a cut of faith

Well, I did it.  After a week . . . yes, that's right seven full days of reading and rereading the Molly Monkey pattern for my eleventh craft till Christmas, I finally made my first cut into the fabric.  Kristin, my partner in this venture, suggested that I not read ahead.  Oops too late!  She received advice from a more serious sewer that you should only read the step you are working on so that you don't get overwhelmed.  And although I had already kicked that horse, this advice gave me the jumpstart I needed to just start and stop being so cutless . .  . I mean gutless.  So last night I cut out the majority of the pieces - minus the wool felt pieces, and tonight . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . I STARTED ACTUALLY SEWING THE PIECES TOGETHER!  (I hope you didn't feel like I was shouting at you, but I had to express my complete amazement somehow.  I was beginning to think I would be reading this pattern seven months from now but not have even started the project.)

Of course, true to form I can't let cutting out a few pieces actually be as easy as it sounds.  You see there are these crazy little abbreviations sewers like to use to drive non-sewers like me slowly insane.  One of those abbreviations is RST.  My oldest daughter has mastered the alphabet and knows just about as much about sewing as me, so I asked her what RST means.  She came up with Rainbows, Snow and Tea Parties.  Hmmm . . . interesting guess, but I thought I would get a second opinion from my youngest daughter who has recently made it about five letters into the Alphabet Song.  She came up with Rinnah Have That.  She actually got two out of the three letters correct, but I think that was just a good guess because I was holding a book that she wanted at the time. 

So . . . it turns out RST means Right Sides Together.  That would have been helpful to keep in mind before I cut the first few pieces out.  Having said that . . . can you guess what is wrong with this picture?   Yes, that's right, I did not cut these out right sides together.  So, one of those Molly Monkey back pieces will find its way into the scrap pile to live another day.  

In spite of this very minor oops, I'm glad to have Molly Monkey underway.  It's not too late you join us.  Kristin and I would love to have another person join the Molly Monkey journey!  

Craft on!  

let us eat cake . . .

Tomorrow my baby turns two . . . I guess that makes her offically no longer my baby.  As I think back over the past two years, I can't believe how fast it has gone.  It's been such a blessing to get to know her over these past two years.  So far I've learned that she is determined, passionate, loving, curious, not easily distracted, very active and so much more.  I look forward to getting to know even more about her in the years to come. 

I've mentioned that I call her monkey because, often, as she climbs on the counters, over the kitchen table and under chairs, it's easy to mistake her for a monkey.  However, lately her animal of choice is a puppy as she crawls around on the floor under foot panting and barking.  So . . . for our little puppy's birthday, I decided to craft a doghouse cake.  I'm thankful for the inspiration Jennifer at JK Country Bakery provided (see previous post).  And although Jennifer is clearly more crafty in the cake creation department, I did try my hand at cake decorating this weekend in celebration of my spunky puppy's second birthday.    

I have to admit that it was a whole lot of fun to figure out how to make this thing completely edible.  A whole different kind of craft.  So whether you have a special birthday to celebrate, an anniversary coming up or you're just hungry for some cake, think of something fun to craft out of cake and go for it.

Craft on! 

saturday spotlight - let's eat cake!

I'm a big believer in the fact that crafting takes many forms . . . whether it's cute clothes for a dancing chicken, a beautifully reupholstered chair or a cleverly decorated cake.  That's why this week I'm shining the spotlight on my friend Jennifer Probst who owns JK Country Bakery with her husband, Keith.  Jennifer is an incredibly talented baker.  Everything she makes tastes d-e-licious!  I'm a super big fan of her monster bars, apple pie and pumpkin cookies.  I'm not ashamed to say that I could eat an entire plate of her monster bars in one day.  (Okay, I'm a little ashamed to say that, but they are THAT good!)  Jennifer made this pirate ship cake, and I think it looks almost too good to eat.  Although . . . I bet the little boy whose birthday it was for had no trouble digging into it.

Here are some of her other cute creations.

If you live in the area and have a need for a sweet treat, give Jennifer a call at 712-756-4462 or you can check her bakery page out on Facebook.  (Don't worry I don't just post people's phone numbers on the internet for every nutcase to see - not that anyone who reads this blog is a nutcase.  Jennifer gave me permission to toot her horn a bit and post her contact info.  Thanks so much Jennifer!)

I'm using Jennifer's inspirational cakes to craft my own cake-creation this weekend for my youngest daughter's second birthday.  What will you be inspired to create?

Craft on!

two more free patterns/projects: a skirt and a tie

I've been thinking about trying my hand a some clothing for my girls.  At first, I was thinking it would be fun (you know, fun as in torture) to make them each a spring/Easter dress.  Then I started looking at the Molly Monkey pattern (see previous post).  I realized if I can't even follow this pattern without googling every other word, I'm pretty sure sewing children's clothing is off limits . . . for now at least.  Then I came across these directions for sewing a child's skirt.  This looks like an easy peasy skirt . . . something even I could make . . . maybe . . . well, probably not, but it's worth a shot.

I'm not including this in my list of twelve crafts till Christmas because it's more of a spring skirt.  Hopefully, I can make two between now and Easter.  This will be a fun (fun as in actually fun) little gift to include in their Easter baskets.

I can get too focused on craft/sewing gifts for girls.  However, here's a shout out to all of you with little boys in your life . . . check out this sweet little tie pattern/project from Molly at purlbee.com.  (Picture from purlbee.com.)  She says that you don't even need a sewing machine to make this tie.  Woo hoo!  You could include this in his Easter basket instead of the skirt.  Of course, if you wanted to include the skirt, I'm not going to stop you.  :)  This is just another option.  

So enjoy two more free patterns . . . fun weekend projects for those of you who will be stuck inside because of the weather.   

Craft on! 

are you learning to sew? then you will love the tv show "lost".

I hear from my friends who are Lostites (fans of the show Lost) that the final season started last night.  Having never actually seen that show, I can only assume from the title that it's a show about people like me who are learning to sew using patterns like Molly Monkey.  I'll have to tune in for next week's show which I can only hope will be an episode explaining what in the world "whipstitching" is while the characters decipher these directions, "Bind one edge with coordinating bias tape.  Overlock or use pinking shears on the other edge.  Edgestitch to form a tube." 

Holy tamole . . . there are about six words in that sentence I actually understand and unfortunately they are the words:

• with
• or
• on
• the
• to
• a

So, as you can guess I'm struggling a bit with the Molly Monkey pattern.  Truth be told, I haven't even actually done anything yet except read the directions over and over again for two nights in a row.  (I have been working on another project though that I will post about another day.) 

I do have a partner in this endeavor.  Kristin sent me a message saying that she would make a Molly Monkey too.  Yippee!  I'm soooo excited!  Any other takers?  Click here to check it out http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/2008/07/drum-roll-pleasemolly-monkey-pattern.html.  (The picture is from mmmcrafts site.)

We would love to have someone else join us.  Kristin is far more knowledgeable in the sewing department.  I'm definitely the weak-link in our long-distance sewing partnership.  In fact, I already had to ask her what wool felt is.  Oh Kristin, you are a saint. 

Craft on!

and i present . . . the eleventh craft till christmas!

I'm slightly nervous but excited to try my hand at this Molly Monkey pattern for February's craft of the month.  As is my custom, I made my decision without actually thinking it through completely or reading the pattern instructions.  Once I printed out the pattern and took a glance at the instructions, I started getting cold feet.  There are lots of abbreviations and a few words I will be looking up.  I know they publish English to Spanish translation books.  Someone should make an English to sewing translation book because sometimes I sense that people who sew aren't talking my language.  I had the opportunity to spend about three months in China some time ago, and I honestly felt like I understood Cantonese better than I understand sewing-speak. 

I would love to have one of you join me in this project.  Please!  I will definitely need a fellow traveler on this bumpy journey into the world of Molly Monkey making.  E-mail me at lizbeth694@aol.com if you are interested.  

Here are the links to Molly Monkey at mmmcrafts and Mikey Monkey.  Another free pattern . . . woo hoo!  Molly is a full pattern, but Mikey is simply Larissa's variation on the Molly pattern to make it more boy-friendly.  Take a look and let me know if you will be sewing up a Molly or Mikey this month.

Craft on!

enjoy this pattern freebee

Tonight I will be posting about my craft for the month of February, but first I want to give you a heads up about this great free pattern for strawberry felt food.  Making felt food is one of those crafts on my hope-to-do-this-year list.  It looks tedious and fun all at the same time.  I'm a glutton for punishment, and I like free stuff.  (This comes from my parents who pretty much paid for our childhood trip to Disneyland by making us eat only Cheerios for a year and collecting the box tops for a Disneyland ticket promotion.)  In my search for free felt food patterns, I found this freebee offered by Bugga Bugs to those who sign up for their mailing list.  They promise not to sell your e-mail address, and you can remove yourself from the mailing list at any time.  Just click on the words "strawberry felt food" above and you will find yourself magically transported to the link where you can sign up for their mailing list.  You may have to wait a few days for them to e-mail it to you because they only update their mailing list once a week.  Enjoy your so-yummy-looking-you-could-almost-eat-it strawberries.  (I like to use dashes to make really long words.  Another thing I got from my parents . . . just kidding mom and dad!)

Craft on!