Summer Tent

This morning Sydney and I decided to try out the tent pattern from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. Mine isn't exactly like the pattern, but a similar theory. I used a thrifted sheet instead of 42" wide fabric, so I skipped all the dimensions listed and just used the whole sheet. No hemming & no cutting, we were done in about 15 minutes. Basically its just loops sewn at all four corners for the stakes and one at each end for the rope to hold it up.

Honestly its projects like these that make me so thankful for my stash. We had everything we needed to make this as soon as I brought up the idea. An important point when your crafting partner has the attention span of a 3 year old!

If we can manage to keep the mosquitoes away I think we will be having a lot of fun out there this summer!

Jam

Last week I made my first batch of freezer jam (strawberry rhubarb.) It was so simple. I know people always say it's simple and you think really? Could it be that easy - it's jam? But honestly, it is. (I followed the recipe on the back of the box of fruit pectin.)

In honor of the occasion I also fired up the bread machine. Warm bread and fresh jam on a beautiful summer day. Life is good.

Travel Pillow with Pocket

As soon as I saw the travel pillow MayaMade designed for her kids I knew I had to whip one up for Sydney. It was a fun, quick project and a good excuse to use some cute fabric! (This adorable pattern is from JoAnn's.)

The pillow I made has a super easy design. It is basically an envelope pillow case with a handle sewn into the side seams. The envelope style allows it to be removable and of course washable. Travel pillows don't stay very clean around here. The pillowcase fits a travel pillow which is roughly 12"x16". The pocket is the girl's favorite part - she says it's a sleeping bag for her friend of choice (Lola today.) On the original pillow the pocket was meant to hold a lavender sachet, also a nice touch.

I just noticed Maya has posted a tutorial for her pillow - go check it out!

Baby Kimono Sweater (aka the post of many parenthesis)

Finished up this sweater before the baby even arrived! It's for a friend of mine that had her baby today. The pattern is from Mason Dixon Knitting (Ravelry link). Pretty quick and easy pattern except for a bit of sewing at the end. (I stink at seams.) I used Caron's Simply Soft yarn, but the pattern calls for Peaches and Cream (gotta love a pattern that actually calls for cheap yarn!)
Even though the yarn I used was acrylic, I did manage to successfully block this sweater by using steam from my iron. I pinned the sweater into place on my ironing board and steamed it without touching the iron to the sweater. It worked like a charm for me. (This does not guarantee good results for you, or even for myself with future projects. It was probably a fluke and when the poor child puts it on the front will roll right up her belly...but it looked good when she opened the gift!)

Stripes and Dots

After well over a year, this is finally finished!

I started this quilt for Sydney with the intention of just making a fun blanket for her out of my stash. It quickly grew to twin size before I knew it! I chose all the striped and polka dot fabric I had and cut it into strips of various lengths. The white stripes were an after thought. The patterened fabrics right next to each other was just too much!

The backing is a thrifted sheet. It couldn't have been more perfect if I had planned it! The binding is leftover strips so it's a bit wider than it needed to be, but I was not about to cut it down.

The quilting is kind of a cursive "l" pattern that was fun to do. A little tricky to shove all the through my sewing machine, but fun all the same.

Hopefully the next one won't take so long! (Not that it actually took me that long to make it...procrastination you know!)

Purple Cap Sleeved Top

A finished project! Hurray! I finished this top for Sydney over the weekend and she immediately put it on. It kept her nice and toasty on Saturday, despite the cold weather. It fits snugly around her, but wasn't too tight around the neck which I was worried about. We will be saving this for fall and winter (with a long-sleeved T underneath.) It's a great (free!) pattern, knit entirely in the round so no seaming. You bind off and put it on!

Warming up

We spent the weekend trying to stay warm. We met both sets of parents at a state park to camp and fish. It rained most of the weekend and never broke 60 degrees. Brrr! I spent the time huddled around a fire knitting, so I guess I can't complain about that too much! I do have a finished knit to show you, but I have to bribe Sydney to model it - hopefully I can share that tomorrow. Today you just get to see the new babies we are growing around here. Robins! The color of those eggs is amazing. We are anxious for them to hatch, mostly so mama robin can stop making such a mess on the side of our house.