Crochet: Ruffled Skirt

I just now got around to making this little ruffled crochet skirt for Audrey to go with the lavender cardi I made her this summer. It turned out pretty cute! Audrey was excited about it, which of course totally makes it for me!

She said, "Mom, it's like your skirt," when I was showing her how the drawstring works. She's referring to this vintage looking crochet skirt I made a few years ago. I love it when she likes things of mine or things I make--I feel it may be a time-limited state of mind for her so I'm making the most of it!

The skirt came together pretty quickly, which is a prerequisite these days. I used this pattern from Sandy's Cape Cod Originals and Lily Sugar n' Cream yarn in Warm Brown. I seriously have about a drawer full of Sugar n' Cream yarn with everything I have been crocheting with it this summer and more hats planned for the Fall. At least I've got less of the brown stashed now.

I never quite know how it's going to go trying to get pictures of Audrey but I always know it will be quick! She likes to goof off and run away most of the time but I still managed to get some cute shots.

 

Boo!

Sewing: Modern Farm Buttonhole Napkin Ties (Tutorial)

Not sure what to call these, really, they aren't "rings," as in napkin rings, so how about "ties"?

I made some similar napkin "ties" for the first time on the 3rd of July (one of my four last minute things for the Fourth) and thought of some of the other possible shapes, such as these farm silhouettes. I love how they turned out! Such fun, happy shapes I think. I can't wait to hear my younger guests talking about which of these they want to use!

For Scarlett's second birthday party I am trying to juxtapose the decidedly rural farm motif with a more modern aesthetic--it's funny to think about in which category the cotton twine belongs... Certainly it has a rural heritage but it's so modern now. I'm happy to have two large cones of it--can't wait to use it for other things.

Same goes with the gingham check. It's old fashioned and up-to-date all at the same time. I love that. The napkins are sewn from toweling fabric I purchased here. Toweling fabric was new to me--who knew? Seems a great pick for a casual napkin. This 18" wide fabric has finished selvages on both sides so I just ordered a few yards and cut squares and hemmed the two cut sides. I turned under 1/4 inch and zig-zagged for a more casual finish and I like the way it looks.

Here is a parade of the different Modern Farm silhouettes tying the napkins:

I am offering templates for these napkin ties, which also work for the small sized appliques I used on Scarlett's Modern Farm birthday dress, in my shop. If you are interested in the how-to for sewing your own buttonhole napkin ties in any shape, click on the link below to see the tutorial.

Craft: Bat Placemats

My mother went all out on holidays. She decorated generously for all of them. She was a more-is-more kind of woman, and I loved her for it! I certainly inherited some of that, but not so much for holidays. My decorating is sparse by comparison, and probably by most standards. Now that we have children (hooray for three!) it's much more fun to make a deal over Halloween. I am not quite to the point of sewing hours on costumes (but admire those who do); maybe that will come. But, it is fun to put out carved pumpkins and a few other things in October. Audrey helped me do it this year.

The tabletop seems like an easy, reasonable, and high-impact way to do up the current season. I have always loved linens, plates, serving pieces, etc.. So for Halloween we have bat placemats! They are eat-and-wipe-it-down vinyl (have to be honest here about all the issues surrounding PVC--these aren't food safe, so don't forget the plate, and some would argue not kid safe either...). My mother made these identical placemats when I was a child, and some for other holidays--you can probably imagine the possibilities. Such a simple and clever way to make mealtime fun.

A few years ago when my siblings and I were going through her holiday things we found the bats and made a template. Now I think we all have bat mats at Halloween. If you would like to make some for your table you can download the free template here: 

Bat Placemat Template_AestheticNest.com_Oct 2010

They aren't bad for playing with either...

Sewing: Modern Farm Tablecloth (and Mitered Band Tutorial)

More Modern Farm party prep... I don't know how I got the idea but I couldn't resist doing a large size of these cute farm silhouettes as appliques on a tablecloth. Animals "grazing" along the sides, and...

 

...tractor, barn and silo on the ends.

I have made tablecloths before, the easy way, by simply hemming the edges, but this time I took white twill fabric (part of the Sew Classics canvas line at Joann) and added a contrast band of green (quilting cotton in "Bamboo" from Joann) with mitered corners. It was such a mind-bender to figure out so I created a tutorial for anyone else interested (crazy enough?) and so that I don't have to figure it out if I ever want to attempt it again. Click on the link below for the details.

I used HeatN'Bond and contrasting stitching to add the appliques to the tablecloth. I think these Modern Farm appliques would be so fun on a sweatshirt, place mat or even tote. The Modern Farm appliques in this large size are available in my Etsy shop here. 

Click below to view the tutorial for adding a mitered contrast band to a tablecloth. The first step for me was putting the baby in the Baby Bjorn (yes, it is possible to sew that way) and getting my toddler to take a nap!

Sewing: Luxe Lovey Tutorial

I was invited to be a Creative Guest on UCreate last month and developed this tutorial for the occassion. Because I am a "finisher," meaning that the satisfaction of crossing off a project on my list (and posting it this blog) far outweighs the enjoyment of the process, I love things that can be done quickly. This Luxe Lovey is just such a project. It's perfect for an assembly line approach to making a bunch at once. And great to have on hand for baby gifts. I'm providing the full tutorial here today.

When my daughter, Scarlett, was born, a friend gave her a "lovey." I wasn't familiar with the concept, just thought it was a cute, portable, baby-sized blanket. But she explained that the mother is supposed to sleep a couple nights with the lovey to imbue it with her scent, and then give it to baby so that baby will be comforted by it when mommy is in the other room sleeping, or away for an hour or two. So it's soft and cuddly and portable, and smells like mom--perfect!

I love that these minky and satin loveys are luxurious. A little bit of luxury goes such a long way! And if you make a batch of them the price per lovey is scandalously low--such a nice secret for a luxe baby gift.

 

The potential combinations are endless, but I picked Retro Dot in bubblegum pink and Dimple Dot in white for one lovey, and ...

 

...Minkee Tween Fresh Flowers in mandarin orange and Minkee Tween Cheetah in mandarin orange for the other.  This would be a fun group project--split the bill to buy minky for a multitude of different combinations and go home with a variety.

 

To view the tutorial click the link below: