kirstencan

Packing

It's amazing how much prep has to go into even a very short trip.  I hate being away from home, but it helped that the kids were SO excited to get to spend a couple of days at Grandma's.  Princess woke up and packed immediately (and for the first time did a great job and remembered nearly everything!  So grown up!).  Thomas saw that she had packed and got to work:
 
-6 pairs of underpants
-2 pairs of pajamas
-Lumpy
-Lego Catalog
-Richard Scarry book
-toothpaste

Yup, all the essentials.  This was all done by about 6:30am.  My mom came to get them at 8:30 that night.   There was much talk about Grandma's house all day.  And Thomas didn't mind that I helped him add a few things to his suitcase.  Like clothes.

Monkey needed a bag to pack in  - since Thomas got the cool Thomas the Tank Engine suitcase (a hand-me-down from a neighbor years ago that the boys both love).  I made a quick bag out of this fun IKEA fabric sent to me by Anna. Thanks so much, Anna!  I used the hippo fabric for the strap.

Monkey was really proud of his bag - wore it much of the day and showed it to anyone that came by.  I've been meaning to make the boys a cool library bag anyway - so this will get plenty of use.

Meanwhile, I packed my day stuff* in this cute tote from my SIL.  I love her logo.  I'd been trying to fit everything in my linen bag, but itwasn't working.  So glad this tote arrived just in time, thanks, Eva! (and Eva - the ABC print matches the playroom perfectly - I can't wait to frame it!).  It held essentials such as sunscreen (none of the kids brought any), sketchbook, camera, planner, various key-cards of whichever girls had no pockets (also their bracelets and chapsticks), lipgloss, excedrin, and water. 

So happy with my new water bottle (not finding it online - it's Thermos brand and I got it at Target).  I filled it up at about 6:15 with ice and water and at about 3:30 - after being outside most of the day - there was still ice inside!  Awesome.

We walked quite a ways - back and forth across campus - so my new kicks may not have been the smartest choice in footwear - but definitely the cutest!  Luckily I got out of the morning hike...

It was an exhausting but fun trip -  I got to join the kids in a water-dodge ball game and on the dance floor (whee!) so that was fun.  And today, after a decent night's sleep and some excedrin, I'm back and feeling nearly normal, thanks!

*And for the record, I fit everything else for the trip into one backpack.  A couple of the girls brought giant suitcases that me and my backpack could've fit into.  Silly girls.

Spring Bag

New bag for spring:  linen, gingham, and Japanese happy cloud canvas.

Except it's not quite done yet - I have to sew on a little linen loop and sew the covered button on...

I just haven't done it yet - For some reason I'm feeling awkward about it - too pink?

It's made like a regular tote - but the top folds over like a messenger bag.

Should I box the corners to make it a little more 3d?
What do you think?

I think I might take it on a test drive to IKEA today...

(Design inspired by this cute bag).

Given

For my SIL's Christmas gift, a little tote:

I love this vintage fabric - I've used it once before and one of these days I'll make a bag for myself out of it.  It's kind of thicker, ribbed, and yummy.

For my brother and his wife - scrappy quilted pillows.

You can't go wrong with the Japanese tree fabric, in my opinion.
I'm not as happy with the Matroshka one - the color combo + lame free motion quilting.  And the backs are not ideal, by any means.  But oh well.

At least some of my gifts were handmade, right? :)

The Rest of the Corduroy Pants

Princess needed a new bag.  She needs to tote piano books and library books.

I just loved the idea of the Heather Ross horses paired with more brown corduroy (repurposed from old cord pants).

She loves it, too!

The inside top is lined with more horse fabric, and the bottom with a pretty calico.  I used the pants pocket for the inside 'library card' pocket (and I used stiff interfacing for this bag and everything).

I was running out of corduroy, so the straps are made from the waistband!

Seriously, they are, see?  Here are the tags on the back.

And here's the other accessory - A matching scarf!

Much like my last scarf (only a bit smaller), it's also inspired by a project in Denyse Schmidt Quilts and Tiny Happy's lovely scarves.  There's also a tutorial for a similar one up on Sewmamasew's blog right now.

Very 'Autumn'.

I'm loving it.  You'll be seeing versions for my boys soon, never fear.

Not bad for a night's crafting, eh?

Happy Bag

Long ago, when Stanley was acting up, I had started a new spring (now summer) bag.  Actually, it was Stanley's last straw, and was stuck in the machine.

I finally finished it.

I used Melissa's awesome tutorial with a few small changes, which now I can't remember, except that I sewed the strap in half at the end to make it narrower.

It's made from this awesome green vintage fabric that my friend, Whitney, gave me last summer - I made her a tote out of it, too.

I didn't pick it back up right away in part because it needed a little something and I couldn't figure out what.
Well, my new Japanese fabric turned out to be just what it needed.

That and a New Vintage fabric covered button.  My latest button find had these cool old coverable buttons, so I tried it.

The ribbon loop is this great old vintage brown that I had just enough of.

Anyway, a happy bag!  It's smaller than most of my others, big enough for my wallet, maybe a book, my camera, my phone, and that's about it.

It's lined with a salmony pink swirly fabric, with a divided pocket on the inside.

I love it!

Mom's Bag

Thanks to everyone for the Happy Birthday wishes to my mom.  She got a kick out of it - if you didn't catch her comment you can check it out here.

(And for the record, all of my kids were about 9 lbs - with very large heads.  I think what goes around comes around, eh?)

I made this for my mom's birthday:

Just a little tote.  I feel a little bit like a small child handing her a pinch-pot clay bowl, because there are some obvious mistakes in this, and though I know my mom will like anything I make - because she's my mom and that's her job - I wanted the bag to be good.  But let's just say that the stripe in the middle wasn't actually supposed to be there.  It's job is cover-up.

My mom is an amazing seamstress.  She's been sewing forever.  She made her own wedding dress.  She's made all of Princess' Christmas dresses - actually, she's made most of her dresses, period.  And most of Violet's.

Close enough will have to do (and I can't think of a better gift that says 'Kirsten' than one that also says 'Close Enough').   Sad but true.

Halloween Vikings

Yesterday I was able to finish up some little Trick-or-treat bags for the kiddos.  I used this orange polyester material that I got in a grab bag of fabric at a thrift store.  What else could I possibly use it for but this?

The letters are their initials, and the handles are black webbing.  I'm happy that they'll be able to be folded up and take up less space in our storage closet when Halloween is over. 

Also yesterday, Princess and I finished up her Viking Longboat.  We are learning about the Vikings right now, and she really wanted to make this.  We used construction paper, glue, a couple of popsicle sticks, and lots and lots of tape!  :)  She made some of the shields white and some (on the other side) red because white shields meant peace and red meant war.  (So she says, I can't keep up with her!).

The viking boat then took Strawberry Shortcake on a journey.  My kids have this ability to predict when I'm ready to 'weed' their toys.  She hasn't played with this doll for a long time, and I was just thinking that maybe it was time to let her go.  Of course she picks now to start playing with her again!

My Russian-Japanese Bag

So, I got the bias tape on last night - finally.  I ended up sewing the seam first, and then sewing the tape on top - which is probably what you're supposed to do, I realized later.  Silly me!  I saw this bag pattern on Tasha's blog and she was so sweet and sent me the pattern - Mahalo, Tasha!  Learning from what she didn't like about hers, I opted for a thicker handle.  The black fabric is a looser-weave fabric (part of the bias tape problem), and I appliqued a doll on each side.  I made a mistake with the lining - I cut it out with all the dolls facing the side, instead of up, but in a combination of laziness and loving the fabric too much to waste it, I just let it go.  I'm liking the fabric/combo - very Russian Winter.  It will be fun for the Holidays, I think!  I am glad that I made this for myself, though, as it turned out cute - but very not perfect.  Maybe the next one will be better - I think it would be great out of light, spring fabrics, too. 
My husband's comment?  Stuff's going to fall out of there.
Hmmm.

I hate bias tape!!!

I had somewhere to go on Saturday, and I realized that I don't have a small bag.  You know, one that isn't big enough for at least 2 diapers, wipes, and snacks.  So, we were totally busy, but of course I get this crazy urge to make myself a little bag.  Thanks go to my wonderful husband for putting up with that, BTW.  I've been wanting to make this pattern, and I  bought some of the cute matroshka fabric I've been eyeing - so it seemed like a good combination.  It was going surprisingly well... until I hit the bias tape.  I've never used it before, and I won't be in a hurry to again, let me tell you!  I think the one I chose is narrow, so maybe it's trickier?  Or I'm just not good at it?  So, I'm forming an alternate plan, and will hopefully have a finished (and hopefully cute) bag to show you tomorrow.

A Curiously Productive Morning

I wish more of my mornings could be like today's!  We had nowhere to go, no one to drop off, no errands to run (well, we would have, but Princess' new glasses are still not in - tomorrow, they say!)
So we stayed home, and it was one of those days where things just clicked.  Princess got her school done, I cleaned (and swept!), and then the kids were playing so well together (this is cause for excitement at my house) that I snuck upstairs for a few minutes and whipped up another tissue holder.  When someone dropped in to chat for a moment and Thomas decided to dump out the water pitcher - Princess voluntarily cleaned it up!  She's been a big help, lately - boy am I glad I had my girl first! :)

These tissue holders are fast and fun ways to craft - I like projects that I can get done in one sitting!  Now I'll have to go buy some little tissue packs to stick in these!

I also got a chance to finish this little library tote for a friend of Princess' - her birthday's coming up!  It has very short 'tote-ish' handles, instead of straps.  I'm loving this one!