Cold Weather Running Just Got A Little Easier!

One of the things hardest parts of running in the winter is the cold and the residual cold left on the hiney! You would think that since I have plenty of body fat, I wouldn't be so cold, but I am!

Well, my sister mentioned that a friend of hers made a bum warmer.. and that intrigued me, so I created one for myself and a few to share with friends!

They are amazing!Here are a few pictures and a link to the tutorial I made.

Here is the warmer on. It's a little wraparound skirt in fleece.. or maybe more like a backwards apron!

The warmers I made are between 10-12 inches in height and 36 inches in width plus the ties. I didn't want them long enough to interfere with running and I didn't want to have to fight the material with every step, so the fabric doesn't meet in the front.

Here are my running buddies on Dec.31st. It was 18 degrees out! We happily wore our bum warmers!

Ready to make yours? CLICK HERE for the link! 

I've worn mine a half a dozen times and love it. I even wore it in the rain one day and the water just pilled on the fleece and didn't soak me! Love!

Two more quilts

So I've made two more quilts, cut a truck load of raceshirts into 12x12 squares and sewn them into shirt "sandwiches".

I've also learned a few tricks. One... if you have text or graphics on both sides, cut the shirt in half FIRST. Otherwise the back graphic gets cut weird. Also, if you have text on the back that you don't really need, cut your second piece from the side of the shirt so you have the matching color but you don't have extra print that you have to sew over. It is SO MUCH EASIER to sew when their is only text/graphics on one side!

 

This quilt ended up being larger than the last one and I really like the size of it. It feels much more substantial with the extra row.

Here it is finished.

And here is quilt number 3. I'm getting better at keeping the squares, well square.

I've had tons of people asking about sewing these for them. I've decided on $150 for a 4x6 (24 shirt) quilt and $200 for a 5x6 (30 shirt). What do you think? Does that sound reasonable?! 

Tutorial for a super easy Tshirt Quilt

I've had on my to-do list to make a t-shirt quilt for a while. I finally got around to making one. I LOVE it!! I can't wait to make another!

And if you want to learn how to make one for yourself, see my tutorial below!

Check out How to Make an EASY Tshirt No-Border Ruffle Quilt. by Emily McLemore on Snapguide.

One Yard Fabric Projects

If you are a crafter and sew-er person like me, you've got a stack of 1 yard scraps that just sit and collect dust. 

Or you are in the store and see the cutest piece of fabric, but you think, what can I do with just ONE YARD!

Well, I found this book and am so pumped! 

I can't decide what to start with, but I'm thinking one of these three projects will probably it.

1. The scruffle scarf.

Maddie loves scarves, so I'm thinking I might start here.

Or what about this wall book hanger? I'd love to have a better way to store Kylie's books!

But then this little clutch purse is rather adorable and I never seem to have a cute little "date night" bag!

Oh where to start? I guess I'd better go find fabric. And who wants to use old leftover fabric? :) off to the fabric store I go!

"Free" Curtains for my French Door!

I almost hate to tell you about my curtains for my french door. Why? Cause they were free. Well, they weren't really free, but basically free.

 

You see here is my tip.. I figure I learned this from my mom... but anytime brown, denim or a really basic fabric is on sale cheap, I buy it. All of it. This means at times I have had 20 yards of khaki canvas, or 10 yards of denim or... well you get the picture.  Anyway, I have had this brown cotton/poly blend fabric for years. I bought it for $1 or $1.50 a yard at Walmart and have stored it in a plastic tub all of this time.

 

So, last week, after finishing my tree with the brown print fabric and noticing that I had a good bit of leftover, I set it on my curtain rod and was pleasantly surprised. I had planned on a light curtain, but the dark was a great contrast to the paint and tied into the tile on the kitchen counter. So, I dug through my stash of fabric and found this brown that looked nice with the print.

 

And there you have it. I divided the fabric into two pieces, sewed the brown and the print together and hemmed all four sides and clipped it onto rings that I had purchased years ago.. clearance again... I consider curtain rod/clips a basic that can be purchased at anytime...and hung my curtains.

 

Nope they aren't perfect. But I didn't spend a single dollar on them and it took all of 30 minutes. I call that a win!

And that's one more project down!

The not-so-perfect quilt

 

I've been working on a quilt for Kylie's room. Why you ask when I have a number of usable, in good shape quilts that I have already made that would work? Well, because she's spoiled. That's the honest answer. Or, I could say, because she didn't get to pick out the fabrics for the previous blankets I've made.

 

 

Anyhoo, being Kylie, she is very specific about what she wants. EVERYTHING! She wants Dora, Little Mermaid, Strawberry Shortcake, Hello Kitty and on and on... And let me tell you, if you have looked for little girl bedding these days, it's pretty straightforward. You pick your character and go. But not with Kylie.  In the end, she chose 7 fabrics including her favorite characters plus owls and ladybugs. I added the stripe because I already had it from the curtains in the girls old room. This gave me 8 good fabrics that were all vibrant and would work together.  I then choose a lime green to tie it all together. (It doesn't look lime on my computer screen.) I then backed the whole thing with a piece of purple fleece...another re purpose from the girls old room.

 

And here you have it.  It's really still in progress, but its usable, therefore, it is in Kylie's room. My plan is to add either a ruffle to the ends or just a soft silky band around the whole thing using blanket edging. I'll have to sneak it from Kylie's room first!

I share this project with you, and the pictures that prove it's a work in progress that leaves much to be desired, because I fear that many of you out there wouldn't make something like this in the first place because you know it wouldn't be perfect.

I have to tell you, I grew up with quilts and afghans that my grandmother made and clothes and a quilt my mom made. I learned from my mom that making something for perfection was frustrating and hard. But if you made it with joy, the love in it made up for the imperfections. Man, I can't tell you how many times I was poked with a pin left in a seam! But my mom made the dress that I wanted and got to help pick the fabric for, and that was what was important

(However if I was making this for someone outside my family I would have probably measured, pinned and all that...and it still wouldn't be in a usable state and I'd be frustrated..!)

And that's what I am trying to teach my girls. So far, I have made the girls crib blankets, blankets with princesses, Fancy Nancy, horses, paisleys and now a patchwork of all things girly. I'm making memories for my girls and in the process teaching them that you can show love through creating/crafting for someone.  It's freeing to not strive for and demand nothing less than perfection. It's a lovely hands-on expression of grace.

Fabulous Fifties

Lexi brought a note home from school saying that Monday would be the 50th day of school and that the students could dress up like the 50's and that they needed to bring 50 small non-food items. Great.

I am soooo not into that kinda thing. And interestingly enough, we had made it all the way through elementary and intermediate school with Maddie without a poodle skirt... but Lexi was desperate for one. She didn't ask me for one though. She asked her friend if the friend's mom could make her one. Nice. Yep, that will make you feel guilty.

So, how did I use my Sunday morning? I went and bought fabric and made the skirt.  Lexi was sooo excited. Here is the fashion shoot/practice run for tomorrow. The skirt was really quite simple to make, and Lexi was beside herself with joy. The poodle on it is uber small, but the only one that we could find. Lexi didn't care, we also have the word Paris and Paris attractions on the skirt. Really, it's a Fancy Nancy type poodle skirt-- TOTALLY LEXI!



Isn't she adorbable!! Oh how I love my fancy Lexi!