Amish Puzzle Ball
Heidi is 8
Cashmere for Baby Brandon
Brandon's Baby Quilt 2/20/2008
My baby is almost potty trained! 1/28/2008
Recycled Clothes 1/25/2008
Toothfairy Pillow
Title: Amish Puzzle Ball
I saw an Amish puzzle ball on etsy and really wanted one for Brandon. I couldn't afford the hefty price tag for the completely hand sewn treasure so went about figuring out how to make one myself. A craft book I had from the library had some directions, but they weren't quite right. Their ball was stitched completely together, but a true puzzle ball comes apart in 3 equal pieces and then locks securely together to form a ball. It is easy apart, easy together, but won't come apart unless you want it to. Also their pattern pieces weren't included in the book and seemed more complex than necessary to sew with. With all those hints though I was able to make my own pattern and ball.
It has 36 pieces! And takes some time to turn and stuff each of the 12 sections. Thanks to Heidi's help with the turning and stuffing, (I sewed; she stuffed.) we had it together in a couple of hours. (Now I see why they are so expensive.) I used fire engine printed flannel for the light sections, and soft red courderoy for the inner sections.
Brandon likes it, but I think Dub likes it even more. It is easy to catch and is as gentle as a Nerf ball for throwing indoors. (Which is a lovely activity for today, since it is bitterly cold with fresh ice all around.)
I will be making a free tutorial for this ball sometime soon so everyone can have their own puzzle ball. These make darling pincushions with buttons stitched at the intersections and when made small are cute Christmas ornaments.
Date: 2/21/2008
Title: Heidi is 8
Heidi turned 8 a few weeks ago. This is a huge milestone in her life as our faith teaches she is now old enough to understand about her need for salvation and to truly repent. She is accountable for her actions and can decide if she wants to be baptised and obey Jesus for the rest of her life.
We celebrated this birthday with a few of her closest girlfriends. They made tie dye night shirts and their own personal homemade pizzas. Heidi wanted a pink pony cake. Thanks to familyfun.com I was able to oblige. Pictured below is her lemon pony cake complete with bubblegum tape mane.
Date: 2/21/2008
Title: Cashmere for Baby Brandon
Before Brandon was born I bought two Cashmere sweaters from the Thrift store and felted them in my washing machine. I cut the dark blue one into a knotty hat and gown set, but never finished it before he was born. When I felt better enough to finish it, I couldn't find it! I was so sad.
Today, I found it (Oh Joy!) and decided to finish it even though it was sure to be too small. The hat won't begin to fit but the gown still does. It is so warm and soft and he doesn't need a diaper cover when he wears it since wool is naturally water resistant (and he's pretty consistent about using the potty now.)
The gown is double breasted with resin snaps (love my KAM Press from Serena!). I can lay it completely open to put it on him which I love. The bottom is stitched shut in a U and the rest of the gown is unfastened. This is great for newborns because you can pull their little legs out to change a diaper without unfastening any snaps. But Brandon kicks enough now that he works his legs out while he plays.
I cut this gown the same size as the little blue cotton gown he wore in the hospital. They are not the same size finished at all. There is no way he could get that little cotton gown on. This is a good illustration on how different fabrics affect the overall fit of a garment.
I have one sleeve left of the sweater and it is barely big enough to cut one diaper cover or a pair of booties from. I can't decide what to do with it yet.
Date: 2/21/2008
Title: Brandon's Baby Quilt
This quilt was Brandon's Christmas gift from Heidi and me. Heidi chose the pattern and fabrics and pieced some of it. I finished it for her. It was pieced using the Quilt in a Day Log Cabin book by Eleanor Burns. I reduced the width of the strips so I could add a row of blocks and make the barn raising pattern without increasing the size of the quilt. It is about 45" square. We chose this pattern (because it's pretty) for it's signifigance. The red centers represent the love of Christ present in our home. The light fabrics represent the happy times in life and the dark fabrics represent the sad. Without the dark the light areas wouldn't be as pretty. I centered the quilt on the light fabrics, because the happy times are what we remember most. I quilted the light areas in tiny loopy stippling and the dark areas have straight lines radiating out from the light areas. This straight stitching forms a cross, representing the sacrifice of Christ which promises us a place where there will be no tears. The backing of the quilt is the Life with Father print and I used a scrappy binding to finish it off. I used 100% wool batting which I love! I'm so sad our Jo-Ann's no longer carries it.
I use this quilt all the time and have had to wash it twice already! It is our carseat cover and floor time quilt. It is my first free motion quilting project and even though it's not perfect, I'm pretty proud of it.
Date: 2/20/2008
Title: My baby is almost potty trained!
Before Brandon was born, DH wanted me to try elimination communication with this baby. I bought the tiny potty and read everything I could on the subject. When Brandon was here, I just couldn't get the hang of it. I'm not sure I ever even started. Recently, Brandon has been waking up in the night. Not to nurse, not to burp, and when I went to change his diaper it was dry. Finally I decided to set him on the potty and he went! Now he kicks his little legs and fusses a bit when he wants to sit on the potty during the day. I have to be quick as he can only hold it about 30 seconds, but I'm getting better at it. As you can see in the picture, when he needs to go #2, he prefers to have a book. (How old is this kid? Nope not 30, only 4 months.) Now, how to get my 2 1/2 year old to tell me when he needs to go?
Date: 1/28/2008
Title: Recycled Clothes
Recycled Clothes
The skirt below, was a $1 ladies thrift store jumper. The fabric is a lovely soft corduroy in hunter green with tiny blue flowers printed on it. The skirt was so narrow that a grown woman would have difficulty moving comfortably in it. I cut the jumper off under the arms, using the former waist seam and gathers as a new yoke element. I also kept the original side seems. The jumper buttoned down the front to the waist and I was able to keep the bottom 2 buttons as design elements in the yoke. I added an elastic waist to finish the top. The skirt was way too long for Heidi and still too narrow for her comfort so I cut enough off the bottom to make a ruffle. This shortened the skirt while adding width to the hem and utilizing every bit of fabric. This has been Heidi's favorite skirt worn winter and summer for 2 years. Not bad for $1 and 30 minutes sewing time.
