...the Life and Times of Karolyn Lewis.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Show and Tell

First of all, if you're not interested in "hand-made," please just hang up now.  Exit out.  Click the back button.  You will NOT enjoy this post.  It's just a bunch of stuff crafted by yours truly.  

There now.  If you don't enjoy this post, it's not my fault.  It's yours... unless you do like hand made things, but think my stuff is c-r-a-p-- which is totally possible.  In that case, sorry for wasting 5 minutes of your day.  

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For my mother-in-law's birthday, I made her this fabulous quilt.  I say fabulous because I really thought about keeping it!  It's simple, I know, but I adore the fabrics.  They have a certain vintage, earthy feel that suits me- and her- perfectly.  All of this fabric is from the DS line from Joann Fabrics.  


I backed it with a great, vintage sheet I picked up at Goodwill.  


One day, many moons from now, someone in my house will inherit this quilt and we'll know that it was used by a very special lady; and it will be special because it was hers.  And because the fabric is darn amazing.  

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Believe it or not, I carry my iron with me when I sew with my buddies.  Yes, ironing is an important part of sewing.  If I would have known just how important, I probably would have picked another hobby. 

Here's the iron caddy I made with my Life Group at church... 


And here it is with the handles...


What's super cool about this iron caddy is that it unfolds into an ironing pad.  

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I was about to chunk some nasty outdoor pillows when I had a brain surge and remembered that I have a sewing machine.  I whipped up four pillow-covers, all different, that I can remove and wash.  They really brighten up my back porch.  And the nasty can be washed off ever-so-often.   Genius, I know.  

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Listen, friends, if you ever decide to sew anything, anything at all, sew this.  It may save your sanity.  No joke.  My kids have never been able to hang a towel.  EVER.  And there are four of them.  I found myself yelling "Who left the wet towel on the dining room table?" or "We don't leave towels on the back of the toilet for a reason!!!  Bring me a bucket someone, please!!!"  And more often than not, I'd find puddles of towel on the floor directly under the towel hooks.  So... I solved my own problem.  

I bought each kid a different colored towel and sewed a loop in the center for hanging.  They have to use their own towel and they MUST hang it up; preferable on the towel hooks in the bathroom, but I'll let the door knob slide by on occasion.  Now, if I find an orange towel on the floor, I know exactly which kid to beat.  Aren't we all happy round here, now?!  I know I am.  

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So I made this cutesy little basket for the girls to keep their Smurfs in.  Liliana insisted it made a better hat.  



In efforts to gain the Smurf basket back, I made Liliana her very own hat.  And she LOVES it!!  Or did.  I think she's forgotten about it.  Or lost it.  Either way, she was a very happy chica for at least 3 days.  


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Another of our Life Group projects was to make baby quilts for our local Women's Pregnancy Center.  What an honor to sew a quilt for a baby who IS because his mama chose LIFE!!  


I was surprised to discover that our quilts will not be handed over casually, but will be earned.  By attending parenting classes and similar things, mothers earn points that can be be redeemed in the "store."  May God bless the baby that gets this quilt!  In three or four years, I hope it's completely ratty from being loved, toted, and drug through the dirt (not talking' about the baby, here)!  Nothing would bless my heart more.

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Speaking of babies... My cousin and his wife just had a beautiful one!!  Or handsome, better yet.  He is unbelievably cute.  And tiny.  And his cry can break the hardest of hearts- it is the sweetest cry ever.

I know a good bib can save the day so I made him three towel bibs.


These are the best things ever!  All you do is cut a hole in a hand towel, use knit to create a soft neck, and add some sort of fun to it.  You can always buy a hand towel that already has monkeys or something stitched in, but those are more pricey, so I go with plain and add my own decorations.  

Here's a close up of the appliqués:


I love the letter H so this one was fun!  The fabric is from Robert Kauffman's Dr. Sues line.


And here's all three designs I used...  I love the contrasting thread.


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Here's my sweet Liliana in her Dr. Sues ensemble.  She loves it, although she couldn't understand why I wouldn't let her wear her Dr. Sues hat to church with it.  It's all Dr. Sues, you know?!  Never mind the utter distraction she would be.


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I have two sweet, little friends that I'd been dying to build skirts for.  Finally, I got them finished!!  They were sooo excited to get them and have thanked me and raved about them several times.  Honestly, I don't know who is happier, me or them!  I love giving gifts and when those gifts are loved... wow!

Are these not the cutest girls ever?!!  I just love them!  All smiles and happy here...


I also made some matching headbands that I tested on Henry.  He's covering his face so you won't know it's him wearing something girl.  Ooops.  Guess I let the cat outta that bag.  


They were super easy to make.  I used black elastic-- worked like a charm!!

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I know it's boring, but I'm ending with my super-cool, $8 ironing board.  It's wider and taller than a standard board and I like it a lot!  I made a cover to dress it up a bit and it's my new, favorite ironing board (I have four- don't judge).  And if you're in the market for a really good iron~ go with a Rowenta.  My friend, Michelle, introduced me and boy was she right!!  Make sure you get the German made Rowenta (some Rowentas aren't made in Germany- so check).



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I'm excited to show a few more things that I'm almost done with!  Hoping to finish up soon so I can play show and tell again.  

Happy Summer! And Happy Sewing!

XXXOOO

4 comments:

  1. Love seeing all you've made. Wishing I was so "into" something! It's obvious you love what you do and I'm always amazed at what you turn out. Great items, great creativity, great workmanship AND a great blog! Thanks for sharing :)

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  2. Love your craftyness! With all you have to do: 4 Kids, husband, house to keep clean, barnyard duties: YOU INSPIRE ME!

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  3. You have been busy! I love them all, especially the pics of Liliana wearing the smurf bucket as a hat and Henry trying on the headbands. You sure can get the men in your life to do anything for you. I think that must be a gift.

    Thanks for sharing

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  4. Awesome!!! I think I might make some towel loops :)

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