Pipe Cleaners and Fabric

We've been experimenting with pipe cleaners and the creations in the Klutz Pipe Cleaners Gone Crazy book I bought at a yard sale a few weeks ago. Nature Girl has enjoyed twisting pipe cleaners together for awhile now. She likes making snakes and dragons. Nature Girl made her own creation while I enjoyed following the instructions to make items from the book for her. It's amazing what you can make with a few pipe cleaners!
Today I was looking at Nature Girl's flamingo quilt trying to decide what to do with it. When the mail arrived it contained a package from the fabric swap. Tracey sent these wonderful fabrics! She also included some buttons and a clothespin doll which were quickly claimed by Nature Girl. I think the greens, yellows and pinks will be added to the flamingo quilt. The reds and blues are destined to be used in some mini quilts. It's so much fun getting new fabrics in the mail! Thank you Tracey! By the way Tracey is hosting a new swap. It's a tote bag swap. For more details and to sign up go here. If you post the information about her swap you could win this fabric so go check it out!

Rainy Day Sewing

It's been rainy here. So rainy in fact that we've sprouted mushrooms on our lawn. They're not desirable on a lawn but aren't they cute? Nature Girl really wanted pictures of them. As I grabbed the camera and headed out the door she said "Mommy take four, five, six, a hundred pictures." I didn't take a hundred but I took a few for her. They're so cute!

I finally started to sew the quilt for Nature Girl using the flamingo fabric Nancy sent. I decided to use one flamingo fabric on one side and the other fabric on the backside. I wanted to use fabrics that I already had. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I've used the fabrics I have that match and I don't know what else to add to make it bigger. I think it might have to remain a doll quilt.Using the scraps from the borders I sewed this kite quilt for Nature Girl's room. She wanted to turn on the fan so she could fly it. I explained it was just a decoration for her room. Orange and pink are her favorite colors and her room is painted with flowers, grass and a sun. This kite is will be perfect for her room, even if it doesn't really fly.

Craft Visions vs. Reality

I was reading Cheri's blog tonight when I saw her post about a quilt she is planning. Cheri went on to say that her mental quilts are always far more stunning than her actual quilts. I can totally relate to Cheri's thoughts because I have this same problem too. My projects always look better in my head than they do in reality! Today I worked on a few projects for swaps then started work on this little rabbit softie. In my head he's the cutest thing but in reality he looks like a sad little ragamuffin!

My favorite part is the back of the bunny. I love the little heart and tail. It's hard to see in the photo but the tail and heart are on a pocket. Nature Girl likes to stuff things in purses and pockets so I thought a pocket would be cute. She's already in bed and hasn't seen the finished project yet. My guess is that even if he is a little sad looking, she'll happily carry him around for a few days, stuffing his pocket with treasures. The picture quality is poor but here is a little doodle of what I wanted him to look like. Even the doodle is better than the reality! I think the proportions are off on the softie. The top should have been wider, his nose a little smaller and eyes further apart. So the reality of this little ragamuffin and the mental vision just aren't the same. It makes me wonder how do other crafters make their stunning craft visions into a stunning reality? Have you ever seen I'm a Ginger Monkey's toys or Lucy Kate's owls? They're original designs and look amazing! I'm not up to crafting a stunning reality yet, but I'd settle for something that looks close to my vision!

Speaking of craft vision. . . this is a mermaid outfit I envisioned. I made it for Nature Girl when she was two only to find that she doesn't like to play dress up. She loves to pretend but has never felt like she needed a costume to do that. I made the length adjustable by placing elastic string down the sides if the fins. To adjust it you just pull the strings tighter or looser and adjust the toggle to hold the string. Tonight was the first time in almost 2 1/2 years that I've seen her wear this outfit. I was excited to see it on her! She was pretending to be a mermaid who was going to get married. There was one problem. The only boy to marry was already married to me! I told her she could borrow my prince for one day!

Clothespins and Rocks

Nature Girl had a friend over for a play date today. They spent the morning painting with puffy paint, painty pens and finally acrylics. Nature Girl painted some wooden snowflakes. We attached them to clothespins with wood glue to create these decorative clips. We'll use them to hang up Nature Girl's art work in the playroom. They also make great hanging clips for mini quilts.
This afternoon we went for a walk and collected some rocks along the way. When we got home we wrapped aluminum wire around the rocks to turn them into pendants. Add a colored string and we had an hour's worth of entertainment. Nature Girl was thrilled with hers so we created necklaces for the kids next door too. We had six kids running around the backyard wearing rock pendants pretending to be superheros. Apparently the rocks contain secret super powers. They had lots of fun. Nature Girl wanted to wear her rock pendant to bed.

*Nature Girl took the photo for this post.

Attitude makes a difference

Pattie over at Attitude Changes Everything is having a summer blog contest. Pattie has challenged everyone to think about how attitude makes a difference in living a healthy life. Like Pattie I think attitude does make a difference. This weekend we were at the book store when I came across a children's book I had not seen before. I Will Make Miracles by Susie Morgenstern. It made me think about Pattie's challenge. This little boy wants to feed the hungry, help the sick, stop all wars. In the end he realizes it starts small with him learning to read and write.
I grew up listening to my mother and grandmother tell me that I could determine what kind of a day I would have each day. I could sulk or decide to have a good day despite the little ups and downs of life. This is something I still believe today and am trying to teach Nature Girl!
In this sometimes crazy world it's easy to lose sight of the things that we can control. I may not be able to fix the world's problems singlehandedly but I can try to make my little corner of the world a better place every day. It's the little changes that make a difference. Smiling at a stranger, holding a door, thanking someone for their assistance or volunteering in your community. A small kindness to someone else can make the world a better place. If everyone did one kind thing everyday the world would be a better place. So whether it's being kinder to the earth or helping a friend I'll continue to try to make my corner of the world a little better one kindness at a time. Attitude does make a difference! Kindness spreads and simple gestures do make a difference!

Note: the image came from typoGenerator. I discovered this over at Cheri's blog.

A Few Days and Some Sewing

I haven't posted for a few days. We've been busy with the flurry of activity that accompanies the end of the school year. Nature Girl finished her first year of preschool this week and is excited to be on summer vacation. We presented the scrapbook and tote bag to her teacher on the last day of school. The children gathered around her, excited to show her their page in the scrapbook. It was very cute!

Nature Girl had a little end of the year celebration for school. She got up on the stage with her class to sing two songs for the audience. All of the children have grown so much this year and it was fun to see them perform. I made us matching skirts for the celebration. When I was a little girl my mom made matching dresses for her and I. I loved them. I wanted Nature Girl to have that same experience. I love the fabric and was happy with how our skirts turned out.
I'm still working away on my list of projects to accomplish in June. I've made progress but I have also added and completed several projects that were not on my original list. Our matching skirts and this flame apron weren't on that list. My sister asked me to make a BBQ apron for her husband as a Father's Day gift. She chose the material and I did the sewing. It has flames on one side and orange fabric with a flame pocket on the reverse side.
These ducks were another project I added to my June list. I made them as a gift for a baby shower I went to today. It's hard to find safe baby toys so I decided to make some after seeing these in the Magic Cabin catalog.
After these few sewing distractions it's time to get back to my June list so I can get it finished. It's already the middle of June. Boy, the first two weeks went by fast! I have three projects that are already started and two more that I haven't begun. I'd better get to work.
By the way, I'm experimenting with another blog header. This one is part of a photo Nature Girl took in our yard this week. What do you think?

Squealing with Delight

As my husband headed out to check the mail this afternoon I told him to bring back a package with an apron in it. He came back from the mailbox with just a JoAnn Fabrics flyer. I was disappointed but thought maybe my apron from the summer fun apron swap would come tomorrow instead. Tonight my husband went to get the lawn mower out of the garage and came back with a package. The mail carrier left it by the garage. It was addressed to Nature Girl & I. We opened it to find two aprons. One for Nature Girl and one for me. Eeeeeeeeeeeeee! (This is me squealing with delight!) Afton sent the most beautiful aprons for us! Nature Girl was thrilled to have one of her own and I'm totally in love with mine! Yes, I'm wearing it right now even though I'm not in the kitchen and it's after 9:30 pm. I can't help it, I love it!!! Thank you Afton!

My apron is reversible. It's the stripe pattern on the back. It has the cutest U shaped pocket that ties in the center and has rick rack trim around it. My hand is covering the pocket in the picture so you'll have to trust me that it's cute.
I didn't plan the matching shirts but I did pick out our clothes today. I wasn't even aware that we matched until we were at the garden shop and the cashier pointed it out. We really match with our tee shirts and matching aprons.
I had my quilt guild meeting tonight. The potluck was delicious and the block swap was lots of fun. I used one of the pastel log cabin blocks I had sewn yesterday for the swap. This is the new block I got in the swap. Next month's block is a nine patch.

The fabric wrapped gift was this chocolate can filled with Lindt chocolates. The guild does a raffle each month. Tickets are a dollar each and the winner gets that month's prize. Then the next month the winner brings a new prize and the raffle is held again. It's lots of fun and the guild makes a little money. Since I won, I have to decide what to bring for the prize next month. Of course I also have to decide what to make with the blue fabric that was wrapped around the can.