heartfelt handmade bag swap

I got home from a very busy day at work yesterday to the most fabulous package from Angel waiting for me on the front step!

The bag is crochet and the colors are perfect! And I love the pink button! Also included in the package was a hank of re purposed yellow wool and a tin filled with notions! Awesome! Many thanks go out to Angel, who is so very thoughtful and generous! I already used the bag for my knitting today when I went to the park and I love it!

what is motherhood?

felt journal

This little felt journal is a simple, quick and practical project, great for little hands learning to sew. Evelyn made this pink bird notebook for her kids swap last month. The theme of the swap was anything Spring related, and her partner really likes the colors pink and blue. I drew the shape of the bird and she cut it out and stitched it on herself with a teeny bit of troubleshooting here and there.

Here is what we did: We used wool felt for the cover and the applique, but eco-felt works just fine, too. You can cut it to any size you desire. Sew on the applique or shapes of your choice, embellishing with beads, buttons, embroidery, or anything else. Cut a second piece of felt to line the inside of the cover to hide the stitches from the back of the applique. Then cut the paper you wish to use for the inside; we used plain white recycled scrap paper, cut to slightly smaller than the felt cover. Colored paper looks very nice, too.

Next, fold the pre-cut paper in half and punch a hole on the fold-seam. Then, with yarn or embroidery floss, sew through the layers and assemble the book by sewing along the seam. Tie the thread on the inside or the outside of the book. We left some string on the top end to create a little book marker and tied two colorful buttons to the bottom as weights (beads work perfectly, too!).

Then, take the embroidery floss and sew all around the edges, using either a running stitch or blanket stitch, to create a border and to attach the cover and liner.

The best part of this project is that you can experiment with different sizes and embellishments and come up with something completely different every time! 

summer lovin'

breastfeeding ad

I just wanted to share this new breastfeeding advertisement. From what I understand, it comes from the Brazilian breastfeeding campaign, though I do not know the original source.

The image is not what it seems. Take a look for a moment and see if you can figure it out. It didn't take me too long, but some people cannot see it!

my yarn stash

I have quite a stash of yarn. Right now, my stash consists of three large plastic tubs of acrylic blends in one tub, natural fiber blends in a second tub, and pure wool in the third tub, as well as one large tote bag full of cotton yarn. A lot of the yarn I have is either hand-dyed or hand-spun or one-of-a-kind in some way. And beautiful. Take a look at a few of the unique yarns I have collected:

Merino Sock Yarn from damselflyyarns

75% Superwash Merino wool, 25% nylon

200 yds, fingering weight, violets & purples

Geneva Cashmere Blend Sock Yarn from TraciKnits

80% Merino Wool/10% Cashmere/10% Nylon

435 yds, fingering weight, green & turquoise

Mulberry Merino from Plymouth Yarn

52% Mulberry Silk, 48% Merino

5 skeins, 495 yds, worsted weight, black

Silky from Malabrigo Yarn
50% Silk, 50% Baby Merino wool
3 skeins, 450 yards, DK weight, Archangel

Hand Dyed Chunky Alpaca from SoupToKnits
100% Alpaca
2 skeins, 212 yards, chunky