Puppet Theater for Ben

I only made one present this Christmas, and my little Ben was the lucky recipient. For years I've wanted to make the puppet theater in Bend The Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. I think that was the main reason I bought the book. I thought the project was going to take all of my Christmas break. I was so surprised that I finished it in less that one day. What surprised me even more was that I thought the project was going to be tedious, but I found that I simply enjoyed making it. I bought a whole bunch of puppets from Ikea and both my boys have already spent so much time playing with it and letting their imaginations run wild. I love watching them play together and truly enjoy each other.

How great that the pattern includes a case! I love that this just rolls right up when it's clean up time.

A Quilt For Me

It's one of those rare Saturdays that I'm doing something for myself...making a snuggly quilt just for me out of all my favorite fabrics. Here's a preview of what I've done so far. Although I'm sure it will be a rare moment indeed when I won't have little snuggle bugs cozying up to me.

All I did to make this was cut a whole bunch of 10" strips and 6" strips. Then I layed them out on the kitchen floor until I liked what I saw and sewed it all up, one piece at a time.

Socks

I finally got a picture of some socks I knit a few years ago. They are the one and only pair of socks I've ever knit (not counting baby socks). I was so pleased to see my mom wearing them that I just had to take a picture. I used the leftover yarn to make the baby mary jane shoes you can see in one of my older posts.

A Summer Day Headband for Me

So I'm just sitting around waiting for my husband to get home early so I can visit my dear friend in the hospital who just had a sweet little baby boy...but what to do. My younger son is napping and I decided to make myself a headband. Three tries later and I had this cute little thing that happens to match my outfit today. The decorative fabric bit encases the elastic, so it stays on, and is cute. I can hide the fabric bit on the bottom for a simpler look as well. Yay for a cute accessory!

Baby Goodies

Two dear friends each had their sweet little baby boy yesterday. What a surprise that they both came on the same day! Here are the goodies I made for them.

Burp Clothes

Nursing Cover

Binky/Pacifier Clips

Mini Snuggly Blankie

The back view of the Nursing Cover

See the matching bit of burp cloth in the corner :)

Announcing the Grand Opening of my Etsy Shop

I finally, finally, finally opened my etsy shop. Last year I set myself the goal to open up for business sometime this year. I hoped to do it earlier in the year, but due to a very full school year with homeschooling my oldest, I knew it would have to wait until summer. But I did it! Yay! I'm very excited and proud of myself. People are always telling me "Oh, you should sell those," when I make them gifts. I've never been inclined to because of the cost & time of sewing homemade. It's a labor of love. But...I guess I wondered if anyone out there in the big big world would like what I make. So here it goes. Wish me well.

Buckets Of Blue's Etsy Shop

A Dress For Me

I made a dress for myself. Yay! I wanted to wear it to a baby shower I was throwing at my house, but I hadn't put the straps on yet. Thankfully my friend arrived early and hand sewed them on before guests arrived. I didn't use a pattern and I just held the fabric around myself to wing the measurements. Then I sewed the jersey into a tube and shirred it at the top and at the waist. I really like it. It's cute and comfy and looks better when I'm not hunched over explaining the fondue food to baby shower guests. Maybe I'll get a more flattering shot next time I wear the dress. I left the bottom unhemmed because I like the way it drapes now. When I made that jersey skirt for Valentine's Day it draped great until I hemmed the bottom. It's okay now, but hopefully it will drape a little better after a few washes.

Buckets of Blue gets a Logo

Welcome to the unveiling of my new Buckets of Blue logo! I got the cute little bird that's at the top of my webpage onto my cozies. It will be on one side of each coffee cozy I make.

Also, here is my new laced method to close up my coffee cozies. I really love them. The pretty brown cord sparkles just a tiny bit and adds a teeny bit of pizzazz. This also makes the cozy better for being reversible because it lays just as flat no matter what side you have it on. With the button & elastic coffee cozies you get a lump when you reverse it. I don't mind that so much myself, but some might. I put together these coffee cozy/coaster gifts sets this last week for party prizes at a lovely baby shower we had at my house. The prizes were a hit. I made three reversible cozies and three reversible coasters. I wanted to show both sides of each, which is why there are so many pictures. I plan to make more to sell this summer when I'm done homeschooling my kiddo for the school year. Then I'll finally get to open my etsy shop!

We Call Them Pirates

Here's my oldest enjoying the snow. He looks so great in this fair isle beanie I made him a couple years ago. He just started wearing it this winter. It finally doesn't look too big on him, although it's an adult pattern, so there is plenty of growing room still. It's super cozy and made out of wool yarn. I used a free pattern from Hello Yarn. The pattern is We Call Them Pirates. I think I just followed the pattern exactly, but it's been so long and I don't really remember. I probably should block the beanie to make it lay flat on the bottom and prevent the rolling up. Especially since there is a cute detail there lost in the rolling...but...I don't really mind the rolling so much and it's easier not to.

Happy Valentine's Day Refashion for Me

My endeavor was to make myself a new outfit for Valentine's Day. My budget...$0. And I did it! Yay!

The Before Picture

The Fabric Stash

Now I have a cardigan, of sorts, that I will likely wear, instead of a turtleneck I won't. It made me a little nervous to think of cutting up a wonderfully cozy and soft Express sweater, but I live in Southern California and we just don't get many chances to wear heavy turtleneck sweaters. Besides, I have the same sweater in blue. They were hand me downs from a friend. So, after searching the Internet, I found my inspiration from anemone on livejournal. All I did was cut up the sweater to the neck and then cut off the turtleneck. Next, I cut a strip of the jersey fabric leftover from my skirt. Finally, I sewed the jersey on like you would bias tape. I added some hooks on the inside of the jersey to be able to close the cardigan. The new neckline lays better on me than it does on the flat table. I'm excited to wear it on Sunday.

Technically I paid less than $3 for this jersey fabric at a fabric discount store, but I did that months ago. So this skirt cost me nothing today, which is what matters, because it is today that I don't have extra money. This skirt tutorial from Altered Cloth was super easy to follow and it sewed up very quickly (even for me and I'm usually really slow). I've had plans to make this skirt forever and just hadn't gotten around to it until now. Yay! I'm very excited to have an outfit I made to wear on Valentine's Day. I've never made myself a whole outfit.

Magnets

Last Christmas I made these little assorted magnets for gifts. They are so cute and I packaged them in a variety of fun metal tins. They're about the size of a penny and they brighten up my fridge. I just love them. Here is the tutorial from Knitting Betty.