Our Felt Books

{Grace's is the one in the middle and not finished yet}





I loved everything about this project.  From the quiet hours we spent by the fire with felt and needles, to the finished product.  The kids were so proud of them too.  I want to do at least one more hand-sewing felt project with them this year.  Grace has a little bit of sewing left to do on hers but is determined to finish it up for a birthday present for Grandma Lee.

Quilt Making In Progress

Recently when trying to figure out how to rearrange bedrooms, now that Nora is moving out of ours, Grace and Jackson and Nora all decided they wanted to share a room.  At first it was tempting to try and persuade them into some other arrangement, I mean realistically this can't last more then a year... and maybe not more then five minutes.  But on the other hand, even if it does only last 5 minutes, the fact that my 9 year old, my 6 year old, and my 3 year old think this sounds appealing, is really very touching.  And, this short window of time will most assuredly be the only time in their whole lives that the three of them will all share a room together.  With that realization, I thought this occasion called for some new quilts.  Nora doesn't have one yet, Jackson's that I just made him is now downstairs in the new basement play space along with almost everything else from his "old" room (pictures coming soon) and Grace's is hanging in there but has quite a few rips and tears (I know a little bit more about quilt making now so hopefully this won't happen anymore).  So yes, a new quilt for each of them.  I always love making quilts, picking out and putting together the colors might be my favorite part (it reminds me of making a giant collage) but all of it is made even more memorable with my little helper.  She has assisted me every step of the way.  Just like her big sister use to do.

A Quilt for Jackson

I think I started this quilt two years ago.  It has sat tucked away in a basket until a few weeks ago when I decided I was ready to finish it.  This seems to be the way it goes for me when I sew quilts.  Very slow (and very imperfect).  Now I've decided that it would make a great birthday present for him, but we'll see.  His birthday is in two days which really doesn't seem like it will work with my slowness.  Might have to be a belated birthday present...

Meadow Jams

I think I say this every year but this really is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  The jams are always a surprise that they anticipate which come during one of the days of advent (with our advent calendar).  The fabric is "Meadow" from here (a company that I absolutely love).  I don't know how many more years they will actually get excited about getting homemade pajamas (probably not much longer) so each year I take extra care to revel in their cheers and joy over something so simple.

Past years...
Cardinal Jams (2012) 
Reindeer Jams (2011)
Gingerbread Jams (2010)

Last Minute Valentine Making

A few weeks ago I started thinking about Valentine's Day and wondered if I was up for making any gifts this year.  I looked back over my blog from the last few years and found... three years ago pajamas, two years ago doll clothes, and last year... nothing... ding ding ding, nothing it would be again.  Perfect.  And then, right before bed last night Grace wondered out loud with a big smile, "I bet mama's working on her Valentine gifts tonight."  I asked what she thought this something might be and she said, "oh maybe some pajamas, or some little special something that will be sitting on the table when we wake up!"  Dang it.  And awesome.  Any child that appreciates and gets excited about their moms silly handmade stuff deserves more of it.  So after they went to bed I came up with these little necklace/purses and filled them with magical jewels.  One for each of my big kids and one for each of the girls Grace carpools with (for extra fun).

And yes they were on the table when they woke up this morning.

Homemade this Year

It was especially fun to make our gifts this year because Grace and Jackson were so into it too.  During the week while Grace was at school Jackson helped me make some of our handsalve for those who like handsalve and some of our granola for those who like granola.



In fact Jackson just might have been the busiest of all of us with his gift making.  He made some ornaments for people of which he created and sewed completely on his own.  He also found this idea in one of his craft books and wanted to make it for Grace to hold the colored pencils we gave her for her birthday.



Ryan helped him with this project but he did a lot of the sanding all on his own.



Grace decided to make a sleeping bag for Jackson's beloved "Pengy" for him Christmas.



She also did the sewing all on her own.



And for my two little artists I decided to make Grace and Jackson some art aprons.  I filled the pockets with glue sticks, paints, tape, a small chalkboard and a few other little odds and ends.







And then for their chalk a little chalk pouch.





Nora's present is still unfinished.  She doesn't seem to mind at all though.  Sometime this month I should get it all wrapped up.



But the all star gifts this year definitely were Ryan's.  For Jackson a sward and shield.





For Grace a dollhouse.





Ryan worked so hard on these, sometimes until late in the night (in a cold barn) to make sure they would be finished (or almost finished... the dollhouse is waiting for some stairs) by Christmas Eve.  I think he would say it was all worth it though to see their faces when they first opened them.



I'm now trying to talk him into changing his profession into a toy maker.

A Little More About the Jams

I fell in love with this fabric at the store.  We love cardinals here, especially in the winter time.  When I got it home though I wasn't so sure, it seemed a little too dark and boyish.  But once I started turning it into pajamas I fell in love all over again.  And it helped that they also loved them so much.  This year I did each one a little different choosing different fabric to pair with the cardinals.   I did, however, make them reversable again like I did last year.  Those jams still fit them so I thought it would be a good idea (plus the cute factor).

One of my favorite Christmas traditions that we do around here for sure.

Cardinal Jams

Makin'

Last year we started a new tradition where my parents take the kids for the weekend and do some Christmasy things with them (this year the Holidazzle Parade, gingerbread house, cookies, and more) and Ryan and I spend the weekend making some Christmas gifts.  Since I have a little helper this year I decided to keep my gifts fairly simple.  Ryan on the other hand is going all out...

Art With Jackson

Jackson has been in project mode lately.  He has a few "idea books" (as he calls them) that he has been pulling off the shelf each day for inspiration.  Anything that involves painting, cutting, or sewing is usually a big hit these days.  Specifically he likes to use the sewing machine all by himself (usually with me hovering near by) to do "fancy" stitching.



He sewed some of this drawstring bag and almost all of the pillow by himself.  Quite the little seamstress he is becoming.

New Pants For The Moving Baby

Over the past few weeks I found some time to do some sewing and making new pants for Nora was at the top of the list.



I made reversables just like the Christmas jams I made last year so that there would be some room to grow.





And growing she is.  Last month she started crawling.  Up until yesterday it was just this nice slow no-where-important-to-go sort of a crawl.



But this morning she woke up on a mission.  She explored every inch of our house today, paying particular attention to all of the not yet baby proofed areas.



Yup, time to dig out those baby gates.