started in high school and it was years 'til I switched over to machine sewing for anything. Quilts were my thing back then and they were hand stitched. My, my....someone had some time on her hands back then, huh? Still, I do truly love it. It works like meditation for me...here is a little peek of my latest mantra...

A simple 9 patch square made from 4x4 squares of Kokka linen fabrics with a cotton Kokka backing. Tags are of cotton ric-rac, some vintage, some not. I bet she will love attacking and chewing on those little bits...Happy 5 months sweet baby....

Blast 1:: Owls

I was informed many...many....many times from Little L's sibs that she was sorely lacking in toys. Mind you, this began the day she came home with me; fresh, new and thoroughly unable to hold a thing. So, you can imagine the excitement when she actually was able to grasp a finger and hold onto an object for more than a second. Then came the ultimate fun - what we fondly refer to as  the "shark attack " - that mad rush of energetic "get it in my mouth now" craziness when this babe has her grip on something. Awwww, our sweet little shark... (note: the cashmere is super soft against baby's skin and the carded sheep's wool inside makes it extra cuddly too).

Maybe this is a bit of cheating as these were made within the past 3 days as part of my destressing from a house full of strep. But maybe not so much, as I had these sweaters sitting around for ages, waiting for their new lease on life in some new form or another. See, that's completely my problem here, not wanting to "waste" any of the goodness I have laying around. Thinking I could always make something better so I had better not waste it on <insert perfectly fine idea here>. Pretty silly, huh?  That's how I ended up in this mess:

ahem, literally. sorry for that eye sore...

I admit, in the moving in, moving out (still working on that one) and all the in between...getting this space set up has been the last on the 'to do' list. Someday I say...someday...But that's a whole 'nother post.