Road Trip to Northwest Arkansas

Last weekend I got in my car all by my little old self  and drove 6.5 hours to Springdale, Arkansas, where my wonderful aunt Lana lives.  She had a very special sewing cabinet for me there.  It belonged to my grandmother so it was well worth the drive!

On the way there, I tried to use my new Roadside America app for iPhone to find quirky things to look at.  But after passing several without seeing them, I decided it would be better for the way back when not under a time constraint.  But looking for them made me notice a sign for a thing that called itself an Amish Store.  That sounded fun, so I kept looking for the signs.

I was trying to guess what kind of building an Amish Store would be in.  I thought it would be in the most functional type of building and least decorative type I could imagine, so I guessed it would be in a pre-fabricated building or trailer.  I was right!  Alas, I do not have a photo to prove it.  I should.  I'm sorry.  I wasn't thinking.

I was too worried about my attire to think about the blog!  Because the Mid-West/Mid-South is trapped in something I heard called a "heat dome," I was driving in a hot pink, strapless dress.  (My catchphrase for the summer is, "It's too hot to wear anything else!")

I didn't know if I would encounter actual Amish working in the store, but I didn't want to be asked to leave (a la the woman in Oregon shopping in a bikini) before I snatched up my share of their home-baked goodness.  So I rummaged in my suitcase for a little sweater (YES, it was too hot for a sweater!) and put it on in the parking lot.

The nice lady in the store (she wasn't Amish) offered me a bucket.  I thought she was trying to sell me the bucket so I declined.  I tried the mystery fudge but couldn't guess what it was.  I ended up buying three kinds of popcorn kernels and something called F-R-O-G jam.  Fun!

I had a great time with Lana and she also did something else amazing.  She bequeathed to me ALL of my grandmother's unfinished quilt blocks, along with her scraps of fabric and some other cool things to remember her by.  I showed it to my mother and had to give some of it up, but that's ok.  The little red fingertip towel with the squaredancers on it she wanted so I couldn't say no.  I kept the weird egg-utensil crafty thing made by one of her children in Vacation Bible School.  It had hung in her closet forever with diaper pins on it.  Apparently, you just never know when you're going to need a diaper pin.  <3 

I am so touched to have been given these things.  I can't wait to learn how to finish quilts.  I know just the place to figure it out, one of my new favorite stores, The Berry Patch in Fort Worth.  Also, my other favorite store, The Cabbage Rose has a hand-quilting class that I want to try.  Can anyone please give me the gift of more hours in the day?  That would be great.  


Those things alone made the trip worth taking, but I also have a dearie friend who lives in a town nearby, so on Saturday I hopped on over to her house.  She's about five months pregnant and she's the one I made the nursery mobile for.  The nursery is still an office at the moment, so we hung the little birdies in her bedroom window.  I'm glad they have a home, but when I got back I missed them hanging from my ceiling fan in my little loft apartment! 

I have to give credit to Stephen for tying the darn things to the hoop.  I just knew they wouldn't hang straight or would give me an anxiety fit if I did it.  He did a great job.  No, he's not eating the bird!  Thanks baby!

Oh yeah, on the way back I did find those quirky things!  One I even stopped for, AND got a photo.  It was in Oklahoma, and it's a barbeque grill that looks like a revolver.  But of course!

Porch swing pad, porcupine pin cushion, and pacifier bowl

Here is a photo of the porch swing pad I made for my sister Kristin, with my dad and my nephew sitting on it.  Promised and delivered!

This week I made a porcupine pin cushion that I found on another blog, Prudent Baby.  This link will take you straight to the directions for the porcupine.  I made this one to be my boyfriend's daughter's first pin cushion.  All she will do with it is push the pins further into the cushion, one by one.  I can't wait to teach her to sew!

Also in the last two weeks, I have crocheted and felted a small bowl.  It turned  out to be just the right size to hold a pacifier, so that's what it's doing on the ledge above my kitchen sink.  Here's a photo of it without the pacifier in it.  I will post directions to crochet the bowl below.  Woohoo, my first how-to!

Finished felted size:  3 5/8"diameter x 2 1/2"height

Materials:  1 skein of at least 50% wool yarn.  (I used 80% wool, 20% alpaca!)
                 1 "I" crochet hook (5.50mm)

*Crochet pattern:
Round 1: ch 4, 12 dc in 4th ch from hook, sl st in top of ch-3 joining to beginning of round: 12 dc
Round 2: ch 3, 2 dc in each dc around, sl st in top of ch-3: 24 dc
Round 3: ch 3, (2 dc in next dc, dc in next dc) around, sl st in top of ch-3: 36 dc
Round 4: ch 3, (2 dc in next dc, dc in next dc) around, sl st in top of ch-3: 48 dc
Round 5-6: ch 3, dc in each dc around, sl st in top of ch-3: 48 dc

*Disclaimer:  This was my first effort at crocheting a bowl, and I'm not sure that I did it exactly as stated.  But the general idea was to build each increasing row at the rate of 1.5x, and then go straight up once the desired width was reached.

Felting instructions:
I have never felted anything before, so I read up online first.  I found an excellent guide at lusciousgracious.com.  But basically all you need is a (top-loading) washing machine, a timer, a zippered pillowcase or a pillowcase with safety pins, a pair of jeans and a couple of tennis balls for agitation.  And some mild dish soap or delicate fabric soap.  

1.  Throw the item to be felted into the zippered pillowcase and zip shut. (Ultra-important, to protect your washing machine from all the tiny fibers that will come out of the yarn)

2.  Start wash with pillowcase, jeans, tennis balls, and less than a TEASPOONful of mild soap.  When the agitation starts, set the timer for five minutes.

3.  Check the item for felting signs every five minutes until you see it starting to felt.  Then check it every two minutes.  (You may need to re-start the agitation process).  It happens quick, so don't walk away!  When the item is as felted as you wish, take it out of the machine and hand-rinse with cold water, being careful not to crease it.*

4.  Shape it and allow it to air-dry.  I shaped my bowl around one of my dog's squeaky balls that was actually the same ball I used in the washing machine.  It is slightly larger than a tennis ball.  If you use that method of shaping, be sure to get it centered and use empty drinking glasses or something else to set around the ball so it doesn't roll.  If not, your bowl will be a tilt-y bowl like they serve you at my favorite restaurant.   But that is how I got that oh-so-cute shape.

(Another tip:  If you do shape it around a ball, take the ball out when it is mostly dry and then, without distorting the lip of the bowl, drop it onto a flat surface from a height of a few inches to get the bottom flatter.)

*I actually forgot and completely left out the hand-rinsing with cold water step.  If it's not a piece of clothing that you're felting, it probably doesn't even matter if there's suds in it.

That's it! In this summer heat, it probably won't take long to dry.  If you're doing this in a less dry climate, overnight should do the trick.

Good luck, and P.S.  The felting process will go so much quicker if you're using a super cute ice cream cone timer like the one I used! 

Nursery Mobile and First Job!

This week I have been working on a mobile for my friend.  Little yellow and white birds flying above the crib, so sweet!  I've finished two, five more to go!

I had to stop the bird-making factory for a while and make another beach towel tote for my dad to give my sister for her birthday.  I really like this one so I'm posting a picture of it, too.  He's taking it to Arkansas along with the porch swing pad I made for her! 

I made the porch swing pad out of laminated cotton, so it'll be great for outdoors.  I'll try to get a picture of it once it's on the porch!

Oh yeah, my dad paid me for the bag, so it's my first real job and first sale together!  Yay! 

Baby Burp Cloths Trio

I made this trio of burp cloths for my dear friend Katie, who's due on Halloween!  Hence the nickname, Boo.  Boo's gender is as yet inconclusive, so she's liking yellow and white for his/her room.

The burp cloths were super fast and easy to make, and I even designed one myself!  I'll let my readers guess which one it was.

Here's a photo, and below, a bonus photo of the beach towel tote in use!  I even made a second one of those yesterday afternoon for use by my boyfriend, Stephen.  Yes, that's me in the swimsuit coverup.  I know this is the internet and all, but I have to be modest!

P.S. We had a great time at the pool!

WEIGHTED Tie-ons for Beach Towel Tote!

This morning I whipped up the tie-ons as I said I would yesterday, but got caught up in other things.  I made them 1"x8".  They are out of the same fabric I made the bag out of, and they look great!  I even slipped in about three pennies before I sewed the final seam to make them heavy. 

The fun thing about making them was using my new rotary cutter to cut the strips.  It's an Olfa, so hooray for safety features!  Their self-healing mat was amazing, too. 

Tomorrow, the pool!  I'll be sure to post a photo of the beach towel tote "in action!"

First Post! And Beach Towel Tote

Today I made a beach towel tote from my pattern book, One Yard Wonders.  It's a beach tote bag that uses a beach towel as one of the sides of construction, and doubles as a chair cover once you're at the beach and the bag is empty.  You just position the empty bag over the back of the chair and you're ready for sunning!

I modified it slightly by using a new-fashioned quick-drying light towel.  It's very windy in Texas and this towel blows around a lot, so tomorrow I plan to add some cute little tie-ons out of the same fabric. 

I will upload a photo later this evening!  Stay tuned!