In The Craft Room

School/work starts again for us in just a few weeks so I've been busy working on my summer projects. Today I'm finishing some baby gifts for a friend. I have made these Lucy Kimono's from Weekend Sewing before (here and here) and I just love them.
My friend's little girl will also be getting a hat I knit awhile back. I used this tutorial to make a crochet flower for it but I'm not loving the first one so I'll try a few more.
Another baby gift.
I have worked on this sweater every night for the past two weeks while watching the Tour de France. I am so close to finishing it but my shoulder pain is back so I have to put it aside. Having a knitting injury is frustrating and a bit embarrassing I might add.



Finally, I have three more Ice Cream Dresses cut and waiting to be put together. I think that pattern is the greatest (can you tell?). I saw this mama version on flickr today and it made me all crazy but as you can see I have my hands full for the moment.

Erin's Embroidery Silhouette

I've taken a short break from my camera and knitting to enjoy swim lessons, baking cookies and the 3rd season of Mad Men (dang that's a good show). I did need something to keep my hands busy though so I pulled out my embroidery hoop. I made a silhouette of Ava several years ago (here) and I wanted one of Erin to complete the set. It feels so good to start and finish something crafty.

Lent

Today is the first day of Lent. I have decided to reduce the amount of time I spend on the computer. I'm going to limit myself to 30 minutes a day to check e-mail and blog. I'm looking forward to more craft time, exercise and cooking over the next 40 days and of course more quality time with the family. I have already whipped up this embroidered felt case for my new MP3 player. There are a lot of projects pulled out and ready to go.

2 Years and 200 Posts Later

I started this blog just over two years ago. A now after 200 posts I take a look back to see where My Craft Evolution has taken me so far. From embroidery to making crayons to sewing and knitting, it has been a very busy two years.


Although this has been a wonderful place to record all the things I have made for myself, family and friends, it has stored my most cherished possessions, family memories. Not just holidays and vacations but also the small moments of day to day life with my husband and children. I am so grateful to be so blessed.

This blog has also become more than just a blog about crafts. I have learned so much about photography, gardening, cooking and giving back. I can't wait to see what lie ahead.

More goodies

I think this jingle block turned out pretty well. After I made the Taylor blocks I got really excited to make this ABC one. It is a little bigger and has a jingle bell inside. I ordered some more wool felt so I can guarantee there will be more to come.

Here are a few more items recently listed in my etsy shop (mykangaroo).

Spring is in the air

Not surprising, but I am heading in a new direction, children's toys. It started when I created new Spring items for my shop. I thought I'd make some cute magnets, pins, tacks... Although these have been fun to make there has not been much interest for them in my shop. I really enjoyed trying new things and began brainstorming ideas.

I think it was around 2:00 a.m. when the random thought of crayons came to mind. My girls use them daily and I thought it would be a fun project to make recycled crayons. My intention was to have a crayon drive at work (a school) and then recycle these to give to children in the hospital. First I had to see if I could make them. After a little trial and error I was successfully making tiny flower, number, and car shaped crayons. The part I didn't like was the mess. Although these were fun to make the thought of bulk producing them had me rethinking my plans. Ironically my nephew had was admitted to the hospital for a stomach virus. I pulled out a set of bright colored vehicle crayons and a pad of paper to send to the hopsital. I am a cronicly late give giver so it made me feel good to have something on hand for a get well. Even if I never make crayons again it was worth it.

Today I pulled out the sewing machine again and some scraps of fabric. The result = bean bags. My girls have had so much fun today throwing them around. I just love the simplicity of handmade toys. I got a little creative and added ears and wiskers to a fleece bean bag. Too cutes. There are so many posiblilities that I decided to open a new etsy shop, MyKangaroo.etsy.com. I would like for a portion of the proceeds to go to March of Dimes. That is where the kangaroo part comes in (it's a NICU thing). Our oldest was born premature and I have always wanted a way to give back.

(pictures to come)

Personalized Silhouette Crewel Art

It is so exciting to finally see my finished silhouette. I have always loved the classic simple lines of a silhouette. Making them myself didn't really cross my mind until a few weeks ago. A few snaps with the digital camera, print and transfer then countless stitches later, my very own personalized silhouette of my daughter Ava. A girl named Ava deserves to have a silhouette don't you think? I am so happy with how it turned out. I needed a break but plan to start my little Erin next. Down the road I think developing a tutorial teaching people to make their own silhouettes would be very successful.

Zipper Pouches

These little zippered bags are fun to make and easy to put together. My mom wanted a few to give as birthday gifts so I thought I'd make several to give her some choices. The only bad thing about them is that they are made on white linen so dirt is inevitable. I have looked into other fabrics but linen is the nicest so far and white make such an great background. I'm happy that I turned my popular red blooms into something more functional that wall art. I posted it on etsy today and have had a lot of hits.

Valentine Heart Zipper Pouch

I love being able to make something useful from somthing I have embroidered. I think this little bag is really sweet.

Crewel Embroidered Flower Zipper Pouch

I am finally combining crewel embroidery and sewing. I love to hand embroidery but I never could do anything with what I made. Now there are so many possibilities. This little violet flower make a sweet pouch.

I have a new burst of enthusiasm because there was an article about etsy in our local paper yesterday http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/222181.php. Many artists in our Sonoran Artisans group were mentioned. Although my shop was not in the article I did get a local sale yesterday. I am even thinking about joining the other in a small craft fair at Bentley's coffee shop. The group meets today so maybe they can give me direction on where to focus.