Crafting – Page 3 – Pure Sugar

Giraffe Hat and Diaper Cover

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Carol — No Comments ↓

Ah, it’s been a while! Well, last week the weather was too beautiful. Earlier this week, Laura wanted nothing more than to rock with mama and cuddle (growth spurt perhaps – her conversational skills seem to have exploded overnight).

At least I had my Apple iPod Touch to keep me connected! I also have been working on some crochet projects.

Every year the Rhinebeck Science Foundation hosts a gala fundraiser with a silent auction. As much as I want to attend the gala, it’s just not in the cards this year. But some of my friends from our craft group decided to put together a basket of baby items for the silent auction.

I offered to whip up a baby set. Originally I intended to make a cute bear hat, figuring it was gender-neutral and come on — who doesn’t like teddy bears? But while looking through my stash of yarn I changed my mind. I was inspired by some buttery yellow yarn and a bit of brown. A giraffe set! Here’s how it came out:

I combined elements from three different patterns to complete this project:

Hat body (or use your own favorite pattern): EZ Earflaps Hat
Horns: I used the horns from this pattern as a guide, but didn’t follow the instructions exactly:
Ears: from this Baby Giraffe Hat pattern
The diaper cover is a pattern I came up with on my own when I was making all those bunny sets. For the tail I just made 5 DC into a magic circle and crocheted around until it was the length I wanted. I stuffed the tail into the opening, and then DC2tog until it was closed up. Then I reinforced everything by hand-sewing. For the spots I just crocheted circles (again, the magic circle is your friend!) and sewed them on.

It was a pretty quick and satisfying project! I hope that whoever wins the basket loves it!

easter softie decoration

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Carol — No Comments ↓

I didn’t do much Spring or Easter decorating this year. Terrible, I know. But sometimes the idea of dragging out the boxes, putting out the stuff, and just having to pack it all back up in a few weeks seems like too much effort. But I felt like I should do something.

I had collected a few ideas on my Pinterest boards, and for my inspiration I used these fabric carrots from The Ballard Bunch and these other fabric carrots from Clare’s Craftroom. This is what I came up with:

I’m pretty happy with them, though I don’t think I like the fabric I used to tie the three together. It’s just what I grabbed. Maybe a need a small bow around the top of each individual carrot, too. What do you think?

The carrots were easy enough to make. I just cut long triangles from three different fat quarters and sewed up the side. I sewed a casing at the top, stuffed the carrots with Polyfill, and then cinched the opening together with crochet thread. For the leaves, I used my trusty hot glue gun and some green ribbon. I just made loops that looked about right. I glued the sides of the center loop to each adjoining loop in order to get them to stand up a little bit.

Super easy project and now at least I feel like I did a little something for the holiday!

getting serious about sewing

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Carol — No Comments ↓

I’ll be honest with you. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal when it comes to, well, pretty much anything. Take a class? Pfft. Yeah, right. I tend to just dive in and start something new. Most of the time this has worked in my favor. Knitting and crochet were both successes, but I’m having a little more trouble with sewing. Time to get serious.

Of course, I’m still not taking a class, but I did buy this book called Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time by Deborah Moebes and I plan to sew my way through it, one project at a time. I also considered 1, 2, 3 Sew: Build Your Skills with 33 Simple Sewing Projects by Ellen Luckett Baker but the projects didn’t seem as interesting. I mean, I can sew napkins, placements, pillowcase dresses, that kind of stuff. But the Moebes book seemed to go a little further. The final project is a cap sleeve blouse, and honestly that was the clincher. I’m really excited to get it!

Anyone have any other favorite sewing books they’d like to recommend? The first book I bought was Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol and I still love that book!

skirting the issue

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Carol — 3 Comments ↓

With spring coming, I wanted to finally get around to sewing up some skirts for Laura. I wanted to do this last year, but never actually got around to it, even though I bought the fabric! Yesterday I had extra time in the afternoon so I figured I’d give it a whirl.

I used this simple skirt tutorial from MADE, a fabric remnant I had in my stash, and apparently the wrong bobbin for my machine (I’ll get to that later). Anyway, it really is a simple project. The ironing is the most difficult part of the whole thing! Laura was very excited about it. She immediately put it on over her pants and started running around the house like a crazy girl. You’d think she required a Duracell procell battery or something, but no… She just has a lot of energy!

Now, the bobbin story. As I sewed I noticed that the bottom thread wasn’t sewing a nice line. It was all loose and messy. When I checked my manual, I realized that I’m supposed to use a specific type of bobbin for my machine. Of course. And the bobbins I had been using were just generic bobbins. Of course. That might have something to do with my “bird-nesting” problems as well. So I ordered the correct bobbins, and today I am going to clean the machine and change the needle (because I have never done that, either), and hopefully that will take care of the problem!

But if you’re looking for a cute and quick little girl’s skirt – I recommend this tutorial to get yourself going!

what a week

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Carol — No Comments ↓

Goodness, it’s been a while since I’ve checked in here. It’s just been one of those weeks. I am sure you all know how it goes.

You see, Laura’s been waking up around 4 a.m. (This morning was a good morning — 4:45.) So by the time most people are getting on with their mornings, I myself am already dragging. Then, over the weekend I got sick. Sunday I felt miserable and Drew ended up taking all three kids out to lunch just so I could get a little rest.

Jake had a Webelos/Boy Scouts sleepover from Friday to Saturday, and soon after that he was complaining of a sore throat. Sure enough, when I took him to the doctor’s yesterday, we learned that he has strep throat (which I suspected). So he’s home again today, just to be on the safe side.

I don’t even know where the time has gone this week. I still have to transfer over a bunch of files to my new-to-me laptop and update my iTunes and all that good stuff. When my last one broke, it had been not long after I imported a number of my CDs (no music zumba dancers listen to or anything too crazy — just a bunch of old 90s indie rock).

What else… I have done a little bit of crafting this week. I made a couple hair bows for Laura and a bow display (super easy DIY and I hope to write up the tutorial for next week). I also restyled an old pullover into a cardigan. It was my first time sewing with a stretchy knit and it was not as scary as I thought it would be. The sweater was too big for me as a pullover, but works well enough for an around-the-house cardigan. (I’m always chilly!)

And then I’ve just been working on my baby bunny sets — another reason I haven’t been blogging. I’ve been trying to dedicate my free time to working on these instead of playing around online. Hopefully I’ll finish up soon because I have a ton of projects I would like to get started on!

{ta-da!} finished crochet bunny set

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Carol — 1 Comment ↓

Oh boy, I sure hope the rest of these hats & diaper covers hook up easier than this one. This was a project wrought with frustration. The original pattern I purchased was not very good. I’m working with a yarn I don’t love (Lion Brand Homespun). And I feel stressed to get this whole order done.

With that said, I am pleased with the final product. I might need to make a Cabbage-Patch sized set for Laura’s baby 🙂 I really love the diaper cover. The shape came out just right (in my opinion) and I made it one-size-fits-all. All you need to do is tighten the cord around the baby’s waist to get it to fit. Remember — these are photo props, so it just has to stay on for a little while. But I do think this would hold on well unless it’s an especially squirmy baby!

I feel like the hat is a little on the big side (even though I followed the pattern — see this is what I get! Should have just hooked up the beanie I’m comfortable with). But I’m sending this to my friend today and he can let me know.

For now, I am taking the day off from crochet! I need to tidy up the house and I’d really like to quickly sew a new camera strap cover for myself. Happy Friday!

bunny hat sneak peek

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Carol — 3 Comments ↓

I’m so close to finishing up my bunny set! I just have to crochet the inset for the ears and then sew everything up. This has been a really frustrating project to get right. I read and combined and changed around so many different patterns that at this point I feel like it’s my own design. (I mean, let’s get real here – how unique is a basic hat and diaper cover?) Since I have to make 9 more of these, by the time I’m done I just may write up the pattern to share with you all. (Unless I’m totally sick of them by that point, LOL!)

You may notice my book in the background. Today I’m linking up with the Yarn Along hosted by Ginny at Small Things. She invites her readers to share a project and their current read. Drew gave me a copy of A Flight of Angels for Christmas after we met Rebecca Guay (the artist behind this beautiful work) at NY ComicCon in the fall. She is an amazing fantasy artist and we had no idea who she was until then, but when we started looking through our Magic cards, we found a few that she illustrated!

Hopefully I’ll finish up both of these tonight!

2011 – what a year!

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Carol — 1 Comment ↓

Source: timessquarenyc.org

Although I am not a fan of the whole New Year’s Eve thing, I really do enjoy looking back on the year that is passing. In many ways it is bittersweet, filled with lovely memories but also tinged with a bit of sadness of time gone by.

Nevertheless, here we are: December 31, 2011! This year was a crazy one. I’m happy to say that I did pretty well with my yearly goals. I certainly improved my health and took better care of myself. I did not take my writing up a notch, and that was by design. But also, the writing assignments were not so plentiful this year. Of course, at the same time I dabbled in boutique hair bow making and I’ve also had good luck selling my crochet hats as photo props. Honestly, that all made up for the lack of writing work!

I also wanted to kick up my blog and I’m not really sure if I did that. I was contacted for several reviews and hosted a few giveaways. While it was fun, I learned that I really love reviewing products (probably because I’m opinionated, LOL!) but the giveaways are more work than they are worth. So I have to think about where I want to go with that.

There seems to be nostalgia in the bloggy world for how things used to be and I definitely share that sentiment. My blog goal for the new year is to just have fun with it. I remember when blogging was no-pressure, when it was a community, heck when there were (gasp!) no comments! I did it just because I wanted to, because I wanted to share, because I wanted to document it all for myself. And that’s where I want to be!

Here’s a little look back on my year. It’s a classic meme that has been going around for ages and I love it! You post the first sentence of your first blog post of each month. You can also add a favorite picture from each month.

January 2011

I decided that we needed to start the new year with a big breakfast, so I made a fritatta with smoked ham, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions as well as pancakes (served with the cherry preserves I canned back in July) and sausage.

February 2011

Last month I was really motivated to start this project and I completed the first two squares.

March 2011

… because he adds sweet little extras to my daily “to do” list when I’m not looking ♥ ♥ ♥

April 2011

If it’s Friday, you know what that means… it’s time to party!

May 2011

Friday night I had a revelation when the dress I bought about a month ago for my husband’s high school reunion didn’t fit the same way as when I purchased it.

June 2011

Ten years ago I married the macaroni to my cheese, the salsa to my nachos, the peanut butter to my jelly, the butter to my bread.

July 2011

There was a bunch of beets in last week’s CSA share.

August 2011

Hello, friends!

September 2011

Well here we are, heading towards the end of the year.

October 2011

It has been a pretty easy adjustment to the carb-restricted diet, and even though I don’t have to eat this way, I am and I’m enjoying a lot of benefits, specifically increased energy.

November 2011

It occurred to me that I never put up my CSA post from two weeks ago (life is crazy, and blogging has obviously not been a priority – sorry!).

December 2011

The weather in my neck of the woods: Today it’s sunny and mild ~ in the mid-50s as I type, but I believe it’s supposed to turn colder later in the week, which is OK with me.

Thank you so much for reading my blog, following my ramblings on Twitter, liking me on Facebook, and truly being a part of my life (because you are)! Many of you I have known for years through blogging and you’ve become good friends. Others I know in real life, and still others I only know via my comments. And I bet there are some people who read quietly without saying a word. That’s OK. I do that on a lot of blogs, too, but I would LOVE if you’d say hello once in a while 🙂

If you’re out celebrating tonight, please be safe! I wish each and every one of you a happy & healthy new year! Cheers!

{made by dad} glue gun holster

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Carol — 3 Comments ↓

Who has the best dad ever? I do!!! A couple weeks ago I sent my dad a link to this idea that I originally found on Pinterest:

Source: ebay.com via Carol on Pinterest

How genius is that? My dad is quite the woodworker, so I had no doubt he could make this for me, I just didn’t know how many of my mom’s projects he had lined up. But he was actually able to get on this as soon as he read my e-mail 🙂 He made it all from scrap wood. The only thing he had to buy was the tile used to catch stray glue drips.

I love the storage area for extra glue sticks. Mine are always rolling around in the cabinet where I (used to) keep my glue gun. Not any more — they’re all corralled!

And because my dad is super smart, he added a couple screw eyes and a mini bungee cord (cut to size) to hold everything together when I’m not using it.

I’ve already tested it out with a couple crafts I’ll be posting soon. It is the greatest! Thanks again, Dad!

holiday crafting

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Carol — 2 Comments ↓

I thought I’d give you a peek into my crochet basket so you know what’s keeping me from blogging. Any guesses? Elf hats!

Last week a high school friend asked about knit newborn hats for photo sessions (he and his wife are photographers). After I hooked up this sample, I sent him a photo to get his thoughts:

He liked it and asked me to hook up nine (!) hats ASAP.

I’m 1/3 of the way done, which doesn’t sound like much but I think it’s pretty good since I’m not a fast crafter! Hopefully I can crank the rest out and get the lot mailed out early next week. After that I might put a few in my neglected Etsy shop. We’ll see.