Stitch Rabbit

Around Here Lately

Scrap busting, bath salts, bed jumping, woolly socks, hot tea, embroidery,     knit, knit, knit.

 

 

 

Repurposing Our Days and Gates

 

After a few too many days being cooped up indoors with books and children, I was starting to feel a little blue. A little housebound, and a little bored. In a tiny house with two kids who talk non-stop, a husband on a work break and joined at my hip and nothing but rain, rain rain....it was time to mix it up a little.  Finally the clouds broke and at last there was sunshine. Two and a half days of liquid "purpose to get out of your PJ's". You haven't seen me here because I've been busy loading up this guy:

 

Pulling away the dead to discover snowdrops and daffodils - already and at last, all at the same time.

 

Gabe and I have been talking raised beds for a few years now, and we're doing it this year. We found these beautiful old wooden gates yesterday for free and cut them up for boxes.

 

Along with the gates was a pile of great old green planks, nothing a little nail-pullin won't fix. Good as new.

 

Once the boxes were made and the old garden dug up and trenched (my job) we filled our new boxes with soil and laid straw down around for foot traffic. Keeps the weeds down too.

 

There's some good space between them so I have room for pots of tomatoes to hang out, who are getting kicked out of their usual spot this year.

 

 

We also found some old dresser drawers with all our woodly bounty. We Gabe knocked the bottoms and out and built them up in height. Two more cute as a button boxes.

 

But, after a few days of glorious sunshine, it all came to a flurried crashing halt...

 

(Frankie) "SNOOOWWWWWWW!!!!"

 

I think Charlie's expression says it all:  "But the onions, the spinach, the kale..."

 

Sigh...let's not get ahead of ourselves here...it is only February.

Sewing For the Boy

It's Celebrate The Boy month with Dana over at Made and I've been following closely waiting for tips and tutorials on the one boy item I absolutely love: pants. And look at this face - he's clearly saying to me "Mama, I need some pants."

It's hard to sew for boys - they just have less options. I've done a fair bit of sewing for my main man, but I'm getting tired of the same elastic waisted pants. Great for a baby - but he's getting to be a big boy now - he deserves some flair. So along with all those boy mamas following Celebrate The Boy, I am too, celebrating. Time to pull out those scissors and get to work. This boy's gonna look good.

 

(Pants Inspiration)

madebymuku

Oliver + S

Makeitandloveit

 

Maybe I'll get entirely wrapped up in the boy and his pants and knit these off too. Who doesn't want knit pants?!

Pickles

Willing On Spring

I am willing on the spring, I am ordering seeds. I'm not foolish enough to plant them yet, not even indoors, but I will finger the packages and draw plots with a pencil and dream of sugar peas and sweet corn and sprinklers.

I'm cutting back on the piles of scarves and hats and mitts by the door, washing them and drying them and packing them away. Too soon you say? Maybe. Maybe we'll freeze, and other mothers will look at my children with their brightly colored sneakers and light sweaters and will shake their heads - but they will be envious on the inside. Of our brightly colored outfits.

I am buying pots of flowers and placing them in the windows, refusing to look at the dismal grey outside, and instead focusing on the beauty of the petals, the smell of the dirt. I'm digging my fingers into the dirt of these early spring flower pots and humming and pretending I am in my garden. This is weird, maybe, but I'm doing it.

I dislike February.

I am willing on the spring, I am sewing spring dresses. On a dark and stormy night, rain beating on the window. My feet are cold, my tea's gone cold and I have to make bias binding, but sewing spring dresses will bring on the spring. I swear.

 

Defining Her Own Independance

 

Big enough to make the cookies by herself, this time.

Cracked the eggs and cut the butter, I read the recipe card that she pointed to.

I took my place as she held her hand up, "No Mom, I can do it"

I wiped my hands on my apron while she measured a cup of flour, and then another.

I smiled when she snuck some chocolate, and then slid the bag out of her reach.

Every dollop of cookie dough on the sheet, pressed with her own tiny fingers.

There is nothing better than sharing cookies with your daughter

Who is growing taller and taller.

 

 

Coloring Her Lines

My great and talented girlfriend Erin Cleal made these amazing coloring books for my kids. She just finished an art show with the neat concept of drawing 31 drawings - one a day, for an entire month. Erin is a talented artist who dives deeply into collage and paint and screen print, but these simple line drawings make a great group - and the kids loved them. Thanks Erin!

The Gathered Rainbow Chevy

If you've been following a long, I've been talking the last few weeks about the Sew Mama Sew Pillow Month. The daily pillow inspirations and huge roundup of pillow tutorials are enough to keep a girl busy for twelve months instead of just one.

Here's my Pillow Contest Entry:

 My inspiration for the Gathered Rainbow Chevy came from a love of chevron stripes and a rainbow palette of solid colors. I'm not usually a solid kind of girl. We all know I love me some floral. But I wanted to try something different and so I did.

I used colors from the Kona solids collection for the gathered pieces and used a Kona natural white for the stripes, also unlike me. I prefer dark colors. Again, thinking outside my box. I hope it works out...

In hindsight, the methods I used to construct the pillow were good, but I definitely saw what I would do differently next time. I used two tutorials to help construct this pillow. The chevron stripes were SO EASY to make thanks to Calli's chevron applique tutorial over at Make It Do, and I used the "Add a Zipper to your Pillow" tutorial from Autum at Creative Little Daisy, both tutorials courtesy of Sew, Mama Sew.

I am in the middle of putting together a tutorial for you so you can make a pillow like this one!

Check back later this week!

 

Rainbow Chevron Sneak Peek

It's Friday and I've gotten a lot accomplished this week. I think I came out of the gates with a bang after a week of "too-sick-to-knit". Can't keep a girl down.

I posted last week my inspiration for a new pillow. Here's a peek at my pillow entry for the Sew Mama Sew Pillow Contest...the chevron stripes are working out perfectly, thanks to this wonderful tutorial from Make It Do. I've chosen my rainbow of colors, and the front is almost complete.

Check back next week for my completed pillow, as well as a tutorial for it!

 

If you are looking for an easy weekend project, check out these Easy Peasy dishcloths over at Pickles - I made a few this week - so cute! (And border-lining complete domesticity - three cheers for dishcloths!)

 

 

Somewhere In Between

 

Somewhere in between the coffees and the breakfast, there might be a moment to sew.

Somewhere in between the cereal spills and the four year old love ballads, there might be a moment to knit.

Somewhere in between the park and the forest and the car rides and the play dates, there might be a moment alone so I that I can make.

 

Somewhere in between bath and bed she discovers the new pillow for her to lay her tiny head on,

  and she thanks me for those tiny moments, because "You sneak away to make love for us."

Sheesh. Caught red-handed.

What Makes The World Go 'Round

Wild children running free in the woods.

Tiny handknit hats for tiny beloved heads.

Friendships sewn together with hand holding and laughter.

The desire to learn and discover, forever around you.

 

Complicated Cutting

So I definitely want to piece together a chevron pattern for my Sew Mama Sew pillow. I've seen some great tutorials on creating a chevron pattern using striped fabric (like this one from Dana at MADE). Very crafty little trick - I really like this approach!

BUT...I am looking to create my own chevron stripes out of a patterned fabric that is not striped...and I want a wider space in between the stripes..so I need to figure out the best (and easiest) way to create these stripes...

So I'm trying a few different approaches...

Here's a photo of me sketching out templates, which shows you how professional and serious I am about making pillows. Tomorrow - we go hunting in that stash for those perfect colors...

 

*as I was writing this Sew Mama Sew posted a HUGE list of tutorials for pillows of all kinds. There are some amazing pillow ideas over there so you should check it out! That helps me out big time! *

 

 

Introducing The New Quilt

Okay...I may have a few more handstitches to do on the binding, but I just couldn't wait any longer to pin up my finished quilt, shoot some photos and show you all.

It's named the very-lucky-you-got-made-first New Quilt (see Old Quilt) and it was really fun and easy to make. I wanted to use mostly floral in saturated reds, purples and greens, and give it a very busy, moody look. I think I achieved that. The striped borders evens out the floral to me, gives them flowers a boundary. Back off floral, stay behind the line. The backing, not shown, is a green like the one you see in the borders, the binding a very deep red. Being the second quilt I've ever made, I'm more than pleased. I may wear this one out and about, show it off a little. Perhaps drape it like a toga, or even a sarong, maybe wrap the entire quilt around my neck - big neckwarmers are hot this season.

Well, maybe I won't wear it like a girl about town, but it just may sneak into the background of most of my photos for the next little while. Proud rabbit.

Pillow Inspiration

It's Monday and I've been toying all weekend with what I want to do for the Sew Mama Sew Pillow Contest. I'm drawn to chevron stripes a lot right now, they seem to be popping up everywhere in design and in fashion (like I know anything of either of these industries, except "Oooh, I like that picture.")

So, here are a few "Ooh, I like that pictures."

Chevron! Holla!

Chevron striped crochet, in rainbow. A skill I do not have in my bag. It's time for a bigger bag.

Tulip fields. For real.

Not a chevron stripe, a diagonal stripe but I like the colors. And that it's a potholder, I like potholders.

 

I think you've got the picture. Rainbow. Chevron. Let's go make a pillow.

 

  

 

Back To Health!! Back To Work!!

Alright, glad that week's over. I thought we'd turned the corner but there was more sick to come....finally, finally life is returning to normal. Frankie's color is coming back, and she's tap dancing in the kitchen again. Charlie is able to live for more than five seconds with out me holding him, on the couch, not knitting, in one special position only, patting his back just so. I forgot about the baby sick. The mama ain't going nowhere. Not to the bathroom, not to get a tea, not anywhere. Permanent seat on the couch for as long as it takes. This time? Four days, going on five. They're still hacking and sniffling and totally inappropriate to take anywhere in public, but it's over. So glad it's over....

Now it's back to work - for all of us. Gabe spent the afternoon moving the compost to a better spot, and up on some planks for better air circulation. He also moved what was the very full and very dangerous water barrel from it's high perch on a not-so sturdy table to a much sturdier, secure spot in the corner near the tool shed. (Every time the kids went near it this winter I yelled "GIT BACK FROM THE BARREL! IT COULD SQUISH YOU LIKE A BUG!" which leads me to believe my neighbors must really - really think I'm nuts.) And I can't believe it's time to pick my seeds already. Sheesh.

For me, there hasn't been much action in the sewing room or even on the sticks, due to the fever babies. I did get a little treat this week at the doorstep and I've been drooling over it for last few days...it's a book that's been out for a while, in fact there is also a Material Obsession Two, but it's new to me and I love it.

Kathy and Sarah of the real-life Austrailian quilt shop by the same name do a fabulous job with this book and the quilt patterns in it. There are beginner to advanced patterns, and the fabrical (is this a word? it is now!) eye candy is enough to make me think twice about the measly size of my stash. Hey - a girl needs options, right?

Starting next week is the beginning of a couple of pillow creations for the Sew Mama Sew Pillow Month. Come by for a peek at my inspiration, my own process and my finished pillows starting Monday!

Happy Saturday Night! Time to put those kids to bed and fix a coupla drinks!

 

Finding Inspiration While Resting My Weary Little Head

Whoa. That was a brutal couple of days. The flu sucks, for anyone. And when you live in the close quarters of a family of four, the flu sucks for everyone. The kids - the poor kids - are still in it. I thought we had turned a corner until tonight, it seems this will be another long, long night. I guess that is why I'm procrastinating turning in, and instead sitting at this keyboard...

The good thing about being sick is the time though. Being too weak to even knit (dramatic maybe, but true - and horrifying!) I spent a lot of time the past few days dreaming up varieties of the pillows I want to make for the Sew Mama Sew Pillow Month contests. I've been scouring the internet for inspiration, though I had a strong feeling from the start of what I was going to go for.

Sew Mama Sew linked us to some great inspiration on the Pillow Talk Flicker set - enjoy! Be inspired and perhaps make a pillow of you own this month! We could all use a little fluffy softness this time of year!

And since I've had plenty of time to search for inspiration of all kinds I think I'll show you a few of the other great mades I've found on whilst searchin Bloglovin'...two days of bed will find you plenty of "I wanna make that!"

Sherbert Pips Quilt by Red Pepper Quilts (I need to get my hands on some of that fabric!)

Possibly the coolest embroidery hoop idea I've ever seen by Lisa at GoodKnits

More amazing Echino blocks from Oh Fransson! Can't wait to see this quilt!!

 

Three cheers to healthy children, healthy mums and dads and a plentiful few days of pillow sewing!