Matt's Gift!

This year I drew my nephew Matt's name for the Christmas exchange. Good fortune, for certain. Matt was staying in Eagles Mere with my parents when Mom had her surgery this fall so I got to spend alot of time with Matt - knitting and talking about how to refashion and reuse all kinds of things - including wool sweaters! Matt is a great guy but he does have one rather unique behavior - he sleeps on the floor - - with no matt (no pun intended) -- only on a wool blanket -- that's it!

So I knew that on Christmas eve Matt would unwrap a refashioned, felted wool sweater blanket. So here are the photos of my gift to Matt. I am pretty certain that he loves it as the blanket travels with him everywhere and is between him and the hard wooden floor every night! I HEART MATT!

Piles and piles of old, used, moth-eaten wool sweaters. Some donated from friends, some my old beloved friends, and some that Matt gave me! Washed in a pillow case in hot water and dried either in the dryer or on the clothes line.

Sixty 9 X 9 inch squares were cut from the body and sleeves of about 20 felted sweaters.



The most tedious task was deciding the positioning of the squares - my type A personality came back to haunt me! Like it really matters - right? Wrong (you other type A's get it, right?). I backed the quilt with a soft blue velour. So cozy!

....and what is Lauren doing with her cousin's gift??? Her time in Nica has made her a fair weather bird!

Merry Christmas to all and to Matt a good night!

XXOO

I Knit....

...and I like!

I picked up the needles and yarn while Mom was recuperating from surgery. I was terrible at first. How do you tell the difference between a knit and purl? How do you pick up a dropped stitch? And I had alot of them! So I decided that the first 4 projects would be felted! Oh what a forgiving craft! So I knitted and felted a hat and three bags!
The hat was my first project - thanks to the ladies in the Danville, Pa knitting circle who shared their love of knitting, their expertise, and their stories with me while I worried about my mom!

I am first and foremost a sewist so getting to line the bags was icing on the cake!! Here with a great grey windowpane Dupioni silk.


And these two with batiks...


And then my BS (beloved spouse) asked if I could knit him "old school" golf club covers for Christmas! Gawd - like I can say no? No - to a Christmas present? No - implying I can't do it? Hell, No!!! So, after a long month of starts and stops, misses and groans.....

FORE!!!!!!
A giant Rastafarian pom pom!

A labor of love! Old school! He was very forgiving!

DC Threads is Launched!!

I have been VERY tardy in my posting - - but I actually have an excellent excuse...

DC Threads launched this month! Check it out, come to the Sewing Lounge and Stitch for Change!!

More personal posts will come in due time!!

Peace,
Laura

My Other Passion - Reckless Abandon Dancing

Those of you who really know me appreciate (and tolerate) my love of dancing! Not the elegant, graceful dancing of "dancers" but my "reckless abandon" approach to interacting with music! Flip on Van Morrison, Todd Rundgren, Bruce, Madonna (old Madonna, that is), the Talking Heads, the B 52's, the Stones, or the Fine Young Cannibals and there is no telling what will happen.

So, I share with you this video clip. I am not certain why - but I sorta "welled up" (in a wonderful way) as I watched this guy dance his way to, and through, people's hearts and smiles!! How great would it be to be this guy??? I hope he realizes how incredibly fortunate he is to have seen all those wonderful places and, also, to have shared the gift of "reckless abandon dancing" with them!!!

Peace!

A Generous Gift from Across the Pond!!!

I never win ANYTHING - - NEVER!! So imagine my surprise when Joanie Gorman's email arrives in my inbox announcing my good fortune! She was even sweet enough to include the link to the original event - just in case I had forgotten I had signed up for her blog contest!
Nini Makes Birthday Blog Contest!

And then the WONDERFUL bundle of treasures arrived - from across the big pond! Just wait until you see the swag - Liberty prints, antique buttons and buckles, handmade lace, a book from my childhood and one that will hopefully make other children happy, and on and on and on!

Joanie, thanks so much for your amazing generosity!

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

Shhhhh!
Don't tell Charlotte that I made her
a wee jingle Scottie for her birthday.
I haven't given it to her yet, so hush!

Thanks to All Sorts for the pattern and inspiration!
And to Charlotte for her love of sewing!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,
happy birthday dear Charlotte, happy birthday to you!!!!!

Austin Bound Plushies

Last week I "re-met" and "first-met" some really remarkable folks - a long-lost college classmate and her family. My friend and her mate are amazingly accomplished designers and entrepreneurs and their two year old twins are - well - they are amazing two year old twins! (For those of you who don't know me well I am rapidly approaching a half century - so do the math about having the twins!). I don't know how they manage it all!!

Anyway -what a pleasure to get reacquainted and acquainted! Below are a couple of pics of the plushies I made for the kids! Thanks for a terrific time in Austin!

All the materials are from my stash bins (hooray for emptying out my stash bins!). I used fleece for the patterned bodies and felt for the eyes and bellies. I embedded bells in the fiberfill so the plushie can jiggle for Zelda!

Z for ZELDA

C for CREED

Tiny smiles for the tiny twins! Love you guys!

Thanks again Austin!

Itty Bitty Booties with my good friend Charlotte!

Charlotte and I met today and finished her mom's Mother's Day present – finally (we started it before LAST Mother's Day)!! I can't include a photo of that little item just yet - we don't want to ruin the surprise!

After we finished "the gift" we decided to make some Bitty Booties that I found on "Hello My Name is Heather" (via "Wee Wonderfuls"). One of the great benefits of having Charlotte come over for sewing instruction is that I get to experiment with all sorts of wonderful projects!

Back to the booties - - - click on the photo above for a free download of the adorable pattern.

Charlotte set to work designing her booties - searching through my stash boxes for bits of ribbon, buttons, beads, bells, etc! Only those of us with LOTS of stash boxes can understand the joy of having someone go through all those boxes and USE THE STUFF!!!

Here are a couple of photos of Charlotte's booties! Sooooo CUTE!!! We vowed to make many more pairs!!

And here's my contribution to the "bootie call"!!!! :)

Thanks CHARLOTTE!!!!! Oh yea, and Heather and Wee Wonderfuls!!!

Thanks Craft Magazine!

Craft Magazine featured my Nats Game Bag on their blog! Thanks again to the folks at Craft for the inspiration!!!

Click here to check it out!

GO NATS - GO GREEN

Opening Day! One of the best days of the year!

Tradition dictates that I sew something new each year to wear, or to use, on opening day - just for good luck (and lordie know that the Nats need luck - any kinda luck)!! This year I decided to GO GREEN (inspired by the folks at Craftzine and Threadbanger), so I fashioned a "game bag" from plastic shopping bags - bags from Target, bags from a shop in Bergen, Norway and a bag from the Nats spring training team store. I love this bag 'cause it's GREEN but I also love it because it's "ballpark beer resistant". You know how you take a bag with you to the park and shove it under your seat and then the guy behind you spills his beer and throws his peanut shells all over your bag - well nothing to worry about with this baby - just wipe it off and give the guy behind you a smile!!!

So grab those plastic bags that are choking our environment and put them to good RE-use!

Peace and GO NATS!

My opening day "uniform"
(the coat was my 2006 opening day good luck sew - "sew" much for good luck!!)

The logo is from a bag from the Nats team store in Viero, Fl

The 'Sades Chicks (Amy, Ava, Nancy, Kathy, and me) with Coach Antoine at the new field!!!

GO NATS!

Comfy Literature!

Happy Birthday Nattie!

I whipped up this Reading Pillow using a Montessori by Hand pattern (sold here on Etsy) and some wonderful batik fabric from G-Street! Nattie seemed too happy to have a comfy place to rest her book! I think she may have even taken it with her to Rome! A well-traveled pillow!

Here is all that you need to make this WONDERFUL reading pillow (except for the polyfil)! The pattern provides instructions for making your own piping but my usual crisis sewing situation ruled out making my own piping so I opted for some bright yellow "prepared" piping!

The pattern instructions are well written and easy to follow. And I love the photo!

Here is the finished pillow with my copy of Tim Gunn's "A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style" held securely in place! Two ribbons hold the pages open so you can read hands-free and a bright yellow bookmark saves your place.

And sans the book!

The pattern includes a strap that holds the book in place.

One of the two pockets - one to hold your glasses and one to hold your pen! I changed the pattern a tad - instead of sewing the tab/loop that holds the ribbon onto the front of the pillow I sewed the tab/loop into the side seam - I think it makes for a cleaner finish.

One of my favorite lines in Tim's book....

Thanks for having a birthday Nattie - I hope Rome was FUN!!!

Knock your socks off!!

My nephew Matt is amazing! No gift for Nattie? Gotta an old sock? Got Aunt Laura's studio stuff? Got 60 minutes? Ya gotta gift!!

Project PEEPWAY

I have a NASTY habit - I LOVE peeps!!! And just when I didn't think I could love them anymore --- this came along!! Click on the peeps to see the perfect marriage of both my NASTY habits!

Happy Birthday Martha!

The big FIVE OH!.......
The new 30........
You're not getting older, you're getting better and better........

But just in case she has one of those "less than better days" - I made my friend Martha a comfort kit (inspired by a tutorial on Sew Mama Sew)!!!


The comfort pad is filled with lime scented rice - just heat it up in the microwave for 1-3 minutes and apply it to where it hurts! The lime scent is terrific! When the birthday girl passed the kit around the table one reveler took a deep sniff and asked: "Where's the margarita?" - too funny!


The eye pillow is filled with eucalyptus-scented flax. Keep it in the freezer and pull it out for headaches and congestion. The eucalyptus scent is so soothing!


Enjoy!